diff --git a/graphify/build.py b/graphify/build.py
index 861a92855..e5ca2cdef 100644
--- a/graphify/build.py
+++ b/graphify/build.py
@@ -63,6 +63,79 @@ def _is_ast_tier(item: dict) -> bool:
 # this collapse actually needs.
 _GENERIC_RELATIONS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"references", "uses", "mentions"})
 
+# Import-family relations whose target may legitimately be a module OUTSIDE the
+# graph (stdlib, a third-party dependency, another repo). Historically the edge
+# to such a target was dropped, which left the in-memory graph clean but let the
+# on-disk graph.json (written by the incremental update path) keep the edge with
+# no matching node — an undeclared endpoint every loader materialises as an
+# attribute-less phantom (#2873). For these relations we instead mint a typed
+# external stub node so every edge endpoint resolves. Deliberately NOT `calls`:
+# a sourceless external call target is suppressed on purpose (#3156) to avoid a
+# phantom god-node, and that policy is unchanged here.
+_EXTERNAL_STUB_RELATIONS: frozenset[str] = frozenset(
+    {"imports", "imports_from", "re_exports"}
+)
+
+
+def _mint_external_stub(G: "nx.Graph", node_set: set, nid: str) -> None:
+    """Add a leaf node for an external import target so the edge is not dangling.
+
+    The node is tagged ``external`` (and ``file_type='concept'`` so the schema
+    validator and community/report code treat it as a non-source concept rather
+    than warning on a missing ``file_type``). ``merge-graphs`` reads the
+    ``external`` flag to keep these ids global instead of namespacing them per
+    repo, so the same stdlib/dependency module unifies across repos (#2873).
+    """
+    if nid in node_set:
+        return
+    G.add_node(
+        nid,
+        label=nid,
+        file_type="concept",
+        type="external",
+        external=True,
+        source_file="",
+    )
+    node_set.add(nid)
+
+
+def mint_external_stubs_in_data(data: dict) -> None:
+    """Mint external stub nodes for import-family links with an undeclared target.
+
+    The ``--no-cluster`` / incremental write path serializes the raw merged
+    extraction directly rather than going through :func:`build_from_json`, so it
+    needs the same stubbing to keep the on-disk graph.json free of undeclared
+    edge endpoints (#2873). Idempotent: a graph already carrying its stubs (from
+    a prior run or the clustered path) is left unchanged.
+    """
+    nodes = data.get("nodes")
+    links = data.get("links")
+    if not isinstance(links, list):
+        links = data.get("edges")
+    if not isinstance(nodes, list) or not isinstance(links, list):
+        return
+    declared = {n.get("id") for n in nodes if isinstance(n, dict)}
+    minted: set[str] = set()
+    for e in links:
+        if not isinstance(e, dict) or e.get("relation") not in _EXTERNAL_STUB_RELATIONS:
+            continue
+        src, tgt = e.get("source"), e.get("target")
+        if (
+            src in declared
+            and isinstance(tgt, str)
+            and tgt not in declared
+            and tgt not in minted
+        ):
+            nodes.append({
+                "id": tgt,
+                "label": tgt,
+                "file_type": "concept",
+                "type": "external",
+                "external": True,
+                "source_file": "",
+            })
+            minted.add(tgt)
+
 # Language interop families, keyed by extension, for the cross-language phantom-edge
 # guard in the edge loop below. Families group by REAL interop (JS/TS share a module
 # graph; C/C++/ObjC share a compilation unit via headers; JVM langs share bytecode),
@@ -1214,7 +1287,23 @@ def build_from_json(extraction: dict, *, directed: bool = False, root: str | Pat
         if tgt not in node_set:
             tgt = norm_to_id.get(_normalize_id(tgt), tgt)
         if src not in node_set or tgt not in node_set:
-            continue  # skip edges to external/stdlib nodes - expected, not an error
+            # An import/re-export whose target is not a declared node points at
+            # an external module (stdlib / third-party / another repo). Mint a
+            # typed external stub so the on-disk graph.json has no undeclared
+            # endpoint (#2873), rather than dropping the edge and leaving loaders
+            # to materialise an attribute-less phantom. Only the missing *target*
+            # of an import-family edge is stubbed; a dangling source, or a
+            # missing endpoint on any other relation (e.g. a sourceless external
+            # call target, suppressed by #3156), is still dropped.
+            if (
+                edge.get("relation") in _EXTERNAL_STUB_RELATIONS
+                and src in node_set
+                and tgt not in node_set
+                and isinstance(tgt, str)
+            ):
+                _mint_external_stub(G, node_set, tgt)
+            else:
+                continue  # external/stdlib target on a non-import relation - expected
         # `target_file` is a transient import-disambiguation salt hint (#1814)
         # with no downstream reader; it holds an absolute path, so it must never
         # be persisted. Disambiguation already pops it off fresh extractions —
@@ -2240,9 +2329,20 @@ def prefix_graph_for_global(
     collide and the aggregated community view fuses unrelated communities
     into one meta-node (#3014). 0 (the default) leaves communities untouched.
     """
-    relabel = {n: f"{repo_tag}::{n}" for n in G.nodes}
+    # External stubs (stdlib / third-party modules, #2873) are GLOBAL
+    # identifiers, not repo-local: leaving their id unprefixed lets the same
+    # module unify into one node across repos instead of fragmenting into
+    # repoA::typing / repoB::typing, which is exactly the "which repos depend on
+    # X" question a cross-repo merge exists to answer.
