diff --git a/.cursor/rules/api-routes.mdc b/.cursor/rules/api-routes.mdc
index db05771..12eabaf 100644
--- a/.cursor/rules/api-routes.mdc
+++ b/.cursor/rules/api-routes.mdc
@@ -103,17 +103,29 @@ await logCollectionActivity(collectionId, userId, 'card_added', { cardId, quanti
 
 ## Rate limiting
 
-`/api/auth/login` and `/api/auth/register` are wrapped with a 5-attempt / 15-minute sliding window via `lib/rate-limit.js`. New endpoints on the public auth surface (or anywhere brute-force / credential-stuffing matters) should follow the same shape:
+`lib/rate-limit.js` exposes five named limiters, one per route class. Each named export takes `req` (and `userId` for user-keyed classes) and returns `{ allowed, remaining, reset }`.
+
+| Class | Limit | Window | Key | Used by | Helper |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| `auth` | 5 | 15 min | IP | `/api/auth/login`, `/api/auth/register` | `checkAuthRateLimit(req)` |
+| `search` | 60 | 1 min | IP | `/api/users/search`, `/api/cards/search` | `checkSearchRateLimit(req)` |
+| `upload` | 10 | 1 hour | user | `/api/user/avatar` | `checkUploadRateLimit(req, userId)` |
+| `generate` | 5 | 1 hour | user | `/api/user/avatar/generate` | `checkGenerateRateLimit(req, userId)` |
+| `import` | 5 | 1 hour | user | `/api/cards/import-mtg`, `/api/cards/import-pokemon`, `/api/cards/import-lorcana` | `checkImportRateLimit(req, userId)` |
+
+**Verbatim call shape** (identical across all five classes — only the helper name and the optional `userId` argument differ):
 
 ```js
-import { checkAuthRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
+import { checkSearchRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 export default async function handler(req, res) {
-  if (req.method !== 'POST') {
+  if (req.method !== 'GET') {
     return res.status(405).json({ error: 'Method not allowed' });
   }
 
-  const { allowed, reset } = await checkAuthRateLimit(req);
+  // For user-keyed classes, auth check goes HERE first; see "Gate ordering" below.
+
+  const { allowed, reset } = await checkSearchRateLimit(req);
   if (!allowed) {
     res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
     return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
@@ -127,12 +139,23 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
 }
 ```
 
-Notes:
+**Gate ordering rules:**
 
-- Gate sits between the method check and the body. It MUST be inside the `try`/`catch` if you want Upstash errors to bubble — but `checkAuthRateLimit` already swallows them and fails-open, so the placement above is fine.
-- Identifier is the first hop in `x-forwarded-for` (Vercel's edge); do NOT key off `req.body.email` (rotates) or `req.headers.authorization` (login is unauthenticated by design).
-- Env vars are `KV_REST_API_URL` + `KV_REST_API_TOKEN` (auto-provisioned by Vercel's Upstash Marketplace integration). In prod, missing either var is a **fail-closed throw** on the first call — set them in Vercel project settings before merging anything that imports `lib/rate-limit.js`. In dev, the module warn-and-no-ops so local work isn't blocked.
-- The current scope is just the two auth endpoints. Sweeping the rest of the API (`/api/users/search`, `/api/cards/import-*`, avatar upload) is the queued `add-rate-limiting` convoy — follow the same pattern there.
+1. **Method check first.** Reject the wrong verb with 405 before doing any limiter work.
+2. **Auth check before any user-keyed limiter.** `extractUserIdentifier(userId)` THROWS when `userId` is null/undefined/empty (defensive). For `upload`, `generate`, and `import`, the handler MUST call `getUserFromRequest(req)` (or equivalent JWT verification) and confirm a non-null user BEFORE calling the limiter. Wrong order = anonymous user bypasses (the THROW surfaces immediately during dev; do not catch and silently fall back to IP).
+3. **For IP-keyed limiters (`auth`, `search`), gate placement is flexible** — either at the top of the handler (after the method check) or after a separate auth check that the route happens to also have (e.g. `users/search` JWT-verifies before rate-limiting, both are correct). The limiter only needs `req` for IP extraction.
+4. **Admin-role check, if applicable, goes between auth and rate-limit.** Used by all three `/api/cards/import-*` routes: `if (user.role !== 'admin') return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Admin access required' })` sits between the `if (!user)` 401 and the import rate-limit call.
+
+**Identifier extraction:**
+
+- `extractIpIdentifier(req)` (module-private) — first hop in `x-forwarded-for` (Vercel's edge), falling back to `req.socket.remoteAddress`, falling back to the literal `'anonymous'`. Do NOT key off `req.body.email` (rotates) or `req.headers.authorization` (unauthenticated endpoints don't have one).
+- `extractUserIdentifier(userId)` (module-private) — formats as `user:${userId}`. Throws on null/undefined/empty/NaN to surface gate-ordering bugs at dev time rather than silently falling back to IP and creating a per-IP-not-per-user limit.
+
+**Env vars (unchanged from Brief 4):** `KV_REST_API_URL` + `KV_REST_API_TOKEN` (auto-provisioned by Vercel's Upstash Marketplace integration). In prod, missing either var is a **fail-closed throw** on the first call. In dev / test, the module warn-and-no-ops so local work isn't blocked. See `AGENTS.md` Gotcha #12 for the full env-var contract.
+
+**429 response shape is uniform across all five classes.** Same error message (`'Too many attempts. Try again later.'`) and same `Retry-After` header calculation. Per-class variation would fingerprint the limits to an attacker.
+
+**Fail-open on Upstash outage.** A network failure inside `ratelimit.limit(...)` returns `{ allowed: true, remaining: Infinity, reset: 0 }` with a single `console.error('[rate-limit]', err)`. Reasoning: a hard Upstash outage should not lock the entire user base out of every gated route. Brute-force / abuse protection lives behind defense-in-depth (Vercel firewall, future fail2ban-style lockout).
 
