diff --git a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/activities/activities.ts b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/activities/activities.ts
index 34b1b81301..1c1107cc7c 100644
--- a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/activities/activities.ts
+++ b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/activities/activities.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+  findProjectCatalogById,
   findProjectCatalogPendingEvaluation,
   promoteProjectsToEvaluate,
   updateProjectCatalog,
@@ -43,6 +44,17 @@ export async function evaluateAndUpdateProject(project: IDbProjectCatalog): Prom
   const qx = pgpQx(svc.postgres.writer.connection())
   const startTime = Date.now()
 
+  // Guard: fetch fresh state to ensure the API is called at most once per project.
+  // Uses the writer connection to avoid replica lag missing a just-written evaluatedAt.
+  const fresh = await findProjectCatalogById(qx, project.id)
+  if (fresh?.evaluatedAt) {
+    log.info(
+      { id: project.id, repoUrl: project.repoUrl, evaluatedAt: fresh.evaluatedAt },
+      'Project already evaluated, skipping API call.',
+    )
+    return
+  }
+
   log.info({ id: project.id, repoUrl: project.repoUrl }, 'Starting evaluation.')
 
   const result = await evaluateProject({
@@ -56,6 +68,8 @@ export async function evaluateAndUpdateProject(project: IDbProjectCatalog): Prom
 
   await updateProjectCatalog(qx, project.id, {
     action: result.outcome,
+    evaluationResult: result.evaluationResult,
+    evaluationReason: result.evaluationReason,
     evaluatedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
   })
 
@@ -66,7 +80,8 @@ export async function evaluateAndUpdateProject(project: IDbProjectCatalog): Prom
       id: project.id,
       repoUrl: project.repoUrl,
       outcome: result.outcome,
-      reason: result.reason,
+      evaluationResult: result.evaluationResult,
+      evaluationReason: result.evaluationReason,
       elapsedSeconds,
     },
     'Evaluation complete.',
diff --git a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/evaluator.ts b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/evaluator.ts
index d865a4be1f..30fd627694 100644
--- a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/evaluator.ts
+++ b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/evaluator.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,86 @@
 import { IEvaluationInput, IEvaluationResult } from './types'
 
-// TODO: Replace with the actual AI evaluation algorithm once the external repo is integrated.
-// The algorithm is described in the technical spec and currently takes ~30-40s per project
-// at ~$0.15/project. Reference: https://github.com/... (link TBD).
+interface IApiResponseContent {
+  onboard: boolean
+  non_onboard_reason?: string
+}
+
 export async function evaluateProject(input: IEvaluationInput): Promise<IEvaluationResult> {
-  console.error(`evaluateProject is not implemented yet for repo: ${input.repoUrl}`)
-  return { outcome: 'unsure', reason: 'evaluator not implemented' }
+  const endpoint = process.env.CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_ENDPOINT
+  const userId = process.env.CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_USER_ID
+  const secret = process.env.CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_SECRET
+
+  if (!endpoint || !userId || !secret) {
+    return {
+      outcome: 'unsure',
+      evaluationResult: 'error',
+      evaluationReason:
+        'Missing API configuration: CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_ENDPOINT, CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_USER_ID, or CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_SECRET',
+    }
+  }
+
+  const body = new URLSearchParams()
+  body.append('message', JSON.stringify({ repo_url: input.repoUrl }))
+  body.append('stream', 'false')
+  body.append('user_id', userId)
+
+  let response: Response
+  try {
+    response = await fetch(endpoint, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: {
+        'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
+        Authorization: `Bearer ${secret}`,
+      },
+      body,
+    })
+  } catch (err) {
+    const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+    return {
+      outcome: 'unsure',
+      evaluationResult: 'error',
+      evaluationReason: `API request failed: ${message}`,
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    return {
+      outcome: 'unsure',
+      evaluationResult: 'error',
+      evaluationReason: `API returned HTTP ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`,
+    }
+  }
+
+  let responseBody: unknown
+  try {
+    responseBody = await response.json()
+  } catch (err) {
+    const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+    return {
+      outcome: 'unsure',
+      evaluationResult: 'error',
+      evaluationReason: `Failed to parse API response: ${message}`,
+    }
+  }
+
+  const content = (responseBody as { content?: unknown } | null)?.content
+  if (
+    !content ||
+    typeof content !== 'object' ||
+    typeof (content as IApiResponseContent).onboard !== 'boolean'
+  ) {
+    return {
+      outcome: 'unsure',
+      evaluationResult: 'error',
+      evaluationReason: `Unexpected API response shape: ${JSON.stringify(responseBody)}`,
+    }
+  }
+
+  const { onboard, non_onboard_reason } = content as IApiResponseContent
+
+  return {
+    outcome: onboard ? 'onboard' : 'skip',
+    evaluationResult: String(onboard),
+    evaluationReason: non_onboard_reason ?? null,
+  }
 }
diff --git a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/types.ts b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/types.ts
index b74ff2c516..03851f2d65 100644
--- a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/types.ts
+++ b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/evaluator/types.ts
@@ -9,10 +9,11 @@ export interface IEvaluationInput {
   source: string | null
 }
 
