diff --git a/changelog.d/803-discovery-promotion.added.md b/changelog.d/803-discovery-promotion.added.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..020fdeeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/803-discovery-promotion.added.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Discovery can now promote a successful discovered issue into one proposed work item when AUTO_PROMOTE_DISCOVERY is enabled; promotions are deduplicated by issue URL, capped per UTC day and never create a branch or pull request. The default remains off.
diff --git a/docs/architecture.md b/docs/architecture.md
index 0047c91d..da4e80ca 100644
--- a/docs/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/architecture.md
@@ -1282,7 +1282,10 @@ open work it returns `none` with reason `idle`: the scheduler writes
 discovery interval is due, it may instead run one `discover` job; that job may
 create at most one concrete issue (never a PR/branch), and if it finds nothing
 concrete it creates nothing. The callback refuses a discovery result that carries
-a branch or pull request (`DISCOVERY_PR_FORBIDDEN`). The job goal gets a bounded
+a branch or pull request (`DISCOVERY_PR_FORBIDDEN`). A discovered issue does not
+create a work item by default; with `AUTO_PROMOTE_DISCOVERY` enabled,
+`promoteDiscoveredIssue` creates one `proposed` work item, deduped by issue URL
+and capped per UTC day. It never creates a branch or a pull request. The job goal gets a bounded
 `Carry-over` block with the last three run digests and up to four open items; the
 block is data, not an instruction, and is capped well below the 4000-character
 goal limit. Every line that names an issue or a pull request is checked once
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index 1da9e599..6854bb16 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ export interface Config {
   // erased. The sweep's purge phase reads this; 72 hours is the host-side cron it
   // replaces.
   trialPurgeGraceHours: number
+  /** #803: promote a discovered issue into one proposed work item. Off by default. */
+  autoPromoteDiscovery: boolean
+  /** #803: maximum automatic discovery promotions per UTC day; 0 disables them. */
+  autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap: number
   // #708: the per-class windows mutating routes take. A route names its class;
   // the numbers live here so a deployment tightens a limit without a rebuild.
   rateLimit: RateLimitBudgets
@@ -286,6 +290,8 @@ export function loadConfig(overrides: Partial<Config> = {}): Config {
     },
     recentAuthMinutes: Math.max(1, number('RECENT_AUTH_MINUTES', 15)),
     trialPurgeGraceHours: Math.max(1, number('TRIAL_PURGE_GRACE_HOURS', 72)),
+    autoPromoteDiscovery: bool('AUTO_PROMOTE_DISCOVERY', false),
+    autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap: Math.max(0, number('AUTO_PROMOTE_DISCOVERY_DAILY_CAP', 3)),
     rateLimit: {
       login: {
         max: Math.max(1, number('RATE_LIMIT_LOGIN_MAX', DEFAULT_RATE_LIMIT_BUDGETS.login.max)),
diff --git a/src/jobs/discoveryPromotion.ts b/src/jobs/discoveryPromotion.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b01bfb2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/jobs/discoveryPromotion.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import type { Config } from '../config.js'
+import type { Store } from '../db.js'
+import { randomId } from '../lib/secrets.js'
+
+// #803: discovery stays issue-only. This is the explicit, opt-in bridge from a
+// discovered issue to the normal work-item queue. It never creates a branch or
+// a pull request and it never changes the issue itself.
