diff --git a/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/scripts/ensure_auth_email_bearer.php b/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/scripts/ensure_auth_email_bearer.php
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b29228e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/scripts/ensure_auth_email_bearer.php
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env php83
+<?php
+declare(strict_types=1);
+/** Ensure system bearer for auth-email outbound short links. Prints bearer_id on stdout. */
+require __DIR__ . '/../src/bootstrap.php';
+
+if (!UrlShortenerDatabase::enabled() || !UrlShortenerDatabase::ping()) {
+    fwrite(STDERR, "url_shortener unavailable\n");
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+foreach (ShortLinksRepository::listBearers() as $b) {
+    if (!empty($b['revoked_at'])) {
+        continue;
+    }
+    $label = strtolower((string) ($b['label'] ?? ''));
+    if (str_contains($label, 'auth-email') || str_contains($label, 'auth_email')) {
+        echo (int) ($b['id'] ?? 0), "\n";
+        exit(0);
+    }
+}
+
+$mint = ShortLinksRepository::mintBearer('auth-email-system', true, false, 5000);
+if (empty($mint['ok'])) {
+    fwrite(STDERR, 'mint failed: ' . ($mint['error'] ?? '?') . "\n");
+    exit(1);
+}
+echo (int) $mint['bearer_id'], "\n";
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/AuthMailer.php b/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/AuthMailer.php
index c6d3168..eb9e6cf 100644
--- a/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/AuthMailer.php
+++ b/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/AuthMailer.php
@@ -18,7 +18,10 @@ final class AuthMailer {
 
     public static function sendVerifyEmail(string $to, string $verifyUrl): bool {
         $subject = 'Verify your Android Cast account';
-        $body = "Open this link to verify your email (valid 24h):\n\n" . $verifyUrl . "\n";
+        $link = class_exists('ShortLinksRepository', false)
+            ? ShortLinksRepository::shortenForOutbound($verifyUrl, 86400)
+            : $verifyUrl;
+        $body = "Open this link to verify your email (valid 24h):\n\n" . $link . "\n";
         return self::send($to, $subject, $body);
     }
 
