diff --git a/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines-streaming.json b/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines-streaming.json
index 0fabf5a02..837d78d1f 100644
--- a/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines-streaming.json
+++ b/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines-streaming.json
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
-  "fingerprint": "dadb6eb19a751c3d315b7c53effc6605f89e0a766b01cd5a2ae611b3720d0d55",
+  "fingerprint": "9408aad13feb6a65c6ce031a3264b72d1afdb1fdd1e984666fe30c3ecc24d66f",
   "_rebaselined_3161_static_gated_column": "Same change as baselines.json's `_rebaselined_3161_static_gated_column`: every relationship row now ends in a `staticGated` cell (`0` here, no PDG edge is a gated call), so each of the 36,000 `rel_BasicBlock_BasicBlock.csv` data rows grew by 2 bytes (`...,\"T\",0` -> `...,\"T\",0,0`) while the 7,200 BasicBlock rows are unchanged. Evidence is the inverse operation: stripping the trailing `,0` from the rel rows and re-hashing the sorted bb + rel rows gives EXACTLY the prior baseline 381de8dede253140953775c290bf9a25f82ebf3cc8ecb5250ae06a63f648b089. byte_identical_nodes / byte_identical_edges stayed true and resident_basic_blocks stayed 0 while the fingerprint gate was red, so the streamed sink still matches the whole-graph emit byte for byte and the RSS bound holds. Prior 381de8dede253140953775c290bf9a25f82ebf3cc8ecb5250ae06a63f648b089 -> dadb6eb19a751c3d315b7c53effc6605f89e0a766b01cd5a2ae611b3720d0d55.",
-  "_note": "Byte-identity + bounded-retention gate for streaming/chunked PDG emit (#2202). fingerprint = sha256 of the sorted, header-stripped BasicBlock + PDG-edge data rows of the canonical synthetic set. --check also asserts the streamed PdgEmitSink output is byte-identical to the whole-graph streamAllCSVsToDisk emit (byte_identical_nodes/edges) and that the in-memory graph retains 0 BasicBlocks (resident_basic_blocks === 0, the O(chunk) RSS bound). Regenerate via `node --import tsx bench/emit-persistence/measure-streaming.mjs`."
+  "_note": "Byte-identity + bounded-retention gate for streaming/chunked PDG emit (#2202). fingerprint = sha256 of the sorted, header-stripped BasicBlock + PDG-edge data rows of the canonical synthetic set. --check also asserts the streamed PdgEmitSink output is byte-identical to the whole-graph streamAllCSVsToDisk emit (byte_identical_nodes/edges) and that the in-memory graph retains 0 BasicBlocks (resident_basic_blocks === 0, the O(chunk) RSS bound). Regenerate via `node --import tsx bench/emit-persistence/measure-streaming.mjs`.",
+  "_rebaselined_3442_ladybug_null_cells": "Same NULL serialization change as baselines.json (#3442). Compared the whole-graph output with the parent writer: file set, row order and all other bytes match. The fingerprinted BasicBlock and PDG-edge files contain exactly 38,400 quoted empty cells changed to bare cells (14,400 BasicBlock cells and 24,000 edge cells); restoring their quotes reproduces the exact prior fingerprint dadb6eb19a751c3d315b7c53effc6605f89e0a766b01cd5a2ae611b3720d0d55. The new fingerprint is 9408aad13feb6a65c6ce031a3264b72d1afdb1fdd1e984666fe30c3ecc24d66f. Both streamed/whole byte-identity flags remain true and resident_basic_blocks remains 0."
 }
diff --git a/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines.json b/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines.json
index 9c04fb248..374ae2067 100644
--- a/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines.json
+++ b/gitnexus/bench/emit-persistence/baselines.json
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-  "fingerprint": "d3c3a53ead47663816344369dc0e501f31d60c462039de190ab6f5361037bd79",
+  "fingerprint": "2f5c46506cb8dfb79a65a276646ace766cc7645fabab8b383c89f5f0270cc30b",
   "_rebaselined_objective_c_node_tables": "Objective-C support adds Protocol and Category node tables to csv-generator.ts's MULTI_LANG_TYPES, so this deterministic 2,400-entity synthetic emit now creates 38 CSV files rather than 36. The two additions, category.csv and protocol.csv, are both expected 55-byte header-only files because the synthetic graph contains no Objective-C nodes. Re-emitting the graph and recomputing the fingerprint after excluding exactly those two files yields the exact prior baseline 011485e5180c005be9dfec7ac8dc4e3bb0fcfc4a680a16dcae2cf2d8af5ef7e2, proving all 36 pre-existing files retain their bytes, routing, and within-file order. Prior 011485e5180c005be9dfec7ac8dc4e3bb0fcfc4a680a16dcae2cf2d8af5ef7e2 -> d3c3a53ead47663816344369dc0e501f31d60c462039de190ab6f5361037bd79. The timing guard remains within budget: local scaling_ratio 0.965 against 1.8 and elapsed_ms_large 69.24ms against 1000ms.",
   "_rebaselined_3161_static_gated_column": "Every relationship row gained a trailing `staticGated` BOOLEAN column (RELATION_SCHEMA in src/core/lbug/schema.ts, REL_CSV_HEADER + buildRelRow in csv-generator.ts, the fallback CREATE in lbug-adapter.ts), written as `0` for every edge that does not carry the flag and `1` for a Zig call site inside a comptime-false branch (PR #3161). Unlike the earlier header-only rebaselines this one touches ROWS, so the evidence is the inverse operation rather than a file-set diff: re-emitting this bench's 2,400-entity graph on the branch produces the same 36 CSV files; exactly 3 of them differ from a copy with the new column stripped (`rel_File_Class.csv` 156228 -> 151416 bytes, `rel_File_Function.csv` 334008 -> 324396, `rel_Function_Function.csv` 185028 -> 180216: one header field plus `,0` per row, 4,800 / 9,600 / 4,800 rows, 2 bytes each), the other 33 files are byte-identical, and the per-file fingerprint over the stripped copies is EXACTLY the prior baseline 72096279092d4f118de7e179333705c19c9aff2664f77d71a7da48cd9f73fb5a. So no row moved between pair files and no row reordered; the only bytes that changed are the appended column. Prior 72096279092d4f118de7e179333705c19c9aff2664f77d71a7da48cd9f73fb5a -> 011485e5180c005be9dfec7ac8dc4e3bb0fcfc4a680a16dcae2cf2d8af5ef7e2. Timing gates passed while the guard was red: scaling_ratio 0.82 against the 1.8 budget, elapsed_ms_large 185.54ms against the 1000ms backstop, so no throughput claim is being rebaselined away.",
   "scaling_budget": 1.8,
@@ -9,5 +9,6 @@
   "_rebaselined_2856_property_is_detail": "Third and last of the bench guards this branch left red. The Property node table gained an `isDetail` BOOLEAN column (see PROPERTY_SCHEMA in src/core/lbug/schema.ts), so `streamAllCSVsToDisk` writes one more header field and one more cell per Property row \u2014 csv-generator.ts `propertyHeader` and the `node.label === 'Property'` tail. Verified to be header-only drift rather than a change in what is emitted: dumping every CSV this bench produces on `origin/main` and on this branch and diffing per-file (filename, byte length, sha256) shows the file SET is identical at 35 CSVs on both sides, 34 of the 35 are byte-identical, and the sole difference is `property.csv` growing 68 -> 77 bytes, `id,name,filePath,startLine,endLine,content,description,declaredType` -> `...,declaredType,isDetail`. The synthetic graph has no Property nodes, so no ROW moved at all. That is the check that matters here: a row routed to the wrong pair file, or a within-file reordering, is what this fingerprint exists to catch, and neither happened. Prior 69e9182ae205183ade24c3d8ad5d7292aea677144b1cbe443dd631bc25b0cafe -> 4ee15e742a9839671a900df4f57c1c91196c64256c8cab2ac445bec605a092d5. Both timing gates passed unchanged while this was red (scaling_ratio 0.783 vs budget 1.8, elapsed_ms_large 229ms vs the 1000ms backstop), so no throughput claim is being rebaselined away.",
   "_rebaselined_3040_convex_endpoint_factory": "Const and Function gained a trailing convexEndpointFactory column. A deterministic 2,400-entity emit produced the same 35 CSV files and fingerprint c4d799c5336d616955b3530ba051b7dca300d1a0e412a66741cf2f27e04c533e. Removing the new Const and Function header fields plus the new trailing empty Function cell from each of 4,800 Function rows restored the exact prior fingerprint 4ee15e742a9839671a900df4f57c1c91196c64256c8cab2ac445bec605a092d5. No file or row moved or reordered. The measured scaling ratio remained 0.826 against the 1.8 budget and elapsed_ms_large was 307.75ms against the 1000ms backstop.",
   "_rebaselined_3107_route_runtime_evidence": "Route gained trailing runtimeConfirmed BOOLEAN, runtimeSource STRING, and runtimeStatus STRING columns in its schema, CSV header/rows, COPY statement, and graph API projection. The deterministic emit still produces the same 35 CSV files; the synthetic benchmark graph has no Route rows, so the only byte drift is the Route CSV header and no row moved or reordered. Prior c4d799c5336d616955b3530ba051b7dca300d1a0e412a66741cf2f27e04c533e -> 7b2ec01a110dcbc66868fba2c97714aaece8c3864c2eba00df68b5c027f034d2. While the guard was red, scaling_ratio was 1.044 against the 1.8 budget and elapsed_ms_large was 121.08ms against the 1000ms backstop.",
-  "_note": "fingerprint = sha256 over per-file digests (filename + sha256(file bytes)), entry list sorted \u2014 binds each emitted line to its file so a row routed to the WRONG pair file changes the hash, AND catches within-file row reordering (file bytes hashed as-written). Byte-identity gate for #2203 U2/U3. NOTE: a future change that legitimately reorders emit (without changing the node/edge SET) will trip --check; regenerate then, and record WHY in a `_rebaselined_<reason>` key alongside \u2014 bench/scope-capture/baselines.json sets that convention and it is what makes a regenerated hash reviewable. scaling_budget bounds (t_large/t_small)/(LARGE/SMALL): observed ~0.95-1.05 (linear); 1.8 tolerates disk-I/O timing noise on CI while still catching an O(n^2) re-regression (~4x). max_ms_large=1000ms is a coarse absolute backstop (observed ~200ms) that catches a gross uniform slowdown the ratio gate misses; generous so CI host noise won't flake it. Regenerate via `node --import tsx bench/emit-persistence/measure.mjs`."
+  "_note": "fingerprint = sha256 over per-file digests (filename + sha256(file bytes)), entry list sorted \u2014 binds each emitted line to its file so a row routed to the WRONG pair file changes the hash, AND catches within-file row reordering (file bytes hashed as-written). Byte-identity gate for #2203 U2/U3. NOTE: a future change that legitimately reorders emit (without changing the node/edge SET) will trip --check; regenerate then, and record WHY in a `_rebaselined_<reason>` key alongside \u2014 bench/scope-capture/baselines.json sets that convention and it is what makes a regenerated hash reviewable. scaling_budget bounds (t_large/t_small)/(LARGE/SMALL): observed ~0.95-1.05 (linear); 1.8 tolerates disk-I/O timing noise on CI while still catching an O(n^2) re-regression (~4x). max_ms_large=1000ms is a coarse absolute backstop (observed ~200ms) that catches a gross uniform slowdown the ratio gate misses; generous so CI host noise won't flake it. Regenerate via `node --import tsx bench/emit-persistence/measure.mjs`.",
+  "_rebaselined_3442_ladybug_null_cells": "LadybugDB 0.21.1 preserves quoted empty strings, so escapeCSVField now emits bare empty cells to retain the SQL NULL meaning of the 0.18.3 writer (#3442). Compared the canonical emit with the parent writer: all 38 file names and every row order match; exactly 31,200 quoted empty cells became bare cells in six files, with no other byte changes. Restoring quotes around those cells reproduces the exact prior fingerprint d3c3a53ead47663816344369dc0e501f31d60c462039de190ab6f5361037bd79. The new fingerprint is 2f5c46506cb8dfb79a65a276646ace766cc7645fabab8b383c89f5f0270cc30b. Timing budgets remain unchanged."
 }
diff --git a/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/README.md b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b5b14d881
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+# Incremental node identity reconciliation
+
+From `gitnexus/`:
+
+```sh
+node --import tsx bench/incremental-write-integrity/measure.cjs --check
+node bench/incremental-write-integrity/reproduce.cjs
+```
+
+The first command measures the production reconciliation, including every
+single-label scan and comparison of ID, name, path and source range. Construction,
+CSV loading, checkpoints and correctness controls are outside the timed region.
+Two warm-ups precede seven measured samples. Exact counts and SHA-256 fixture
+fingerprints reject empty or incomplete work. `--check` gates normalized scaling
+against the committed budget, rather than a machine-specific time limit.
+
+On Node v24.19.0, Linux x64, Xeon Platinum 8370C, the initial measurement was
+583 ms for 16,384 nodes and 2,810 ms for 65,536 nodes per reconciliation. The
+normalized scaling was 1.206 (budget 2). Analyze performs two reconciliations:
+after graph COPY/checkpoint and after FTS/embedding work plus a final checkpoint,
+before registration, freshness metadata or staging publication.
+
+The verifier covers retained nodes as well as the write set. A path/range filter
+would let a corrupted field hide its own row; a count would miss swapped fields
+or blank IDs. Folder lifecycle, preserved Community/Process layers and streamed
+BasicBlock rows require other oracles and are excluded. Relationships and source
+content are outside this identity check.
+
+## Native-only reduction
+
+`reproduce.cjs` uses only `@ladybugdb/core`, its native schema/query/COPY API, and
+synthetic ASCII CSV files. There is no parser, parse cache, graph adapter, FTS,
+relationship table, periodic checkpoint driver or concurrent writer. Compression
+is disabled and COPY is serial, matching the production settings.
+
+It loads 8,192 Function rows, checkpoints, deletes 64 rows belonging to the first
+and last owners, then copies back those same 64 tuples. An independent tuple-set
+oracle validates the complete single-label scan before and after each operation.
+It also compares affected scan rows with primary-key lookups after reopening.
+Use `--keep` to retain the synthetic database and CSV files; the JSON output gives
+their directory. `--require-corruption` is a diagnostic assertion, deliberately
+not a CI requirement: it should fail when the native defect is fixed.
+
+With the original `@ladybugdb/core` 0.18.3, this reduction produced:
+
+| Phase                     |  Rows | Incorrect tuples |
+| ------------------------- | ----: | ---------------: |
+| Initial COPY + checkpoint | 8,192 |                0 |
+| DELETE                    | 8,128 |                0 |
+| Incremental COPY          | 8,192 |            3,936 |
+| Explicit checkpoint       | 8,192 |            3,936 |
+| Read-only reopen          | 8,192 |            3,936 |
+
+With `@ladybugdb/core` 0.21.1, the same reduction returns zero incorrect
+tuples in every phase. The production reconciliation and negative controls
+remain required; this result covers the reduced fixture, not a replay of the
+original incident.
+
+For example, the scan returned an empty `id` at native offset 64, while a
+primary-key lookup at that same offset returned
+`Function:src/owner2.ts:fn64` with the correct name/path/range. Smaller 1,024,
+2,048 and 4,096-row fixtures remained healthy in the same three-cycle adapter
+probe. The affected tuple count varies with fixture size and scan shape.
+
+This isolates a native scan/lookup discrepancy introduced by incremental COPY
+into a previously populated table. It survives checkpoint and reopen, but does
+not establish physical byte loss or the precise C++ defect. The reported Unicode
+change and FTS build are unnecessary for this reduction; this does not prove
+that the original incident has exactly the same native cause.
+
+The measurement harness runs selective native writes too. An independent oracle
+requires the production verifier to reject any inconsistent scan, both before
+and after checkpoint/reopen; healthy scans must certify their complete identity
+set. It does not quietly treat the native discrepancy as a successful graph.
+
+Missing-row and swapped-range negative controls separately verify that the
+check fails closed. Publication tests inject damage after COPY and after FTS,
+assert unchanged registry/freshness, preserve the live staged baseline, and
+exercise automatic dirty-index recovery followed by a no-op run.
+An in-place verification failure keeps a non-FTS dirty phase: an FTS-only
+repair cannot clear the marker and recertify the inconsistent graph.
+The same protection applies when FTS returns but analyzer finalization fails
+before the final identity scan: recovery still rebuilds the graph.
diff --git a/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/baseline.json b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/baseline.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..988196191
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/baseline.json
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "linear_scaling_budget": 2,
+  "sizes": [
+    {
+      "nodes": 16384,
+      "fingerprint": "17aa2ded124af9cbd15a9fe13013410e92a478f88e63a2ad9859a05aacef8efe"
+    },
+    {
+      "nodes": 65536,
+      "fingerprint": "a6ce82aa1d07804d16b916892dfb6ca0e6f5ce5ed606f47cb1321eb124c6ac44"
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/measure.cjs b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/measure.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8db1d2d5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/measure.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Native identity reconciliation overhead and scaling.
+ * node --import tsx bench/incremental-write-integrity/measure.cjs [--check]
+ *
+ * COPY, graph construction, fingerprints and correctness controls are untimed.
+ * Each timed sample includes all single-label scans and exact tuple checks.
+ * Counts/fingerprints reject empty output; timing gates use normalized scaling.
+ */
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { mkdtemp, rm, readFile } = require('node:fs/promises');
+const { tmpdir, cpus } = require('node:os');
+const { join, resolve } = require('node:path');
+const { pathToFileURL } = require('node:url');
+const { createHash } = require('node:crypto');
+const ROOT = resolve(__dirname, '../..');
+const source = (file) => import(pathToFileURL(join(ROOT, file)).href);
+
+(async () => {
+  const { createKnowledgeGraph } = await source('src/core/graph/graph.ts');
+  const { reconcileGraphNodeIdentities } = await source(
+    'src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.ts',
+  );
+  const adapter = await source('src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.ts');
+  const baseline = JSON.parse(await readFile(join(__dirname, 'baseline.json'), 'utf8'));
+  assert.equal(baseline.version, 1);
+  assert.ok(Number.isFinite(baseline.linear_scaling_budget) && baseline.linear_scaling_budget > 0);
+  const results = [];
+  for (const size of baseline.sizes) {
+    assert.ok(Number.isSafeInteger(size.nodes) && size.nodes > 0);
+    assert.match(size.fingerprint, /^[a-f0-9]{64}$/);
+    const graph = createKnowledgeGraph();
+    const hash = createHash('sha256');
+    for (let i = 0; i < size.nodes; i++) {
+      const id = `Function:src/owner${Math.floor(i / 32)}.ts:fn${i}`;
+      const properties = {
+        name: `fn${i}`,
+        filePath: `src/owner${Math.floor(i / 32)}.ts`,
+        startLine: (i % 32) * 4,
+        endLine: (i % 32) * 4 + 2,
+      };
+      graph.addNode({ id, label: 'Function', properties });
+      hash.update(
+        JSON.stringify([
+          id,
+          properties.name,
+          properties.filePath,
+          properties.startLine,
+          properties.endLine,
+        ]) + '\n',
+      );
+    }
+    assert.equal(hash.digest('hex'), size.fingerprint);
+    const directory = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'gnx-reconciliation-bench-'));
+    try {
+      await adapter.initLbug(join(directory, 'lbug'), { skipFts: true });
+      await adapter.loadGraphToLbug(
+        graph,
+        directory,
+        directory,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        'none',
+      );
+      await adapter.tryFlushWAL();
+      const samples = [];
+      let calls = 0;
+      const query = async (sql) => {
+        calls++;
+        return adapter.executeQuery(sql);
+      };
+      for (let run = 0; run < 9; run++) {
+        calls = 0;
+        const start = performance.now();
+        const receipt = await reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph, query, 'benchmark');
+        const elapsed = performance.now() - start;
+        assert.equal(receipt.nodes, size.nodes);
+        assert.equal(calls, receipt.tables);
+        if (run >= 2) samples.push(elapsed);
+      }
+      const first = graph.iterNodes().next().value;
+      const alteredQuery = async (sql) => {
+        const rows = await adapter.executeQuery(sql);
+        if (sql.includes('(n:`Function`)')) rows.find((r) => r.id === first.id).startLine++;
+        return rows;
+      };
+      await assert.rejects(
+        reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph, alteredQuery, 'negative-control'),
+        /startLine/,
+      );
+      await assert.rejects(
+        reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph, async () => [], 'negative-control'),
+        /missing ID/,
+      );
+
+      // Native 0.18.3 can corrupt scan projections after this real write, even
+      // without FTS. Use an independent tuple-set oracle to require rejection
+      // whenever the scan is wrong; a future native fix can pass normally.
+      const { extractChangedSubgraph } = await source('src/core/incremental/subgraph-extract.ts');
+      const files = new Set(['src/owner0.ts', `src/owner${Math.floor((size.nodes - 1) / 32)}.ts`]);
+      const wanted = new Set(
+        [...graph.iterNodes()].map((node) =>
+          JSON.stringify([
+            node.id,
+            node.properties.name,
+            node.properties.filePath,
+            node.properties.startLine,
+            node.properties.endLine,
+          ]),
+        ),
+      );
+      const nativePhases = [];
+      const audit = async (phase) => {
+        const rows = await adapter.executeQuery(
+          'MATCH (n:Function) RETURN n.id AS id, n.name AS name, ' +
+            'n.filePath AS filePath, n.startLine AS startLine, n.endLine AS endLine',
+        );
+        const actual = new Set(
+          rows.map((r) => JSON.stringify([r.id, r.name, r.filePath, r.startLine, r.endLine])),
+        );
+        const mismatched = [...wanted].filter((tuple) => !actual.has(tuple)).length;
+        const rejected =
+          rows.length !== size.nodes || mismatched > 0 || actual.size !== wanted.size;
+        if (rejected) {
+          await assert.rejects(
+            reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph, adapter.executeQuery, phase),
+            /Graph identity reconciliation/,
+          );
+        } else {
+          assert.equal(
+            (await reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph, adapter.executeQuery, phase)).nodes,
+            size.nodes,
+          );
+        }
+        nativePhases.push({
+          phase,
+          rows: rows.length,
+          missing_tuples: mismatched,
+          verdict: rejected ? 'rejected' : 'certified',
+        });
+      };
+      await adapter.deleteNodesForFiles([...files]);
+      await adapter.loadGraphToLbug(
+        extractChangedSubgraph(graph, files),
+        directory,
+        directory,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        'none',
+      );
+      await audit('post-COPY');
+      await adapter.tryFlushWAL();
+      await audit('post-checkpoint');
+      await adapter.closeLbug();
+      await adapter.initLbug(join(directory, 'lbug'), { readOnly: true, skipFts: true });
+      await audit('reopened');
+      samples.sort((a, b) => a - b);
+      results.push({
+        nodes: size.nodes,
+        queries: calls,
+        min_ms: +samples[0].toFixed(3),
+        median_ms: +samples[Math.floor(samples.length / 2)].toFixed(3),
+        fingerprint: size.fingerprint,
+        native_phases: nativePhases,
+      });
+    } finally {
+      await adapter.closeLbug();
+      await rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  }
+  const scaling =
+    results[1].median_ms / results[0].median_ms / (results[1].nodes / results[0].nodes);
+  const report = {
+    node: process.version,
+    platform: process.platform,
+    cpu: cpus()[0].model,
+    results,
+    normalized_scaling: +scaling.toFixed(3),
+    negative_controls: 'missing/swapped fields rejected',
+    native_sequences:
+      'selective delete/COPY, checkpoint and read-only reopen checked against independent tuple oracle',
+  };
+  process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(report, null, 2) + '\n');
+  if (process.argv.includes('--check'))
+    assert.ok(
+      scaling <= baseline.linear_scaling_budget,
+      `normalized scaling ${scaling} exceeds ${baseline.linear_scaling_budget}`,
+    );
+})().catch((error) => {
+  console.error(error);
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/reproduce.cjs b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/reproduce.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a270d3331
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/bench/incremental-write-integrity/reproduce.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/** Native-only selective COPY scan discrepancy; no parser, graph adapter or FTS. */
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const fs = require('node:fs/promises');
+const os = require('node:os');
+const path = require('node:path');
+const lbug = require('@ladybugdb/core');
+
+(async () => {
+  const directory = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ladybug-copy-identity-'));
+  let database;
+  let connection;
+  const close = async () => {
+    // Retire this session before closing so failures or reopening cannot close it twice.
+    const activeConnection = connection;
+    const activeDatabase = database;
+    connection = undefined;
+    database = undefined;
+    const errors = [];
+    try {
+      await activeConnection?.close();
+    } catch (error) {
+      errors.push(error);
+    }
+    try {
+      await activeDatabase?.close();
+    } catch (error) {
+      errors.push(error);
+    }
+    if (errors.length === 1) throw errors[0];
+    if (errors.length > 1) throw new AggregateError(errors, 'Native resource cleanup failed');
+  };
+  const errors = [];
+  try {
+    const dbPath = path.join(directory, 'lbug');
+    const count = 8192;
+    const tuple = (i) => [
+      `Function:src/owner${Math.floor(i / 32)}.ts:fn${i}`,
+      `fn${i}`,
+      `src/owner${Math.floor(i / 32)}.ts`,
+      (i % 32) * 4,
+      (i % 32) * 4 + 2,
+    ];
+    const indices = Array.from({ length: count }, (_, i) => i);
+    const expected = new Set(indices.map((i) => JSON.stringify(tuple(i))));
+    const csv = (rows) =>
+      'id,name,filePath,startLine,endLine\n' +
+      rows
+        .map((i) =>
+          tuple(i)
+            .map((value) => JSON.stringify(value))
+            .join(','),
+        )
+        .join('\n') +
+      '\n';
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(directory, 'full.csv'), csv(indices));
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      path.join(directory, 'delta.csv'),
+      csv(indices.filter((i) => i < 32 || i >= count - 32)),
+    );
+
+    // Match GitNexus's uncompressed native constructor and serial COPY options.
+    const open = (readOnly) =>
+      new lbug.Database(
+        dbPath,
+        256 * 1024 * 1024,
+        false,
+        readOnly,
+        4 * 1024 ** 3,
+        true,
+        64 * 1024 * 1024,
+        true,
+        true,
+      );
+    database = open(false);
+    connection = new lbug.Connection(database);
+    const query = async (cypher, params) => {
+      const result = params
+        ? await connection.execute(await connection.prepare(cypher), params)
+        : await connection.query(cypher);
+      try {
+        return await result.getAll();
+      } finally {
+        await result.close();
+      }
+    };
+    const copy = (file) =>
+      query(
+        `COPY Function FROM "${path.join(directory, file).replace(/\\/g, '/')}" ` +
+          `(HEADER=true, ESCAPE='"', DELIM=',', QUOTE='"', PARALLEL=false, auto_detect=false)`,
+      );
+    const phases = [];
+    const scan = async (phase) => {
+      const rows = await query(
+        'MATCH (n:Function) RETURN id(n) AS internalID, n.id AS id, n.name AS name, ' +
+          'n.filePath AS filePath, n.startLine AS startLine, n.endLine AS endLine',
+      );
+      const key = (r) => JSON.stringify([r.id, r.name, r.filePath, r.startLine, r.endLine]);
+      const bad = rows.filter((r) => !expected.has(key(r)));
+      const actual = new Set(rows.map(key));
+      const missing = [...expected].filter((value) => !actual.has(value)).length;
+      phases.push({
+        phase,
+        rows: rows.length,
+        wrong_tuples: bad.length,
+        missing_tuples: missing,
+        examples: bad.slice(0, 2),
+      });
+      return { rows, bad, missing };
+    };
+    await query(
+      'CREATE NODE TABLE Function(id STRING, name STRING, filePath STRING, ' +
+        'startLine INT64, endLine INT64, PRIMARY KEY(id))',
+    );
+    await copy('full.csv');
+    await query('CHECKPOINT');
+    const before = await scan('baseline');
+    assert.equal(before.rows.length, count);
+    assert.equal(before.missing, 0);
+    const baselineIdsByOffset = new Map(before.rows.map((r) => [r.internalID.offset, r.id]));
+    await query(
+      "MATCH (n:Function) WHERE n.filePath IN ['src/owner0.ts', 'src/owner255.ts'] DETACH DELETE n",
+    );
+    const deleted = await scan('after-delete');
+    assert.equal(deleted.rows.length, count - 64);
+    assert.equal(deleted.bad.length, 0);
+    await copy('delta.csv');
+    const copied = await scan('after-copy');
+    await query('CHECKPOINT');
+    await scan('after-checkpoint');
+    await close();
+    database = open(true);
+    connection = new lbug.Connection(database);
+    const reopened = await scan('reopened');
+    const pointLookups = [];
+    for (const row of reopened.bad.slice(0, 2)) {
+      const id = baselineIdsByOffset.get(row.internalID.offset);
+      if (!id) continue;
+      pointLookups.push({
+        scan: row,
+        lookup: await query(
+          'MATCH (n:Function {id: $id}) RETURN n.id AS id, n.name AS name, n.filePath AS filePath, ' +
+            'n.startLine AS startLine, n.endLine AS endLine',
+          { id },
+        ),
+      });
+    }
+    process.stdout.write(
+      JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          native_version: lbug.VERSION,
+          node: process.version,
+          phases,
+          point_lookups: pointLookups,
+          ...(process.argv.includes('--keep') ? { directory } : {}),
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ) + '\n',
+    );
+    if (process.argv.includes('--require-corruption')) {
+      assert.ok(
+        copied.bad.length > 0 || copied.missing > 0 || copied.rows.length !== count,
+        'Native failure did not reproduce; this is a diagnostic, not a passing CI invariant',
+      );
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    errors.push(error);
+  } finally {
+    try {
+      await close();
+    } catch (error) {
+      errors.push(error);
+    }
+    try {
+      if (!process.argv.includes('--keep'))
+        await fs.rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    } catch (error) {
+      errors.push(error);
+    }
+  }
+  if (errors.length === 1) throw errors[0];
+  if (errors.length > 1) throw new AggregateError(errors, 'Native benchmark failed');
+})().catch((error) => {
+  console.error(error);
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/package-lock.json b/gitnexus/package-lock.json
index c54323314..3b3fea7be 100644
--- a/gitnexus/package-lock.json
+++ b/gitnexus/package-lock.json
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0",
       "dependencies": {
-        "@ladybugdb/core": "0.18.3",
+        "@ladybugdb/core": "0.21.1",
         "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.0.0",
         "@scarf/scarf": "^1.4.0",
         "busboy": "^1.6.0",
@@ -724,9 +724,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@ladybugdb/core": {
-      "version": "0.18.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core/-/core-0.18.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-XjpPKW4MrL28D2gYGTZuIjiEcPx12L21lx58QggrdrItw8o/e9Lmg/Ejoo4Kz08lZj+rIcC1Fu9thzIYOTUlJw==",
+      "version": "0.21.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core/-/core-0.21.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-G0LWyn/dIqX9yHlyjpR12Rvou2o1dvCB9EkuzGa5ykCYbzur8EQhRUbi4fw3FlbckWvR6rK/tVbnFpBcRLwiHg==",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
@@ -735,17 +735,17 @@
         "node-addon-api": "^6.0.0"
       },
       "optionalDependencies": {
-        "@ladybugdb/core-darwin-arm64": "0.18.3",
-        "@ladybugdb/core-darwin-x64": "0.18.3",
-        "@ladybugdb/core-linux-arm64": "0.18.3",
-        "@ladybugdb/core-linux-x64": "0.18.3",
-        "@ladybugdb/core-win32-x64": "0.18.3"
+        "@ladybugdb/core-darwin-arm64": "0.21.1",
+        "@ladybugdb/core-darwin-x64": "0.21.1",
+        "@ladybugdb/core-linux-arm64": "0.21.1",
+        "@ladybugdb/core-linux-x64": "0.21.1",
+        "@ladybugdb/core-win32-x64": "0.21.1"
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@ladybugdb/core-darwin-arm64": {
-      "version": "0.18.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-darwin-arm64/-/core-darwin-arm64-0.18.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-DGZTOlvSS4esEb1vTekY5IDoAvZAeYzR5cXVkECtQj9BVkk05zsvCAdTPo1Rz1BuI0qvqUVF+2WlIerI67iA2g==",
+      "version": "0.21.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-darwin-arm64/-/core-darwin-arm64-0.21.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-TEFYNqBdbIojf1t29p3esgRhMDm56lD5eK91dwWFZJTVWAZoGXn+yLKs0NUQgj3lW2ZquuRTLZGglPhFEsDL1Q==",
       "cpu": [
         "arm64"
       ],
@@ -756,9 +756,9 @@
       ]
     },
     "node_modules/@ladybugdb/core-darwin-x64": {
-      "version": "0.18.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-darwin-x64/-/core-darwin-x64-0.18.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-Qp6j0CM/orBlK6KD0p/s4ofkIhNUwi1hdCgMw+fj81UHugWHkVLiYV4grRBdHhyplw+snchZpTxvfpxFbkG1Cw==",
+      "version": "0.21.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-darwin-x64/-/core-darwin-x64-0.21.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-w9p3oKrqeMOeWpX3xdCc/hQJHfrZtpB9We+Ir+0qyls68dSQoeXXR1GZYzzTElOtxr4OM5USwYbVyxADx+CMZg==",
       "cpu": [
         "x64"
       ],
@@ -769,9 +769,9 @@
       ]
     },
     "node_modules/@ladybugdb/core-linux-arm64": {
-      "version": "0.18.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-linux-arm64/-/core-linux-arm64-0.18.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-F9miYjBuS43I7uNG199FNMqwdHJ98WA6dU3v2SZCeLXmXCdRzmYcuHQWlbNr2Tba9CX58w2XvBZoUaXZKJ/yKQ==",
+      "version": "0.21.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-linux-arm64/-/core-linux-arm64-0.21.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-TodWmzOHxmmKvXXo9buBXGeyolxf/NqBUbo/LcR/tuMViKhGH8TBzIXi8DfVVwmsJ+CQCU065TvXgv2JoHAlZg==",
       "cpu": [
         "arm64"
       ],
@@ -782,9 +782,9 @@
       ]
     },
     "node_modules/@ladybugdb/core-linux-x64": {
-      "version": "0.18.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-linux-x64/-/core-linux-x64-0.18.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-AfG5RDp/f/IDctDMpTAT5+2MYNtlWT191xiQNjSaWD4X85DhY3Dzps8Qu5VteIAPih5d6mmoaKGs8q0XIjfkFA==",
+      "version": "0.21.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-linux-x64/-/core-linux-x64-0.21.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-hCcLYv8ds0x4fkTaRkuc4f75KLdH9e0EV51ne6uBNdQSY7kyc0RgSoUG3utUGfFDMMkfgIJAeIxQY4ck9jQiXg==",
       "cpu": [
         "x64"
       ],
@@ -795,9 +795,9 @@
       ]
     },
     "node_modules/@ladybugdb/core-win32-x64": {
-      "version": "0.18.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-win32-x64/-/core-win32-x64-0.18.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-bHuFk0m9cnq0WGd9I4D8or8g6cC/BS58iatMtilqM3JpDPIQIFk6MQl6exL7P4xyWbkLwQgsrv2ToDnyoQNKvg==",
+      "version": "0.21.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@ladybugdb/core-win32-x64/-/core-win32-x64-0.21.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-nBS1XSRJfpexdlhkezmEiRtkUt2qEDp4zBjIhH+oxgRdD7UsRz1Jyit8foJuZAmUsoQGukN5LO+YeyDU2WZTyA==",
       "cpu": [
         "x64"
       ],
diff --git a/gitnexus/package.json b/gitnexus/package.json
index c5ab6f3c6..1db831d0d 100644
--- a/gitnexus/package.json
+++ b/gitnexus/package.json
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
     "version": "node scripts/sync-plugin-manifests.mjs"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@ladybugdb/core": "0.18.3",
+    "@ladybugdb/core": "0.21.1",
     "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.0.0",
     "@scarf/scarf": "^1.4.0",
     "busboy": "^1.6.0",
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/detect-changes-format.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/detect-changes-format.ts
index 9e91cc330..9eece8e43 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/detect-changes-format.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/detect-changes-format.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { t } from './i18n/index.js';
 import { formatSymbolLine } from './format-symbol.js';
+import { formatPathForTerminal } from './format-path.js';
 
