diff --git a/gitnexus-shared/src/graph/types.ts b/gitnexus-shared/src/graph/types.ts
index d3dc81625..2c85fd030 100644
--- a/gitnexus-shared/src/graph/types.ts
+++ b/gitnexus-shared/src/graph/types.ts
@@ -115,7 +115,8 @@ export type RelationshipType =
   | 'HANDLES_TOOL'
   | 'ENTRY_POINT_OF'
   | 'WRAPS'
-  | 'QUERIES';
+  | 'QUERIES'
+  | 'CROSS_REPO_IMPORT';
 
 export interface GraphNode {
   id: string;
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/group/extractors/import-scanner.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/group/extractors/import-scanner.ts
index c6c460712..2bac8de42 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/group/extractors/import-scanner.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/group/extractors/import-scanner.ts
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ export async function scanRepoForImports(
 
     let content: string;
     try {
-      content = fs.readFileSync(abs, 'utf-8');
+      content = await fs.promises.readFile(abs, 'utf-8');
     } catch {
       continue;
     }
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/group/service.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/group/service.ts
index 55b379d5f..c371ff41c 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/group/service.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/group/service.ts
@@ -638,6 +638,10 @@ export class GroupService {
           remoteRepo: remoteRepoGroupPath,
           remoteContext,
         });
+
+        // Recurse into the remote repo so depth > 1 actually traverses further.
+        // `visited` (closed over above) prevents cycles.
+        await findConnections(remoteRegistryName, currentDepth + 1);
       }
     };
 
diff --git a/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts b/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts
index 917ee3fbf..255948c0b 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/mcp/tools.ts
@@ -576,18 +576,23 @@ WHEN TO USE: After group_sync, to explore how a symbol in one repo connects to s
   },
   {
     name: 'group_discover',
-    description: `Auto-discover indexed repos in a directory and create a group with code-level dependency detection.
+    description: `Auto-discover indexed repos in a directory (or from an explicit list) and create a group with code-level dependency detection.
 
-WHEN TO USE: When a user wants to see a combined knowledge graph from a parent directory containing multiple indexed repos. Scans for .gitnexus/ in subdirectories, reads package manifests, builds package mappings, creates a group, and optionally runs sync.`,
+WHEN TO USE: When a user wants to see a combined knowledge graph from multiple indexed repos. Reads package manifests, builds package mappings, creates a group, and optionally runs sync. Provide either \`directory\` (parent-dir scan) or \`repoPaths\` (explicit list).`,
     inputSchema: {
       type: 'object',
       properties: {
-        directory: { type: 'string', description: 'Parent directory containing repos' },
+        directory: { type: 'string', description: 'Parent directory containing repos (alternative to repoPaths)' },
+        repoPaths: {
+          type: 'array',
+          items: { type: 'string' },
+          description: 'Explicit list of repo paths (alternative to directory scan)',
+        },
         name: { type: 'string', description: 'Group name (default: workspace)' },
         force: { type: 'boolean', description: 'Overwrite existing group' },
         skipSync: { type: 'boolean', description: 'Skip running sync after creation' },
       },
-      required: ['directory'],
+      required: [],
     },
   },
 ];