+export type DiscoveryPromotionStatus = 'promoted' | 'disabled' | 'duplicate' | 'cap' | 'no-issue'
+
+export interface DiscoveryPromotionResult {
+  status: DiscoveryPromotionStatus
+  workItemId?: string
+}
+
+export function promoteDiscoveredIssue(
+  store: Store,
+  config: Config,
+  input: { repoId: string; userId: string; issueUrl: string | null; title?: string; now?: Date },
+): DiscoveryPromotionResult {
+  const issueUrl = input.issueUrl ?? ''
+  if (issueUrl === '') return { status: 'no-issue' }
+  if (!config.autoPromoteDiscovery || config.autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap <= 0) return { status: 'disabled' }
+
+  const existing = store.findWorkItemByIssueUrl(input.repoId, issueUrl)
+  if (existing !== undefined) return { status: 'duplicate', workItemId: existing.id }
+
+  const day = (input.now ?? new Date()).toISOString().slice(0, 10)
+  const key = `discover-promote:${day}`
+  const used = Number(store.getSetting(key) ?? 0)
+  if (used >= config.autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap) return { status: 'cap' }
+
+  const id = randomId('work')
+  const title = (input.title ?? '').trim().slice(0, 160) || issueUrl
+  store.createWorkItem({ id, repoId: input.repoId, userId: input.userId, title, issueUrl, state: 'proposed' })
+  store.setSetting(key, String(used + 1))
+  return { status: 'promoted', workItemId: id }
+}
diff --git a/src/jobs/service.ts b/src/jobs/service.ts
index 8a7eaebe..d8995af7 100644
--- a/src/jobs/service.ts
+++ b/src/jobs/service.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ import { addMinutes, nowIso } from '../lib/time.js'
 import { GithubClient, GithubError, prepareRepo, prepareRepoWithInstallation, repoPermissionWithToken } from '../repos/github.js'
 import { GithubApp } from '../repos/app.js'
 import { parseIssueUrl, parsePrUrl } from './prUrl.js'
+import { promoteDiscoveredIssue } from './discoveryPromotion.js'
 import { buildCarryOver, buildRunDigest, decideNextJob, failureStreak, lastDurationMs, MIN_DISCOVERY_INTERVAL_MINUTES, parseCarryOverLink, type CarryOverReader } from './continuity.js'
 import { planTick, scheduleFromRow, type TickPlan } from '../schedules/tick.js'
 import { utcDayEnd, utcDayStart } from '../schedules/budget.js'
@@ -1327,7 +1328,7 @@ export class Jobs {
     }
   }
 
-  private syncWorkItemForJob(job: JobRow, result: { status: 'succeeded' | 'failed' | 'quota_exhausted'; prUrl: string | null; issueUrl: string | null }): void {
+  private syncWorkItemForJob(job: JobRow, result: { status: 'succeeded' | 'failed' | 'quota_exhausted'; prUrl: string | null; issueUrl: string | null; summary?: string }): void {
     const existing = job.work_item_id === null ? undefined : this.store.getWorkItem(job.work_item_id)
     if (existing !== undefined) {
       const prState = result.prUrl === null ? existing.pr_state : 'open'
@@ -1348,6 +1349,20 @@ export class Jobs {
       })
       return
     }
+    if (job.kind === 'discover') {
+      const promotion = promoteDiscoveredIssue(this.store, this.config, {
+        repoId: job.repo_id,
+        userId: job.user_id,
+        issueUrl: result.issueUrl,
+        title: result.summary ?? '',
+      })
+      this.store.audit(
+        job.user_id,
+        promotion.status === 'promoted' ? 'job.discovery_promoted' : 'job.discovery_promotion_skipped',
+        `${job.id}: ${promotion.status}${promotion.workItemId === undefined ? '' : ` ${promotion.workItemId}`}`,
+      )
+      return
+    }
     if (result.status !== 'succeeded' || (result.prUrl === null && result.issueUrl === null)) return
     const title = (result.prUrl ?? result.issueUrl ?? job.goal).slice(0, 160)
     this.store.createWorkItem({
@@ -1422,7 +1437,7 @@ export class Jobs {
     const started = Date.parse(job.started_at ?? job.created_at)
     const ended = Date.parse(nowIso())
     if (Number.isFinite(started) && Number.isFinite(ended)) observeHistogram('fledge_job_seconds', Math.max(0, (ended - started) / 1000), { kind: job.kind, status: result.status }, 'Job duration')
-    this.syncWorkItemForJob(job, { status: result.status, prUrl, issueUrl })
+    this.syncWorkItemForJob(job, { status: result.status, prUrl, issueUrl, summary })
     const finalJob = this.store.getJob(jobId) ?? job