 type DetectChangesSummary = {
   changed_files?: number;
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ type DetectChangesResult = {
   summary?: DetectChangesSummary;
   changed_symbols?: ChangedSymbol[];
   affected_processes?: AffectedProcess[];
+  unmapped_files?: string[];
 };
 
 export function formatDetectChangesResult(result: unknown): string {
@@ -47,6 +49,13 @@ export function formatDetectChangesResult(result: unknown): string {
   // Both lead the output — a caveat printed after the summary is read too late.
   const notes: string[] = [];
   if (payload.partial) notes.push(t('tool.detectChanges.partial'));
+  if (payload.unmapped_files?.length) {
+    notes.push(
+      t('tool.detectChanges.unmappedSource', {
+        files: payload.unmapped_files.map(formatPathForTerminal).join(', '),
+      }),
+    );
+  }
   // The plain truncation note reassures that the counts are whole. That is only
   // true when the run did NOT also degrade — `changed_count` sums the batches
   // that succeeded — so the two flags together get a different sentence.
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/format-path.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/format-path.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e7eab1f47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/format-path.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+/** Quote control-bearing paths for terminal output; structured results retain raw paths. */
+export const formatPathForTerminal = (filePath: string): string =>
+  /[\u0000-\u001f\u007f-\u009f]/.test(filePath)
+    ? JSON.stringify(filePath).replace(
+        /[\u007f-\u009f]/g,
+        (char) => `\\u${char.charCodeAt(0).toString(16).padStart(4, '0')}`,
+      )
+    : filePath;
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts
index 981071f64..15114ab41 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/en.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,9 @@ export const en = {
   'tool.detectChanges.noOverlappingSymbols':
     'Diff touched {{files}} file(s) but no indexed symbols overlap those hunks — not a clean tree.',
   'tool.detectChanges.partial':
-    'PARTIAL RESULT: a graph query failed, so changed symbols may be missing. Do not read this as a clean pre-commit check.',
+    'PARTIAL RESULT: changed-symbol or process mapping is incomplete. Do not read this as a clean pre-commit check.',
+  'tool.detectChanges.unmappedSource':
+    'No symbols mapped for changed source files: {{files}}. Rebuild the index and inspect the diff; retry alone may not resolve missing or out-of-range symbols.',
   'tool.detectChanges.truncated':
     'LISTING CAPPED: the changed-symbol list was capped, so it does not name every changed symbol. The counts and risk level still cover all of them.',
   // The reassurance above is only true on its own. When the run also degraded,
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts
index 606a9e4e6..9519954d2 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/i18n/zh-CN.ts
@@ -128,7 +128,9 @@ export const zhCN = {
   'tool.detectChanges.noOverlappingSymbols':
     'diff 触及 {{files}} 个文件，但没有索引符号与这些 hunk 重叠 — 并非干净工作区。',
   'tool.detectChanges.partial':
-    '结果不完整：图查询失败，可能遗漏已变更符号。请勿将其视为通过的提交前检查。',
+    '结果不完整：变更符号或流程映射不完整。请勿将其视为通过的提交前检查。',
+  'tool.detectChanges.unmappedSource':
+    '变更源码文件未映射到符号：{{files}}。请重建索引并检查 diff；仅重试可能无法解决符号缺失或源码范围不匹配。',
   'tool.detectChanges.truncated':
     '列表已截断：已变更符号列表被截断，未列出全部变更符号。计数与风险等级仍涵盖全部符号。',
   'tool.detectChanges.truncatedDegraded':
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/cli/status.ts b/gitnexus/src/cli/status.ts
index 26dd780b4..8316fc3ae 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/cli/status.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/cli/status.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import {
   isFullSourceAvailable,
 } from '../core/content-retention.js';
 import { t } from './i18n/index.js';
+import { formatPathForTerminal as formatDriftPath } from './format-path.js';
 