 ## Dev/test endpoints (removed)
 
diff --git a/lib/rate-limit.js b/lib/rate-limit.js
index 53b28c7..33b9608 100644
--- a/lib/rate-limit.js
+++ b/lib/rate-limit.js
@@ -1,10 +1,23 @@
 import { Ratelimit } from '@upstash/ratelimit';
 import { Redis } from '@upstash/redis';
 
+// Per-class limiter configuration. Distinct Redis prefix per class is
+// REQUIRED — without it, a search-class hit would consume the auth-class
+// budget for the same identifier. `slidingWindow` chosen across all
+// classes to match Brief 4's existing algorithm; switching to
+// `tokenBucket` per-class would be its own convoy.
+const LIMITER_CONFIG = {
+  auth:     { limit: 5,  window: '15 m', prefix: 'tcgvault:auth' },
+  search:   { limit: 60, window: '1 m',  prefix: 'tcgvault:search' },
+  upload:   { limit: 10, window: '1 h',  prefix: 'tcgvault:upload' },
+  generate: { limit: 5,  window: '1 h',  prefix: 'tcgvault:generate' },
+  import:   { limit: 5,  window: '1 h',  prefix: 'tcgvault:import' },
+};
+
 // Lazy singleton. Module-load init would throw in environments without
 // Upstash env vars (local dev pre-onboarding, tests that transitively
-// import the auth handlers, Vercel build-time bundling). Defer construction
-// until the first request actually arrives.
+// import the auth handlers, Vercel build-time bundling). Defer
+// construction until the first request actually arrives.
 let cached = null;
 
 function init() {
@@ -17,12 +30,18 @@ function init() {
 
   if (url && token) {
     const redis = new Redis({ url, token });
-    const ratelimit = new Ratelimit({
-      redis,
-      limiter: Ratelimit.slidingWindow(5, '15 m'),
-      prefix: 'tcgvault:auth',
-    });
-    return { mode: 'live', ratelimit };
+    const instances = new Map();
+    for (const [name, cfg] of Object.entries(LIMITER_CONFIG)) {
+      instances.set(
+        name,
+        new Ratelimit({
+          redis,
+          limiter: Ratelimit.slidingWindow(cfg.limit, cfg.window),
+          prefix: cfg.prefix,
+        })
+      );
+    }
+    return { mode: 'live', instances };
   }
 
   if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
@@ -39,13 +58,33 @@ function init() {
   return { mode: 'noop' };
 }
 
-function extractIdentifier(req) {
+function extractIpIdentifier(req) {
   const xff = req.headers?.['x-forwarded-for'];
   const firstHop = Array.isArray(xff) ? xff[0] : xff?.split(',')[0]?.trim();
   return firstHop || req.socket?.remoteAddress || 'anonymous';
 }
 