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/ShortLinksRepository.php b/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/ShortLinksRepository.php
index 6e8997d..039b109 100644
--- a/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/ShortLinksRepository.php
+++ b/sim/cluster0/lab-seeds/backend/src/ShortLinksRepository.php
@@ -478,4 +478,44 @@ final class ShortLinksRepository {
         );
         $stmt->execute([$event, $bearerId, $slug, $ip, $detail]);
     }
+
+    /** Outbound mail/SMS — shorten our URLs; fall back to long URL on failure. */
+    public static function shortenForOutbound(string $longUrl, int $ttlSeconds = 86400): string {
+        $longUrl = trim($longUrl);
+        if ($longUrl === '' || !UrlShortenerDatabase::enabled() || !UrlShortenerDatabase::ping()) {
+            return $longUrl;
+        }
+        $bearerId = self::resolveOutboundBearerId();
+        if ($bearerId <= 0) {
+            return $longUrl;
+        }
+        $mint = self::createLink($bearerId, $longUrl, $ttlSeconds);
+        if (empty($mint['ok']) || empty($mint['short_url'])) {
+            error_log('ShortLinksRepository: outbound shorten failed');
+            return $longUrl;
+        }
+        return (string) $mint['short_url'];
+    }
+
+    private static function resolveOutboundBearerId(): int {
+        $cfgId = (int) cfg('url_shortener.auth_bearer_id', 0);
+        if ($cfgId > 0 && self::findBearerById($cfgId) !== null) {
+            return $cfgId;
+        }
+        foreach (self::listBearers() as $b) {
+            if (!empty($b['revoked_at'])) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            $label = strtolower((string) ($b['label'] ?? ''));
+            if (str_contains($label, 'auth-email') || str_contains($label, 'auth_email')) {
+                return (int) ($b['id'] ?? 0);
+            }
+        }
+        foreach (self::listBearers() as $b) {
+            if (empty($b['revoked_at']) && !empty($b['can_temporary'])) {
+                return (int) ($b['id'] ?? 0);
+            }
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/populate_lab_setup.sh b/sim/cluster0/populate_lab_setup.sh
index 1ae730b..c4ac86b 100644
--- a/sim/cluster0/populate_lab_setup.sh
+++ b/sim/cluster0/populate_lab_setup.sh
@@ -73,6 +73,10 @@ run_phase_app() {
   run_script "$ROOT/scripts/deploy-ac-url-shortener.sh"
   if [ "${COMPOSE_RUNTIME:-0}" = "1" ]; then
     run_script "$ROOT/scripts/compose-lab-backend.sh"
+    if is_primary_node; then
+      run_script "$ROOT/scripts/ensure-auth-email-bearer.sh" || journal_warn auth_bearer "mint failed"
+      run_script "$ROOT/scripts/compose-lab-backend.sh"
+    fi
   fi
   if [ "${POSTGRES_SEMI_ENABLE:-0}" = "1" ] && is_primary_node; then
     run_script "$ROOT/scripts/deploy-postgres-semi.sh" || journal_warn postgres_semi "install failed (non-fatal)"
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/scripts/compose-lab-backend.sh b/sim/cluster0/scripts/compose-lab-backend.sh
index 8b76555..4470db2 100755
--- a/sim/cluster0/scripts/compose-lab-backend.sh
+++ b/sim/cluster0/scripts/compose-lab-backend.sh
@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ if [ -n "$_MSMTP_PASS" ]; then
   MAIL_FROM="${MAIL_FROM:-Android Cast <bestcastr@gmail.com>}"
 fi
 unset _MSMTP_PASS
+AUTH_BEARER_ID="$(read_secret URL_SHORTENER_AUTH_BEARER_ID 2>/dev/null || true)"
+[ -n "$AUTH_BEARER_ID" ] || AUTH_BEARER_ID="${URL_SHORTENER_AUTH_BEARER_ID:-0}"
 mkdir -p "${COMPOSED}/config"
 log "write composed config.php base_path=${ISSUES_BASE}"
 cat > "${COMPOSED}/config/config.php" <<PHP
@@ -174,6 +176,7 @@ return [
     'url_shortener' => [
         'enabled' => true,
         'public_base' => '${SHORT_LINKS_PUBLIC_BASE}',
+        'auth_bearer_id' => ${AUTH_BEARER_ID:-0},
         'db' => [
             'mysql' => [
                 'host' => '${DB_HOST}',
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/scripts/ensure-auth-email-bearer.sh b/sim/cluster0/scripts/ensure-auth-email-bearer.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3482ad4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sim/cluster0/scripts/ensure-auth-email-bearer.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Mint auth-email bearer for outbound mail short links; store id in secrets + config.
+set -eu
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+# shellcheck source=/dev/null
+. "$ROOT/scripts/lib/common.sh"
+load_cluster_env
+
+COMPOSED="${COMPOSE_BACKEND:-/var/www/ac/composed/backend}"
+SCRIPT="${COMPOSED}/scripts/ensure_auth_email_bearer.php"
+[ -f "$SCRIPT" ] || SCRIPT="${ROOT}/lab-seeds/backend/scripts/ensure_auth_email_bearer.php"
+[ -f "$SCRIPT" ] || die "ensure_auth_email_bearer.php missing"
+
+BEARER_ID="$(php83 "$SCRIPT" 2>/dev/null | tail -1)"
+[ -n "$BEARER_ID" ] && [ "$BEARER_ID" -gt 0 ] 2>/dev/null || die "could not mint auth-email bearer"
+
+SECRETS="${CAST_CLUSTER_ROOT}/secrets.lab.env"
+if [ -f "$SECRETS" ]; then
+  grep -v '^URL_SHORTENER_AUTH_BEARER_ID=' "$SECRETS" > /tmp/secrets.new || true
+  echo "URL_SHORTENER_AUTH_BEARER_ID=${BEARER_ID}" >> /tmp/secrets.new
+  mv /tmp/secrets.new "$SECRETS"
+  chmod 600 "$SECRETS"
+fi
+log "ensure-auth-email-bearer_ok id=${BEARER_ID}"
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/scripts/lib/common.sh b/sim/cluster0/scripts/lib/common.sh
index 76bf46d..b4ef57d 100644
--- a/sim/cluster0/scripts/lib/common.sh
+++ b/sim/cluster0/scripts/lib/common.sh
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ load_secrets_lab() {
         _k="${_line%%=*}"
         _v="${_line#*=}"
         case "$_k" in
-          MAIL_*|MSMTP_*|SMTP_*|AUTH_*|GITEA_*|WG_*|RSSH_*)
+          MAIL_*|MSMTP_*|SMTP_*|AUTH_*|GITEA_*|WG_*|RSSH_*|URL_SHORTENER_*)
             export "$_k=$_v"
             ;;
         esac
diff --git a/sim/cluster0/scripts/verify-mail-lab.sh b/sim/cluster0/scripts/verify-mail-lab.sh
index 67281ba..2e7df8b 100755
--- a/sim/cluster0/scripts/verify-mail-lab.sh
+++ b/sim/cluster0/scripts/verify-mail-lab.sh
@@ -16,16 +16,19 @@ COMPOSED="${COMPOSE_BACKEND:-/var/www/ac/composed/backend}"
 export MAIL_TEST_TO="$TO"
 PHP="${PHP_BIN:-php83}"
 command -v "$PHP" >/dev/null 2>&1 || PHP=php
+_origin="${LAB_PUBLIC_ORIGIN:-https://acl0.f0xx.org}"
+_token="lab-smoke-$(date +%s)"
+_long="${_origin%/}/app/androidcast_project/issues/verify-email?token=${_token}"
+export MAIL_TEST_LONG="$_long"
 _out="$("$PHP" -r '
 require "'"${COMPOSED}"'/src/bootstrap.php";
 $to = getenv("MAIL_TEST_TO") ?: "";
-$origin = rtrim((string) cfg("public_origin", "https://acl0.f0xx.org"), "/");
-$base = rtrim((string) cfg("base_path", ""), "/");
-$ok = AuthMailer::sendVerifyEmail($to, $origin . $base . "/verify-email?token=lab-smoke");
+$long = getenv("MAIL_TEST_LONG") ?: "";
+$ok = AuthMailer::sendVerifyEmail($to, $long);
 echo $ok ? "mail_ok" : "mail_fail";
 ' 2>&1)" || _out="mail_fail"
 
-log "$_out to=$TO"
+log "$_out to=$TO long=$_long"
 case "$_out" in
   mail_ok) exit 0 ;;
   *) exit 1 ;;