 /** How many drifted paths the report names before summarizing the rest. */
 const DRIFT_SAMPLE_LIMIT = 10;
@@ -84,9 +85,6 @@ const describeContentDrift = (drift: IndexContentDrift | undefined) => {
   };
 };
 
-/** Escape control characters in repo-relative paths before printing. */
-const formatDriftPath = (rel: string): string =>
-  /[\u0000-\u001f\u007f]/.test(rel) ? JSON.stringify(rel) : rel;
 const printDriftDetail = (drift: Extract<IndexContentDrift, { kind: 'drifted' }>): void => {
   console.log(
     t('status.indexContentDrifted', {
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bbd717e0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+import type { GraphNode } from 'gitnexus-shared';
+import type { KnowledgeGraph } from '../graph/types.js';
+import { NODE_TABLES, type NodeTableName } from '../lbug/schema.js';
+import { sanitizeUTF8 } from '../lbug/csv-generator.js';
+
+// These layers need a different oracle: folders can outlive their last file,
+// derived nodes may be preserved without recomputation, and PDG can be streamed.
+const EXCLUDED = new Set<NodeTableName>(['Folder', 'Community', 'Process', 'BasicBlock']);
+const WITHOUT_RANGE = new Set<NodeTableName>(['File', 'Route', 'Tool']);
+
+interface IdentityRow {
+  id: string;
+  name: string | null;
+  filePath: string | null;
+  startLine?: number | null;
+  endLine?: number | null;
+}
+
+const storedString = (value: string | undefined): string => sanitizeUTF8(value || '');
+
+const storedIdentityField = (node: GraphNode, field: string): unknown => {
+  const value = node.properties[field];
+  if (field === 'name' || field === 'filePath') {
+    return storedString(value as string | undefined);
+  }
+  if (node.label === 'Destination') {
+    return typeof value === 'number' && Number.isFinite(value) ? value : null;
+  }
+  return value ?? -1;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Certify the identity fields used by context/impact/detect_changes, including
+ * retained rows. A write-set-only probe misses corruption of an unchanged row.
+ * Scan one label at a time, without path/range predicates: a corrupt field must
+ * not be able to hide its own row. No multi-label scans (#3139), N+1 ID lookups,
+ * source-content copies, or whole-graph row materialization.
+ *
+ * This certifies node identity, not relationships or native storage internals.
+ * Call after COPY/checkpoint and after FTS/embedding/checkpoint, before metadata.
+ */
+export async function reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(
+  graph: KnowledgeGraph,
+  query: (cypher: string) => Promise<IdentityRow[]>,
+  phase: string,
+): Promise<{ nodes: number; tables: number }> {
+  const expected = new Map<NodeTableName, Map<string, GraphNode>>();
+  for (const table of NODE_TABLES) {
+    if (!EXCLUDED.has(table)) expected.set(table, new Map());
+  }
+  for (const node of graph.iterNodes()) {
+    const table = expected.get(node.label as NodeTableName);
+    if (!table) continue;
+    const id = storedString(node.id);
+    if (!id || table.has(id)) {
+      throw new Error(`Graph identity reconciliation (${phase}): invalid or duplicate ID ${id}`);
+    }
+    table.set(id, node);
+  }
+
+  let nodes = 0;
+  for (const [table, remaining] of expected) {
+    const fields = WITHOUT_RANGE.has(table)
+      ? ['id', 'name', 'filePath']
+      : ['id', 'name', 'filePath', 'startLine', 'endLine'];
+    const identityFields = fields.slice(1);
+    const fail: (detail: string, cause?: unknown) => never = (detail, cause) => {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Graph identity reconciliation failed (${phase}, ${table}): ${detail}. ` +
+          'Freshness was not advanced; run `gitnexus analyze --force` to rebuild the graph.',
+        { cause },
+      );
+    };
+    let rows: IdentityRow[];
+    try {
+      rows = await query(
+        `MATCH (n:\`${table}\`) RETURN ${fields.map((f) => `n.${f} AS ${f}`).join(', ')}`,
+      );
+    } catch (error) {
+      fail(
+        `could not read identity fields: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`,
+        error,
+      );
+    }
+    for (const row of rows) {
+      const node = remaining.get(row.id);
+      if (!node) fail(`unexpected or duplicate ID ${JSON.stringify(row.id)}`);
+      for (const field of identityFields) {
+        const wanted = storedIdentityField(node, field);
+        const actual = field === 'name' || field === 'filePath' ? (row[field] ?? '') : row[field];
+        if (actual !== wanted) {
+          fail(
+            `${row.id}.${field}: expected ${JSON.stringify(wanted)}, read ${JSON.stringify(actual)}`,
+          );
+        }
+      }
+      remaining.delete(row.id);
+      nodes++;
+    }
+    if (remaining.size) {
+      fail(
+        `${remaining.size} missing ID(s), including ${JSON.stringify(remaining.keys().next().value)}`,
+      );
+    }
+  }
+  return { nodes, tables: expected.size };
+}
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol-processor.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol-processor.ts
index 3fac5072d..6fae16805 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol-processor.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol-processor.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ import {
 import { expandCopies } from './cobol/cobol-copy-expander.js';
 import { processJclFiles } from './cobol/jcl-processor.js';
 import { resolveCobolCopyTarget } from './languages/cobol/copy-target.js';
+import { COBOL_EXTENSIONS, JCL_EXTENSIONS } from './cobol/file-types.js';
+export { isCobolFile, isJclFile } from './cobol/file-types.js';
 
 import { logger } from '../logger.js';
 
@@ -33,10 +35,6 @@ import { logger } from '../logger.js';
 // File detection
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-const COBOL_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.cob', '.cbl', '.cobol', '.cpy', '.copybook']);
-
-const JCL_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.jcl', '.job', '.proc']);
-
 const COPYBOOK_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.cpy', '.copybook']);
 
 interface CobolFile {
@@ -67,16 +65,6 @@ export interface CobolProcessResult {
   arithmeticOps: number;
 }
 
-/** Returns true if the file is a COBOL or copybook file. */
-export function isCobolFile(filePath: string): boolean {
-  return COBOL_EXTENSIONS.has(path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase());
-}
-
-/** Returns true if the file is a JCL file. */
-export function isJclFile(filePath: string): boolean {
-  return JCL_EXTENSIONS.has(path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase());
-}
-
 /** Returns true if the file is a COBOL copybook. */
 function isCopybook(filePath: string): boolean {
   return COPYBOOK_EXTENSIONS.has(path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase());
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol/file-types.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol/file-types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a41d622ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/cobol/file-types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import path from 'node:path';
+
+// Keep detection shared without loading the analyze-only language providers.
+export const COBOL_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.cob', '.cbl', '.cobol', '.cpy', '.copybook']);
+export const JCL_EXTENSIONS = new Set(['.jcl', '.job', '.proc']);
+
+/** Includes COBOL programs and copybooks accepted by ingestion. */
+export function isCobolFile(filePath: string): boolean {
+  return COBOL_EXTENSIONS.has(path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase());
+}
+
+/** Includes job and procedure aliases accepted by JCL ingestion. */
+export function isJclFile(filePath: string): boolean {
+  return JCL_EXTENSIONS.has(path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase());
+}
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/pipeline-phases/routes.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/pipeline-phases/routes.ts
index 42bf639d2..cc1c48488 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/pipeline-phases/routes.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/pipeline-phases/routes.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 import type { PipelinePhase, PipelineContext, PhaseResult } from './types.js';
 import { getPhaseOutput } from './types.js';
 import type { ParseOutput } from './parse.js';
-import { isBladeTemplateFilename } from 'gitnexus-shared';
+import { isTemplateRouteCandidate } from '../utils/template-file.js';
 import { nextjsFileToRouteURL, normalizeFetchURL } from '../route-extractors/nextjs.js';
 import { expoFileToRouteURL } from '../route-extractors/expo.js';
 import { phpFileToRouteURL } from '../route-extractors/php.js';
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ import { readFileContents } from '../filesystem-walker.js';
 import { isDev } from '../utils/env.js';
 
 import { logger } from '../../logger.js';
+export { isTemplateRouteCandidate } from '../utils/template-file.js';
+
 const EXPO_NAV_PATTERNS = [
   /router\.(push|replace|navigate)\(\s*['"`]([^'"`]+)['"`]/g,
   /<Link\s+[^>]*href=\s*['"`]([^'"`]+)['"`]/g,
@@ -121,17 +123,6 @@ function hasRouteParameters(routeUrl: string): boolean {
   return /\{[^}]+\}/.test(routeUrl);
 }
 
-export const isTemplateRouteCandidate = (filePath: string): boolean => {
-  const normalized = filePath.replace(/\\/g, '/').toLowerCase();
-  return (
-    normalized.endsWith('.html') ||
-    normalized.endsWith('.htm') ||
-    normalized.endsWith('.ejs') ||
-    normalized.endsWith('.hbs') ||
-    isBladeTemplateFilename(normalized)
-  );
-};
-
 export function extractTemplateStaticFetchCalls(
   filePath: string,
   content: string,
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/utils/template-file.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/utils/template-file.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1024de74e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/utils/template-file.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { isBladeTemplateFilename } from 'gitnexus-shared';
+
+/** Templates whose URLs and fetches can contribute route relationships to the graph. */
+export const isTemplateRouteCandidate = (filePath: string): boolean => {
+  const normalized = filePath.replace(/\\/g, '/').toLowerCase();
+  return (
+    normalized.endsWith('.html') ||
+    normalized.endsWith('.htm') ||
+    normalized.endsWith('.ejs') ||
+    normalized.endsWith('.hbs') ||
+    isBladeTemplateFilename(normalized)
+  );
+};
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/csv-generator.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/csv-generator.ts
index aafb556f6..5230ec713 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/csv-generator.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/csv-generator.ts
@@ -110,9 +110,13 @@ export const sanitizeUTF8 = (str: string): string => {
 };
 
 export const escapeCSVField = (value: string | number | undefined | null): string => {
-  if (value === undefined || value === null) return '""';
+  if (value === undefined || value === null) return '';
   let str = String(value);
   str = sanitizeUTF8(str);
+  // Preserve the NULL meaning of absent strings from the 0.18.3 writer.
+  // Newer LadybugDB readers retain a quoted empty field as a STRING value;
+  // it must stay unquoted or unresolved destination addresses can join.
+  if (str.length === 0) return '';
   return `"${str.replace(/"/g, '""')}"`;
 };
 
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.ts
index 970832995..59f903261 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.ts
@@ -1101,28 +1101,78 @@ export type LbugProgressCallback = (message: string) => void;
 
 /**
  * Run a COPY, retrying once with IGNORE_ERRORS=true (which skips row-level
- * errors) on first failure. On a second failure, hand the RAW retry error to
- * `onError` — each call site formats + slices its own message (#2226 F5: node
- * COPY slices to 200 chars and throws; relationship COPY slices to 80 and warns,
- * so the helper must not pre-format and lose that distinction). `onError` may
- * throw to propagate the failure.
+ * errors) on first failure. Log the original failure and native COPY/warning
+ * receipts even when the retry succeeds. Node COPY requires every row; a
+ * skipped-node receipt is a failure. Call sites retain their own message
+ * limits and relationship fallback policy.
  */
 const copyCsvWithRetry = async (
   targetConn: lbug.Connection,
   copyQuery: string,
   onError: (retryErr: unknown) => void,
+  expectedRows?: number,
 ): Promise<void> => {
   try {
     await queryAndDrain(targetConn, copyQuery);
-  } catch {
+  } catch (firstError) {
+    logger.warn(
+      { err: firstError, copyQuery },
+      'First COPY failure; retrying with IGNORE_ERRORS=true',
+    );
     try {
       const retryQuery = copyQuery.replace(
         'auto_detect=false)',
         'auto_detect=false, IGNORE_ERRORS=true)',
       );
-      await queryAndDrain(targetConn, retryQuery);
+      // Keep COPY and its connection-local warning receipt in one critical
+      // section. Only project diagnostics, never skipped_line_or_record: that
+      // column contains source text. Warnings are retained at a bounded native
+      // limit, so their count is a lower bound, not the exact skipped total.
+      const retry = async () => {
+        await drainQueryResult(await targetConn.query('CALL CLEAR_WARNINGS()'));
+        const result = await readQueryRows(await targetConn.query(retryQuery));
+        const warnings = await readQueryRows(
+          await targetConn.query('CALL SHOW_WARNINGS() RETURN message, file_path, line_number'),
+        );
+        // The native warning limit can be zero; warning rows alone cannot
+        // prove that every CSV row landed. Node COPY exposes its copied count
+        // in the result receipt even when warning retention is disabled.
+        const countReceipt = result
+          .map((row) => String(row.result ?? ''))
+          .map((message) => /^(\d+) tuples have been copied/.exec(message))
+          .find(Boolean);
+        const copiedRows = countReceipt ? Number(countReceipt[1]) : undefined;
+        logger.warn(
+          {
+            copyQuery,
+            copyResult: result,
+            expectedRows,
+            copiedRows,
+            skippedRows:
+              expectedRows !== undefined && copiedRows !== undefined
+                ? Math.max(0, expectedRows - copiedRows)
+                : undefined,
+            retainedWarnings: warnings.length,
+            warningSamples: warnings.slice(0, 5),
+          },
+          'COPY retry completed; retained warnings describe skipped rows (a lower bound)',
+        );
+        if (expectedRows !== undefined && (copiedRows !== expectedRows || warnings.length > 0)) {
+          throw new Error(
+            `COPY retry skipped rows or could not verify a complete node load ` +
+              `(copied ${copiedRows ?? 'unknown'} of ${expectedRows}; ${warnings.length} retained warning(s))`,
+          );
+        }
+      };
+      await (isSharedSingletonConn(targetConn) ? withConnLock(retry) : retry());
     } catch (retryErr) {
-      onError(retryErr);
+      const firstMessage = firstError instanceof Error ? firstError.message : String(firstError);
+      const retryMessage = retryErr instanceof Error ? retryErr.message : String(retryErr);
+      onError(
+        new Error(`COPY retry failed: ${retryMessage}; first failure: ${firstMessage}`, {
+          cause: retryErr,
+        }),
+      );
     }
   }
 };
@@ -1192,17 +1242,22 @@ const copyNodeCSVs = async (
     if (!(await stagingCsvExists(csvPath))) throw missingStagingCsvError(table, csvPath, rows);
 
     const copyQuery = getCopyQuery(table, normalizeCopyPath(csvPath));
-    await copyCsvWithRetry(targetConn, copyQuery, (retryErr) => {
-      const retryMsg = retryErr instanceof Error ? retryErr.message : String(retryErr);
-      // Pool exhaustion gets a remedy (#2631): the raw binder text gives the
-      // operator nothing to act on, and on non-4K-page hosts (Ascend aarch64,
-      // Apple Silicon) the pool bills up to pageSize/4KiB x faster than the
-      // sizing was calibrated for — name the knob and the mechanism.
-      const remedy = bufferPoolExhaustionRemedy(retryMsg);
-      throw new Error(
-        `COPY failed for ${table}: ${retryMsg.slice(0, 200)}${remedy ? ` ${remedy}` : ''}`,
-      );
-    });
+    await copyCsvWithRetry(
+      targetConn,
+      copyQuery,
+      (retryErr) => {
+        const retryMsg = retryErr instanceof Error ? retryErr.message : String(retryErr);
+        // Pool exhaustion gets a remedy (#2631): the raw binder text gives the
+        // operator nothing to act on, and on non-4K-page hosts (Ascend aarch64,
+        // Apple Silicon) the pool bills up to pageSize/4KiB x faster than the
+        // sizing was calibrated for — name the knob and the mechanism.
+        const remedy = bufferPoolExhaustionRemedy(retryMsg);
+        throw new Error(
+          `COPY failed for ${table}: ${retryMsg.slice(0, 200)}${remedy ? ` ${remedy}` : ''}`,
+        );
+      },
+      rows,
+    );
   }
 };
 
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/run-analyze.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/run-analyze.ts
index 8d302c913..92925de71 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/run-analyze.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/run-analyze.ts
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ import {
 import { summarizeUndecidedSatisfaction } from './ingestion/scope-resolution/undecided-satisfaction.js';
 import { summarizeScopeExtractionFailures } from './ingestion/scope-resolution/scope-extraction-failures.js';
 import type { KnowledgeGraph } from './graph/types.js';
+import { reconcileGraphNodeIdentities } from './incremental/write-reconciliation.js';
 import { resetDegradedParseCounter } from './tree-sitter/safe-parse.js';
 import {
   initLbug,
@@ -128,6 +129,7 @@ import { resolveFtsVersionPair } from './lbug/vendored-extension-path.js';
 import {
   startWalCheckpointDriver,
   checkpointOnce,
+  isManualCheckpointEnabled,
   type WalCheckpointDriver,
 } from './lbug/wal-checkpoint-driver.js';
 import {
@@ -2854,7 +2856,7 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
   // (Bugbot review on PR #1479: a prediction that flipped post-pipeline
   // could skip the embedding cache load and then take the full-rebuild
   // path, silently losing embeddings).
-  const isIncremental =
+  const incrementalEligible =
     !options.force &&
     !!existingMeta &&
     // Belt and braces, not a second gate: the guard above already set `force`
@@ -2867,6 +2869,13 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
     repoHasGit &&
     allFilePaths.length > 0;
 
+  // Select a full build before any selective mutation when the operator has
+  // disabled the checkpoint needed to certify an incremental publication.
+  const isIncremental = incrementalEligible && isManualCheckpointEnabled();
+  if (incrementalEligible && !isIncremental) {
+    log('Manual WAL checkpoints are disabled; switching to a full DB write before mutation.');
+  }
+
   const hashDiff = isIncremental
     ? diffFileHashes(newFileHashes, existingMeta!.fileHashes)
     : undefined;
@@ -3112,6 +3121,24 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
     // collapse check compares the whole in-memory graph against the whole DB,
     // which is only a like-for-like comparison on a full rebuild.
     let wroteChangedSubgraphOnly = false;
+    const markIncrementalGraphVerification = async (): Promise<void> => {
+      if (buildPath !== lbugPath) return;
+      const latest = await loadMeta(metaDir);
+      if (!latest?.incrementalInProgress) {
+        throw new Error('Cannot certify incremental graph without its dirty metadata marker.');
+      }
+      // A failed or aborted identity scan is a graph failure. FTS-only repair
+      // and FTS crash recovery must not clear it while retaining these rows.
+      await saveMeta(metaDir, {
+        ...latest,
+        incrementalInProgress: {
+          ...latest.incrementalInProgress,
+          phase: 'graph-reconciliation',
+          updatedAt: Date.now(),
+          checkpointSucceeded: false,
+        },
+      });
+    };
     let incrementalFtsRebuildTables: Set<string> | undefined;
     if (isIncremental && hashDiff) {
       // ── Incremental DB writeback ───────────────────────────────────
@@ -3163,6 +3190,8 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
         phase: string,
         extra: Partial<NonNullable<RepoMeta['incrementalInProgress']>> = {},
       ): Promise<void> => {
+        // Do not stamp live metadata while writing a staging database.
+        if (buildPath !== lbugPath) return;
         await saveMeta(metaDir, {
           ...existingMeta!,
           incrementalInProgress: {
@@ -3906,6 +3935,14 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
           'Continuing; recovery will treat the graph-boundary checkpoint as unsuccessful.',
       );
     }
+    if (wroteChangedSubgraphOnly) {
+      await markIncrementalGraphVerification();
+      await reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(
+        pipelineResult.graph,
+        executeQuery,
+        'post-COPY/checkpoint',
+      );
+    }
     if (shouldStampFtsDirtyPhase(ftsWritePlan)) {
       // Lift the prior-meta precondition: a first-ever in-place run (Windows
       // full rebuild, or any in-place incremental) must stamp too. Staging
@@ -4002,6 +4039,7 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
           ? (table, indexName) => log(`FTS: ready ${table}.${indexName}`)
           : undefined,
       });
+      if (wroteChangedSubgraphOnly) await markIncrementalGraphVerification();
       if (ftsResult.ok) {
         progress('fts', 90, 'Search indexes ready');
       } else if (ftsFailureIsFatal(ftsResult.failureClass, useAtomicSwap)) {
@@ -4054,6 +4092,12 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
       progress('fts', 90, 'Search indexes skipped (FTS unavailable)');
     }
 
+    if (wroteChangedSubgraphOnly) {
+      // FTS has returned. Later embedding/finalization failures must require
+      // graph recovery, since post-FTS node identities are not yet certified.
+      await markIncrementalGraphVerification();
+    }
+
     // ── Phase 3.5: Re-insert cached embeddings ────────────────────────
     // Runs on BOTH the full-rebuild path and the incremental path:
     //   - Full rebuild / escalated write: DB was wiped, every cached row
@@ -4956,96 +5000,25 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
     // Parse-cache publish waits until after that swap + saveMeta so a failed
     // registerRepo / close / swap cannot replace live shards (#3153).
 
