diff --git a/app/api/deps.py b/app/api/deps.py
index bf70393..9f6983d 100644
--- a/app/api/deps.py
+++ b/app/api/deps.py
@@ -59,22 +59,43 @@ async def get_current_user(token: str = Depends(oauth2_scheme), db: Session = De
     return user
 
 
+def _lookup_api_key(db: Session, key: str) -> models.User | None:
+    """Resolve an API key string to a User; mark last_used_at on hit."""
+    if not key:
+        return None
+    key_obj = db.query(APIKey).filter(APIKey.key == key, APIKey.is_active == True).first()  # noqa: E712
+    if not key_obj:
+        return None
+    key_obj.last_used_at = datetime.utcnow()
+    db.commit()
+    return db.query(models.User).filter(models.User.id == key_obj.user_id).first()
+
+
 async def get_current_user_or_apikey(
     token: str = Depends(oauth2_scheme),
     api_key: str = Depends(apikey_header),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ):
-    """Authenticate via JWT token OR API key."""
+    """Authenticate via JWT token (Authorization: Bearer <jwt>) OR API key
+    (X-API-Key: <key>, OR — as a convenience for CLI clients that only know
+    Bearer — Authorization: Bearer <api-key>; falls back when JWT decode fails).
+    """
+    # Native X-API-Key header
     if api_key:
-        key_obj = db.query(APIKey).filter(APIKey.key == api_key, APIKey.is_active == True).first()
-        if key_obj:
-            key_obj.last_used_at = datetime.utcnow()
-            db.commit()
-            user = db.query(models.User).filter(models.User.id == key_obj.user_id).first()
+        user = _lookup_api_key(db, api_key)
+        if user:
+            return user
+
+    # Bearer header — try JWT first, then API key on decode failure
+    if token:
+        try:
+            return await get_current_user(token=token, db=db)
+        except HTTPException:
+            user = _lookup_api_key(db, token)
             if user:
                 return user
-    if token:
-        return await get_current_user(token=token, db=db)
+            raise
+
     raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Not authenticated")
 
 
diff --git a/app/api/routers/auth.py b/app/api/routers/auth.py
index 24b9097..372d88b 100644
--- a/app/api/routers/auth.py
+++ b/app/api/routers/auth.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from app.core.config import get_db, settings
 from app.models import models
 from app.models.role_permission import Permission, Role, RolePermission
 from app.schemas import schemas
-from app.api.deps import Token, verify_password, create_access_token, get_current_user
+from app.api.deps import Token, verify_password, create_access_token, get_current_user, get_current_user_or_apikey
 
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/auth", tags=["Auth"])
 
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class PermissionIntrospectionResponse(BaseModel):
 
 @router.get("/me/permissions", response_model=PermissionIntrospectionResponse)
 async def get_my_permissions(
-    current_user: models.User = Depends(get_current_user),
+    current_user: models.User = Depends(get_current_user_or_apikey),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ):
     """Return the current user's effective permissions for CLI help introspection."""
diff --git a/app/api/routers/projects.py b/app/api/routers/projects.py
index 8469939..8a371b0 100644
--- a/app/api/routers/projects.py
+++ b/app/api/routers/projects.py
@@ -153,9 +153,27 @@ def _generate_project_code(db, name: str) -> str:
 
 @router.post("", response_model=schemas.ProjectResponse, status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
 def create_project(project: schemas.ProjectCreate, db: Session = Depends(get_db), current_user: models.User = Depends(get_current_user_or_apikey)):
-    # Check if user is admin
+    # Project creation is gated by the `project.create` global permission
+    # (admin auto-grants by virtue of is_admin). Any role granted that perm
+    # via the Role Editor can create projects.
     if not current_user.is_admin:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Only admins can create projects")
+        from app.models.role_permission import Permission, RolePermission
+        has = (
+            db.query(Permission.id)
+            .join(RolePermission, RolePermission.permission_id == Permission.id)
+            .filter(
+                RolePermission.role_id == current_user.role_id,
+                Permission.name == "project.create",
+            )
+            .first()
+            if current_user.role_id
+            else None
+        )
+        if not has:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=403,
+                detail="Permission denied: project.create required",
+            )
     # Auto-fill owner_name from owner_id
     user = db.query(models.User).filter(models.User.id == project.owner_id).first()
     if not user:
diff --git a/app/init_bootstrap.py b/app/init_bootstrap.py
index 3601bce..f1ddcf0 100644
--- a/app/init_bootstrap.py
+++ b/app/init_bootstrap.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ DEFAULT_PERMISSIONS = [
     # Project permissions
     ("project.read", "View project", "project"),
     ("project.write", "Edit project", "project"),
+    ("project.create", "Create a project", "project"),
     ("project.delete", "Delete project", "project"),
     ("project.manage_members", "Manage project members", "project"),
     # Task/Milestone permissions
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@ def init_default_permissions(db: Session) -> list[Permission]:
 # Default roles + permission set per role
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 _MGR_PERMISSIONS = {
-    "project.read", "project.write", "project.manage_members",
+    "project.read", "project.write", "project.create", "project.manage_members",
     "task.create", "task.read", "task.write", "task.delete",
     "milestone.create", "milestone.read", "milestone.write", "milestone.delete",
     "milestone.freeze", "milestone.start", "milestone.close",