diff --git a/graphify/cli.py b/graphify/cli.py
index 3c1ae0e5..6d037332 100644
--- a/graphify/cli.py
+++ b/graphify/cli.py
@@ -96,6 +96,153 @@ def _stamped_manifest_files(
         ]
         for ftype, flist in files_by_type.items()
     }
+
+
+def _stale_graph_sources(
+    graph_path: Path,
+    scan_root: Path,
+    seen_files: set[str],
+) -> list[str]:
+    """Source files graph.json still references but the current scan no longer
+    contains (#1909).
+
+    Incremental extract's prune set was historically derived from the manifest
+    alone (``manifest - corpus``), so a file that became EXCLUDED
+    (.graphifyignore/.gitignore/--exclude changed) without being listed in the
+    manifest kept its stale nodes in graph.json forever. Derive prune
+    candidates from the graph's own node ``source_file``s instead: anything
+    the graph references that the post-exclude detect corpus no longer
+    contains is stale, whether the file was deleted or newly excluded.
+
+    Only IN-ROOT paths are candidates: out-of-root/absolute entries
+    (--include sources, symlinked external corpora) are never walked by
+    detect, so their absence from the corpus is not staleness evidence.
+    Relative entries are re-anchored against both the scan root and the
+    graph's own output root (``--out`` extracts store source_files relative
+    to the OUT root, e.g. ``../project/x.py``, #555/#1899); only anchors
+    that land inside the scan root count.
+    ``seen_files`` must be the FULL detect output including unclassified
+    files, so nodes from walked-but-unsupported sources (e.g. introspected
+    Cargo.toml manifests) are not misread as stale.
+    """
+    try:
+        data = json.loads(graph_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except Exception:
+        return []
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        return []
+    try:
+        root_res = scan_root.resolve()
+    except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+        root_res = scan_root
+    # <out>/graphify-out/graph.json — relative source_files may be anchored here.
+    out_base = graph_path.parent.parent
+    try:
+        out_base = out_base.resolve()
+    except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+        pass
+
+    def _within_root(p: Path) -> bool:
+        try:
+            p.relative_to(root_res)
+            return True
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+        try:
+            p.resolve().relative_to(root_res)
+            return True
+        except (ValueError, OSError, RuntimeError):
+            return False
+
+    def _in_seen(p: Path) -> bool:
+        if str(p) in seen_files:
+            return True
+        try:
+            return str(p.resolve()) in seen_files
+        except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+            return False
+
+    stale: list[str] = []
+    checked: set[str] = set()
+    for n in data.get("nodes", []):
+        if not isinstance(n, dict):
+            continue
+        sf = n.get("source_file")
+        if not sf or not isinstance(sf, str) or sf in checked:
+            continue
+        checked.add(sf)
+        if "://" in sf:
+            continue  # remote/virtual source (e.g. Google Workspace), not a scanned path
+        p = Path(sf)
+        if p.is_absolute():
+            candidates = [p]
+        else:
+            rel = sf.replace("\\", "/")
+            bases = [root_res]
+            if out_base != root_res:
+                bases.append(out_base)
+            candidates = [
+                Path(os.path.normpath(str(base / rel))) for base in bases
+            ]
+        in_root = [c for c in candidates if _within_root(c)]
+        if not in_root:
+            continue  # out-of-root under every anchor: never prune
+        if any(_in_seen(c) for c in in_root):
+            continue  # still part of the scan corpus
+        stale.append(sf)
+    return stale
+
+
+def _prune_graph_json_sources(graph_path: Path, stale_sources: list[str]) -> int:
+    """Drop nodes/edges/hyperedges owned by ``stale_sources`` from graph.json
+    in place. Returns the number of nodes removed.
+
+    Used by the ``--no-cluster`` incremental early-exit: that path never runs
+    ``build_merge`` (it would raw-dump only the new chunks), so an
+    exclusion-only change must prune the existing raw graph directly or the
+    newly-excluded file's nodes survive forever (#1909).
+    ``stale_sources`` comes from :func:`_stale_graph_sources`, i.e. the
+    graph's own ``source_file`` spellings, so exact string matching is enough.
+    """
+    try:
+        data = json.loads(graph_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except Exception:
+        return 0
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        return 0
+    stale = set(stale_sources)
+    links_key = "links" if "links" in data else "edges"
+    nodes = [n for n in data.get("nodes", []) if isinstance(n, dict)]
+    kept_nodes = [n for n in nodes if n.get("source_file") not in stale]
+    removed_ids = {
+        n.get("id") for n in nodes if n.get("source_file") in stale
+    }
+    n_removed = len(nodes) - len(kept_nodes)
+    kept_edges = [
+        e for e in data.get(links_key, [])
+        if isinstance(e, dict)
+        and e.get("source_file") not in stale
+        and e.get("source") not in removed_ids
+        and e.get("target") not in removed_ids
+    ]
+    kept_hyper = [
+        h for h in data.get("hyperedges", [])
+        if isinstance(h, dict) and h.get("source_file") not in stale
+    ]
+    if n_removed == 0 and len(kept_edges) == len(data.get(links_key, [])) and (
+        len(kept_hyper) == len(data.get("hyperedges", []))
+    ):
+        return 0
+    data["nodes"] = kept_nodes
+    data[links_key] = kept_edges
+    if "hyperedges" in data:
+        data["hyperedges"] = kept_hyper
+    from graphify.export import backup_if_protected as _backup
+    _backup(graph_path.parent)
+    graph_path.write_text(json.dumps(data, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
+    return n_removed
+
+
 class _StageTimer:
     """Print per-stage wall-clock timings to stderr when --timing is set (#1490).
 