-    // Forward the --name alias and the registry-collision bypass bit.
-    // `allowDuplicateName` is its own concern — independent from the
-    // pipeline `force` above. The CLI maps it from
-    // `--allow-duplicate-name` only; `--force` and `--skills` both
-    // trigger pipeline re-run but never bypass the registry guard.
-    // The returned name is the one actually written to the registry
-    // (after applying the precedence chain in registerRepo) — reuse it
-    // so AGENTS.md / skill files reference the same name MCP clients
-    // will look up (#979).
-    const projectName = await registerRepo(repoPath, meta, {
-      name: options.registryName,
-      onRename: (previousName, nextName) =>
-        log(`Registry name changed: "${previousName}" -> "${nextName}".`),
-      allowDuplicateName: options.allowDuplicateName,
-      // Non-primary branch runs upsert into the entry's branches[]; the
-      // primary/flat run (placement.branch === undefined) refreshes the
-      // top-level fields (#2106).
-      branch: placement.branch,
-      storagePath,
-    });
-
-    // ── #2354: the flat workspace slot has adopted this run's branch ──────
-    // Drop a now-shadowed `branches/<slug>/` sub-index for the same label
-    // (unreachable once the flat slot serves it) and align the registry's
-    // top-level branch label. Best-effort (#2364 review F5): the index is
-    // complete and registered, and a failure
-    // here leaves only a stale registry label / undeleted shadowed dir —
-    // never wrong routing, because the flat meta this run already stamped is
-    // what applyBranchScope trusts. Retried by the next content-changing run
-    // (same-commit fast-path runs skip it: their guard compares the
-    // already-stamped meta label).
-    if (!placement.branch && branchLabel) {
-      try {
-        await adoptFlatBranchLabel(repoPath, branchLabel, storagePath);
-      } catch (e) {
-        log(
-          `Warning: could not sync the workspace branch label (${(e as Error).message}); continuing.`,
+    if (wroteChangedSubgraphOnly) {
+      // Registry freshness must not advance either. Include FTS, embedding
+      // restoration and the final WAL drain in the certified boundary.
+      await markIncrementalGraphVerification();
+      await walCheckpointDriver.stop();
+      if (!(await checkpointOnce())) {
+        throw new Error(
+          'Graph identity reconciliation failed: final checkpoint could not be verified; run `gitnexus analyze --force`.',
         );
       }
+      await reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(
+        pipelineResult.graph,
+        executeQuery,
+        'pre-publish/checkpoint',
+      );
     }
-
     // Keep generated .gitnexus contents ignored without editing the user's root .gitignore.
     await ensureGitNexusIgnored(repoPath, storagePath);
 
-    // ── Generate AI context files (best-effort) ───────────────────────
-    let aggregatedClusterCount = 0;
-    if (pipelineResult.communityResult?.communities) {
-      const groups = new Map<string, number>();
-      for (const c of pipelineResult.communityResult.communities) {
-        const label = c.heuristicLabel || c.label || 'Unknown';
-        groups.set(label, (groups.get(label) || 0) + c.symbolCount);
-      }
-      aggregatedClusterCount = Array.from(groups.values()).filter((count) => count >= 5).length;
-    }
-
-    // Only (re)generate the repo-root AI context files (AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md /
-    // skills) for the primary/flat index (#2106). A non-primary branch analyze
-    // must not churn the repo's committed AGENTS.md with branch-specific stats.
-    if (!placement.branch) {
-      try {
-        await generateAIContextFiles(
-          repoPath,
-          storagePath,
-          projectName,
-          {
-            files: pipelineResult.totalFileCount,
-            nodes: stats.nodes,
-            edges: stats.edges,
-            communities:
-              pipelineResult.communityResult?.stats.totalCommunities ??
-              existingMeta?.stats?.communities,
-            clusters: aggregatedClusterCount,
-            processes:
-              pipelineResult.processResult?.stats.totalProcesses ?? existingMeta?.stats?.processes,
-          },
-          undefined,
-          {
-            skipAgentsMd: options.skipAgentsMd,
-            skipSkills: options.skipSkills,
-            noStats: options.noStats,
-            defaultBranch: options.defaultBranch,
-            hasPdg: options.pdg === true,
-            hasSpringActuator: options.springActuatorPath !== undefined,
-          },
-        );
-      } catch {
-        // Best-effort — don't fail the entire analysis for context file issues
-      }
-    }
-
     // ── Close LadybugDB ──────────────────────────────────────────────
     // Stop the manual checkpoint driver before closeLbug so its
     // in-flight CHECKPOINT cannot race the `safeClose` CHECKPOINT.
@@ -5109,6 +5082,96 @@ async function runFullAnalysisInner(
     // live and the next run recovers via the full-rebuild path.
     await saveMeta(metaDir, meta);
 
+    // Registry freshness is published only after the graph and its metadata.
+    // A failed close, swap, or metadata save must leave the previous registry
+    // receipt intact, just as it leaves the cache unpublished.
+    // Forward the --name alias and the registry-collision bypass bit.
+    // `allowDuplicateName` is its own concern — independent from the
+    // pipeline `force` above. The CLI maps it from
+    // `--allow-duplicate-name` only; `--force` and `--skills` both
+    // trigger pipeline re-run but never bypass the registry guard.
+    // The returned name is the one actually written to the registry
+    // (after applying the precedence chain in registerRepo) — reuse it
+    // so AGENTS.md / skill files reference the same name MCP clients
+    // will look up (#979).
+    const projectName = await registerRepo(repoPath, meta, {
+      name: options.registryName,
+      onRename: (previousName, nextName) =>
+        log(`Registry name changed: "${previousName}" -> "${nextName}".`),
+      allowDuplicateName: options.allowDuplicateName,
+      // Non-primary branch runs upsert into the entry's branches[]; the
+      // primary/flat run (placement.branch === undefined) refreshes the
+      // top-level fields (#2106).
+      branch: placement.branch,
+      storagePath,
+    });
+
+    // ── #2354: the flat workspace slot has adopted this run's branch ──────
+    // Drop a now-shadowed `branches/<slug>/` sub-index for the same label
+    // (unreachable once the flat slot serves it) and align the registry's
+    // top-level branch label. Best-effort (#2364 review F5): the index is
+    // complete and registered, and a failure
+    // here leaves only a stale registry label / undeleted shadowed dir —
+    // never wrong routing, because the flat meta this run already stamped is
+    // what applyBranchScope trusts. Retried by the next content-changing run
+    // (same-commit fast-path runs skip it: their guard compares the
+    // already-stamped meta label).
+    if (!placement.branch && branchLabel) {
+      try {
+        await adoptFlatBranchLabel(repoPath, branchLabel, storagePath);
+      } catch (e) {
+        log(
+          `Warning: could not sync the workspace branch label (${(e as Error).message}); continuing.`,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+
+    // ── Generate AI context files (best-effort) ───────────────────────
+    let aggregatedClusterCount = 0;
+    if (pipelineResult.communityResult?.communities) {
+      const groups = new Map<string, number>();
+      for (const c of pipelineResult.communityResult.communities) {
+        const label = c.heuristicLabel || c.label || 'Unknown';
+        groups.set(label, (groups.get(label) || 0) + c.symbolCount);
+      }
+      aggregatedClusterCount = Array.from(groups.values()).filter((count) => count >= 5).length;
+    }
+
+    // Only (re)generate the repo-root AI context files (AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md /
+    // skills) for the primary/flat index (#2106). A non-primary branch analyze
+    // must not churn the repo's committed AGENTS.md with branch-specific stats.
+    if (!placement.branch) {
+      try {
+        await generateAIContextFiles(
+          repoPath,
+          storagePath,
+          projectName,
+          {
+            files: pipelineResult.totalFileCount,
+            nodes: stats.nodes,
+            edges: stats.edges,
+            communities:
+              pipelineResult.communityResult?.stats.totalCommunities ??
+              existingMeta?.stats?.communities,
+            clusters: aggregatedClusterCount,
+            processes:
+              pipelineResult.processResult?.stats.totalProcesses ?? existingMeta?.stats?.processes,
+          },
+          undefined,
+          {
+            skipAgentsMd: options.skipAgentsMd,
+            skipSkills: options.skipSkills,
+            noStats: options.noStats,
+            defaultBranch: options.defaultBranch,
+            hasPdg: options.pdg === true,
+            hasSpringActuator: options.springActuatorPath !== undefined,
+          },
+        );
+      } catch {
+        // Best-effort — don't fail the entire analysis for context file issues
+      }
+    }
+
     // Persist the incremental parse cache only after a successful graph
     // publish (#3153). try/catch so a cache-write failure never breaks an
     // otherwise successful indexing run. Prune stale chunk-hash entries first
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/mcp/local/local-backend.ts b/gitnexus/src/mcp/local/local-backend.ts
index 71864e674..5b26beeea 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/mcp/local/local-backend.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/mcp/local/local-backend.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,12 @@ import { resolveGraphPath } from '../../storage/shared-store.js';
 import fs from 'fs/promises';
 import path from 'path';
 import { createHash } from 'crypto';
-import { scoreImpactRisk, unusedAxesForImpactWalk, type ImpactRiskResult } from 'gitnexus-shared';
+import {
+  scoreImpactRisk,
+  unusedAxesForImpactWalk,
+  getLanguageFromFilename,
+  type ImpactRiskResult,
+} from 'gitnexus-shared';
 import {
   initLbug,
   executeQuery,
@@ -30,8 +35,10 @@ import { shapeQueryProcessAttaches } from './query-process-attaches.js';
 import { LBUG_ID_PROBE_BATCH_SIZE, LBUG_QUERY_BATCH_SIZE } from '../../core/lbug/query-batch.js';
 import { chunk, mapConcurrent } from '../../lib/utils.js';
 import { pathSuffixOf } from './path-predicate.js';
+import { isCobolFile, isJclFile } from '../../core/ingestion/cobol/file-types.js';
 import { toOneBasedLine } from '../../core/ingestion/utils/line-base.js';
 import { isTestFilePath } from '../../core/ingestion/utils/test-file-path.js';
+import { isTemplateRouteCandidate } from '../../core/ingestion/utils/template-file.js';
 import { isWalCorruptionError, WAL_RECOVERY_SUGGESTION } from '../../core/lbug/lbug-config.js';
 // Embedding imports are lazy (dynamic import) to avoid loading onnxruntime-node
 // at MCP server startup — crashes on unsupported Node ABI versions (#89)
@@ -6445,6 +6452,7 @@ export class LocalBackend {
     // throwaway arrays the size of the row set (40k rows 11.4ms → 4.5ms, 200k
     // rows 71.3ms → 26.6ms).
     const exactlyMatchedPaths = new Set<string>();
+    const mappedPaths = new Set<string>();
     for (const row of symbolRows) {
       if (row.filePath === row.diffPath) exactlyMatchedPaths.add(row.diffPath);
     }
@@ -6454,6 +6462,8 @@ export class LocalBackend {
       if (sym.filePath !== sym.diffPath && exactlyMatchedPaths.has(diffPath)) continue;
       const hunks = hunksByPath.get(diffPath) ?? [];
       if (!hunksOverlapRange(hunks, sym.startLine, sym.endLine)) continue;
+      // A suffix fallback is a hint, not proof that this is the changed file.
+      if (sym.filePath === diffPath) mappedPaths.add(diffPath);
       if (changedSymbols.has(sym.id)) continue;
 
       changedSymbols.set(sym.id, {
@@ -6465,6 +6475,27 @@ export class LocalBackend {
       });
     }
 
+    // An empty successful query cannot prove a source diff is safe: its rows
+    // may be missing, outside indexed spans, or not yet indexed. Keep ordinary
+    // docs/config diffs measurable, but withhold a ranked source-risk verdict.
+    const isSourceFile = (file: string): boolean =>
+      getLanguageFromFilename(file) !== null ||
+      isCobolFile(file) ||
+      isJclFile(file) ||
+      isTemplateRouteCandidate(file);
+    const unmappedFiles = [
+      ...new Set(
+        fileDiffs
+          .filter(
+            ({ filePath, oldFilePath }) =>
+              !mappedPaths.has(filePath) &&
+              (isSourceFile(filePath) || (oldFilePath !== undefined && isSourceFile(oldFilePath))),
+          )
+          .map(({ filePath }) => filePath),
+      ),
+    ];
+    if (unmappedFiles.length > 0) queryDegraded = true;
+
     // Find affected processes -- batched queries instead of N+1
     const affectedProcesses = new Map<string, any>();
     if (changedSymbols.size > 0) {
@@ -6565,8 +6596,9 @@ export class LocalBackend {
       },
       changed_symbols: listedSymbols,
       affected_processes: Array.from(affectedProcesses.values()),
-      // A swallowed query failure makes the counts/risk above incomplete — tell
-      // the caller so the safety gate isn't trusted as a clean result (#2283).
+      ...(unmappedFiles.length > 0 && { unmapped_files: unmappedFiles }),
+      // Failed queries or unmapped source files leave counts/risk incomplete;
+      // the safety gate must not treat that as a clean result (#2283).
       ...(queryDegraded && { partial: true }),
       ...(listedSymbols.length < changedSymbols.size && { truncated: true }),
     };
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts b/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts
index 2965fcd6f..77b527e00 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ AFTER THIS: Review affected processes. Use context() on high-risk symbols. READ
 GIT WORKTREE SUPPORT: GitNexus automatically detects when the MCP server was launched from inside a linked git worktree and runs git diff against that worktree — no extra parameters needed in the common case. Pass "worktree" explicitly only when the server was started from a different directory than the worktree you are editing (e.g., the server runs from the canonical root but your changes are in a linked worktree at a different path).
 
 Returns: changed symbols, affected processes, and a risk summary.
-- partial: true — a step failed and was swallowed, so the result is incomplete and risk_level is "unknown" instead of a ranked level. Two causes, with different blast radii: the symbol query (or an unparseable diff) degrades everything — changed_symbols, both counts, and the processes derived from them — while a failed process lookup degrades only affected_processes and the risk read off it, leaving the changed-symbol counts sound. changed_count:0 with partial:true is NOT a clean pre-commit check; re-run before treating the diff as safe.
+- partial: true — mapping is incomplete, so risk_level is "unknown" instead of a ranked level. A failed symbol query (or an unparseable diff) degrades changed_symbols, both counts, and derived processes; a failed process lookup degrades only affected_processes and risk, leaving changed-symbol counts sound. unmapped_files lists changed supported source files with no mapped symbols, including source renames without hunks: their symbols may be missing, unindexed, or outside indexed ranges even when every query succeeded. Rebuild the index and inspect those diffs; retry alone may not resolve this state. changed_count:0 with partial:true is NOT a clean pre-commit check.
 - truncated: true — the changed_symbols LISTING was capped for this response. summary.changed_count counts every symbol the run observed: the true total normally, a LOWER BOUND when partial:true. Compare it with the array length rather than trusting the array.`,
     annotations: READ_ONLY_TOOL_ANNOTATIONS,
     inputSchema: {
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/server/api.ts b/gitnexus/src/server/api.ts
index 0d554125a..86cafb0c1 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/server/api.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/server/api.ts
@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ const mapGraphRelationshipRow = (row: any): GraphRelationship => ({
   sourceId: row.sourceId,
   targetId: row.targetId,
   confidence: row.confidence,
-  reason: row.reason,
+  reason: row.reason ?? '',
   step: row.step,
 });
 
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/storage/git.ts b/gitnexus/src/storage/git.ts
index 0d0e138e4..f4e26b99c 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/storage/git.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/storage/git.ts
@@ -827,6 +827,8 @@ export interface DiffHunk {
 
 export interface FileDiff {
   filePath: string;
+  /** Decoded pre-rename path; either side can identify a source-file change. */
+  oldFilePath?: string;
   hunks: DiffHunk[];
 }
 
@@ -1061,7 +1063,10 @@ export function parseDiffHunksResult(diffOutput: string): DiffHunkParseResult {
       } else {
         unparsedGitHeaders++;
       }
-    } else if (line.startsWith('rename to ')) {
+    } else if (!inHunk && line.startsWith('rename from ')) {
+      const oldFilePath = decodeGitPathToken(line.slice('rename from '.length));
+      if (current && oldFilePath) current.oldFilePath = oldFilePath;
+    } else if (!inHunk && line.startsWith('rename to ')) {
       const filePath = pathFromRenameTo(line);
       if (!filePath) continue;
       if (current) current.filePath = filePath;
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-atomic-swap.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-atomic-swap.test.ts
index f664a6bb6..9731bf51b 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-atomic-swap.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/analyze-atomic-swap.test.ts
@@ -19,32 +19,55 @@ import { promises as fs } from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
 
 type LbugAdapter = typeof import('../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js');
+type RepoManager = typeof import('../../src/storage/repo-manager.js');
+type FsAtomic = typeof import('../../src/storage/fs-atomic.js');
 const ctx = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   loadMock: vi.fn(),
   realLoad: null as LbugAdapter['loadGraphToLbug'] | null,
   deleteMock: vi.fn(),
   realDelete: null as LbugAdapter['deleteNodesForFiles'] | null,
+  closeMock: vi.fn(),
+  realClose: null as LbugAdapter['closeLbug'] | null,
+  saveMetaMock: vi.fn(),
+  realSaveMeta: null as RepoManager['saveMeta'] | null,
+  renameMock: vi.fn(),
+  realRename: null as FsAtomic['retryRename'] | null,
 }));
-// Delegating mock: overrides only loadGraphToLbug so a rebuild can be made to
-// fail on demand (mirrors run-analyze-adopt-failure.test.ts).
+// Delegating mocks keep real graph, metadata, and registry writes while
+// allowing failures at the write and publication boundaries.
 vi.mock('../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js', async (importOriginal) => {
   const actual = await importOriginal<LbugAdapter>();
   ctx.realLoad = actual.loadGraphToLbug;
   ctx.realDelete = actual.deleteNodesForFiles;
+  ctx.realClose = actual.closeLbug;
   ctx.loadMock.mockImplementation(actual.loadGraphToLbug);
   ctx.deleteMock.mockImplementation(actual.deleteNodesForFiles);
+  ctx.closeMock.mockImplementation(actual.closeLbug);
   return {
     ...actual,
     loadGraphToLbug: ctx.loadMock,
     deleteNodesForFiles: ctx.deleteMock,
+    closeLbug: ctx.closeMock,
   };
 });
+vi.mock('../../src/storage/repo-manager.js', async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<RepoManager>();
+  ctx.realSaveMeta = actual.saveMeta;
+  ctx.saveMetaMock.mockImplementation(actual.saveMeta);
+  return { ...actual, saveMeta: ctx.saveMetaMock };
+});
+vi.mock('../../src/storage/fs-atomic.js', async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<FsAtomic>();
+  ctx.realRename = actual.retryRename;
+  ctx.renameMock.mockImplementation(actual.retryRename);
+  return { ...actual, retryRename: ctx.renameMock };
+});
 
 import {
   analyzeFailureMayHaveMutatedLiveIndex,
   runFullAnalysis,
 } from '../../src/core/run-analyze.js';
-import { getStoragePaths } from '../../src/storage/repo-manager.js';
+import { getStoragePaths, loadMeta, readRegistry } from '../../src/storage/repo-manager.js';
 import {
   initLbug as poolInit,
   executeQuery as poolQuery,
@@ -83,6 +106,16 @@ describe.skipIf(isWin)('atomic full-rebuild swap (#2)', () => {
     ctx.deleteMock.mockImplementation((...a: Parameters<LbugAdapter['deleteNodesForFiles']>) =>
       ctx.realDelete!(...a),
     );
+    ctx.closeMock.mockReset();
+    ctx.closeMock.mockImplementation(() => ctx.realClose!());
+    ctx.saveMetaMock.mockReset();
+    ctx.saveMetaMock.mockImplementation((...a: Parameters<RepoManager['saveMeta']>) =>
+      ctx.realSaveMeta!(...a),
+    );
+    ctx.renameMock.mockReset();
+    ctx.renameMock.mockImplementation((...a: Parameters<FsAtomic['retryRename']>) =>
+      ctx.realRename!(...a),
+    );
   });
 
   afterEach(async () => {
@@ -144,6 +177,102 @@ describe.skipIf(isWin)('atomic full-rebuild swap (#2)', () => {
     }
   }, 180_000);
 
