diff --git a/api/_supabase.ts b/api/_supabase.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e8e7894f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/_supabase.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { createClient } from "@supabase/supabase-js";
+
+const SUPABASE_URL = process.env.SUPABASE_URL || process.env.VITE_SUPABASE_URL || "";
+const SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE = process.env.SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE || "";
+
+export function getAdminClient() {
+  if (!SUPABASE_URL) throw new Error("SUPABASE_URL not set");
+  if (!SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE) throw new Error("SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE not set");
+  return createClient(SUPABASE_URL, SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE, {
+    auth: { autoRefreshToken: false, persistSession: false },
+  });
+}