@@ -2137,6 +2284,8 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
             paper_files = []
             image_files = []
             deleted_files = []
+            excluded_files = []
+            graph_stale_sources = []
             unchanged_total = 0
             files_by_type = {}
         elif incremental_mode:
@@ -2154,7 +2303,18 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
             paper_files = [Path(p) for p in new_by_type.get("paper", [])]
             image_files = [Path(p) for p in new_by_type.get("image", [])]
             deleted_files = list(detection.get("deleted_files", []))
+            excluded_files = list(detection.get("excluded_files", []))
             unchanged_total = sum(len(v) for v in detection.get("unchanged_files", {}).values())
+            # #1909: derive the prune set from the existing graph itself, not
+            # just the manifest. A file that became excluded without ever
+            # being manifest-listed (every pre-#1897 graph is in this state)
+            # still has stale nodes carried forward by build_merge unless the
+            # graph's own sources are reconciled against the current corpus.
+            _seen_files = {f for _fl in files_by_type.values() for f in _fl}
+            _seen_files.update(detection.get("unclassified", []))
+            graph_stale_sources = _stale_graph_sources(
+                existing_graph_path, target, _seen_files
+            )
         else:
             print(f"[graphify extract] scanning {target}")
             detection = _detect(target, google_workspace=google_workspace or None, extra_excludes=cli_excludes or None, cache_root=out_root)
@@ -2164,6 +2324,8 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
             paper_files = [Path(p) for p in files_by_type.get("paper", [])]
             image_files = [Path(p) for p in files_by_type.get("image", [])]
             deleted_files = []
+            excluded_files = []
+            graph_stale_sources = []
             unchanged_total = 0
 
         semantic_files = doc_files + paper_files + image_files
@@ -2182,10 +2344,15 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
             paper_files = []
             image_files = []
         if incremental_mode:
+            # Excluded-but-alive files are reported separately from deletions
+            # (#1908): they still exist on disk, the scan just stopped
+            # covering them (ignore rules / --exclude changed).
+            _excl_note = f"; {len(excluded_files)} excluded" if excluded_files else ""
             print(
                 f"[graphify extract] {len(code_files)} code, {len(doc_files)} docs, "
                 f"{len(paper_files)} papers, {len(image_files)} images changed; "
                 f"{unchanged_total} unchanged; {len(deleted_files)} deleted"
+                f"{_excl_note}"
             )
         else:
             print(
@@ -2487,6 +2654,16 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
         # absolute file lists.
         _manifest_files = _stamped_manifest_files(files_by_type, sem_result, target)
 