+  it.each(
+    (['full', 'incremental'] as const).flatMap((writeMode) =>
+      (['close', 'swap', 'metadata'] as const).map((failurePoint) => ({
+        writeMode,
+        failurePoint,
+      })),
+    ),
+  )(
+    'keeps registry freshness unchanged when $writeMode publication fails at $failurePoint',
+    async ({ writeMode, failurePoint }) => {
+      const { repo, cleanup } = await makeRepo();
+      const repoId = `atomic-publication-${writeMode}-${failurePoint}`;
+      try {
+        await runFullAnalysis(repo, {}, { onProgress: () => {} });
+        const { lbugPath, storagePath } = getStoragePaths(repo);
+        const oldGraph = await fs.readFile(lbugPath);
+        const oldMeta = await loadMeta(storagePath);
+        const oldRegistry = await readRegistry();
+        expect(oldRegistry).toHaveLength(1);
+        expect(oldRegistry[0]).toMatchObject({
+          lastCommit: oldMeta!.lastCommit,
+          indexedAt: oldMeta!.indexedAt,
+        });
+
+        await fs.writeFile(
+          path.join(repo, 'a.ts'),
+          'export function replacement() { return "new graph"; }\n',
+        );
+        execSync('git -c user.name=t -c user.email=t@t commit -am replacement', {
+          cwd: repo,
+          stdio: 'pipe',
+        });
+        const nextCommit = execSync('git rev-parse HEAD', {
+          cwd: repo,
+          encoding: 'utf8',
+        }).trim();
+        expect(nextCommit).not.toBe(oldMeta!.lastCommit);
+
+        const injected = new Error(`injected final ${failurePoint} failure`);
+        ctx.loadMock.mockClear();
+        ctx.deleteMock.mockClear();
+        if (failurePoint === 'close') {
+          ctx.closeMock.mockImplementation(async () => {
+            // Actually release native handles, then inject the rejection only
+            // after loading the new graph, not at the pre-rebuild close.
+            await ctx.realClose!();
+            if (ctx.loadMock.mock.calls.length > 0) throw injected;
+          });
+        } else if (failurePoint === 'swap') {
+          ctx.renameMock.mockImplementation(
+            async (...args: Parameters<FsAtomic['retryRename']>) => {
+              const [from, to] = args;
+              if (from.startsWith(`${lbugPath}.staging.`) && to === lbugPath) throw injected;
+              await ctx.realRename!(...args);
+            },
+          );
+        } else {
+          ctx.saveMetaMock.mockImplementation(
+            async (...args: Parameters<RepoManager['saveMeta']>) => {
+              const [, meta] = args;
+              if (meta.lastCommit === nextCommit && !meta.incrementalInProgress) throw injected;
+              await ctx.realSaveMeta!(...args);
+            },
+          );
+        }
+
+        const failure = await runFullAnalysis(
+          repo,
+          writeMode === 'full' ? { force: true } : { atomicIncremental: true },
+          { onProgress: () => {} },
+        ).catch((error: unknown) => error);
+        expect(failure).toBe(injected);
+        expect(ctx.loadMock).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(ctx.deleteMock.mock.calls.length > 0).toBe(writeMode === 'incremental');
+        expect(await readRegistry()).toEqual(oldRegistry);
+        expect(await loadMeta(storagePath)).toMatchObject({ lastCommit: oldMeta!.lastCommit });
+        expect(await lingeringTemp(lbugPath)).toEqual([]);
+
+        // A metadata failure occurs after the swap; close/swap failures keep
+        // the old bytes. Both cases must retain the old registry receipt.
+        const published = failurePoint === 'metadata';
+        expect(analyzeFailureMayHaveMutatedLiveIndex(failure)).toBe(published);
+        expect((await fs.readFile(lbugPath)).equals(oldGraph)).toBe(!published);
+        await poolInit(repoId, lbugPath);
+        const names = (await poolQuery(repoId, 'MATCH (f:Function) RETURN f.name AS n')).flatMap(
+          (row) => Object.values(row as Record<string, unknown>).map(String),
+        );
+        expect(names.sort()).toEqual(published ? ['replacement'] : ['caller', 'greet']);
+      } finally {
+        await poolClose(repoId);
+        await cleanup();
+      }
+    },
+    180_000,
+  );
+
   it('marks a failure after an atomic publish as potentially live-mutating', async () => {
     const { repo, cleanup } = await makeRepo();
     try {
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/detect-changes-path-anchoring.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/detect-changes-path-anchoring.test.ts
index f4bd381d8..f65cdec6b 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/integration/detect-changes-path-anchoring.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/detect-changes-path-anchoring.test.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  *    0-based line space (#2377, #2915).
  */
 import { it, expect, beforeAll, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 import { LocalBackend } from '../../src/mcp/local/local-backend.js';
@@ -58,8 +59,10 @@ function makeWorkingCopy(): string {
 /** The fields these tests read off one `detect_changes` run. */
 type DetectChangesResult = {
   error?: unknown;
-  summary: { changed_count: number };
+  summary: { changed_count: number; risk_level: string };
   changed_symbols: { name: string; filePath: string }[];
+  partial?: boolean;
+  unmapped_files?: string[];
 };
 
 withTestLbugDB(
@@ -118,3 +121,51 @@ withTestLbugDB(
     },
   },
 );
+
+withTestLbugDB(
+  'detect-changes-unindexed-sibling',
+  (handle) => {
+    it('does not certify a new root index.ts from an indexed pkg/index.ts suffix match', async () => {
+      const backend = (handle as typeof handle & { _backend: LocalBackend })._backend;
+      const result = (await backend.callTool('detect_changes', {
+        scope: 'staged',
+      })) as DetectChangesResult;
+      expect(result.error).toBeUndefined();
+      // The fallback remains visible, but cannot certify the identity of the new file.
+      expect(result.changed_symbols).toEqual([
+        expect.objectContaining({ name: 'helper', filePath: 'pkg/index.ts' }),
+      ]);
+      expect(result.summary.risk_level).toBe('unknown');
+      expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+      expect(result.unmapped_files).toEqual(['index.ts']);
+    });
+  },
+  {
+    seed: [
+      "CREATE (fn:Function {id: 'Function:pkg/index.ts:helper', name: 'helper', filePath: 'pkg/index.ts', startLine: 0, endLine: 1, isExported: true})",
+    ],
+    poolAdapter: true,
+    afterSetup: async (handle) => {
+      const repoDir = tempDirs.dir();
+      mkdirSync(path.join(repoDir, 'pkg'), { recursive: true });
+      writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, 'pkg/index.ts'), 'export function helper() {\n}\n');
+      initGitRepo(repoDir);
+      commitAll(repoDir, 'indexed sibling');
+      writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, 'index.ts'), 'export function added() {\n}\n');
+      execFileSync('git', ['add', 'index.ts'], { cwd: repoDir });
+      vi.mocked(listRegisteredRepos).mockResolvedValue([
+        {
+          name: 'sibling-repo',
+          path: repoDir,
+          storagePath: handle.tmpHandle.dbPath,
+          indexedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+          lastCommit: 'abc1234',
+          stats: { files: 1, nodes: 1, edges: 0, communities: 0, processes: 0 },
+        },
+      ]);
+      const backend = new LocalBackend();
+      await backend.init();
+      (handle as typeof handle & { _backend: LocalBackend })._backend = backend;
+    },
+  },
+);
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/fts-extension-e2e.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/fts-extension-e2e.test.ts
index 47f79d137..9bc6ad544 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/integration/fts-extension-e2e.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/fts-extension-e2e.test.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
 import path from 'path';
 import fs from 'fs';
 import os from 'os';
+import { inspect } from 'node:util';
 
 import { getExtensionInstallChildProcessArgs } from '../../src/core/lbug/extension-loader.js';
 import {
@@ -144,6 +145,8 @@ const makeFixtureRepo = (label: string): string => {
 
 interface CliResult {
   status: number | null;
+  /** Keep native termination and spawn failures visible in assertion messages. */
+  diagnostics: string;
   /** stdout + stderr combined — warn lines and progress renderer interleave streams. */
   output: string;
 }
@@ -172,7 +175,20 @@ const runCli = (
       NODE_OPTIONS: `${process.env.NODE_OPTIONS || ''} --max-old-space-size=8192`.trim(),
     },
   });
-  return { status: result.status, output: `${result.stdout ?? ''}\n${result.stderr ?? ''}` };
+  return {
+    status: result.status,
+    diagnostics: inspect(
+      {
+        status: result.status,
+        signal: result.signal,
+        error: result.error,
+        stdout: result.stdout,
+        stderr: result.stderr,
+      },
+      { depth: null, maxStringLength: null },
+    ),
+    output: `${result.stdout ?? ''}\n${result.stderr ?? ''}`,
+  };
 };
 
 beforeAll(() => {
@@ -208,7 +224,7 @@ describe('happy path — extension pre-installed, fully offline (load-only)', ()
 
   it('analyze builds the index with FTS and emits no degradation warning', () => {
     const result = runCli(['analyze'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('indexed successfully');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('FTS extension unavailable');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('search is disabled');
@@ -216,14 +232,14 @@ describe('happy path — extension pre-installed, fully offline (load-only)', ()
 
   it('query finds the symbol via BM25 with no degradation warning', () => {
     const result = runCli(['query', 'greetE2eSymbol'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('greetE2eSymbol');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('keyword search degraded');
   }, 60_000);
 
   it('doctor reports a live-probed available FTS and a resolved LadybugDB version', () => {
     const result = runCli(['doctor'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('Full-text search: available');
     // #2374: version used to print as "unknown" on every platform.
     expect(result.output).toMatch(/LadybugDB:\s*\d+\.\d+\.\d+/);
@@ -231,7 +247,7 @@ describe('happy path — extension pre-installed, fully offline (load-only)', ()
 
   it('analyze --repair-fts rebuilds the search indexes offline', () => {
     const result = runCli(['analyze', '--repair-fts'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('FTS indexes repaired successfully');
   }, 180_000);
 });
@@ -250,7 +266,7 @@ describe('packaged vendor survives a broken or missing home copy', () => {
 
   it('analyze stays FTS-available when ~/.lbdb is broken', () => {
     const result = runCli(['analyze'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('indexed successfully');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('FTS extension unavailable');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('search is disabled');
@@ -258,13 +274,13 @@ describe('packaged vendor survives a broken or missing home copy', () => {
 
   it('analyze --repair-fts succeeds from the packaged artifact', () => {
     const result = runCli(['analyze', '--repair-fts'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('FTS indexes repaired successfully');
   }, 180_000);
 
   it('query finds the symbol with no HOME-copy degradation warning', () => {
     const result = runCli(['query', 'greetE2eSymbol'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('greetE2eSymbol');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('keyword search degraded');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('FTS extension failed to load');
@@ -272,7 +288,7 @@ describe('packaged vendor survives a broken or missing home copy', () => {
 
   it('doctor reports a live-probed available FTS despite a broken HOME copy', () => {
     const result = runCli(['doctor'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('Full-text search: available');
   }, 60_000);
 
@@ -280,7 +296,7 @@ describe('packaged vendor survives a broken or missing home copy', () => {
     const missing = makeHome('missing');
     const missingRepo = makeFixtureRepo('missing');
     const result = runCli(['analyze'], missingRepo, missing.home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('indexed successfully');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('FTS extension unavailable');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('has not been installed');
@@ -295,7 +311,7 @@ describe('regression — the home copy disappears between analyze runs (#2841)',
     // 1. First analyze with the extension in place: the index ends up carrying
     //    an FTS index on every searchable table.
     const first = runCli(['analyze'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(first.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(first.status, first.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     // This case needs run 1 to actually BUILD the indexes — without them there
     // is nothing for the gate to trip on and the assertions below would be
     // vacuous. When the seeded extension cannot load on this host (the same
@@ -332,7 +348,7 @@ describe('regression — the home copy disappears between analyze runs (#2841)',
     // table File but its extension is not loaded" and no mention of FTS at all.
     // Packaged vendor still loads after HOME vanishes, so incremental stays
     // incremental (no Binder, no full-DB escalation).
-    expect(second.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(second.status, second.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(second.output).not.toContain('its extension is not loaded');
     expect(second.output).not.toContain('full DB write');
     expect(second.output).not.toContain('forcing full rebuild');
@@ -346,15 +362,15 @@ describe('auto policy — packaged vendor does not need a HOME reinstall', () =>
     const repo = makeFixtureRepo('heal');
 
     const first = runCli(['analyze'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(first.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(first.status, first.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(first.output).not.toContain('FTS extension unavailable');
 
     const repair = runCli(['analyze', '--repair-fts'], repo, home, 'auto');
-    expect(repair.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(repair.status, repair.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(repair.output).toContain('FTS indexes repaired successfully');
 
     const query = runCli(['query', 'greetE2eSymbol'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(query.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(query.status, query.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(query.output).toContain('greetE2eSymbol');
     expect(query.output).not.toContain('keyword search degraded');
   }, 600_000);
@@ -363,7 +379,7 @@ describe('auto policy — packaged vendor does not need a HOME reinstall', () =>
     const { home } = makeHome('missing');
     const repo = makeFixtureRepo('fresh');
     const result = runCli(['analyze'], repo, home, 'load-only');
-    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.status, result.diagnostics).toBe(0);
     expect(result.output).toContain('indexed successfully');
     expect(result.output).not.toContain('FTS extension unavailable');
   }, 600_000);
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-core-adapter.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-core-adapter.test.ts
index 814fd60a4..89dd1c8a8 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-core-adapter.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-core-adapter.test.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 import fs from 'fs/promises';
 import path from 'path';
+import { PassThrough } from 'node:stream';
+import type { Response } from 'express';
 import type { GraphRelationship } from 'gitnexus-shared';
 import { withTestLbugDB } from '../helpers/test-indexed-db.js';
 import { skipUnlessFtsAvailable } from '../helpers/fts-availability.js';
@@ -61,6 +63,39 @@ withTestLbugDB(
         expect(folderRows).toHaveLength(1);
       });
 
+      it('serializes CSV-loaded empty relationship reasons as strings in both graph APIs', async () => {
+        const { executeQuery } = await import('../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js');
+        const { buildGraph, streamGraphNdjson } = await import('../../src/server/api.js');
+        const stored = await executeQuery(
+          'MATCH ()-[r:CodeRelation]->() RETURN r.reason AS reason',
+        );
+        expect(stored).toEqual(Array.from({ length: 4 }, () => ({ reason: null })));
+
+        const buffered = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(await buildGraph()));
+        const response = new PassThrough();
+        let ndjson = '';
+        response.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => {
+          ndjson += chunk.toString();
+        });
+        try {
+          await streamGraphNdjson(response as unknown as Response);
+        } finally {
+          response.destroy();
+        }
+        const streamed = ndjson
+          .trim()
+          .split('\n')
+          .map((line) => JSON.parse(line))
+          .filter((record) => record.type === 'relationship')
+          .map((record) => record.data);
+        expect(buffered.relationships).toHaveLength(4);
+        expect({
+          buffered: buffered.relationships.map((rel: GraphRelationship) => rel.reason),
+          streamed: streamed.map((rel: GraphRelationship) => rel.reason),
+        }).toEqual({ buffered: ['', '', '', ''], streamed: ['', '', '', ''] });
+        expect(streamed).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(buffered.relationships));
+      });
+
       it('createFTSIndex: creates FTS index on Function table without error', async (ctx) => {
         await skipUnlessFtsAvailable(ctx);
         const { createFTSIndex } = await import('../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js');
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-interrupted-checkpoint-recovery.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-interrupted-checkpoint-recovery.test.ts
index d2dea28cf..287f2333b 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-interrupted-checkpoint-recovery.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-interrupted-checkpoint-recovery.test.ts
@@ -20,58 +20,28 @@
  * and the behavioral contract is held on every pin by the mocked
  * forced-refusal suites instead.
  */
-import { afterAll, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { afterAll, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import fs from 'node:fs/promises';
 import os from 'node:os';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { closeLbug, executeQuery, initLbug } from '../../src/core/lbug/pool-adapter.js';
 import lbug from '@ladybugdb/core';
+import { closeQueryResults } from '../../src/core/lbug/query-result-utils.js';
 
 const REPO = 'test-interrupted-checkpoint';
 const ROWS = 300;
 