-export async function checkAuthRateLimit(req) {
+// THROWS on missing userId. Per-user limiters MUST sit AFTER the auth
+// check in the handler body — silently falling back to IP here would
+// convert a per-user limit into a per-IP limit, locking out other
+// household members for one user's behavior. The throw surfaces the
+// misordering immediately during development rather than at first
+// production incident.
+function extractUserIdentifier(userId) {
+  if (
+    userId === null ||
+    userId === undefined ||
+    userId === '' ||
+    (typeof userId === 'number' && Number.isNaN(userId))
+  ) {
+    throw new Error(
+      '[rate-limit] extractUserIdentifier called without an authenticated userId. Place the rate-limit gate AFTER the auth check, never before.'
+    );
+  }
+  return `user:${userId}`;
+}
+
+async function check(className, identifier) {
   if (!cached) {
     cached = init();
   }
@@ -54,16 +93,39 @@ export async function checkAuthRateLimit(req) {
     return { allowed: true, remaining: Infinity, reset: 0 };
   }
 
-  const identifier = extractIdentifier(req);
+  const limiter = cached.instances.get(className);
+  if (!limiter) {
+    throw new Error(`[rate-limit] Unknown limiter class: ${className}`);
+  }
 
   try {
-    const { success, remaining, reset } = await cached.ratelimit.limit(identifier);
+    const { success, remaining, reset } = await limiter.limit(identifier);
     return { allowed: success, remaining, reset };
   } catch (err) {
     // Fail-open on Upstash outage. A hard outage at the rate-limit backend
-    // should not lock the entire user base out of login. Brute-force
-    // protection lives behind defense-in-depth (Vercel firewall, etc.).
+    // should not lock the entire user base out. Brute-force protection
+    // lives behind defense-in-depth (Vercel firewall, etc.).
     console.error('[rate-limit]', err);
     return { allowed: true, remaining: Infinity, reset: 0 };
   }
 }
+
+export async function checkAuthRateLimit(req) {
+  return check('auth', extractIpIdentifier(req));
+}
+
+export async function checkSearchRateLimit(req) {
+  return check('search', extractIpIdentifier(req));
+}
+
+export async function checkUploadRateLimit(req, userId) {
+  return check('upload', extractUserIdentifier(userId));
+}
+
+export async function checkGenerateRateLimit(req, userId) {
+  return check('generate', extractUserIdentifier(userId));
+}
+
+export async function checkImportRateLimit(req, userId) {
+  return check('import', extractUserIdentifier(userId));
+}
diff --git a/pages/admin/card-import.js b/pages/admin/card-import.js
index a167be6..a2a4f20 100644
--- a/pages/admin/card-import.js
+++ b/pages/admin/card-import.js
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ const CardImport = () => {
         method: 'POST',
         headers: {
           'Content-Type': 'application/json',
+          'Authorization': `Bearer ${localStorage.getItem('auth_token')}`,
         },
         body: JSON.stringify({ setCode: setCode.trim() }),
       });
diff --git a/pages/api/cards/import-lorcana.js b/pages/api/cards/import-lorcana.js
index b026d2e..077f6ee 100644
--- a/pages/api/cards/import-lorcana.js
+++ b/pages/api/cards/import-lorcana.js
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
+import { getUserFromRequest } from '../../../lib/permission-middleware';
+import { checkImportRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 // Helper function to delay execution
 const delay = (ms) => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
@@ -47,6 +49,20 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
     return res.status(405).json({ error: 'Method not allowed' });
   }
 
+  const user = await getUserFromRequest(req);
+  if (!user) {
+    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
+  }
+  if (user.role !== 'admin') {
+    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Admin access required' });
+  }
+
+  const { allowed, reset } = await checkImportRateLimit(req, user.userId);
+  if (!allowed) {
+    res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+    return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+  }
+
   try {
     const { setCode } = req.body;
     
diff --git a/pages/api/cards/import-mtg.js b/pages/api/cards/import-mtg.js
index 4950590..8da023b 100644
--- a/pages/api/cards/import-mtg.js
+++ b/pages/api/cards/import-mtg.js
@@ -1,10 +1,26 @@
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
+import { getUserFromRequest } from '../../../lib/permission-middleware';
+import { checkImportRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 export default async function handler(req, res) {
   if (req.method !== 'POST') {
     return res.status(405).json({ error: 'Method not allowed' });
   }
 