+        # Full-scan manifest saves prune rows for in-root files that left the
+        # scan corpus but still exist on disk (#1908). The corpus must be the
+        # RAW detect output (files_by_type), NOT the #933-stamp-filtered
+        # _manifest_files above — pruning to the filtered set would erase
+        # failed-chunk/omitted-doc rows and every doc row on --code-only runs.
+        _scan_corpus = (
+            {f for _fl in files_by_type.values() for f in _fl}
+            if has_path else None
+        )
+
         if no_cluster:
             # --no-cluster: dump the raw merged extraction as graph.json.
             # No NetworkX, no community detection, no analysis sidecar.
@@ -2506,12 +2683,26 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
                 and not cargo_result.get("nodes")
                 and not cargo_result.get("edges")
             ):
+                # An exclusion-only change reaches this gate (excluded files
+                # are deliberately NOT in deleted_files, #1908) but must still
+                # scrub the newly-excluded sources from the raw graph (#1909).
+                # This path never runs build_merge, so prune in place.
+                if graph_stale_sources:
+                    _n_pruned = _prune_graph_json_sources(
+                        existing_graph_path, graph_stale_sources
+                    )
+                    if _n_pruned:
+                        print(
+                            f"[graphify extract] pruned {_n_pruned} node(s) from "
+                            f"{len(graph_stale_sources)} source file(s) no longer "
+                            "in the scan (deleted or excluded)."
+                        )
                 print(
                     "[graphify extract] no incremental changes detected "
                     "(--no-cluster); outputs left untouched."
                 )
                 try:
-                    _save_manifest(_manifest_files, manifest_path=str(manifest_path), kind="both", root=target)
+                    _save_manifest(_manifest_files, manifest_path=str(manifest_path), kind="both", root=target, scan_corpus=_scan_corpus)
                 except Exception as exc:
                     print(f"[graphify extract] warning: could not write manifest: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
                 stages.total()
@@ -2548,7 +2739,7 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
                     f"est. cost: ${cost:.4f}"
                 )
             try:
-                _save_manifest(_manifest_files, manifest_path=str(manifest_path), kind="both", root=target)
+                _save_manifest(_manifest_files, manifest_path=str(manifest_path), kind="both", root=target, scan_corpus=_scan_corpus)
             except Exception as exc:
                 print(f"[graphify extract] warning: could not write manifest: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
             if global_merge:
@@ -2577,10 +2768,18 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
         from graphify.analyze import god_nodes as _god_nodes, surprising_connections as _surprising
         dedup_backend = backend if dedup_llm else None
         if incremental_mode:
+            # Prune everything the current scan no longer covers: genuinely
+            # deleted manifest rows, excluded-but-alive manifest rows (#1908),
+            # and the graph's own stale sources — which catches files that
+            # became excluded without ever being manifest-listed (#1909).
+            _prune_sources: list[str] = list(deleted_files)
+            for _src in list(excluded_files) + graph_stale_sources:
+                if _src not in _prune_sources:
+                    _prune_sources.append(_src)
             G = _build_merge(
                 [merged],
                 graph_path=existing_graph_path,
-                prune_sources=deleted_files or None,
+                prune_sources=_prune_sources or None,
                 dedup=True,
                 dedup_llm_backend=dedup_backend,
                 root=target,
@@ -2642,7 +2841,7 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
         }
         analysis_path.write_text(json.dumps(analysis, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
         try:
-            _save_manifest(_manifest_files, manifest_path=str(manifest_path), kind="both", root=target)
+            _save_manifest(_manifest_files, manifest_path=str(manifest_path), kind="both", root=target, scan_corpus=_scan_corpus)
         except Exception as exc:
             print(f"[graphify extract] warning: could not write manifest: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
 
