diff --git a/.ai-context/COMMANDS.md b/.ai-context/COMMANDS.md
index 46d2bac..30cdc33 100644
--- a/.ai-context/COMMANDS.md
+++ b/.ai-context/COMMANDS.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ basectl check bankbuddy
 basectl doctor bankbuddy
 basectl test bankbuddy
 basectl activate bankbuddy
+basectl gh issue create --category enhancement --title "..."
 uv sync
 uv run pytest
 ./tests/validate.sh
diff --git a/.ai-context/STATUS.md b/.ai-context/STATUS.md
index 4b069d2..bc502e0 100644
--- a/.ai-context/STATUS.md
+++ b/.ai-context/STATUS.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ section is `Unreleased`.
 ## Current Product Capabilities
 
 - Base-managed setup, activation, and validation.
+- Base-managed GitHub Project intake fallback for externally created issues.
 - Local SQLite initialization and ordered migrations.
 - Local data homes for `prod`, `dev`, and named environments.
 - Banking CLI commands for banks, accounts, statement refs, imports,
diff --git a/.ai-context/WORKFLOWS.md b/.ai-context/WORKFLOWS.md
index 8167a13..fed96e9 100644
--- a/.ai-context/WORKFLOWS.md
+++ b/.ai-context/WORKFLOWS.md
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 Use the repo guidance in `AGENTS.md` and `CONTRIBUTING.md`:
 
 1. Create or choose a GitHub issue before implementation work.
+   Prefer `basectl gh issue create` so Base adds the issue to the repo Project
+   and applies `.github/base-project.yml` defaults.
 2. Use one primary label: `bug`, `enhancement`, `documentation`, `ci`, or
    `security`.
 3. Branch from `origin/main` with `<category>/<issue>-<YYYYMMDD>-<slug>`.
@@ -13,6 +15,11 @@ Use the repo guidance in `AGENTS.md` and `CONTRIBUTING.md`:
    `Closes #<issue>` when merge should close the issue.
 6. Run the relevant narrow tests and then the project validation command.
 
+`.github/workflows/project-intake.yml` is the fallback for issues created
+through the GitHub UI, plain `gh issue create`, or external connectors. It
+adds or reconciles issues into the repo-named Project on open, reopen, close,
+or manual dispatch when `BASE_PROJECT_TOKEN` has Project write access.
+
 ## Validation
 
