diff --git a/packages/memory-graph/src/__tests__/graph-data-utils.test.ts b/packages/memory-graph/src/__tests__/graph-data-utils.test.ts
index f98df074..dffbd454 100644
--- a/packages/memory-graph/src/__tests__/graph-data-utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/memory-graph/src/__tests__/graph-data-utils.test.ts
@@ -140,6 +140,27 @@ describe("cluster assignments", () => {
 
 		expect(assignments.get("a1")?.key).toBe(assignments.get("b1")?.key)
 	})
+
+	it("merges a wide fan-out of memories relating to one hub into a single cluster", () => {
+		// Regression test for the BFS queue drain: a hub with many direct
+		// relations produces a wide frontier, which previously interacted
+		// badly with an O(n) `Array.shift()` dequeue.
+		const hub = makeDocument("doc-hub", [makeMemory({ id: "hub" })])
+		const spokes = Array.from({ length: 200 }, (_, i) =>
+			makeDocument(`doc-${i}`, [
+				makeMemory({ id: `spoke-${i}`, memoryRelations: { hub: "derives" } }),
+			]),
+		)
+
+		const assignments = computeClusterAssignments([hub, ...spokes])
+
+		const hubKey = assignments.get("hub")?.key
+		expect(hubKey).toBeDefined()
+		for (let i = 0; i < spokes.length; i++) {
+			expect(assignments.get(`spoke-${i}`)?.key).toBe(hubKey)
+		}
+		expect(assignments.get("hub")?.size).toBe(spokes.length + 1)
+	})
 })
 
 describe("memory orbit placement", () => {
diff --git a/packages/memory-graph/src/hooks/use-graph-data.ts b/packages/memory-graph/src/hooks/use-graph-data.ts
index e0a3b1b3..3e9b0229 100644
--- a/packages/memory-graph/src/hooks/use-graph-data.ts
+++ b/packages/memory-graph/src/hooks/use-graph-data.ts
@@ -157,10 +157,15 @@ export function computeClusterAssignments(
 
 		const component: string[] = []
 		const queue = [startId]
+		// Index pointer instead of Array.shift(): shift() is O(remaining
+		// length) per call, so draining a wide BFS frontier (e.g. a heavily
+		// cross-referenced "hub" memory with many direct relations) was
+		// O(n^2) for large components.
+		let head = 0
 		visited.add(startId)
 
-		while (queue.length > 0) {
-			const id = queue.shift() as string
+		while (head < queue.length) {
+			const id = queue[head++] as string
 			component.push(id)
 			for (const nextId of adjacency.get(id) ?? []) {
 				if (visited.has(nextId)) continue