-// Evaluation can only resolve to 'onboard' or 'unsure' — never back to 'evaluate' or 'auto'.
-export type EvaluationOutcome = Extract<ProjectCatalogAction, 'onboard' | 'unsure'>
+// Evaluation can only resolve to 'onboard', 'skip', or 'unsure' — never back to 'evaluate' or 'auto'.
+export type EvaluationOutcome = Extract<ProjectCatalogAction, 'onboard' | 'skip' | 'unsure'>
 
 export interface IEvaluationResult {
   outcome: EvaluationOutcome
-  reason: string
+  evaluationResult: string
+  evaluationReason: string | null
 }
diff --git a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/main.ts b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/main.ts
index e76c155fab..11ae5e6f13 100644
--- a/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/main.ts
+++ b/services/apps/projects_evaluation_worker/src/main.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,11 @@ import { Options, ServiceWorker } from '@crowd/archetype-worker'
 import { scheduleProjectsEvaluation } from './schedules/scheduleProjectsEvaluation'
 
 const config: Config = {
-  envvars: [],
+  envvars: [
+    'CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_ENDPOINT',
+    'CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_USER_ID',
+    'CROWD_PROJECT_EVALUATION_API_SECRET',
+  ],
   producer: {
     enabled: false,
   },
diff --git a/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/projectCatalog.ts b/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/projectCatalog.ts
index 1643c3b352..08bed850e6 100644
--- a/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/projectCatalog.ts
+++ b/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/projectCatalog.ts
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ export async function upsertProjectCatalog(
       "repoName" = EXCLUDED."repoName",
       "source" = COALESCE(EXCLUDED."source", "projectCatalog"."source"),
       "action" = CASE
-        WHEN "projectCatalog"."action" IN ('onboard', 'unsure') THEN "projectCatalog"."action"
+        WHEN "projectCatalog"."action" IN ('onboard', 'skip', 'unsure') THEN "projectCatalog"."action"
         WHEN EXCLUDED.action = 'evaluate' THEN 'evaluate'
         ELSE "projectCatalog"."action"
       END,
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@ export async function bulkUpsertProjectCatalog(
       "repoName" = EXCLUDED."repoName",
       "source" = COALESCE(EXCLUDED."source", "projectCatalog"."source"),
       "action" = CASE
-        WHEN "projectCatalog"."action" IN ('onboard', 'unsure') THEN "projectCatalog"."action"
+        WHEN "projectCatalog"."action" IN ('onboard', 'skip', 'unsure') THEN "projectCatalog"."action"
         WHEN EXCLUDED.action = 'evaluate' THEN 'evaluate'
         ELSE "projectCatalog"."action"
       END,
diff --git a/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/types.ts b/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/types.ts
index e54da5c1b3..69d93254be 100644
--- a/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/types.ts
+++ b/services/libs/data-access-layer/src/project-catalog/types.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-export type ProjectCatalogAction = 'auto' | 'evaluate' | 'onboard' | 'unsure'
+export type ProjectCatalogAction = 'auto' | 'evaluate' | 'onboard' | 'skip' | 'unsure'
 
 export interface IDbProjectCatalog {
   id: string