diff --git a/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler.go b/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler.go
index 6e7e8e7..733b4ed 100644
--- a/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler.go
+++ b/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler.go
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 package discovery
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
@@ -12,11 +15,18 @@ import (
 )
 
 type Handler struct {
-	service *Service
+	service         *Service
+	crawlMu         sync.Mutex
+	crawlLastManual time.Time
+	crawlRateLimit  time.Duration
 }
 
-func NewHandler(s *Service) *Handler {
-	return &Handler{service: s}
+func NewHandler(s *Service, manualRateLimitPerHour int) *Handler {
+	rl := time.Hour
+	if manualRateLimitPerHour > 1 {
+		rl = time.Hour / time.Duration(manualRateLimitPerHour)
+	}
+	return &Handler{service: s, crawlRateLimit: rl}
 }
 
 func (h *Handler) Tick(c *gin.Context) {
@@ -30,6 +40,41 @@ func (h *Handler) Tick(c *gin.Context) {
 	c.JSON(http.StatusOK, gin.H{"data": summary})
 }
 
+// Crawl runs the crawler once and returns CrawlSummary. A per-process mutex
+// blocks concurrent runs. The manual-admin rate limit is bypassed when
+// "crawl_bypass_rate_limit" is set in the gin context (set by the bearer-token
+// middleware path).
+func (h *Handler) Crawl(c *gin.Context) {
+	if !h.crawlMu.TryLock() {
+		apiErr := apierror.TooManyRequests("A crawler run is already in progress")
+		c.JSON(apiErr.Status, apierror.NewResponse(apiErr))
+		return
+	}
+	defer h.crawlMu.Unlock()
+
+	if _, bypass := c.Get("crawl_bypass_rate_limit"); !bypass {
+		if since := time.Since(h.crawlLastManual); since < h.crawlRateLimit {
+			retryIn := (h.crawlRateLimit - since).Seconds()
+			c.Header("Retry-After", fmt.Sprint(int(retryIn)+1))
+			apiErr := apierror.TooManyRequests(
+				fmt.Sprintf("Manual crawl rate-limited; try again in ~%.0fs", retryIn),
+			)
+			c.JSON(apiErr.Status, apierror.NewResponse(apiErr))
+			return
+		}
+		h.crawlLastManual = time.Now()
+	}
+
+	summary, err := h.service.Crawl(c.Request.Context())
+	if err != nil {
+		slog.ErrorContext(c.Request.Context(), "discovery crawl failed", "error", err)
+		apiErr := apierror.Internal("crawl failed")
+		c.JSON(apiErr.Status, apierror.NewResponse(apiErr))
+		return
+	}
+	c.JSON(http.StatusOK, gin.H{"data": summary})
+}
+
 func (h *Handler) Stats(c *gin.Context) {
 	s, err := h.service.Stats(c.Request.Context())
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler_test.go b/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9c19ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/internal/domain/discovery/handler_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+package discovery
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+
+	"marktvogt.de/backend/internal/domain/discovery/crawler"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	gin.SetMode(gin.TestMode)
+}
+
+// blockingCrawlerRunner blocks until its ctx is cancelled.
+type blockingCrawlerRunner struct {
+	started chan struct{}
+}
+
+func (b *blockingCrawlerRunner) RunAll(ctx context.Context) (crawler.CrawlResult, error) {
+	close(b.started)
+	<-ctx.Done()
+	return crawler.CrawlResult{}, ctx.Err()
+}
+
+// TestCrawlHandlerMutexReentry verifies that a second concurrent Crawl request
+// gets HTTP 429 while the first is still running.
+func TestCrawlHandlerMutexReentry(t *testing.T) {
+	bc := &blockingCrawlerRunner{started: make(chan struct{})}
+	svc := NewServiceWithCrawler(newMockRepo(), bc, noopLinkVerifier{}, noopMarketCreator{})
+	h := NewHandler(svc, 1)
+
+	// First request — runs in a goroutine so the handler blocks.
+	w1 := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	c1, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w1)
+	ctx1, cancel1 := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel1()
+	c1.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/admin/discovery/crawl", nil).WithContext(ctx1)
+	c1.Set("crawl_bypass_rate_limit", true) // bypass rate limit; test only mutex
+
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	wg.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		h.Crawl(c1)
+	}()
+
+	// Wait until the blocking crawler has started and holds the mutex.
+	<-bc.started
+
+	// Second request — should see 429 because mutex is held.
+	w2 := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	c2, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w2)
+	c2.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/admin/discovery/crawl", nil)
+	c2.Set("crawl_bypass_rate_limit", true)
+
+	h.Crawl(c2)
+
+	if w2.Code != http.StatusTooManyRequests {
+		t.Errorf("expected 429 from second concurrent request, got %d", w2.Code)
+	}
+
+	// Cancel the first request so the goroutine can unblock.
+	cancel1()
+	wg.Wait()
+}
+
+// TestCrawlHandlerRateLimit verifies that a second manual (non-bypass) request
+// within the rate limit window returns 429 with Retry-After.
+func TestCrawlHandlerRateLimit(t *testing.T) {
+	// Use an instant-returning crawler so the mutex is released quickly.
+	svc := NewServiceWithCrawler(
+		newMockRepo(),
+		&stubCrawlerRunner{result: crawler.CrawlResult{}},
+		noopLinkVerifier{},
+		noopMarketCreator{},
+	)
+	// Set a long rate limit (1 per hour = 1h window).
+	h := NewHandler(svc, 1)
+
+	doRequest := func(bypass bool) *httptest.ResponseRecorder {
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+		c.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/admin/discovery/crawl-manual", nil)
+		if bypass {
+			c.Set("crawl_bypass_rate_limit", true)
+		}
+		h.Crawl(c)
+		return w
+	}
+
+	// First request — not bypassed. Should succeed (200).
+	w1 := doRequest(false)
+	if w1.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("first request: expected 200, got %d body=%s", w1.Code, w1.Body.String())
+	}
+
+	// Second request immediately after — should be rate-limited (429).
+	w2 := doRequest(false)
+	if w2.Code != http.StatusTooManyRequests {
+		t.Errorf("second request: expected 429, got %d body=%s", w2.Code, w2.Body.String())
+	}
+	if w2.Header().Get("Retry-After") == "" {
+		t.Error("second request: expected Retry-After header to be set")
+	}
+
+	// Bypassed request should succeed even within the window.
+	w3 := doRequest(true)
+	if w3.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("bypass request: expected 200, got %d body=%s", w3.Code, w3.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestCrawlHandlerRateLimitResets verifies that a manual request succeeds once
+// the rate limit window has elapsed.
+func TestCrawlHandlerRateLimitResets(t *testing.T) {
+	svc := NewServiceWithCrawler(
+		newMockRepo(),
+		&stubCrawlerRunner{result: crawler.CrawlResult{}},
+		noopLinkVerifier{},
+		noopMarketCreator{},
+	)
+	h := NewHandler(svc, 1)
+
+	// Force crawlLastManual to well in the past so the window has expired.
+	h.crawlLastManual = time.Now().Add(-2 * time.Hour)
+
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	c, _ := gin.CreateTestContext(w)
+	c.Request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/admin/discovery/crawl-manual", nil)
+	h.Crawl(c)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("expected 200 after window reset, got %d body=%s", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+
+	var resp map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.NewDecoder(w.Body).Decode(&resp); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("response body not valid JSON: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, ok := resp["data"]; !ok {
+		t.Error("expected 'data' key in response body")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/internal/domain/discovery/routes.go b/backend/internal/domain/discovery/routes.go
index 2a1311b..d2db32d 100644
--- a/backend/internal/domain/discovery/routes.go
+++ b/backend/internal/domain/discovery/routes.go
@@ -12,7 +12,13 @@ func RegisterRoutes(
 	// Machine-driven tick (bearer token).
 	rg.POST("/admin/discovery/tick", requireTickToken, h.Tick)
 