@@ -2654,11 +2853,12 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
         )
         print(f"[graphify extract] wrote {analysis_path}")
         if incremental_mode:
+            _excl_note = f", {len(excluded_files)} excluded" if excluded_files else ""
             print(
                 f"[graphify extract] incremental summary: "
                 f"{sem_cache_hits + unchanged_total} files cached/unchanged, "
                 f"{len(code_files) + sem_cache_misses} re-extracted, "
-                f"{len(deleted_files)} deleted"
+                f"{len(deleted_files)} deleted{_excl_note}"
             )
         elif sem_cache_hits:
             print(f"[graphify extract] semantic cache: {sem_cache_hits} cached, {sem_cache_misses} re-extracted")
diff --git a/graphify/detect.py b/graphify/detect.py
index bc73fbde..195b5e54 100644
--- a/graphify/detect.py
+++ b/graphify/detect.py
@@ -1466,6 +1466,7 @@ def save_manifest(
     *,
     kind: str = "both",
     root: Path | None = None,
+    scan_corpus: set[str] | list[str] | None = None,
 ) -> None:
     """Save current file mtimes + content hashes for change detection.
 
@@ -1481,9 +1482,51 @@ def save_manifest(
     machines and checkout locations (#777). Out-of-root entries are written
     as absolute so they continue to round-trip on the saving machine.
     When ``root`` is None the legacy absolute-keyed format is preserved.
+
+    ``scan_corpus`` (#1908): full-scan callers pass the COMPLETE detect
+    corpus (absolute paths) so seeded rows for in-root files that are still
+    alive on disk but no longer part of the scan (newly excluded via
+    .graphifyignore/.gitignore/--exclude) are dropped instead of surviving
+    forever and masquerading as deletions in detect_incremental. It must be
+    the RAW detect output, not a stamp-filtered subset — pruning to a
+    filtered set would erase rows the filter merely omitted (failed chunks,
+    --code-only doc rows). Out-of-root entries are never pruned. Callers
+    saving a SUBSET of files (changed_paths hooks, skill runbooks, #917)
+    must leave this None so their untouched rows are preserved.
     """
     existing = load_manifest(manifest_path, root=root)
 
+    scan_set: set[str] | None = set(scan_corpus) if scan_corpus is not None else None
+    try:
+        root_res: Path | None = Path(root).resolve() if root is not None else None
+    except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+        root_res = Path(root) if root is not None else None
+
+    def _in_scan(path_str: str) -> bool:
+        if path_str in scan_set:
+            return True
+        try:
+            return str(Path(path_str).resolve()) in scan_set
+        except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+            return False
+
+    def _in_root(path_str: str) -> bool:
+        # Without a root we cannot tell in-root from out-of-root; fail open
+        # (keep the row) so out-of-root corpora are never pruned by accident.
+        if root_res is None:
+            return False
+        p = Path(path_str)
+        try:
+            p.relative_to(root_res)
+            return True
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+        try:
+            p.resolve().relative_to(root_res)
+            return True
+        except (ValueError, OSError, RuntimeError):
+            return False
+
     def _normalise_entry(entry):
         if isinstance(entry, (int, float)):
             return {"mtime": entry, "ast_hash": "", "semantic_hash": ""}
@@ -1496,17 +1539,23 @@ def save_manifest(
     # Seed from the existing manifest so incremental callers passing a subset
     # of files don't silently erase entries for untouched files (#917).
     # Prune entries whose file no longer exists on disk — those are genuine
-    # deletions that detect_incremental() should treat as gone.
+    # deletions that detect_incremental() should treat as gone. When the
+    # caller supplied the full scan corpus, additionally prune in-root rows
+    # the scan no longer covers: those files were excluded, not deleted, and
+    # keeping the row makes them look deleted on every future run (#1908).
     manifest: dict[str, dict] = {}
     for f, entry in existing.items():
         normalised = _normalise_entry(entry)
         if normalised is None:
             continue
         try:
-            if Path(f).exists():
-                manifest[f] = normalised
+            if not Path(f).exists():
+                continue
         except OSError:
             continue
+        if scan_set is not None and not _in_scan(f) and _in_root(f):
+            continue  # excluded-but-alive: drop the stale row (#1908)
+        manifest[f] = normalised
 
     all_files = [f for file_list in files.values() for f in file_list]
     with ThreadPoolExecutor() as pool:
@@ -1584,6 +1633,8 @@ def detect_incremental(
         full["new_files"] = full["files"]
         full["unchanged_files"] = {k: [] for k in full["files"]}
         full["new_total"] = full["total_files"]
+        full["deleted_files"] = []
+        full["excluded_files"] = []
         return full
 
     new_files: dict[str, list[str]] = {k: [] for k in full["files"]}
@@ -1636,9 +1687,23 @@ def detect_incremental(
             else:
                 unchanged_files[ftype].append(f)
 