 /**
- * Windows: the native close() resolves before the kernel releases the file's
- * handles and byte-range locks — the next open then dies with Win32 Error 33
- * ("another process has locked a portion of the file"), which is exactly how
- * this fixture failed its first hosted run. Probe-read both the db and its
- * residual WAL until the engine's locks are gone. Bounded, so a real handle
- * leak fails loudly instead of hanging; a pass-through on POSIX (first probe
- * always succeeds).
- */
-async function waitForFixtureRelease(dbPath: string): Promise<void> {
-  for (const target of [dbPath, `${dbPath}.wal`]) {
-    for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
-      try {
-        const fh = await fs.open(target, 'r');
-        try {
-          await fh.read(Buffer.alloc(1), 0, 1, 0);
-        } finally {
-          await fh.close();
-        }
-        break;
-      } catch (err) {
-        if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === 'ENOENT') break; // nothing planted there
-        if (attempt >= 40) throw err; // ~6s of retries: report the leak
-        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 150));
-      }
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-/**
- * Deterministic interrupted-checkpoint signature: build rows on a writable
- * session with AUTO-CHECKPOINT DISABLED and close WITHOUT checkpointing, so —
- * exactly like a CHECKPOINT killed mid-flight — the main file is stale and
- * every row lives only in the WAL. Then rename that WAL to the
- * `lbug.wal.checkpoint` name the engine gives it during checkpoint, and plant
- * the shadow + intent/apply lock files it leaves behind.
+ * Preserve the main file and WAL before native close forces a checkpoint.
+ * Restoring both snapshots models a killed checkpoint with every row still
+ * WAL-only. All query results must be closed before releasing the database:
+ * native results retain the database and its writer lock until closed or GC'd.
  */
 async function plantInterruptedCheckpoint(dbPath: string): Promise<void> {
-  // Raw constructor (positional args mirror createLbugDatabase) because the
-  // autoCheckpoint toggle is not exposed through the config helpers — and
-  // auto-checkpoint-on-close is precisely what must NOT happen here.
+  // Disable automatic checkpoints while building the WAL. Native close still
+  // forces a checkpoint, so the pre-close main file must also be preserved.
   const db = new lbug.Database(
     dbPath,
     128 * 1024 * 1024, // bufferManagerSize
@@ -83,40 +53,61 @@ async function plantInterruptedCheckpoint(dbPath: string): Promise<void> {
     false, // throwOnWalReplayFailure
     true, // enableChecksums
   );
-  await db.init();
-  const conn = new lbug.Connection(db);
+  let conn: lbug.Connection | undefined;
+  let mainBuffer: Buffer;
+  let walBuffer: Buffer;
   try {
-    await conn.query('CREATE NODE TABLE Person (name STRING, PRIMARY KEY(name))');
+    await db.init();
+    conn = new lbug.Connection(db);
+    const statements = ['CREATE NODE TABLE Person (name STRING, PRIMARY KEY(name))'];
     for (let i = 0; i < ROWS; i += 100) {
       const batch = Array.from({ length: 100 }, (_, j) => `{name: 'p${i + j}'}`).join(', ');
-      await conn.query(`UNWIND [${batch}] AS r CREATE (:Person {name: r.name})`);
+      statements.push(`UNWIND [${batch}] AS r CREATE (:Person {name: r.name})`);
     }
-    const walBuffer = await fs.readFile(`${dbPath}.wal`);
-    // Honesty check: the rows must actually LIVE in the WAL — on an engine
-    // that tolerates the planted state this is the only proof the plant is
-    // not an empty shell (review finding: unused walBuffer).
+    for (const statement of statements) {
+      const result = await conn.query(statement);
+      try {
+        for (const cursor of Array.isArray(result) ? result : [result]) await cursor.getAll();
+      } finally {
+        await closeQueryResults(result);
+      }
+    }
+    [mainBuffer, walBuffer] = await Promise.all([
+      fs.readFile(dbPath),
+      fs.readFile(`${dbPath}.wal`),
+    ]);
     expect(walBuffer.byteLength).toBeGreaterThan(0);
-    // Close WITHOUT checkpoint: rows stay WAL-only, main file stays stale.
-    // Explicitly awaited release BEFORE the rename/reopen — on Windows the
-    // kernel releases the engine's handles/locks asynchronously and the WAL
-    // rename + pooled reopen race them (Win32 Error 33, seen in CI).
-    await conn.close().catch(() => {});
+  } finally {
+    await conn?.close().catch(() => {});
     await db.close().catch(() => {});
-    await waitForFixtureRelease(dbPath);
-    // Re-plant the captured WAL bytes rather than renaming the original: a
-    // close-time auto-checkpoint can consume the live .wal file out from
-    // under the rename (ENOENT — the fixture's other CI flake), while the
-    // captured buffer is what a killed checkpoint would have left behind.
-    await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.wal.checkpoint`, walBuffer);
-    await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.wal`, '');
-    await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.shadow`, '');
-    await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.checkpoint.intent.lock`, '');
-    await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.checkpoint.apply.lock`, '');
-  } catch (err) {
-    await conn.close().catch(() => {});
-    await db.close().catch(() => {});
-    throw err;
   }
+  // A separate process must acquire the native writer lock before the
+  // fixture files are restored. A byte-zero file read cannot test that lock.
+  const probe = spawnSync(
+    process.execPath,
+    [
+      '-e',
+      `const lbug = require(process.argv[1]);
+       const db = new lbug.Database(process.argv[2], 128 * 1024 * 1024, false,
+         false, 16 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024);
+       db.init().then(() => db.close()).catch((error) => {
+         console.error(error);
+         process.exitCode = 1;
+       });`,
+      fileURLToPath(new URL('../../node_modules/@ladybugdb/core', import.meta.url)),
+      dbPath,
+    ],
+    { encoding: 'utf8', timeout: 15_000 },
+  );
+  expect(probe.error).toBeUndefined();
+  expect(probe.status, probe.stderr).toBe(0);
+
+  await fs.writeFile(dbPath, mainBuffer);
+  await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.wal.checkpoint`, walBuffer);
+  await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.wal`, '');
+  await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.shadow`, '');
+  await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.checkpoint.intent.lock`, '');
+  await fs.writeFile(`${dbPath}.checkpoint.apply.lock`, '');
 }
 
 describe('interrupted-checkpoint recovery (pooled read path self-heal)', () => {
@@ -128,6 +119,38 @@ describe('interrupted-checkpoint recovery (pooled read path self-heal)', () => {
     if (tmpDir) await fs.rm(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
 
+  it('preserves the setup error when both native closes reject', async () => {
+    const directory = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gitnexus-lbug-cp-cleanup-'));
+    const setupError = new Error('injected query failure');
+    const closeConnection = lbug.Connection.prototype.close;
+    const closeDatabase = lbug.Database.prototype.close;
+    const query = vi.spyOn(lbug.Connection.prototype, 'query').mockRejectedValueOnce(setupError);
+    const connectionClose = vi
+      .spyOn(lbug.Connection.prototype, 'close')
+      .mockImplementation(async function (this: lbug.Connection) {
+        await closeConnection.call(this);
+        throw new Error('injected connection close failure');
+      });
+    const databaseClose = vi
+      .spyOn(lbug.Database.prototype, 'close')
+      .mockImplementation(async function (this: lbug.Database) {
+        await closeDatabase.call(this);
+        throw new Error('injected database close failure');
+      });
+    try {
+      await expect(plantInterruptedCheckpoint(path.join(directory, 'lbug'))).rejects.toBe(
+        setupError,
+      );
+      expect(connectionClose).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      expect(databaseClose).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    } finally {
+      query.mockRestore();
+      connectionClose.mockRestore();
+      databaseClose.mockRestore();
+      await fs.rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   it('opens read-only through the pool refusal and answers queries', async (ctx) => {
     // Engine-version honesty: only 0.19+ treats the planted signature as an
     // interrupted checkpoint ("Cannot open database in read-only mode while
@@ -180,9 +203,6 @@ describe('interrupted-checkpoint recovery (pooled read path self-heal)', () => {
         }
       })(),
     ).rejects.toThrow(/checkpoint is in progress/i);
-    // The probe's native close is best-effort; its handles must be gone
-    // before the pooled open below (Windows Error 33 otherwise).
-    await waitForFixtureRelease(dbPath);
 
     // The wiki path: pooled READ-ONLY open. Before the fix this refused with
     // "Cannot open database in read-only mode while checkpoint is in
@@ -212,7 +232,6 @@ describe('interrupted-checkpoint recovery (pooled read path self-heal)', () => {
 
     // A second open must answer without needing recovery again.
     await closeLbug(REPO);
-    await waitForFixtureRelease(dbPath);
     await initLbug(REPO, dbPath);
     const again = await executeQuery(REPO, 'MATCH (n:Person) RETURN count(n) AS c');
     expect(again.length).toBe(1);
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-load-overlap-errors.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-load-overlap-errors.test.ts
index d72477a4e..f75c87e3a 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-load-overlap-errors.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/integration/lbug-load-overlap-errors.test.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,52 @@ afterAll(async () => {
 });
 
 describe('loadGraphToLbug overlap error paths (#2226 F1)', () => {
+  it.each([1000, 0])(
+    'retains COPY failures and rejects skipped rows with warning_limit=%i',
+    async (warningLimit) => {
+      const adapter = await import('../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js');
+      const { _captureLogger } = await import('../../src/core/logger.js');
+      const graph = buildTestGraph([], []);
+      emitMock.mockImplementation(
+        async (_g: unknown, _r: unknown, dir: string, onNodes?: (n: NodeFiles) => void) => {
+          await fs.mkdir(dir, { recursive: true });
+          const csvPath = path.join(dir, 'function.csv');
+          await fs.writeFile(
+            csvPath,
+            'id,name,filePath,startLine,endLine,isExported,content,description,convexEndpointFactory\n' +
+              '"Function:bad.ts:copy","copy","bad.ts",bad,2,false,"","",""\n',
+          );
+          const nodeFiles = new Map([['Function', { csvPath, rows: 1 }]]) as NodeFiles;
+          onNodes?.(nodeFiles);
+          return { ...emptyResult(), nodeFiles };
+        },
+      );
+      const capture = _captureLogger();
+      try {
+        await adapter.executeQuery(`CALL warning_limit=${warningLimit}`);
+        await expect(adapter.loadGraphToLbug(graph, tmpBase, storagePath)).rejects.toThrow(
+          /skipped/i,
+        );
+        const records = capture.records();
+        expect(records.some((r) => /first COPY failure/i.test(String(r.msg)))).toBe(true);
+        expect(records).toContainEqual(
+          expect.objectContaining({
+            expectedRows: 1,
+            copiedRows: 0,
+            skippedRows: 1,
+            retainedWarnings: warningLimit === 0 ? 0 : 1,
+          }),
+        );
+      } finally {
+        try {
+          await adapter.executeQuery('CALL warning_limit=1000');
+        } finally {
+          capture.restore();
+        }
+      }
+    },
+  );
+
   it('relationship-emit failure with node COPY in flight surfaces the emit error and leaks no unhandled rejection', async () => {
     const adapter = await import('../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js');
     const graph = buildTestGraph(
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/api-graph-streaming.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/api-graph-streaming.test.ts
index 58de01f84..f79a1ea5a 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/api-graph-streaming.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/api-graph-streaming.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { EventEmitter } from 'node:events';
+import type { GraphRelationship } from 'gitnexus-shared';
 import { describe, expect, it, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
 
 const { lbugMocks } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -23,6 +24,60 @@ const createMockResponse = (writeImpl?: (chunk: string) => boolean) => {
   return response;
 };
 
+describe('graph relationship reason contract', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    { stored: null, expected: '' },
+    { stored: undefined, expected: '' },
+    { stored: '', expected: '' },
+    { stored: 'branch → next', expected: 'branch → next' },
+  ])(
+    'returns reason=$expected for stored $stored in JSON and NDJSON',
+    async ({ stored, expected }) => {
+      const row = {
+        sourceId: 'BasicBlock:src/app.ts:1',
+        targetId: 'BasicBlock:src/app.ts:2',
+        type: 'CFG' as const,
+        confidence: 1,
+        reason: stored,
+        step: 0,
+      };
+      lbugMocks.executeQuery.mockImplementation(async (query: string) =>
+        query.includes('CodeRelation') ? [row] : [],
+      );
+      lbugMocks.streamQuery.mockImplementation(
+        async (query: string, onRow: (row: unknown) => Promise<void>) => {
+          if (!query.includes('CodeRelation')) return 0;
+          await onRow(row);
+          return 1;
+        },
+      );
+
+      const buffered = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(await buildGraph()));
+      const writes: string[] = [];
+      await streamGraphNdjson(
+        createMockResponse((chunk) => {
+          writes.push(chunk);
+          return true;
+        }),
+      );
+      const streamed = writes.map((chunk) => JSON.parse(chunk));
+      const relationship: GraphRelationship = {
+        ...row,
+        id: `${row.sourceId}_${row.type}_${row.targetId}`,
+        reason: expected,
+      };
+      expect({ buffered: buffered.relationships, streamed }).toEqual({
+        buffered: [relationship],
+        streamed: [{ type: 'relationship', data: relationship }],
+      });
+    },
+  );
+});
+
 describe('streamGraphNdjson', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.clearAllMocks();
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/basicblock-callee-ids-schema.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/basicblock-callee-ids-schema.test.ts
index a9e7ab1ad..d6dbb8154 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/basicblock-callee-ids-schema.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/basicblock-callee-ids-schema.test.ts
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ describe('BasicBlock calleeIds — CSV header + row builder', () => {
     expect(rowCells).toHaveLength(headerCols.length);
     const calleeIdsIdx = headerCols.indexOf('calleeIds');
     const calleesIdx = headerCols.indexOf('callees');
-    // escapeCSVField always wraps the cell in double quotes; the space-joined
+    // Non-empty string fields are quoted; the space-joined
     // id list contains no comma, so the cell is a single CSV column.
     expect(rowCells[calleeIdsIdx]).toBe('"id1 id2"');
     expect(rowCells[calleesIdx]).toBe('"foo bar"');
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ describe('BasicBlock calleeIds — CSV header + row builder', () => {
     const headerCols = BASICBLOCK_CSV_HEADER.split(',');
     const rowCells = buildBasicBlockRow(node).split(',');
     const calleeIdsIdx = headerCols.indexOf('calleeIds');
-    expect(rowCells[calleeIdsIdx]).toBe('""');
+    // An absent string must stay unquoted so native COPY loads SQL NULL.
+    expect(rowCells[calleeIdsIdx]).toBe('');
     expect(rowCells[calleeIdsIdx]).not.toContain('undefined');
   });
 });
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/csv-escaping.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/csv-escaping.test.ts
index 6abb31511..2e8d8a36a 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/csv-escaping.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/csv-escaping.test.ts
@@ -15,16 +15,25 @@ import {
 // ─── escapeCSVField ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 describe('escapeCSVField', () => {
-  it('returns empty quoted string for null', () => {
-    expect(escapeCSVField(null)).toBe('""');
+  it('returns an unquoted NULL field for null', () => {
+    expect(escapeCSVField(null)).toBe('');
   });
 
-  it('returns empty quoted string for undefined', () => {
-    expect(escapeCSVField(undefined)).toBe('""');
+  it('returns an unquoted NULL field for undefined', () => {
+    expect(escapeCSVField(undefined)).toBe('');
   });
 
-  it('returns quoted empty string for empty input', () => {
-    expect(escapeCSVField('')).toBe('""');
+  it('preserves the legacy NULL meaning of empty input', () => {
+    expect(escapeCSVField('')).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('returns a NULL field when sanitization removes the entire value', () => {
+    expect(escapeCSVField('\x00\x01')).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('keeps whitespace and zero as quoted non-null values', () => {
+    expect(escapeCSVField(' ')).toBe('" "');
+    expect(escapeCSVField(0)).toBe('"0"');
   });
 
   it('wraps simple string in quotes', () => {
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-format.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-format.test.ts
index 18f21eeeb..32e3a57f4 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-format.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-format.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { formatDetectChangesResult } from '../../src/cli/detect-changes-format.js';
 import { setCliLanguage } from '../../src/cli/i18n/index.js';
+import { parseDiffHunks } from '../../src/storage/git.js';
 
 describe('formatDetectChangesResult — zero-symbol honesty (#3131)', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
@@ -62,6 +63,49 @@ describe('formatDetectChangesResult — zero-symbol honesty (#3131)', () => {
     expect(text).toBe('No changes detected.');
   });
 
+  it('explains unmapped source files without claiming a query failed or retry will repair the index', () => {
+    const text = formatDetectChangesResult({
+      partial: true,
+      unmapped_files: ['src/index-lock.ts'],
+      summary: { changed_count: 0, affected_count: 0, changed_files: 1, risk_level: 'unknown' },
+    });
+    expect(text).toContain('PARTIAL RESULT');
+    expect(text).toContain('src/index-lock.ts');
+    expect(text).toMatch(/rebuild/i);
+    expect(text).not.toMatch(/queries failed|No changes detected|no indexed symbols overlap/i);
+  });
+
+  it('escapes Git-decoded terminal controls while leaving structured paths intact', () => {
+    const diff = [
+      'diff --git "a/evil\\033]52;c;VEVTVA==\\007.ts" "b/evil\\033]52;c;VEVTVA==\\007.ts"',
+      'old mode 100644',
+      'new mode 100755',
+    ].join('\n');
+    const paths = parseDiffHunks(diff).map((file) => file.filePath);
+    expect(paths[0]).toContain('\u001b');
+    const text = formatDetectChangesResult({
+      partial: true,
+      unmapped_files: paths,
+      summary: { changed_count: 0, changed_files: 1, risk_level: 'unknown' },
+    });
+    expect(text).toContain('\\u001b]52;c;VEVTVA==\\u0007.ts');
+    expect(text).not.toContain('\u001b');
+    expect(text).not.toContain('\u0007');
+    expect(paths[0]).toContain('\u0007');
+  });
+
+  it('leads a populated summary with the incomplete source-mapping explanation', () => {
+    const text = formatDetectChangesResult({
+      partial: true,
+      unmapped_files: ['other.ts'],
+      summary: { changed_count: 1, changed_files: 2, affected_count: 0, risk_level: 'unknown' },
+      changed_symbols: [{ type: 'Function', name: 'known', filePath: 'code.py' }],
+    });
+    expect(text.indexOf('other.ts')).toBeLessThan(text.indexOf('Changes:'));
+    expect(text).toContain('known');
+    expect(text).toContain('unknown');
+  });
+
   it('localizes the production clean-tree payload that carries English summary.message', () => {
     setCliLanguage('zh-CN');
     const text = formatDetectChangesResult({
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-hunk-scale.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-hunk-scale.test.ts
index a9e1035fc..b7f472dea 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-hunk-scale.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/detect-changes-hunk-scale.test.ts
@@ -133,11 +133,11 @@ interface DetectChangesResult {
   partial?: boolean;
 }
 
-async function runDetectChanges(): Promise<DetectChangesResult> {
+async function runDetectChanges(scope = 'unstaged'): Promise<DetectChangesResult> {
   const backend = new LocalBackend();
   await backend.init();
   return (await backend.callTool('detect_changes', {
-    scope: 'unstaged',
+    scope,
     repo: 'hunk-scale-repo',
   })) as DetectChangesResult;
 }
@@ -238,6 +238,135 @@ beforeEach(() => {
 });
 