     const digest = buildRunDigest(finalJob, { status: result.status, summary, issueUrl, prUrl })
     this.store.updateJob(jobId, { continuity_json: JSON.stringify(digest), output_kind: digest.output_kind })
diff --git a/test/discoveryPromotion.test.ts b/test/discoveryPromotion.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4ef89852
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/discoveryPromotion.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+import test from 'node:test'
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+import { Store } from '../src/db.js'
+import { promoteDiscoveredIssue } from '../src/jobs/discoveryPromotion.js'
+import { makeUser, testConfig } from './helpers.js'
+
+function fixture() {
+  const store = new Store(':memory:')
+  const user = makeUser(store, { login: 'discovery-promote', status: 'approved' })
+  const repo = store.createRepo({ id: 'repo_discovery_promote', userId: user.id, owner: 'o', name: 'r', defaultBranch: 'main', tokenEnc: 'x', permission: 'admin', repoRole: 'maintainer', goal: '', autoIterate: false, intervalMinutes: 1440 })
+  return { store, user, repo }
+}
+
+const now = new Date('2026-11-15T00:00:00.000Z')
+const issue = (n: number) => `https://github.com/o/r/issues/${String(n)}`
+
+test('discovery promotion is off by default and never creates a work item', () => {
+  const { store, user, repo } = fixture()
+  try {
+    const result = promoteDiscoveredIssue(store, testConfig(), { repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, issueUrl: issue(1), now })
+    assert.equal(result.status, 'disabled')
+    assert.equal(store.findWorkItemByIssueUrl(repo.id, issue(1)), undefined)
+  } finally {
+    store.close()
+  }
+})
+
+test('an enabled promotion creates one proposed work item, dedupes the issue and caps the day', () => {
+  const { store, user, repo } = fixture()
+  try {
+    const config = testConfig({ autoPromoteDiscovery: true, autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap: 2 })
+    const first = promoteDiscoveredIssue(store, config, { repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, issueUrl: issue(1), title: 'First discovered issue', now })
+    assert.equal(first.status, 'promoted')
+    const item = store.getWorkItem(first.workItemId ?? '')
+    assert.ok(item !== undefined)
+    assert.equal(item.state, 'proposed')
+    assert.equal(item.issue_url, issue(1))
+    assert.equal(item.pr_url, null)
+
+    const duplicate = promoteDiscoveredIssue(store, config, { repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, issueUrl: issue(1), now })
+    assert.equal(duplicate.status, 'duplicate')
+    assert.equal(duplicate.workItemId, first.workItemId)
+
+    const second = promoteDiscoveredIssue(store, config, { repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, issueUrl: issue(2), now })
+    assert.equal(second.status, 'promoted')
+
+    const capped = promoteDiscoveredIssue(store, config, { repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, issueUrl: issue(3), now })
+    assert.equal(capped.status, 'cap')
+    assert.equal(store.findWorkItemByIssueUrl(repo.id, issue(3)), undefined)
+    assert.equal(store.getSetting('discover-promote:2026-11-15'), '2')
+  } finally {
+    store.close()
+  }
+})
+
+test('a discovery result without an issue URL is not promoted', () => {
+  const { store, user, repo } = fixture()
+  try {
+    const config = testConfig({ autoPromoteDiscovery: true, autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap: 3 })
+    assert.equal(promoteDiscoveredIssue(store, config, { repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, issueUrl: null, now }).status, 'no-issue')
+  } finally {
+    store.close()
+  }
+})
diff --git a/test/jobs.test.ts b/test/jobs.test.ts
index af334b7a..273740da 100644
--- a/test/jobs.test.ts
+++ b/test/jobs.test.ts
@@ -2503,8 +2503,11 @@ test('a discover callback cannot open a branch or pull request', async () => {
   }
 })
 
-test('a discover callback with an issue creates exactly one work item', async () => {
-  const config = testConfig()
+// #803: discover no longer promotes unconditionally. With the switch off the
+// callback leaves the backlog alone; with it on, exactly one `proposed` item is
+// the bridge into the normal work-item queue (never a branch or PR).