 The project validation command is:
@@ -27,6 +34,7 @@ Useful narrower checks include:
 uv run pytest tests/test_tax_documents.py -q
 uv run pytest tests/test_imports.py -q
 uv run pytest tests/test_cli.py -q
+basectl repo check .
 git diff --check
 ```
 
diff --git a/.github/base-project.yml b/.github/base-project.yml
index 3fa0b81..258e4d4 100644
--- a/.github/base-project.yml
+++ b/.github/base-project.yml
@@ -4,4 +4,6 @@ project:
   issue_defaults:
     status: Backlog
     priority: P2
+    area: Product
+    initiative: Adoption Polish
     size: S
diff --git a/.github/workflows/project-intake.yml b/.github/workflows/project-intake.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0efe16d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/project-intake.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+name: Project Intake
+
+on:
+  issues:
+    types: [opened, reopened, closed]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      issue_number:
+        description: Issue number to reconcile into the repo Project.
+        required: true
+        type: string
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  issues: read
+
+jobs:
+  sync:
+    name: Sync issue Project fields
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      BASE_PROJECT_OWNER: ${{ github.repository_owner }}
+      BASE_PROJECT_TITLE: ${{ github.event.repository.name }}
+      BASE_PROJECT_ISSUE_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.issue.number || inputs.issue_number }}
+      BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_OPEN_STATUS: Backlog
+      BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_CLOSED_STATUS: Done
+      BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_PRIORITY: P2
+      BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_SIZE: S
+      BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_AREA: Product
+      BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_INITIATIVE: Adoption Polish
+      GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.BASE_PROJECT_TOKEN || github.token }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Reconcile Project item
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          issue_number="${BASE_PROJECT_ISSUE_NUMBER:-}"
+          if [[ -z "$issue_number" ]]; then
+            echo "::error::Issue number was not provided by the event or workflow_dispatch input."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          issue_json="$(gh issue view "$issue_number" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json state,url)"
+          issue_state="$(jq -r '.state' <<<"$issue_json")"
+          issue_url="$(jq -r '.url' <<<"$issue_json")"
+
+          project_number="$(
+            gh project list --owner "$BASE_PROJECT_OWNER" --format json --limit 100 |
+              jq -r --arg title "$BASE_PROJECT_TITLE" \
+                '.projects[] | select(.title == $title) | .number' |
+              head -n 1
+          )"
+          if [[ -z "$project_number" ]]; then
+            echo "::error::GitHub Project '$BASE_PROJECT_TITLE' was not found for owner '$BASE_PROJECT_OWNER'."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          project_id="$(gh project view "$project_number" --owner "$BASE_PROJECT_OWNER" --format json --jq '.id')"
+          item_id="$(gh project item-add "$project_number" --owner "$BASE_PROJECT_OWNER" --url "$issue_url" --format json --jq '.id')"
+          item_json="$(
+            gh project item-list "$project_number" --owner "$BASE_PROJECT_OWNER" --format json --limit 1000 |
+              jq --arg id "$item_id" '.items[] | select(.id == $id)'
+          )"
+          fields_json="$(gh project field-list "$project_number" --owner "$BASE_PROJECT_OWNER" --format json)"
+
+          field_id_for() {
+            local field_name="$1"
+
+            jq -r --arg name "$field_name" \
+              '.fields[] | select(.name == $name) | .id' <<<"$fields_json" |
+              head -n 1
+          }
+
+          option_id_for() {
+            local field_name="$1"
+            local option_name="$2"
+
+            jq -r --arg name "$field_name" --arg option "$option_name" \
+              '.fields[] | select(.name == $name) | .options[]? | select(.name == $option) | .id' \
+              <<<"$fields_json" |
+              head -n 1
+          }
+
+          set_single_select() {
+            local field_name="$1"
+            local option_name="$2"
+            local field_id
+            local option_id
+
+            [[ -n "$option_name" ]] || return 0
+
+            field_id="$(field_id_for "$field_name")"
+            option_id="$(option_id_for "$field_name" "$option_name")"
+            if [[ -z "$field_id" || -z "$option_id" ]]; then
+              echo "::error::Project field '$field_name' option '$option_name' was not found."
+              exit 1
+            fi
+
+            gh project item-edit \
+              --id "$item_id" \
+              --project-id "$project_id" \
+              --field-id "$field_id" \
+              --single-select-option-id "$option_id" \
+              >/dev/null
+          }
+
+          set_single_select_if_missing() {
+            local field_name="$1"
+            local item_key="$2"
+            local option_name="$3"
+            local current_value
+
+            current_value="$(jq -r --arg key "$item_key" '.[$key] // ""' <<<"$item_json")"
+            if [[ -n "$current_value" ]]; then
+              return 0
+            fi
+
+            set_single_select "$field_name" "$option_name"
+          }
+
+          status_value="$BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_OPEN_STATUS"
+          if [[ "$issue_state" == "CLOSED" ]]; then
+            status_value="$BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_CLOSED_STATUS"
+          fi
+
+          set_single_select Status "$status_value"
+          set_single_select_if_missing Priority priority "$BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_PRIORITY"
+          set_single_select_if_missing Size size "$BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_SIZE"
+          set_single_select_if_missing Area area "$BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_AREA"
+          set_single_select_if_missing Initiative initiative "$BASE_PROJECT_DEFAULT_INITIATIVE"
+
+          printf 'Synced issue #%s into Project %s.\n' "$issue_number" "$BASE_PROJECT_TITLE"
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 485159c..c392fef 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ precedence over this baseline.
 ## Workflow
 
 1. Create or choose a GitHub issue before implementation work.
+   Prefer `basectl gh issue create` over plain `gh issue create` so Base can
+   add the issue to the repo-named GitHub Project and apply
+   `.github/base-project.yml` defaults immediately.
 2. Use one standard issue label: `bug`, `enhancement`, `documentation`,
    `ci`, or `security`.
 3. Branch from the issue with:
@@ -26,6 +29,16 @@ precedence over this baseline.
 6. Preserve existing user changes. Do not overwrite project-owned files unless
    the user explicitly asks for that edit.
 
+If an issue is created through the GitHub UI, plain `gh issue create`, or an
+external connector, the Project Intake workflow should add it to the repo
+Project. If Project fields still look wrong, run `basectl repo configure` or
+`basectl gh project issue set-fields` to reconcile the item before starting
+implementation.
+
+The Project Intake workflow needs a `BASE_PROJECT_TOKEN` Actions secret with
+GitHub Project write access when the default `GITHUB_TOKEN` cannot update the
+user-owned Project. Keep that token in GitHub Actions secrets, not in the repo.
+
 ## Validation
 
 Run the project validation command before publishing changes:
diff --git a/tests/validate.sh b/tests/validate.sh
index 7fcd760..fe2f5e5 100755
--- a/tests/validate.sh
+++ b/tests/validate.sh
@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@ required_files=(
   CHANGELOG.md
   CONTRIBUTING.md
   .github/pull_request_template.md
+  .github/base-project.yml
   LICENSE
   base_manifest.yaml
   Brewfile
+  .github/workflows/project-intake.yml
   .github/workflows/tests.yml
   pyproject.toml
   src/bankbuddy/__init__.py
@@ -25,6 +27,24 @@ done
 
 printf 'Repository baseline is present.\n'
 
+for default in \
+  "status: Backlog" \
+  "priority: P2" \
+  "area: Product" \
+  "initiative: Adoption Polish" \
+  "size: S"
+do
+  grep -Fq "$default" .github/base-project.yml || {
+    printf 'Missing Project issue default: %s\n' "$default" >&2
+    exit 1
+  }
+done
+
+grep -Fq "BASE_PROJECT_TOKEN" .github/workflows/project-intake.yml || {
+  printf 'Project intake workflow must use BASE_PROJECT_TOKEN fallback.\n' >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
 if [[ -f pyproject.toml ]]; then
   uv run pytest
 fi