+  const user = await getUserFromRequest(req);
+  if (!user) {
+    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
+  }
+  if (user.role !== 'admin') {
+    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Admin access required' });
+  }
+
+  const { allowed, reset } = await checkImportRateLimit(req, user.userId);
+  if (!allowed) {
+    res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+    return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+  }
+
   try {
     const { setCode } = req.body;
     
diff --git a/pages/api/cards/import-pokemon.js b/pages/api/cards/import-pokemon.js
index cc14347..da2dd1b 100644
--- a/pages/api/cards/import-pokemon.js
+++ b/pages/api/cards/import-pokemon.js
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
+import { getUserFromRequest } from '../../../lib/permission-middleware';
+import { checkImportRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 // Helper function to delay execution
 const delay = (ms) => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
@@ -47,6 +49,20 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
     return res.status(405).json({ error: 'Method not allowed' });
   }
 
+  const user = await getUserFromRequest(req);
+  if (!user) {
+    return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
+  }
+  if (user.role !== 'admin') {
+    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Admin access required' });
+  }
+
+  const { allowed, reset } = await checkImportRateLimit(req, user.userId);
+  if (!allowed) {
+    res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+    return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+  }
+
   try {
     const { setCode } = req.body;
     
diff --git a/pages/api/cards/search.js b/pages/api/cards/search.js
index 541a17e..eb9da8c 100644
--- a/pages/api/cards/search.js
+++ b/pages/api/cards/search.js
@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
+import { checkSearchRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 export default async function handler(req, res) {
   if (req.method !== 'GET') {
     return res.status(405).json({ error: 'Method not allowed' });
   }
 
+  const { allowed, reset } = await checkSearchRateLimit(req);
+  if (!allowed) {
+    res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+    return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+  }
+
   try {
     const { 
       query = '', 
diff --git a/pages/api/user/avatar.js b/pages/api/user/avatar.js
index 8608873..3ebb31c 100644
--- a/pages/api/user/avatar.js
+++ b/pages/api/user/avatar.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { put, del } from '@vercel/blob';
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
 import { getUserFromRequest } from '../../../lib/permission-middleware';
+import { checkUploadRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 export const config = {
   api: {
@@ -18,6 +19,12 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
       return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
     }
 
+    const { allowed, reset } = await checkUploadRateLimit(req, user.userId);
+    if (!allowed) {
+      res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+      return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+    }
+
     if (req.method === 'POST') {
       // Handle avatar upload
       const contentType = req.headers['content-type'];
diff --git a/pages/api/user/avatar/generate.js b/pages/api/user/avatar/generate.js
index 5e389db..03030d7 100644
--- a/pages/api/user/avatar/generate.js
+++ b/pages/api/user/avatar/generate.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { put } from '@vercel/blob';
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
 import { getUserFromRequest } from '../../../../lib/permission-middleware';
+import { checkGenerateRateLimit } from '../../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 export default async function handler(req, res) {
   if (req.method !== 'POST') {
@@ -14,6 +15,12 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
       return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
     }
 
+    const { allowed, reset } = await checkGenerateRateLimit(req, user.userId);
+    if (!allowed) {
+      res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+      return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+    }
+
     // Get user information for avatar generation
     const userResult = await sql`
       SELECT email, first_name, last_name, username FROM users WHERE id = ${user.userId}
diff --git a/pages/api/users/search.js b/pages/api/users/search.js
index 9c2c72f..5847fa6 100644
--- a/pages/api/users/search.js
+++ b/pages/api/users/search.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { sql } from '@vercel/postgres';
 import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
 import { JWT_SECRET } from '../../../lib/auth-secret.js';
+import { checkSearchRateLimit } from '../../../lib/rate-limit.js';
 
 export default async function handler(req, res) {
   if (req.method !== 'GET') {
@@ -20,6 +21,12 @@ export default async function handler(req, res) {
     return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid token' });
   }
 
+  const { allowed, reset } = await checkSearchRateLimit(req);
+  if (!allowed) {
+    res.setHeader('Retry-After', Math.ceil((reset - Date.now()) / 1000));
+    return res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many attempts. Try again later.' });
+  }
+
   const { q: query } = req.query;
 
   if (!query || query.length < 2) {