diff --git a/backend/src/handlers/mod.rs b/backend/src/handlers/mod.rs
index fd059f2..9abb378 100644
--- a/backend/src/handlers/mod.rs
+++ b/backend/src/handlers/mod.rs
@@ -9,3 +9,4 @@ pub mod llm_logs;
 pub mod settings;
 pub mod sources;
 pub mod syntheses;
+pub mod themes;
diff --git a/backend/src/handlers/themes.rs b/backend/src/handlers/themes.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e93157
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/handlers/themes.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+//! Themes handlers.
+//!
+//! - `GET /api/v1/themes` — list user's themes
+//! - `POST /api/v1/themes` — create a theme
+//! - `PUT /api/v1/themes/:id` — update a theme (partial)
+//! - `DELETE /api/v1/themes/:id` — delete a theme (ownership check)
+
+use axum::extract::{Path, State};
+use axum::http::StatusCode;
+use axum::response::IntoResponse;
+use axum::Json;
+use uuid::Uuid;
+
+use crate::app_state::AppState;
+use crate::db;
+use crate::errors::AppError;
+use crate::middleware::auth::AuthUser;
+use crate::models::theme::{CreateThemeRequest, ThemeResponse, UpdateThemeRequest};
+
+/// `GET /api/v1/themes`
+///
+/// Returns all themes belonging to the authenticated user,
+/// ordered by creation date (oldest first).
+pub async fn list(
+    auth_user: AuthUser,
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+) -> Result<impl IntoResponse, AppError> {
+    let themes = db::themes::list_for_user(&state.pool, auth_user.id).await?;
+    let response: Vec<ThemeResponse> = themes
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(ThemeResponse::try_from)
+        .collect::<Result<_, _>>()?;
+    Ok(Json(response))
+}
+
+/// `POST /api/v1/themes`
+///
+/// Creates a theme for the authenticated user.
+/// Validates the request fields before inserting.
+pub async fn create(
+    auth_user: AuthUser,
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+    Json(body): Json<CreateThemeRequest>,
+) -> Result<impl IntoResponse, AppError> {
+    body.validate().map_err(AppError::Validation)?;
+
+    let categories = serde_json::to_value(&body.categories)
+        .map_err(|e| AppError::Internal(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to serialize categories: {}", e)))?;
+
+    let theme = db::themes::create(
+        &state.pool,
+        auth_user.id,
+        &body.name,
+        &body.theme,
+        &categories,
+        body.max_items_per_category.unwrap_or(5),
+        body.max_age_days.unwrap_or(7),
+        body.summary_length.unwrap_or(2),
+    )
+    .await?;
+
+    tracing::info!(user_id = %auth_user.id, theme_id = %theme.id, "Theme created");
+
+    let response = ThemeResponse::try_from(theme)?;
+    Ok((StatusCode::CREATED, Json(response)))
+}
+
+/// `PUT /api/v1/themes/:id`
+///
+/// Partially updates a theme by ID. Returns 404 if the theme doesn't exist
+/// or doesn't belong to the current user.
+pub async fn update(
+    auth_user: AuthUser,
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+    Path(id): Path<Uuid>,
+    Json(body): Json<UpdateThemeRequest>,
+) -> Result<impl IntoResponse, AppError> {
+    let categories = body
+        .categories
+        .as_ref()
+        .map(|cats| {
+            serde_json::to_value(cats)
+                .map_err(|e| AppError::Internal(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to serialize categories: {}", e)))
+        })
+        .transpose()?;
+
+    let theme = db::themes::update(
+        &state.pool,
+        auth_user.id,
+        id,
+        body.name.as_deref(),
+        body.theme.as_deref(),
+        categories.as_ref(),
+        body.max_items_per_category,
+        body.max_age_days,
+        body.summary_length,
+    )
+    .await?;
+
+    match theme {
+        Some(t) => {
+            tracing::info!(user_id = %auth_user.id, theme_id = %id, "Theme updated");
+            Ok(Json(ThemeResponse::try_from(t)?))
+        }
+        None => Err(AppError::NotFound("Theme not found".into())),
+    }
+}
+
+/// `DELETE /api/v1/themes/:id`
+///
+/// Deletes a theme by ID. Returns 404 (not 403) if the theme doesn't exist
+/// or doesn't belong to the current user, to avoid leaking information about
+/// other users' themes.
+pub async fn delete(
+    auth_user: AuthUser,
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+    Path(id): Path<Uuid>,
+) -> Result<impl IntoResponse, AppError> {
+    let deleted = db::themes::delete(&state.pool, auth_user.id, id).await?;
+
+    if !deleted {
+        return Err(AppError::NotFound("Theme not found".into()));
+    }
+
+    tracing::info!(user_id = %auth_user.id, theme_id = %id, "Theme deleted");
+    Ok(StatusCode::NO_CONTENT)
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/router.rs b/backend/src/router.rs
index 81b2b12..12d8fbd 100644
--- a/backend/src/router.rs
+++ b/backend/src/router.rs
@@ -37,6 +37,11 @@ pub fn build_router(state: AppState, config: &AppConfig) -> Router {
         // Settings routes (authenticated)
         .route("/settings", get(handlers::settings::get_settings))
         .route("/settings", put(handlers::settings::update_settings))
+        // Themes routes (authenticated)
+        .route("/themes", get(handlers::themes::list))
+        .route("/themes", post(handlers::themes::create))
+        .route("/themes/{id}", put(handlers::themes::update))
+        .route("/themes/{id}", delete(handlers::themes::delete))
         // Sources routes (authenticated)
         .route("/sources", get(handlers::sources::list))
         .route("/sources", post(handlers::sources::create))