-    # Files in manifest that no longer exist - their cached nodes are now ghost nodes
+    # Manifest rows that left the corpus, split by disk existence (#1908):
+    # a row whose file is gone from DISK is a genuine deletion (its cached
+    # nodes are ghosts); a row whose file still exists but is out of the
+    # current scan was EXCLUDED (ignore rules / --exclude changed) and must
+    # not be reported as deleted. Mirrors the watch-side excluded-vs-deleted
+    # distinction (#1795).
     current_files = {f for flist in full["files"].values() for f in flist}
-    deleted_files = [f for f in manifest if f not in current_files]
+    deleted_files: list[str] = []
+    excluded_files: list[str] = []
+    for f in manifest:
+        if f in current_files:
+            continue
+        try:
+            alive = Path(f).exists()
+        except OSError:
+            alive = False
+        (excluded_files if alive else deleted_files).append(f)
 
     new_total = sum(len(v) for v in new_files.values())
     full["incremental"] = True
@@ -1646,4 +1711,5 @@ def detect_incremental(
     full["unchanged_files"] = unchanged_files
     full["new_total"] = new_total
     full["deleted_files"] = deleted_files
+    full["excluded_files"] = excluded_files
     return full
diff --git a/graphify/watch.py b/graphify/watch.py
index df911ef8..57364228 100644
--- a/graphify/watch.py
+++ b/graphify/watch.py
@@ -1021,7 +1021,14 @@ def _rebuild_code(
 
             try:
                 from graphify.detect import save_manifest
-                save_manifest(detected["files"], kind="ast", root=project_root)
+                # detected["files"] is a FULL detect of the watched root, so
+                # pass it as the scan corpus too: rows for files that left the
+                # scan but still exist on disk (newly excluded) are pruned
+                # instead of surviving as phantom "deleted" entries (#1908).
+                save_manifest(
+                    detected["files"], kind="ast", root=project_root,
+                    scan_corpus={f for _fl in detected["files"].values() for f in _fl},
+                )
             except Exception:
                 pass
 
@@ -1060,7 +1067,11 @@ def _rebuild_code(
             if same_topology:
                 try:
                     from graphify.detect import save_manifest
-                    save_manifest(detected["files"], kind="ast", root=project_root)
+                    # Full-scan save: prune excluded-but-alive rows (#1908).
+                    save_manifest(
+                        detected["files"], kind="ast", root=project_root,
+                        scan_corpus={f for _fl in detected["files"].values() for f in _fl},
+                    )
                 except Exception:
                     pass
                 flag = out / "needs_update"
@@ -1138,7 +1149,11 @@ def _rebuild_code(
 
         try:
             from graphify.detect import save_manifest
-            save_manifest(detected["files"], kind="ast", root=project_root)
+            # Full-scan save: prune excluded-but-alive rows (#1908).
+            save_manifest(
+                detected["files"], kind="ast", root=project_root,
+                scan_corpus={f for _fl in detected["files"].values() for f in _fl},
+            )
         except Exception:
             pass
 
diff --git a/tests/test_detect.py b/tests/test_detect.py
index 374b2552..a783eaf6 100644
--- a/tests/test_detect.py
+++ b/tests/test_detect.py
@@ -1851,3 +1851,162 @@ def test_nested_gitignore_patterns_still_apply_inside_their_dir(tmp_path):
     result = detect(tmp_path)
 