-	// Admin-session queue routes.
+	// Machine-driven crawl (bearer token; bypasses manual rate limit).
+	rg.POST("/admin/discovery/crawl", requireTickToken, func(c *gin.Context) {
+		c.Set("crawl_bypass_rate_limit", true)
+		h.Crawl(c)
+	})
+
+	// Admin-session routes (queue mgmt + manual crawl trigger).
 	admin := rg.Group("/admin/discovery", requireAuth, requireAdmin)
 	{
 		admin.GET("/stats", h.Stats)
@@ -20,5 +26,7 @@ func RegisterRoutes(
 		admin.PATCH("/queue/:id", h.Update)
 		admin.POST("/queue/:id/accept", h.Accept)
 		admin.POST("/queue/:id/reject", h.Reject)
+		// Manual crawl trigger — subject to hourly rate limit.
+		admin.POST("/crawl-manual", h.Crawl)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/backend/internal/server/routes.go b/backend/internal/server/routes.go
index 1ddb409..4989fd7 100644
--- a/backend/internal/server/routes.go
+++ b/backend/internal/server/routes.go
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func (s *Server) registerRoutes() {
 		s.cfg.Discovery.BatchSize,
 		s.cfg.Discovery.ForwardMonths,
 	)
-	discoveryHandler := discovery.NewHandler(discoveryService)
+	discoveryHandler := discovery.NewHandler(discoveryService, 1)
 	requireTickToken := middleware.RequireBearerToken(s.cfg.Discovery.Token)
 	discovery.RegisterRoutes(v1, discoveryHandler, requireAuth, requireAdmin, requireTickToken)
 }