 describe('#2915 detect_changes hunk scaling', () => {
+  it('withholds a low-risk verdict when a changed source file maps to no symbols', async () => {
+    const result = await detectChangesForCodePy('def vanished():\n    return 2\n');
+    expect(result.summary.changed_files).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.summary.changed_count).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.summary.risk_level).toBe('unknown');
+    expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', ['code.py']);
+  });
+
+  it.each(['notes.txt', 'README.md', 'config.json', 'config.yaml'])(
+    'keeps ordinary non-source changes in %s measurable with zero symbols',
+    async (filePath) => {
+      const repoDir = makeRepo([filePath], 2);
+      writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, filePath), 'changed\nline 2\n');
+      registerRepo(repoDir);
+      const result = await runDetectChanges();
+      expect(result.summary.risk_level).toBe('low');
+      expect(result.partial).toBeUndefined();
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each(['.html', '.htm', '.ejs', '.hbs', '.blade.php'])(
+    'withholds ranked risk when a changed %s template maps to no symbols',
+    async (extension) => {
+      const filePath = `views/orders${extension}`;
+      const repoDir = makeRepo([filePath], 2);
+      writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, filePath), '<form action="/orders/new"></form>\n');
+      registerRepo(repoDir);
+      const result = await runDetectChanges();
+      expect(result.summary).toMatchObject({
+        changed_files: 1,
+        changed_count: 0,
+        risk_level: 'unknown',
+      });
+      expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+      expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', [filePath]);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each(['.html', '.htm', '.ejs', '.hbs', '.blade.php'])(
+    'recognizes the template side of a pure %s-to-text rename',
+    async (extension) => {
+      const filePath = `orders${extension}`;
+      const repoDir = makeRepo([filePath], 2);
+      execFileSync('git', ['mv', filePath, 'orders.txt'], { cwd: repoDir });
+      registerRepo(repoDir);
+      const result = await runDetectChanges('staged');
+      expect(result.summary).toMatchObject({
+        changed_files: 1,
+        changed_count: 0,
+        risk_level: 'unknown',
+      });
+      expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+      expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', ['orders.txt']);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('keeps mapped template changes measurable', async () => {
+    const filePath = 'views/orders.blade.php';
+    const repoDir = makeRepo([filePath], 2);
+    writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, filePath), '<form action="/orders/new"></form>\nline 2\n');
+    registerRepo(repoDir);
+    mockSymbolRows([{ name: 'orders', filePath, startLine: 0, endLine: 1 }]);
+    const result = await runDetectChanges();
+    expect(result.summary).toMatchObject({
+      changed_files: 1,
+      changed_count: 1,
+      risk_level: 'low',
+    });
+    expect(result.changed_symbols.map((symbol) => symbol.name)).toEqual(['orders']);
+    expect(result.partial).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result).not.toHaveProperty('unmapped_files');
+  });
+
+  it('withholds a low-risk verdict for an unmapped source rename without hunks', async () => {
+    const repoDir = makeRepo(['code.py'], 2);
+    execFileSync('git', ['mv', 'code.py', 'renamed.py'], { cwd: repoDir });
+    registerRepo(repoDir);
+    const result = await runDetectChanges('staged');
+    expect(result.summary.changed_files).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.summary.risk_level).toBe('unknown');
+    expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', ['renamed.py']);
+  });
+
+  it('recognizes the source side of a pure source-to-text rename', async () => {
+    const repoDir = makeRepo(['code.py'], 2);
+    execFileSync('git', ['mv', 'code.py', 'code.txt'], { cwd: repoDir });
+    registerRepo(repoDir);
+    const result = await runDetectChanges('staged');
+    expect(result.summary).toMatchObject({
+      changed_files: 1,
+      changed_count: 0,
+      risk_level: 'unknown',
+    });
+    expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', ['code.txt']);
+  });
+
+  it.each(['.jcl', '.job', '.proc', '.copybook', '.JCL', '.COPYBOOK'])(
+    'withholds ranked risk for an unmapped ingestion-supported %s rename',
+    async (extension) => {
+      const repoDir = makeRepo([`source${extension}`], 2);
+      execFileSync('git', ['mv', `source${extension}`, `renamed${extension}`], { cwd: repoDir });
+      registerRepo(repoDir);
+      const result = await runDetectChanges('staged');
+      expect(result.summary.risk_level).toBe('unknown');
+      expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+      expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', [`renamed${extension}`]);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('retains mapped symbols while withholding ranked risk for an unmapped source', async () => {
+    const repoDir = makeRepo(['code.py', 'other.ts'], 2);
+    writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, 'code.py'), 'changed\nline 2\n');
+    writeFileSync(path.join(repoDir, 'other.ts'), 'changed\nline 2\n');
+    registerRepo(repoDir);
+    mockSymbolRows([{ name: 'known', startLine: 0, endLine: 1 }]);
+    const result = await runDetectChanges();
+    expect(result.summary).toMatchObject({
+      changed_files: 2,
+      changed_count: 1,
+      risk_level: 'unknown',
+    });
+    expect(result.changed_symbols.map((symbol) => symbol.name)).toEqual(['known']);
+    expect(result.partial).toBe(true);
+    expect(result).toHaveProperty('unmapped_files', ['other.ts']);
+  });
+
   it('sends the same query for a 3,000-hunk diff as for a 1-hunk diff', async () => {
     const oneHunkRepo = makeRepo(['big.txt'], 12000);
     editEveryNthLine(oneHunkRepo, 'big.txt', 12000, 12000);
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/eval-formatters.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/eval-formatters.test.ts
index bfc025432..d43ec5f38 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/eval-formatters.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/eval-formatters.test.ts
@@ -641,7 +641,7 @@ describe('formatDetectChangesResult', () => {
     // counts at zero. Without the note the pre-commit gate reads as "clean".
     const result = formatDetectChangesResult({ partial: true, summary: { changed_count: 0 } });
     expect(result).toContain('PARTIAL RESULT');
-    expect(result).toContain('a graph query failed');
+    expect(result).toContain('mapping is incomplete');
     expect(result).not.toContain('No changes detected.');
   });
 
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/format-path.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/format-path.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a24446fe5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/format-path.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { formatPathForTerminal } from '../../src/cli/format-path.js';
+
+describe('terminal path rendering', () => {
+  it('preserves ordinary Unicode and spaces', () => {
+    expect(formatPathForTerminal('src/王 name.ts')).toBe('src/王 name.ts');
+  });
+
+  it.each(['\u001b', '\u0007', '\r', '\n', '\u007f', '\u0085', '\u009b'])(
+    'renders control %j visibly without changing the decoded path',
+    (control) => {
+      const filePath = `src/a${control}.ts`;
+      const rendered = formatPathForTerminal(filePath);
+      expect(rendered).not.toMatch(/[\u0000-\u001f\u007f-\u009f]/);
+      expect(JSON.parse(rendered)).toBe(filePath);
+    },
+  );
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-benchmark-verdict.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-benchmark-verdict.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e1c3b0c35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-benchmark-verdict.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import vm from 'node:vm';
+import { parse } from '@babel/parser';
+import { isVariableDeclarator, traverseFast } from '@babel/types';
+import { expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { createKnowledgeGraph } from '../../src/core/graph/graph.js';
+import { reconcileGraphNodeIdentities } from '../../src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.js';
+
+// Execute the standalone benchmark's actual audit closure, without its timed
+// workload, against the production oracle and controlled native scan results.
+const source = readFileSync(
+  new URL('../../bench/incremental-write-integrity/measure.cjs', import.meta.url),
+  'utf8',
+);
+let auditSource: string | undefined;
+traverseFast(parse(source, { sourceType: 'script' }), (node) => {
+  if (
+    isVariableDeclarator(node) &&
+    node.id.type === 'Identifier' &&
+    node.id.name === 'audit' &&
+    node.init?.start != null &&
+    node.init.end != null
+  ) {
+    auditSource = source.slice(node.init.start, node.init.end);
+  }
+});
+if (!auditSource) throw new Error('Benchmark audit closure not found');
+
+const row = { id: 'Function:a.ts:f', name: 'f', filePath: 'a.ts', startLine: 0, endLine: 1 };
+it.each([
+  { name: 'healthy scan', rows: [row], verdict: 'certified' },
+  { name: 'complete tuple set plus duplicate row', rows: [row, row], verdict: 'rejected' },
+  {
+    name: 'complete tuple set plus unexpected row',
+    rows: [row, { ...row, id: 'Function:a.ts:extra' }],
+    verdict: 'rejected',
+  },
+  { name: 'missing tuple', rows: [], verdict: 'rejected' },
+  { name: 'inconsistent range', rows: [{ ...row, startLine: 99 }], verdict: 'rejected' },
+])('reports the production rejection verdict for $name', async ({ rows, verdict }) => {
+  const graph = createKnowledgeGraph();
+  graph.addNode({ id: row.id, label: 'Function', properties: { ...row } });
+  const wanted = new Set([
+    JSON.stringify([row.id, row.name, row.filePath, row.startLine, row.endLine]),
+  ]);
+  const nativePhases: { verdict: string }[] = [];
+  const audit = vm.runInNewContext(`(${auditSource})`, {
+    assert,
+    graph,
+    wanted,
+    nativePhases,
+    size: { nodes: 1 },
+    reconcileGraphNodeIdentities,
+    adapter: { executeQuery: async (query: string) => (query.includes('Function') ? rows : []) },
+  }) as (phase: string) => Promise<void>;
+  await audit('controlled-scan');
+  expect(nativePhases).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({ verdict, rows: rows.length })]);
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-integrity.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-integrity.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..14ac9fca9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-integrity.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+import { appendFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { setupMiniRepo } from '../helpers/mini-repo.js';
+import { getStoragePaths, loadMeta, readRegistry } from '../../src/storage/repo-manager.js';
+import * as adapter from '../../src/core/lbug/lbug-adapter.js';
+import * as fts from '../../src/core/search/fts-indexes.js';
+import * as analyzerIdentity from '../../src/core/analyzer-identity.js';
+import * as checkpoints from '../../src/core/lbug/wal-checkpoint-driver.js';
+import { commitAll, initGitRepo } from '../helpers/temp-git-repo.js';
+import { runFullAnalysis } from '../../src/core/run-analyze.js';
+import { createKnowledgeGraph } from '../../src/core/graph/graph.js';
+import { reconcileGraphNodeIdentities } from '../../src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.js';
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+});
+
+const options = { skipAgentsMd: true, skipSkills: true };
+const callbacks = { onProgress: () => {} };
+
+async function touchHandler(repoPath: string): Promise<void> {
+  initGitRepo(repoPath);
+  await appendFile(path.join(repoPath, 'src/handler.ts'), '\n// integrity probe\n');
+  commitAll(repoPath, 'touch handler');
+}
+
+describe('incremental graph identity before publication', () => {
+  it('chooses a full write before selective mutation when manual checkpoints are disabled', async () => {
+    const repo = await setupMiniRepo('gitnexus-test-checkpoint-opt-out-');
+    const { storagePath } = getStoragePaths(repo.dbPath);
+    try {
+      await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, callbacks);
+      await touchHandler(repo.dbPath);
+      vi.stubEnv('GITNEXUS_WAL_MANUAL_CHECKPOINT', '0');
+      const deleteNodes = vi.spyOn(adapter, 'deleteNodesForFiles');
+      const flush = vi.spyOn(adapter, 'tryFlushWAL');
+      const logs: string[] = [];
+      const result = await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, {
+        ...callbacks,
+        onLog: (line) => logs.push(line),
+      });
+      expect(deleteNodes).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(flush).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(result.incrementalStats).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(logs).toContain(
+        'Manual WAL checkpoints are disabled; switching to a full DB write before mutation.',
+      );
+      expect((await loadMeta(storagePath))?.incrementalInProgress).toBeUndefined();
+    } finally {
+      await adapter.closeLbug();
+      await repo.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('retries a transient checkpoint I/O failure at the final publication gate', async () => {
+    const repo = await setupMiniRepo('gitnexus-test-final-checkpoint-retry-');
+    const { storagePath } = getStoragePaths(repo.dbPath);
+    try {
+      await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, callbacks);
+      await touchHandler(repo.dbPath);
+      // Isolate the final gate from the periodic driver's independent cadence.
+      vi.spyOn(checkpoints, 'startWalCheckpointDriver').mockReturnValue({ stop: async () => {} });
+      const flush = adapter.tryFlushWAL;
+      const build = fts.buildSearchIndexesOrDegrade;
+      let attempts = 0;
+      vi.spyOn(fts, 'buildSearchIndexesOrDegrade').mockImplementation(async (...args) => {
+        const result = await build(...args);
+        vi.spyOn(adapter, 'tryFlushWAL').mockImplementation(async () => {
+          if (++attempts === 1) {
+            throw new Error(
+              'Runtime exception: IO exception: Error renaming file db.wal to db.wal.checkpoint',
+            );
+          }
+          return flush();
+        });
+        return result;
+      });
+      const result = await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, callbacks);
+      expect(attempts).toBe(2);
+      expect(result.incrementalStats?.writeMode).toBe('incremental');
+      expect((await loadMeta(storagePath))?.incrementalInProgress).toBeUndefined();
+    } finally {
+      await adapter.closeLbug();
+      await repo.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+  it('matches native CSV normalization for nullable, absent-range and Unicode identity fields', async () => {
+    const repo = await setupMiniRepo('gitnexus-test-identity-parity-');
+    const { storagePath, lbugPath } = getStoragePaths(repo.dbPath);
+    const graph = createKnowledgeGraph();
+    graph.addNode({
+      id: 'File:src/Å.ts',
+      label: 'File',
+      properties: { name: 'Å.ts', filePath: 'src/Å.ts' },
+    });
+    graph.addNode({
+      id: 'Route:/王',
+      label: 'Route',
+      properties: { name: '/王', filePath: 'src/Å.ts' },
+    });
+    graph.addNode({
+      id: 'Tool:王',
+      label: 'Tool',
+      properties: { name: '王', filePath: 'src/Å.ts' },
+    });
+    graph.addNode({ id: 'Destination:topic', label: 'Destination', properties: { name: 'topic' } });
+    graph.addNode({
+      id: 'Function:src/Å.ts:王\u0000\uD800',
+      label: 'Function',
+      properties: { name: '王\r\n\uD800', filePath: 'src/Å.ts' },
+    });
+    try {
+      await adapter.initLbug(lbugPath, { skipFts: true });
+      await adapter.loadGraphToLbug(
+        graph,
+        repo.dbPath,
+        storagePath,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        'none',
+      );
+      await adapter.tryFlushWAL();
+      await expect(
+        reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph, adapter.executeQuery, 'native CSV parity'),
+      ).resolves.toMatchObject({ nodes: 5 });
+    } finally {
+      await adapter.closeLbug();
+      await repo.cleanup();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    { phase: 'after-copy', atomicIncremental: false },
+    { phase: 'after-fts', atomicIncremental: false },
+    { phase: 'after-fts', atomicIncremental: true },
+    { phase: 'after-fts-finalization', atomicIncremental: false },
+    { phase: 'checkpoint-false', atomicIncremental: false },
+    { phase: 'checkpoint-throw', atomicIncremental: true },
+  ])(
+    'refuses freshness after $phase failure (atomic=$atomicIncremental)',
+    async ({ phase, atomicIncremental }) => {
+      const repo = await setupMiniRepo('gitnexus-test-write-integrity-');
+      const { storagePath, lbugPath } = getStoragePaths(repo.dbPath);
+      try {
+        const healthy = await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, callbacks);
+        const before = await loadMeta(storagePath);
+        const registeredBefore = (await readRegistry()).find((entry) => entry.path === repo.dbPath);
+        const logs: string[] = [];
+        const victim = [...healthy.pipelineResult.graph.iterNodes()].find(
+          (node) => node.label === 'Function' && node.properties.filePath === 'src/validator.ts',
+        );
+        expect(victim?.id).toBeTruthy();
+
+        await touchHandler(repo.dbPath);
+        const damage = async () => {
+          await adapter.executePrepared('MATCH (n:Function {id: $id}) DETACH DELETE n', {
+            id: victim.id,
+          });
+        };
+        if (phase === 'after-copy') {
+          const load = adapter.loadGraphToLbug;
+          vi.spyOn(adapter, 'loadGraphToLbug').mockImplementation(async (...args) => {
+            const result = await load(...args);
+            await damage();
+            return result;
+          });
+        } else {
+          const build = fts.buildSearchIndexesOrDegrade;
+          vi.spyOn(fts, 'buildSearchIndexesOrDegrade').mockImplementation(async (...args) => {
+            const result = await build(...args);
+            if (phase === 'checkpoint-false') {
+              vi.spyOn(adapter, 'tryFlushWAL').mockResolvedValue(false);
+            } else if (phase === 'checkpoint-throw') {
+              vi.spyOn(adapter, 'tryFlushWAL').mockRejectedValue(
+                new Error('injected final checkpoint failure'),
+              );
+            } else {
+              await damage();
+              if (phase === 'after-fts-finalization') {
+                vi.spyOn(analyzerIdentity, 'finalizeAnalyzerRunnerIdentity').mockImplementation(
+                  () => {
+                    throw new Error('injected analyzer finalization failure');
+                  },
+                );
+              }
+            }
+            return result;
+          });
+        }
+
+        await expect(
+          runFullAnalysis(
+            repo.dbPath,
+            { ...options, atomicIncremental },
+            {
+              ...callbacks,
+              onLog: (line) => logs.push(line),
+            },
+          ),
+        ).rejects.toThrow(
+          phase.startsWith('checkpoint')
+            ? /checkpoint/i
+            : phase === 'after-fts-finalization'
+              ? /injected analyzer finalization failure/
+              : /graph.*reconciliation/i,
+        );
+        const after = await loadMeta(storagePath);
+        expect(after?.lastCommit).toBe(before?.lastCommit);
+        expect(after?.indexedAt).toBe(before?.indexedAt);
+        expect(logs.filter((line) => line.includes('atomic-incremental'))).toEqual(
+          atomicIncremental ? [expect.stringContaining('staged')] : [],
+        );
+        expect(Boolean(after?.incrementalInProgress)).toBe(!atomicIncremental);
+        const registeredAfter = (await readRegistry()).find((entry) => entry.path === repo.dbPath);
+        expect(registeredAfter?.indexedAt).toBe(registeredBefore?.indexedAt);
+        expect(registeredAfter?.lastCommit).toBe(registeredBefore?.lastCommit);
+        vi.restoreAllMocks();
+        if (atomicIncremental) {
+          await adapter.initLbug(lbugPath);
+          const retained = await adapter.executePrepared(
+            'MATCH (n:Function {id: $id}) RETURN n.id AS id',
+            {
+              id: victim.id,
+            },
+          );
+          expect(retained).toEqual([{ id: victim.id }]);
+          await adapter.closeLbug();
+        } else {
+          expect(after?.incrementalInProgress).toMatchObject({
+            phase: 'graph-reconciliation',
+            checkpointSucceeded: false,
+          });
+          await expect(
+            runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, { ...options, repairFts: true }, callbacks),
+          ).rejects.toThrow(/mid-incremental-recovery/);
+          expect((await loadMeta(storagePath))?.incrementalInProgress?.phase).toBe(
+            'graph-reconciliation',
+          );
+          // The dirty marker drives recovery without a manual --force, and a
+          // no-op rerun after recovery must stop rebuilding.
+          const recovered = await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, callbacks);
+          expect(recovered.incrementalStats).toBeUndefined();
+          expect((await loadMeta(storagePath))?.incrementalInProgress).toBeUndefined();
+          await adapter.initLbug(lbugPath, { readOnly: true });
+          await expect(
+            reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(
+              recovered.pipelineResult.graph,
+              adapter.executeQuery,
+              'recovered/reopened',
+            ),
+          ).resolves.toMatchObject({ nodes: expect.any(Number) });
+          await adapter.closeLbug();
+          expect((await runFullAnalysis(repo.dbPath, options, callbacks)).alreadyUpToDate).toBe(
+            true,
+          );
+        }
+      } finally {
+        await adapter.closeLbug();
+        await repo.cleanup();
+      }
+    },
+    120_000,
+  );
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-reproducer-cleanup.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-reproducer-cleanup.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ed3f2dbfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/incremental-write-reproducer-cleanup.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,265 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import vm from 'node:vm';
+import { expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+const source = readFileSync(
+  new URL('../../bench/incremental-write-integrity/reproduce.cjs', import.meta.url),
+  'utf8',
+);
+
+type FailurePoint =
+  | 'write:1'
+  | 'write:2'
+  | 'database:1'
+  | 'database:2'
+  | 'connection:1'
+  | 'connection:2'
+  | 'connection-close:1'
+  | 'connection-close:2'
+  | 'database-close:1'
+  | 'database-close:2'
+  | 'remove';
+
+// Execute the actual entry point with controlled native and file APIs. Healthy
+// scan tuples allow constructor and cleanup faults in both native sessions.
+async function runReproducer(
+  failures: FailurePoint[] = [],
+  keep = false,
+  options: {
+    requireCorruption?: boolean;
+    copiedScan?: 'missing' | 'duplicate' | 'wrong-field';
+  } = {},
+) {
+  const directory = path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ladybug-copy-identity-controlled');
+  const events: string[] = [];
+  const diagnostics: unknown[] = [];
+  const injected = new Map(failures.map((point) => [point, new Error(point)]));
+  let databases = 0;
+  let connections = 0;
+  let writes = 0;
+  let scans = 0;
+  let indices = Array.from({ length: 8192 }, (_, i) => i);
+  const output: string[] = [];
+  const processDouble = {
+    argv: [
+      'node',
+      'reproduce.cjs',
+      ...(keep ? ['--keep'] : []),
+      ...(options.requireCorruption ? ['--require-corruption'] : []),
+    ],
+    version: process.version,
+    exitCode: 0,
+    stdout: { write: (value: string) => output.push(value) },
+  };
+  const fail = (point: FailurePoint) => {
+    const error = injected.get(point);
+    if (error) throw error;
+  };
+  class Database {
+    readonly number = ++databases;
+    constructor() {
+      events.push(`database:${this.number}`);
+      fail(`database:${this.number}` as FailurePoint);
+    }
+    async close() {
+      events.push(`database-close:${this.number}`);
+      fail(`database-close:${this.number}` as FailurePoint);
+    }
+  }
+  class Connection {
+    readonly number = ++connections;
+    constructor(database: Database) {
+      events.push(`connection:${this.number}`);
+      expect(database.number).toBe(this.number);
+      fail(`connection:${this.number}` as FailurePoint);
+    }
+    async query(cypher: string) {
+      if (cypher.includes('DETACH DELETE')) {
+        indices = indices.filter((i) => i >= 32 && i < 8192 - 32);
+      } else if (cypher.startsWith('COPY')) {
+        indices = Array.from({ length: 8192 }, (_, i) => i);
+      }
+      const rows = cypher.includes('RETURN id(n)')
+        ? indices.map((i) => ({
+            internalID: { offset: i },
+            id: `Function:src/owner${Math.floor(i / 32)}.ts:fn${i}`,
+            name: `fn${i}`,
+            filePath: `src/owner${Math.floor(i / 32)}.ts`,
+            startLine: (i % 32) * 4,
+            endLine: (i % 32) * 4 + 2,
+          }))
+        : [];
+      if (cypher.includes('RETURN id(n)') && ++scans === 3) {
+        if (options.copiedScan === 'missing') rows.pop();
+        if (options.copiedScan === 'duplicate') rows.push({ ...rows[0] });
+        if (options.copiedScan === 'wrong-field') rows[0].name = 'wrong-function';
+      }
+      return { getAll: async () => rows, close: async () => {} };
+    }
+    async close() {
+      events.push(`connection-close:${this.number}`);
+      fail(`connection-close:${this.number}` as FailurePoint);
+    }
+  }
+  const fsDouble = {
+    mkdtemp: async () => directory,
+    writeFile: async () => {
+      const point = `write:${++writes}` as FailurePoint;
+      events.push(point);
+      fail(point);
+    },
+    rm: async (target: string, options: { recursive: boolean; force: boolean }) => {
+      expect(target).toBe(directory);
+      expect(options).toEqual({ recursive: true, force: true });
+      events.push('remove');
+      fail('remove');
+    },
+  };
+  const modules: Record<string, unknown> = {
+    'node:assert/strict': assert,
+    'node:fs/promises': fsDouble,
+    'node:os': os,
+    'node:path': path,
+    '@ladybugdb/core': { Database, Connection, VERSION: 'controlled' },
+  };
+  await vm.runInNewContext(source, {
+    require: (name: string) => {
+      if (!(name in modules)) throw new Error(`Unexpected require: ${name}`);
+      return modules[name];
+    },
+    process: processDouble,
+    console: { error: (error: unknown) => diagnostics.push(error) },
+    AggregateError,
+  });
+  return { events, diagnostics, injected, output, exitCode: processDouble.exitCode, directory };
+}
+
+it.each([
+  { point: 'write:1', closed: [] },
+  { point: 'write:2', closed: [] },
+  { point: 'database:1', closed: [] },
+  { point: 'connection:1', closed: ['database-close:1'] },
+  { point: 'database:2', closed: ['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1'] },
+  {
+    point: 'connection:2',
+    closed: ['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1', 'database-close:2'],
+  },
+  { point: 'connection-close:1', closed: ['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1'] },
+  { point: 'database-close:1', closed: ['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1'] },
+  {
+    point: 'connection-close:2',
+    closed: ['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1', 'connection-close:2', 'database-close:2'],
+  },
+  {
+    point: 'database-close:2',
+    closed: ['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1', 'connection-close:2', 'database-close:2'],
+  },
+] satisfies { point: FailurePoint; closed: string[] }[])(
+  'closes acquired resources and removes the directory when $point fails',
+  async ({ point, closed }) => {
+    const result = await runReproducer([point]);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([result.injected.get(point)]);
+    expect(result.events.filter((event) => event.includes('-close:'))).toEqual(closed);
+    expect(result.events.at(-1)).toBe('remove');
+    expect(result.events.filter((event) => event === 'remove')).toHaveLength(1);
+  },
+);
+
+it('closes both native sessions and removes the directory after a healthy run', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer();
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+  expect(result.events.slice(-5)).toEqual([
+    'database:2',
+    'connection:2',
+    'connection-close:2',
+    'database-close:2',
+    'remove',
+  ]);
+  const report = JSON.parse(result.output.join(''));
+  expect(report.phases).toEqual([
+    { phase: 'baseline', rows: 8192, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 0, examples: [] },
+    { phase: 'after-delete', rows: 8128, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 64, examples: [] },
+    { phase: 'after-copy', rows: 8192, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 0, examples: [] },
+    { phase: 'after-checkpoint', rows: 8192, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 0, examples: [] },
+    { phase: 'reopened', rows: 8192, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 0, examples: [] },
+  ]);
+  expect(report.directory).toBeUndefined();
+});
+
+it.each([
+  { copiedScan: 'missing', rows: 8191, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 1 },
+  { copiedScan: 'duplicate', rows: 8193, wrong_tuples: 0, missing_tuples: 0 },
+  { copiedScan: 'wrong-field', rows: 8192, wrong_tuples: 1, missing_tuples: 1 },
+] as const)(
+  'accepts a $copiedScan scan discrepancy as reproduced corruption',
+  async ({ copiedScan, ...expected }) => {
+    const result = await runReproducer([], false, { requireCorruption: true, copiedScan });
+    const report = JSON.parse(result.output.join(''));
+    expect(
+      report.phases.find((phase: { phase: string }) => phase.phase === 'after-copy'),
+    ).toMatchObject(expected);
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.events.at(-1)).toBe('remove');
+  },
+);
+
+it('rejects --require-corruption when the native scan is healthy', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer([], false, { requireCorruption: true });
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(result.diagnostics).toHaveLength(1);
+  expect((result.diagnostics[0] as Error).message).toContain('Native failure did not reproduce');
+  expect(result.events.at(-1)).toBe('remove');
+});
+
+it('keeps the directory deliberately without retaining native handles for --keep', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer([], true);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.events).not.toContain('remove');
+  expect(result.events.slice(-2)).toEqual(['connection-close:2', 'database-close:2']);
+  expect(JSON.parse(result.output.join('')).directory).toBe(result.directory);
+});
+
+it('honors --keep when connection construction fails', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer(['connection:1'], true);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([result.injected.get('connection:1')]);
+  expect(result.events.at(-1)).toBe('database-close:1');
+  expect(result.events).not.toContain('remove');
+});
+
+it('retains both close failures and still removes the directory', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer(['connection-close:1', 'database-close:1']);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  const error = result.diagnostics[0] as AggregateError;
+  expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(AggregateError);
+  expect(error.errors).toEqual([
+    result.injected.get('connection-close:1'),
+    result.injected.get('database-close:1'),
+  ]);
+  expect(result.events.at(-1)).toBe('remove');
+});
+
+it('retains the original construction error when database cleanup also fails', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer(['connection:1', 'database-close:1']);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  const error = result.diagnostics[0] as AggregateError;
+  expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(AggregateError);
+  expect(error.errors).toEqual([
+    result.injected.get('connection:1'),
+    result.injected.get('database-close:1'),
+  ]);
+  expect(result.events.at(-1)).toBe('remove');
+});
+
+it('reports directory-removal failures after closing the native handles', async () => {
+  const result = await runReproducer(['remove']);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([result.injected.get('remove')]);
+  expect(result.events.slice(-3)).toEqual(['connection-close:2', 'database-close:2', 'remove']);
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/parse-diff-hunks.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/parse-diff-hunks.test.ts
index 0057803f5..84ba9ad03 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/parse-diff-hunks.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/parse-diff-hunks.test.ts
@@ -164,7 +164,30 @@ describe('parseDiffHunks', () => {
       'rename from src/old.ts',
       'rename to src/new.ts',
     ].join('\n');
-    expect(parseDiffHunks(diff)).toEqual([{ filePath: 'src/new.ts', hunks: [] }]);
+    expect(parseDiffHunks(diff)).toEqual([
+      { filePath: 'src/new.ts', oldFilePath: 'src/old.ts', hunks: [] },
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('decodes the source of a C-quoted rename and preserves it through content headers', () => {
+    const diff = [
+      'diff --git "a/src/old\\040name.py" b/src/new.txt',
+      'similarity index 80%',
+      'rename from "src/old\\040name.py"',
+      'rename to src/new.txt',
+      '--- "a/src/old\\040name.py"',
+      '+++ b/src/new.txt',
+      '@@ -1 +1 @@',
+      '-old',
+      '+new',
+    ].join('\n');
+    expect(parseDiffHunks(diff)).toEqual([
+      {
+        filePath: 'src/new.txt',
+        oldFilePath: 'src/old name.py',
+        hunks: [{ startLine: 1, endLine: 1 }],
+      },
+    ]);
   });
 