     assert result["total_files"] == 2  # main.py + sub/keep.py; sub/noise.log ignored
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# #1908: manifest must not retain scan-excluded files as permanent
+# "deleted" entries. Full-scan saves prune excluded-but-alive rows; subset
+# saves keep preserving untouched rows (#917); out-of-root rows never prune.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_save_manifest_full_scan_prunes_excluded_but_alive_row(tmp_path):
+    """A row for a file that still exists on disk but left the scan corpus
+    (newly excluded) is dropped when the caller passes the full corpus."""
+    import json
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    b = tmp_path / "b.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    b.write_text("y = 2\n")
+    manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+
+    save_manifest({"code": [str(a), str(b)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+    raw = json.loads(Path(manifest_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert set(raw) == {"a.py", "b.py"}
+
+    # Second full scan no longer covers b.py (excluded), yet b.py is alive.
+    save_manifest(
+        {"code": [str(a)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path,
+        scan_corpus={str(a)},
+    )
+    raw = json.loads(Path(manifest_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert set(raw) == {"a.py"}, (
+        f"excluded-but-alive row must be pruned on a full-scan save, got {set(raw)}"
+    )
+
+
+def test_save_manifest_full_scan_still_prunes_missing_file(tmp_path):
+    """Genuine deletions keep being pruned when scan_corpus is passed."""
+    import json
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    gone = tmp_path / "gone.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    gone.write_text("y = 2\n")
+    manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+    save_manifest({"code": [str(a), str(gone)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+
+    gone.unlink()
+    save_manifest(
+        {"code": [str(a)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path,
+        scan_corpus={str(a)},
+    )
+    raw = json.loads(Path(manifest_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert set(raw) == {"a.py"}
+
+
+def test_save_manifest_subset_save_preserves_untouched_rows(tmp_path):
+    """Without scan_corpus (changed_paths hooks, skill runbooks, #917) a
+    subset save must keep seeding rows for files it wasn't given."""
+    import json
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    b = tmp_path / "b.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    b.write_text("y = 2\n")
+    manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+    save_manifest({"code": [str(a), str(b)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+
+    # Incremental hook re-stamps only a.py; b.py's row must survive.
+    save_manifest({"code": [str(a)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+    raw = json.loads(Path(manifest_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert set(raw) == {"a.py", "b.py"}, (
+        f"subset saves must preserve untouched rows (#917), got {set(raw)}"
+    )
+
+
+def test_save_manifest_full_scan_keeps_out_of_root_rows(tmp_path):
+    """Out-of-root entries (--include sources, symlinked corpora) are never
+    walked by detect, so their absence from the corpus is not exclusion
+    evidence — a full-scan save must keep them."""
+    import json
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    outside = tmp_path.parent / f"{tmp_path.name}-extern.py"
+    outside.write_text("z = 3\n")
+    try:
+        manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+        save_manifest(
+            {"code": [str(a), str(outside)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path
+        )
+        save_manifest(
+            {"code": [str(a)]}, manifest_path, root=tmp_path,
+            scan_corpus={str(a)},
+        )
+        raw = json.loads(Path(manifest_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        assert "a.py" in raw
+        assert str(outside.resolve()) in raw, (
+            f"out-of-root rows must never be pruned to the scan, got {set(raw)}"
+        )
+    finally:
+        outside.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+
+
+def test_detect_incremental_reports_excluded_not_deleted(tmp_path):
+    """A previously-indexed file that becomes excluded (still on disk) must
+    land in excluded_files, not deleted_files (#1908)."""
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    b = tmp_path / "b.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    b.write_text("y = 2\n")
+    manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+    full = detect(tmp_path)