+test('a discover callback with an issue creates exactly one proposed work item when promotion is on', async () => {
+  const config = testConfig({ autoPromoteDiscovery: true, autoPromoteDiscoveryDailyCap: 3 })
   const store = new Store(':memory:')
   const jobs = new Jobs(store, config, { name: 'noop', async run() { return { status: 'running' } } }, new MemoryMailer())
   try {
@@ -2517,12 +2520,15 @@ test('a discover callback with an issue creates exactly one work item', async ()
     const result = await jobs.handleCallback('job_discover_issue', secret, { status: 'succeeded', issueUrl, summary: 'found a concrete bug' })
     assert.equal(result.ok, true)
     const item = store.findWorkItemByIssueUrl(repo.id, issueUrl)
-    assert.equal(item?.state, 'in_progress')
+    assert.equal(item?.state, 'proposed')
+    assert.equal(item?.pr_url, null)
+    assert.equal(store.listWorkItems(repo.id).length, 1)
     assert.equal(store.getJob('job_discover_issue')?.output_kind, 'issue')
+    assert.ok(store.listAudit().some((entry) => entry.action === 'job.discovery_promoted'))
 
     await jobs.tick()
     const after = store.listJobsForRepo(repo.id)
-    assert.equal(after.length, 2, 'the discovered issue feeds the next work session')
+    assert.equal(after.length, 2, 'the proposed issue feeds the next work session')
     assert.equal(after[0]?.kind, 'iterate')
     assert.equal(after[0]?.work_item_id, item?.id)
   } finally {
@@ -2530,6 +2536,34 @@ test('a discover callback with an issue creates exactly one work item', async ()
   }
 })
 
+test('a discover callback leaves the backlog unchanged when promotion is off', async () => {
+  const config = testConfig()
+  const store = new Store(':memory:')
+  const jobs = new Jobs(store, config, { name: 'noop', async run() { return { status: 'running' } } }, new MemoryMailer())
+  try {
+    const user = makeUser(store, { login: 'discover-no-promote-user', status: 'approved' })
+    const repo = store.createRepo({ id: 'repo_discover_no_promote', userId: user.id, owner: 'o', name: 'r', defaultBranch: 'main', tokenEnc: 'x', permission: 'admin', repoRole: 'developer', upstreamHtmlUrl: 'https://github.com/o/r', goal: '', autoIterate: true, intervalMinutes: 60 })
+    const secret = 'discover-no-promote-secret'
+    store.createJob({ id: 'job_discover_no_promote', repoId: repo.id, userId: user.id, trigger: 'schedule', goal: 'discover', callbackHash: sha256Hex(secret), platformTokenHash: '', kind: 'discover' })
+    store.updateJob('job_discover_no_promote', { status: 'running', started_at: new Date().toISOString() })
+    const issueUrl = 'https://github.com/o/r/issues/8'
+    const result = await jobs.handleCallback('job_discover_no_promote', secret, { status: 'succeeded', issueUrl, summary: 'found a concrete bug' })
+    assert.equal(result.ok, true)
+    assert.equal(store.findWorkItemByIssueUrl(repo.id, issueUrl), undefined)
+    assert.equal(store.listWorkItems(repo.id).length, 0)
+    assert.equal(store.getJob('job_discover_no_promote')?.output_kind, 'issue')
+    const skipped = store.listAudit().find((entry) => entry.action === 'job.discovery_promotion_skipped')
+    assert.ok(skipped !== undefined)
+    assert.ok(String(skipped.detail).includes('disabled'))
+
+    await jobs.tick()
+    assert.equal(store.listWorkItems(repo.id).length, 0)
+    assert.equal(store.listJobsForRepo(repo.id).filter((job) => job.kind === 'iterate').length, 0)
+  } finally {
+    store.close()
+  }
+})
+
 test('the scheduler idles with no work and starts once a work item appears', async () => {
   const config = testConfig()
   const store = new Store(':memory:')