diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3e78e6b..ab4b10b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ Note that 0.3.3 was never released; 0.3.4 follows 0.3.2.
 
 ### Added
 
+- `CacheManager.add(key, value, ttl=None) -> bool` stores a JSON-serializable
+  application value only when the key is free, using the same prefix,
+  encoding and `default_ttl` as `set()`, and delegating to
+  `backend.set_if_absent` so the claim is atomic on Memory, Redis and
+  Memcached. ([#65](https://github.com/allen0099/FastAPI-CacheX/issues/65))
 - `BaseCacheBackend.set_if_absent(key, value, ttl=None) -> bool` and
   `delete_if_equals(key, expected) -> bool`, the atomic pair for locks and
   per-user slots: claim a key only when it is free, and release it only while
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 13e9531..8b88582 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -229,6 +229,9 @@ await manager.clear_prefix()  # clear everything under "myapp:"
 # undecodable. It may be sync or async.
 profile = await manager.get_or_set("user:42", lambda: load_user(42), ttl=300)
 
+# Store only if the key is still free (atomic on Memory, Redis, Memcached).
+claimed = await manager.add("webhook:evt-123", True, ttl=86400)
+
 # Glob over this manager's namespace, using the backend's native pattern
 # support (Redis SCAN) rather than enumerating every key.
 await manager.clear_pattern("user:*")  # matches "myapp:user:*"
@@ -244,7 +247,7 @@ entries.
 **Note**: `clear()`/`clear_prefix()` are implemented via the backend's
 `get_all_keys()` and `delete_many()` (one batched `DEL` on Redis). Since Memcached doesn't support key enumeration (see
 [Memcached limitations](#memcached)), these two methods are no-ops on a
-Memcached backend — `get()`/`set()`/`delete()`/`has()` work normally. Use
+Memcached backend — `get()`/`set()`/`add()`/`delete()`/`has()` work normally. Use
 Redis or the in-memory backend if you need bulk clearing.
 
 ## Backend Configuration
diff --git a/fastapi_cachex/manager.py b/fastapi_cachex/manager.py
index 7bba2ea..4f648b0 100644
--- a/fastapi_cachex/manager.py
+++ b/fastapi_cachex/manager.py
@@ -91,6 +91,41 @@ async def set(self, key: str, value: Any, ttl: int | None = None) -> None:
         await self.backend.set(self._cache_key(key), entry, ttl=effective_ttl)
         logger.debug("Cache SET; key=%s ttl=%s", key, effective_ttl)
 
+    async def add(self, key: str, value: Any, ttl: int | None = None) -> bool:
+        """Store ``value`` only when ``key`` does not already exist.
+
+        Same key prefix, JSON encoding and ``default_ttl`` handling as
+        ``set()``. Delegates to ``backend.set_if_absent`` so the claim is
+        atomic on Memory, Redis and Memcached.
+
+        Args:
+            key: Logical cache key (without the manager's prefix).
+            value: A JSON-serializable Python value.
+            ttl: Time-to-live in seconds. If None, uses ``self.default_ttl``
+                (which itself defaults to no expiry).
+
+        Returns:
+            True if the value was stored, False if ``key`` already existed.
+
+        Raises:
+            TypeError: If ``value`` is not JSON-serializable.
+        """
+        effective_ttl = ttl if ttl is not None else self.default_ttl
+
+        json_content = json.dumps(value)
+        fingerprint = hashlib.sha256(json_content.encode()).hexdigest()
+        entry = CacheEntry(
+            fingerprint=fingerprint, content=json_content.encode("utf-8")
+        )
+
+        stored = await self.backend.set_if_absent(
+            self._cache_key(key), entry, ttl=effective_ttl
+        )
+        logger.debug(
+            "Cache ADD; key=%s ttl=%s stored=%s", key, effective_ttl, stored
+        )
+        return stored
+
     async def delete(self, key: str) -> bool:
         """Remove a value from the cache.
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cache_manager.py b/tests/test_cache_manager.py
index 630f582..3b39473 100644
--- a/tests/test_cache_manager.py
+++ b/tests/test_cache_manager.py
@@ -409,6 +409,46 @@ async def test_set_non_json_serializable_raises_type_error(
         await cache_manager.set("key", {1, 2, 3})
 
 
+# --- add (store-if-absent) ---------------------------------------------------
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_add_stores_when_key_absent(cache_manager: CacheManager) -> None:
+    """add() stores a value and returns True when the key is free."""
+    assert await cache_manager.add("once", {"event": 1}) is True
+    assert await cache_manager.get("once") == {"event": 1}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_add_does_not_overwrite_existing_key(
+    cache_manager: CacheManager,
+) -> None:
+    """add() returns False and leaves the original value when the key exists."""
+    await cache_manager.set("once", "first")
+    assert await cache_manager.add("once", "second") is False
+    assert await cache_manager.get("once") == "first"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_add_honors_default_ttl(memory_backend: MemoryBackend) -> None:
+    """add() without an explicit ttl uses the manager's default_ttl."""
+    BackendProxy.set(memory_backend)
+    manager = CacheManager(default_ttl=1)
+    assert await manager.add("key", "value") is True
+    assert await manager.get("key") == "value"
+    await asyncio.sleep(1.2)
+    assert await manager.get("key") is None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_add_non_json_serializable_raises_type_error(
+    cache_manager: CacheManager,
+) -> None:
+    """add() propagates TypeError for a non-JSON-serializable value."""
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+        await cache_manager.add("key", {1, 2, 3})
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_get_with_corrupted_backend_content_returns_default(
     memory_backend: MemoryBackend,