+    save_manifest(full["files"], manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+
+    inc = detect_incremental(
+        tmp_path, manifest_path, extra_excludes=["b.py"]
+    )
+    assert inc["deleted_files"] == [], (
+        f"excluded-but-alive file misreported as deleted: {inc['deleted_files']}"
+    )
+    assert [Path(f).name for f in inc["excluded_files"]] == ["b.py"]
+
+
+def test_detect_incremental_still_reports_real_deletions(tmp_path):
+    """Counterpart: a manifest row whose file is gone from disk stays in
+    deleted_files."""
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    b = tmp_path / "b.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    b.write_text("y = 2\n")
+    manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+    full = detect(tmp_path)
+    save_manifest(full["files"], manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+
+    b.unlink()
+    inc = detect_incremental(tmp_path, manifest_path)
+    assert [Path(f).name for f in inc["deleted_files"]] == ["b.py"]
+    assert inc["excluded_files"] == []
+
+
+def test_detect_incremental_exclusion_stable_across_runs(tmp_path):
+    """After a full-scan save prunes the excluded row, later incremental runs
+    report the file neither as deleted nor as excluded — the exclusion has
+    fully settled instead of resurfacing forever."""
+    a = tmp_path / "a.py"
+    b = tmp_path / "b.py"
+    a.write_text("x = 1\n")
+    b.write_text("y = 2\n")
+    manifest_path = str(tmp_path / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json")
+    full = detect(tmp_path)
+    save_manifest(full["files"], manifest_path, root=tmp_path)
+
+    # Run 1: b.py newly excluded — reported as excluded, then the full-scan
+    # save (what extract does at the end of the run) prunes its row.
+    inc1 = detect_incremental(tmp_path, manifest_path, extra_excludes=["b.py"])
+    assert [Path(f).name for f in inc1["excluded_files"]] == ["b.py"]
+    assert inc1["deleted_files"] == []
+    corpus = {f for flist in inc1["files"].values() for f in flist}
+    save_manifest(inc1["files"], manifest_path, root=tmp_path, scan_corpus=corpus)
+
+    # Run 2 (and beyond): steady state — nothing deleted, nothing excluded.
+    inc2 = detect_incremental(tmp_path, manifest_path, extra_excludes=["b.py"])
+    assert inc2["deleted_files"] == []
+    assert inc2["excluded_files"] == []
diff --git a/tests/test_extract_cli.py b/tests/test_extract_cli.py
index f56de047..3442a487 100644
--- a/tests/test_extract_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_extract_cli.py
@@ -364,3 +364,170 @@ def test_extract_timing_flag_emits_stage_timings(monkeypatch, tmp_path, capsys):
         mainmod.main()
     assert exc2.value.code == 0
     assert "graphify timing" not in capsys.readouterr().err
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# #1909: a newly-excluded file's nodes must be pruned from graph.json on the
+# next incremental extract even when the manifest never listed the file (the
+# pre-#1897 state every 0.9.16 graph is in), so the manifest-diff prune set
+# (`manifest - corpus`) can never see it.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def _two_file_corpus(tmp_path):
+    project = tmp_path / "project"
+    project.mkdir()
+    (project / "x.py").write_text(
+        "def secret_helper():\n    return 42\n\n"
+        "def secret_caller():\n    return secret_helper()\n"
+    )
+    (project / "keep.py").write_text(
+        "def kept():\n    return still_here()\n\n"
+        "def still_here():\n    return 1\n"
+    )
+    return project
+
+
+def _node_sources(graph_path):
+    import json
+    data = json.loads(graph_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    return {n.get("source_file", "") for n in data.get("nodes", [])}
+
+
+def _run_extract(monkeypatch, argv):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(mainmod.sys, "argv", argv)
+    try:
+        mainmod.main()
+    except SystemExit as exc:
+        assert exc.code in (None, 0), f"unexpected exit code {exc.code}"
+
+
+def test_incremental_extract_prunes_newly_excluded_file_not_in_manifest(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path
+):
+    """Seed a graph with nodes for x.py, drop x.py from the manifest (pre-#1897
+    manifests never listed excluded/omitted files), exclude x.py via
+    .graphifyignore, re-run extract: x.py's nodes must be gone even though it
+    was never on the deleted list."""
+    import json
+    project = _two_file_corpus(tmp_path)
+    out_dir = tmp_path / "out"
+    _clear_backend_keys(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(mainmod, "_check_skill_version", lambda _: None)
+
+    _run_extract(
+        monkeypatch,