   it('keeps line ranges for whitespace-only hunks', () => {
@@ -241,7 +264,9 @@ describe('parseDiffHunks', () => {
       'rename from plain.ts',
       'rename to foo b/plain.ts',
     ].join('\n');
-    expect(parseDiffHunks(diff)).toEqual([{ filePath: 'foo b/plain.ts', hunks: [] }]);
+    expect(parseDiffHunks(diff)).toEqual([
+      { filePath: 'foo b/plain.ts', oldFilePath: 'plain.ts', hunks: [] },
+    ]);
   });
 
   it('keeps one FileDiff when a content line repeats +++ b/<same-path>', () => {
@@ -278,7 +303,7 @@ describe('parseDiffHunks', () => {
       'rename to new.ts',
     ].join('\n');
     expect(parseDiffHunksResult(diff)).toEqual({
-      files: [{ filePath: 'new.ts', hunks: [] }],
+      files: [{ filePath: 'new.ts', oldFilePath: 'old name.ts', hunks: [] }],
       unparsedGitHeaders: 0,
     });
   });
@@ -291,7 +316,7 @@ describe('parseDiffHunks', () => {
       'rename to new name.ts',
     ].join('\n');
     expect(parseDiffHunksResult(diff)).toEqual({
-      files: [{ filePath: 'new name.ts', hunks: [] }],
+      files: [{ filePath: 'new name.ts', oldFilePath: 'old.ts', hunks: [] }],
       unparsedGitHeaders: 0,
     });
   });
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/run-analyze-fts-crash-marker.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/run-analyze-fts-crash-marker.test.ts
index 6997a0604..b372fb8dd 100644
--- a/gitnexus/test/unit/run-analyze-fts-crash-marker.test.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/run-analyze-fts-crash-marker.test.ts
@@ -113,7 +113,13 @@ const mockLbugAdapter = async () => {
     initLbug: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
     loadGraphToLbug: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
     getLbugStats: vi.fn(async () => ({ nodes: 1, edges: 0, communities: 0, processes: 0 })),
-    executeQuery: vi.fn(async () => []),
+    // The policy fixture has one stored File row. Publication now reconciles
+    // that identity instead of trusting the synthetic node count alone.
+    executeQuery: vi.fn(async (query: string) =>
+      query.startsWith('MATCH (n:`File`) RETURN n.id AS id')
+        ? [{ id: 'file:src/a.ts', name: '', filePath: REL_FILE }]
+        : [],
+    ),
     executeWithReusedStatement: vi.fn(async () => []),
     closeLbug: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
     wipeLbugDbFiles: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
@@ -1011,9 +1017,12 @@ describe('runFullAnalysis FTS crash marker', () => {
   );
 
   it('treats a boundary checkpoint failure as best-effort on an in-place plan', async () => {
-    const checkpointOnce = vi.fn(async () => {
-      throw new Error('checkpoint rename failed');
-    });
+    // Only the earlier boundary is best-effort. Publication still requires
+    // its own successful checkpoint through the same policy helper.
+    const checkpointOnce = vi
+      .fn<() => Promise<boolean>>()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('checkpoint rename failed'))
+      .mockResolvedValue(true);
     let stamped: RepoMeta['incrementalInProgress'];
     vi.doMock('../../src/core/lbug/wal-checkpoint-driver.js', async (importActual) => ({
       ...(await importActual<typeof import('../../src/core/lbug/wal-checkpoint-driver.js')>()),
@@ -1060,6 +1069,7 @@ describe('runFullAnalysis FTS crash marker', () => {
         { onProgress: () => {}, onLog: () => {} },
       );
       expect(result.ftsSkipped).not.toBe(true);
+      expect(checkpointOnce).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
       expect(stamped).toMatchObject({
         phase: FTS_DIRTY_PHASE,
         writePlan: 'in-place',
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/write-reconciliation.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/write-reconciliation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d4d4a86ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/write-reconciliation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { reconcileGraphNodeIdentities } from '../../src/core/incremental/write-reconciliation.js';
+import { buildTestGraph } from '../helpers/test-graph.js';
+
+const graph = () =>
+  buildTestGraph(
+    [
+      {
+        id: 'Function:src/lock.ts:acquire',
+        label: 'Function',
+        name: 'acquire',
+        filePath: 'src/lock.ts',
+        startLine: 504,
+        endLine: 719,
+      },
+      {
+        id: 'Function:bench/measure.mjs:retainedHeapBytes',
+        label: 'Function',
+        name: 'retainedHeapBytes',
+        filePath: 'bench/measure.mjs',
+        startLine: 437,
+        endLine: 453,
+      },
+    ],
+    [],
+  );
+const rows = () => [
+  {
+    id: 'Function:src/lock.ts:acquire',
+    name: 'acquire',
+    filePath: 'src/lock.ts',
+    startLine: 504,
+    endLine: 719,
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'Function:bench/measure.mjs:retainedHeapBytes',
+    name: 'retainedHeapBytes',
+    filePath: 'bench/measure.mjs',
+    startLine: 437,
+    endLine: 453,
+  },
+];
+const queryFor = (functions: ReturnType<typeof rows>) =>
+  vi.fn(async (query: string) => (query.includes('(n:`Function`)') ? functions : []));
+
+describe('incremental identity reconciliation', () => {
+  it('certifies every identity using one unfiltered query per label', async () => {
+    const query = queryFor(rows());
+    const receipt = await reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph(), query, 'post-COPY');
+    expect(receipt.nodes).toBe(2);
+    expect(query).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(receipt.tables);
+    for (const [cypher] of query.mock.calls) {
+      expect(cypher).toMatch(/^MATCH \(n:`\w+`\) RETURN/);
+      expect(cypher).not.toMatch(/WHERE|content/);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a missing unchanged symbol', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph(), queryFor(rows().slice(1)), 'post-COPY'),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/1 missing ID.*src\/lock.ts:acquire/);
+  });
+
+  it.each(['name', 'filePath', 'startLine', 'endLine'] as const)(
+    'rejects column/row inconsistency in %s despite identical ID counts',
+    async (field) => {
+      const persisted = rows();
+      const swapped = persisted.map((row, index) => ({
+        ...row,
+        [field]: persisted[1 - index][field],
+      }));
+      await expect(
+        reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph(), queryFor(swapped), 'pre-publish'),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(field);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('rejects a duplicated row that would hide a missing ID in a count check', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph(), queryFor([rows()[0], rows()[0]]), 'post-COPY'),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/duplicate ID/);
+  });
+
+  it('surfaces a failed scan rather than certifying an unreadable graph', async () => {
+    const query = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('Invalid UTF-8'));
+    await expect(reconcileGraphNodeIdentities(graph(), query, 'pre-publish')).rejects.toThrow(
+      /could not read identity fields.*Invalid UTF-8/,
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/manifest.json b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/manifest.json
index 6d93ddd03..62c4da0c7 100644
--- a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/manifest.json
+++ b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/manifest.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
-  "coreVersion": "0.18.3",
-  "extensionVersion": "0.18.1",
+  "coreVersion": "0.21.1",
+  "extensionVersion": "0.21.0",
   "filename": "libfts.lbug_extension",
   "officialRepo": "https://extension.ladybugdb.com/",
   "urlTemplate": "{officialRepo}v{extensionVersion}/{upstreamPlatform}/fts/{filename}",
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/SHA256SUMS b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/SHA256SUMS
index 3aa968510..9683a3704 100644
--- a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/SHA256SUMS
+++ b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/SHA256SUMS
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-01cf0d4debae1b0c7c182bf78747ee1b148a76667bbaa5bb0cb3cc848998028d  ./win32-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
-4af2602007a4a02d5b18d0b6ecb20b1cc2f493242a915faf7df1c033136107b1  ./linux-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension
-cf687fda0f82bfbe116e775f2f17c39faf45be6300fd1937c2b1afd21142c121  ./linux-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
-d3564c05ec28a0293a5488eaff2c06591624ac01a44af183d8cfacd92a29d785  ./darwin-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension
-d8589c0a91c6667e959da6a81f712f69b330d0563602933da983edeebee60fc6  ./darwin-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
+248332de781a7781f612a55b5397e88f58f1f1ba2a973836ada199eab0f6bf10  ./darwin-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension
+742f2756c2f80bcd1886b6ee0446483038cff0ecf6cf47f698bc6fe855cbaef6  ./linux-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
+7b6132ae6a554e3eeb3c4b0da7e2eb5c483b258b31e848a0e3d6000ac29885ee  ./win32-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
+b8675b086664e3d6742330a517c5b619f0ac10dd094d250f12bef9822a8d5750  ./linux-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension
+c86f427503555a3ccdc55eb66a8d82793a206aac599a6092f7d1d4eb50c21403  ./darwin-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension
index 31f85a0da..53bcff048 100644
Binary files a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension and b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension differ
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-x64/libfts.lbug_extension b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
index b0fd3b7fd..6fa05c0da 100644
Binary files a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-x64/libfts.lbug_extension and b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/darwin-x64/libfts.lbug_extension differ
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension
index 41f2fa575..bf4c01920 100644
Binary files a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension and b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-arm64/libfts.lbug_extension differ
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-x64/libfts.lbug_extension b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
index 0971ff059..f7ab6c269 100644
Binary files a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-x64/libfts.lbug_extension and b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/linux-x64/libfts.lbug_extension differ
diff --git a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/win32-x64/libfts.lbug_extension b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/win32-x64/libfts.lbug_extension
index 093f8b7f9..dec711432 100644
Binary files a/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/win32-x64/libfts.lbug_extension and b/gitnexus/vendor/lbug-fts/prebuilds/win32-x64/libfts.lbug_extension differ
diff --git a/gitnexus/vitest.config.ts b/gitnexus/vitest.config.ts
index 29d44bf92..8bb6ff502 100644
--- a/gitnexus/vitest.config.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/vitest.config.ts
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
             'test/integration/analyze-wal-checkpoint-failure.test.ts',
             'test/integration/lbug-non-ascii-path.test.ts',
             'test/integration/lbug-conn-serialization.test.ts',
+            'test/integration/lbug-load-overlap-errors.test.ts',
             'test/integration/load-cached-embeddings-spill.test.ts',
             'test/integration/group/manifest-resolve-symbol-2325.test.ts',
             'test/integration/group/manifest-synthetic-impact-lbug.test.ts',
@@ -130,6 +131,8 @@ export default defineConfig({
             // fake that answers on `query.includes(...)`.
             'test/integration/wiki-graph-queries-engine.test.ts',
             'test/unit/incremental-dirty-recovery.test.ts',
+            // Publication reconciliation uses real native COPY/checkpoints.
+            'test/unit/incremental-write-integrity.test.ts',
             'test/unit/incremental-orchestration.test.ts',
             // #2841. Native @ladybugdb/core: it runs real analyses, reopens the
             // DB under different extension-install policies, and reads
@@ -190,6 +193,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
             'test/integration/analyze-wal-checkpoint-failure.test.ts',
             'test/integration/lbug-non-ascii-path.test.ts',
             'test/integration/lbug-conn-serialization.test.ts',
+            'test/integration/lbug-load-overlap-errors.test.ts',
             'test/integration/load-cached-embeddings-spill.test.ts',
             'test/integration/group/manifest-resolve-symbol-2325.test.ts',
             'test/integration/group/manifest-synthetic-impact-lbug.test.ts',
@@ -206,6 +210,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
             'test/integration/detect-changes-path-anchoring.test.ts',
             'test/integration/wiki-graph-queries-engine.test.ts',
             'test/unit/incremental-dirty-recovery.test.ts',
+            'test/unit/incremental-write-integrity.test.ts',
             'test/unit/incremental-orchestration.test.ts',
             // Excluded here because it is included by `lbug-db` above; a file
             // in two projects would be collected (and run) twice.