diff --git a/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js b/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js
index 9bf1dfd..0459e72 100644
--- a/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js
+++ b/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import express from 'express';
+import { Queue } from 'bullmq';
+import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
 import pool from '../db/pool.js';
 import { getSignedUrlForObject, deleteObject } from '../s3/client.js';
 import { requireAuth } from '../middleware/auth.js';
@@ -7,6 +9,16 @@ const router = express.Router();
 
 router.use(requireAuth);
 
+// BullMQ queue connection (mirrors worker/src/index.js)
+const parseRedisUrl = (url) => {
+  const parsed = new URL(url);
+  return { host: parsed.hostname, port: parseInt(parsed.port, 10) };
+};
+
+const thumbnailQueue = new Queue('thumbnail', {
+  connection: parseRedisUrl(process.env.REDIS_URL || 'redis://queue:6379'),
+});
+
 // GET / - List assets with filtering
 router.get('/', async (req, res, next) => {
   try {
@@ -60,7 +72,7 @@ router.get('/', async (req, res, next) => {
     params.push(limit, offset);
 
     const result = await pool.query(query, params);
-    const total = result.rows.length > 0 ? result.rows[0].full_count : 0;
+    const total = result.rows.length > 0 ? parseInt(result.rows[0].full_count, 10) : 0;
 
     res.json({
       assets: result.rows,
@@ -71,6 +83,83 @@ router.get('/', async (req, res, next) => {
   }
 });
 
+// POST / - Register a new asset from a completed capture session
+//
+// Called by the capture service immediately after stop() completes.
+// At this point both the HiRes and Proxy files already exist in S3
+// (written by the dual FFmpeg stream), so we set status='processing'
+// and immediately dispatch a thumbnail job — no proxy_gen needed.
+router.post('/', async (req, res, next) => {
+  try {
+    const {
+      projectId,
+      binId,
+      clipName,
+      hiresKey,
+      proxyKey,
+      duration,   // seconds (integer)
+      capturedAt, // ISO 8601 string
+    } = req.body;
+
+    if (!projectId || !clipName) {
+      return res.status(400).json({ error: 'projectId and clipName are required' });
+    }
+
+    const id = uuidv4();
+    const thumbnailKey = `thumbnails/${id}.jpg`;
+    const durationMs = duration ? Math.round(duration * 1000) : null;
+
+    const result = await pool.query(
+      `INSERT INTO assets (
+        id, project_id, bin_id,
+        filename, display_name,
+        status, media_type,
+        original_s3_key, proxy_s3_key,
+        duration_ms,
+        created_at, updated_at
+      )
+      VALUES (
+        $1, $2, $3,
+        $4, $4,
+        'processing', 'video',
+        $5, $6,
+        $7,
+        COALESCE($8::timestamptz, NOW()), NOW()
+      )
+      RETURNING *`,
+      [
+        id, projectId, binId || null,
+        clipName,
+        hiresKey || null, proxyKey || null,
+        durationMs,
+        capturedAt || null,
+      ]
+    );
+
+    const asset = result.rows[0];
+
+    // Dispatch thumbnail job — proxy already in S3 from capture
+    if (proxyKey) {
+      await thumbnailQueue.add('generate', {
+        assetId: id,
+        proxyKey,
+        outputKey: thumbnailKey,
+      });
+    } else {
+      // No proxy yet — mark ready immediately (e.g. audio-only or test mode)
+      await pool.query(
+        `UPDATE assets SET status = 'ready', updated_at = NOW() WHERE id = $1`,
+        [id]
+      );
+      asset.status = 'ready';
+    }
+
+    res.status(201).json(asset);
+  } catch (err) {
+    next(err);
+  }
+});
+
 // GET /:id - Single asset
 router.get('/:id', async (req, res, next) => {
   try {
@@ -87,7 +176,7 @@ router.get('/:id', async (req, res, next) => {
   }
 });
 
-// PATCH /:id - Update asset
+// PATCH /:id - Update asset metadata
 router.patch('/:id', async (req, res, next) => {
   try {
     const { id } = req.params;
@@ -145,7 +234,6 @@ router.delete('/:id', async (req, res, next) => {
     const { hard } = req.query;
 
     if (hard === 'true') {
-      // Hard delete: get asset info, delete from S3, delete from DB
       const assetResult = await pool.query(
         'SELECT * FROM assets WHERE id = $1',
         [id]
@@ -157,26 +245,17 @@ router.delete('/:id', async (req, res, next) => {
 
       const asset = assetResult.rows[0];
 
-      // Delete from S3
-      if (asset.proxy_s3_key) {
-        await deleteObject(asset.proxy_s3_key);
-      }
-      if (asset.thumbnail_s3_key) {
-        await deleteObject(asset.thumbnail_s3_key);
-      }
-      if (asset.original_s3_key) {
-        await deleteObject(asset.original_s3_key);
-      }
+      if (asset.proxy_s3_key) await deleteObject(asset.proxy_s3_key);
+      if (asset.thumbnail_s3_key) await deleteObject(asset.thumbnail_s3_key);
+      if (asset.original_s3_key) await deleteObject(asset.original_s3_key);
 
-      // Delete from database
       await pool.query('DELETE FROM assets WHERE id = $1', [id]);
-
       res.json({ message: 'Asset deleted permanently' });
     } else {
-      // Soft delete: set status to archived
       const result = await pool.query(
-        'UPDATE assets SET status = $1, updated_at = NOW() WHERE id = $2 RETURNING *',
-        ['archived', id]
+        `UPDATE assets SET status = 'archived', updated_at = NOW()
+         WHERE id = $1 RETURNING *`,
+        [id]
       );
 
       if (result.rows.length === 0) {
@@ -206,7 +285,7 @@ router.get('/:id/stream', async (req, res, next) => {
     const { proxy_s3_key } = result.rows[0];
 
     if (!proxy_s3_key) {
-      return res.status(400).json({ error: 'No proxy available' });
+      return res.status(400).json({ error: 'No proxy available for this asset' });
     }
 
     const url = await getSignedUrlForObject(proxy_s3_key);
@@ -216,7 +295,7 @@ router.get('/:id/stream', async (req, res, next) => {
   }
 });
 
-// GET /:id/thumbnail - Signed URL for thumbnail
+// GET /:id/thumbnail - Signed URL for thumbnail image
 router.get('/:id/thumbnail', async (req, res, next) => {
   try {
     const { id } = req.params;
@@ -232,7 +311,7 @@ router.get('/:id/thumbnail', async (req, res, next) => {
     const { thumbnail_s3_key } = result.rows[0];
 
     if (!thumbnail_s3_key) {
-      return res.status(400).json({ error: 'No thumbnail available' });
+      return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Thumbnail not yet available' });
     }
 
     const url = await getSignedUrlForObject(thumbnail_s3_key);