+        ["graphify", "extract", str(project), "--out", str(out_dir)],
+    )
+    graph_path = out_dir / "graphify-out" / "graph.json"
+    manifest_path = out_dir / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json"
+    assert any("x.py" in s for s in _node_sources(graph_path)), (
+        "seed extract must produce nodes for x.py"
+    )
+
+    # Simulate the pre-#1897 manifest state: x.py was never manifest-listed,
+    # so `manifest - corpus` can never flag it.
+    manifest = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    manifest = {k: v for k, v in manifest.items() if "x.py" not in k}
+    manifest_path.write_text(json.dumps(manifest), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    (project / ".graphifyignore").write_text("x.py\n")
+    _run_extract(
+        monkeypatch,
+        ["graphify", "extract", str(project), "--out", str(out_dir)],
+    )
+
+    sources = _node_sources(graph_path)
+    assert not any("x.py" in s for s in sources), (
+        f"newly-excluded x.py must be pruned from graph.json, still see {sources}"
+    )
+    assert any("keep.py" in s for s in sources), (
+        "unchanged keep.py nodes must survive the incremental merge"
+    )
+    # x.py exists on disk, is excluded, and must not creep into the manifest.
+    manifest = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert not any("x.py" in k for k in manifest), (
+        f"excluded x.py must not be (re)listed in the manifest: {set(manifest)}"
+    )
+
+
+def test_incremental_extract_prunes_excluded_file_listed_in_manifest(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path
+):
+    """Post-#1897 state: the excluded file IS manifest-listed. It must be
+    pruned from graph.json AND dropped from the manifest (#1908), and stay
+    settled on a further run."""
+    import json
+    project = _two_file_corpus(tmp_path)
+    out_dir = tmp_path / "out"
+    _clear_backend_keys(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(mainmod, "_check_skill_version", lambda _: None)
+
+    _run_extract(
+        monkeypatch,
+        ["graphify", "extract", str(project), "--out", str(out_dir)],
+    )
+    graph_path = out_dir / "graphify-out" / "graph.json"
+    manifest_path = out_dir / "graphify-out" / "manifest.json"
+    assert any("x.py" in k for k in json.loads(manifest_path.read_text()))
+
+    (project / ".graphifyignore").write_text("x.py\n")
+    _run_extract(
+        monkeypatch,
+        ["graphify", "extract", str(project), "--out", str(out_dir)],
+    )
+
+    sources = _node_sources(graph_path)
+    assert not any("x.py" in s for s in sources)
+    assert any("keep.py" in s for s in sources)
+    manifest = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert not any("x.py" in k for k in manifest), (
+        "excluded-but-alive manifest row must be pruned (#1908)"
+    )
+
+    # Steady state: a third run neither resurrects x.py nor loses keep.py.
+    _run_extract(
+        monkeypatch,
+        ["graphify", "extract", str(project), "--out", str(out_dir)],
+    )
+    sources = _node_sources(graph_path)
+    assert not any("x.py" in s for s in sources)
+    assert any("keep.py" in s for s in sources)
+
+
+def test_no_cluster_incremental_prunes_newly_excluded_file(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path, capsys
+):
+    """--no-cluster's exclusion-only early exit must still scrub the excluded
+    file's nodes from the raw graph.json (that path never runs build_merge),
+    and must not report the alive file as deleted."""
+    import json
+    project = _two_file_corpus(tmp_path)
+    out_dir = tmp_path / "out"
+    _clear_backend_keys(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(mainmod, "_check_skill_version", lambda _: None)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        mainmod.sys, "argv",
+        ["graphify", "extract", str(project), "--no-cluster", "--out", str(out_dir)],
+    )
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+        mainmod.main()
+    assert exc.value.code == 0
+    graph_path = out_dir / "graphify-out" / "graph.json"
+    assert any("x.py" in s for s in _node_sources(graph_path))
+    capsys.readouterr()
+
+    (project / ".graphifyignore").write_text("x.py\n")
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+        mainmod.main()
+    assert exc.value.code == 0
+    out_text = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert "1 deleted" not in out_text, (
+        "excluded-but-alive file must not be reported as deleted"
+    )
+
+    sources = _node_sources(graph_path)
+    assert not any("x.py" in s for s in sources), (
+        f"--no-cluster early exit must prune excluded sources, still see {sources}"
+    )
+    assert any("keep.py" in s for s in sources)