+    relabel = {
+        n: f"{repo_tag}::{n}"
+        for n, d in G.nodes(data=True)
+        if not d.get("external")
+    }
     H = nx.relabel_nodes(G, relabel, copy=True)
     for node, data in H.nodes(data=True):
+        if data.get("external"):
+            continue  # global id, belongs to no single repo — no repo/local_id tag
         data["repo"] = repo_tag
         data.setdefault("local_id", node.split("::", 1)[1])
         cid = data.get("community")
diff --git a/graphify/watch.py b/graphify/watch.py
index aef0c2569..f5fd10c2f 100644
--- a/graphify/watch.py
+++ b/graphify/watch.py
@@ -1863,6 +1863,7 @@ def _rebuild_code(
                 dedupe_edges as _dedupe_edges,
                 dedupe_nodes as _dedupe_nodes,
                 disambiguate_file_labels_in_nodes as _disamb_labels,
+                mint_external_stubs_in_data as _mint_external_stubs_in_data,
             )
             raw_nodes = _dedupe_nodes(result.get("nodes", []))
             _disamb_labels(raw_nodes)
@@ -1875,6 +1876,12 @@ def _rebuild_code(
                 # `result` (the raw merged extraction) never carries one.
                 "directed": bool((existing_graph_data or {}).get("directed", False)),
             }
+            # This path writes the raw merged extraction, not a build_from_json
+            # graph, so mint the same external stubs the builder does — otherwise
+            # an import to stdlib / a third-party module leaves an undeclared
+            # endpoint in graph.json that every loader materialises as an
+            # attribute-less phantom (#2873).
+            _mint_external_stubs_in_data(candidate_graph_data)
             candidate_graph_text = _json_text(candidate_graph_data)
             same_graph = False
             if existing_graph.exists():
diff --git a/tests/test_external_stub_endpoints.py b/tests/test_external_stub_endpoints.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1160c399a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_external_stub_endpoints.py
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+"""Every edge endpoint in graph.json must be a declared node (#2873).
+
+`graph.json` used to ship `imports`/`imports_from`/`re_exports` edges whose
+target was an external module (stdlib, a third-party dependency) with no
+matching entry in `nodes[]`. Every loader (networkx `node_link_graph`)
+materialises such an endpoint as an attribute-less phantom node, so the node
+set the file declares and the node set it produces disagree, and `merge-graphs`
+fragments the same external module into one node per repo. These tests pin the
+fix: mint a typed external stub node instead, keep it global across repos, and
+never stub a non-import relation (a sourceless external call target stays
+suppressed per #3156).
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import networkx as nx
+
+from graphify.build import (
+    build_from_json,
+    mint_external_stubs_in_data,
+    prefix_graph_for_global,
+)
+
+
+def _import_extraction(target: str, relation: str = "imports") -> dict:
+    return {
+        "nodes": [
+            {"id": "pkg_a", "label": "a.py", "file_type": "code", "source_file": "pkg/a.py"},
+        ],
+        "links": [
+            {"source": "pkg_a", "target": target, "relation": relation,
+             "source_file": "pkg/a.py", "confidence": "EXTRACTED", "weight": 1.0},
+        ],
+    }
+
+
+def test_build_from_json_mints_external_import_stub():
+    G = build_from_json(_import_extraction("typing"))
+    assert "typing" in G.nodes, "external import target must be a declared node, not dangling"
+    assert G.nodes["typing"].get("external") is True
+    assert G.nodes["typing"].get("type") == "external"
+    assert G.has_edge("pkg_a", "typing"), "the import edge must survive"
+
+
+def test_external_stub_makes_serialized_graph_self_consistent():
+    from networkx.readwrite import json_graph
+
+    G = build_from_json(_import_extraction("pathlib", relation="imports_from"))
+    data = json_graph.node_link_data(G, edges="links")
+    declared = {n["id"] for n in data["nodes"]}
+    for e in data["links"]:
+        assert e["source"] in declared and e["target"] in declared, (
+            "serialized graph must have no undeclared edge endpoint"
+        )
+
+
+def test_non_import_dangling_edge_is_still_dropped():
+    """A sourceless external CALL target is deliberately suppressed (#3156) to
+    avoid a phantom god-node: only import-family relations get a stub."""
+    G = build_from_json(_import_extraction("some_external_fn", relation="calls"))
+    assert "some_external_fn" not in G.nodes
+    assert not G.has_edge("pkg_a", "some_external_fn")
+
+
+def test_mint_external_stubs_in_data_is_idempotent():
+    data = {
+        "nodes": [{"id": "pkg_a", "label": "a.py", "file_type": "code",
+                   "source_file": "pkg/a.py"}],
+        "links": [{"source": "pkg_a", "target": "typing", "relation": "imports"}],
+    }
+    mint_external_stubs_in_data(data)
+    mint_external_stubs_in_data(data)  # second pass must not duplicate
+    stubs = [n for n in data["nodes"] if n.get("external")]
+    assert [n["id"] for n in stubs] == ["typing"]
+
+
+def test_external_stub_unifies_across_repos_in_merge():
+    def mk(file_id: str) -> nx.Graph:
+        return build_from_json({
+            "nodes": [{"id": file_id, "label": f"{file_id}.py", "file_type": "code",
+                       "source_file": f"{file_id}.py"}],
+            "links": [{"source": file_id, "target": "typing", "relation": "imports",
+                       "source_file": f"{file_id}.py", "confidence": "EXTRACTED", "weight": 1.0}],
+        })
+
+    merged = nx.compose(
+        prefix_graph_for_global(mk("a"), "repoA"),
+        prefix_graph_for_global(mk("b"), "repoB"),
+    )
+    assert "typing" in merged.nodes, "external module must stay a single global id"
+    assert "repoA::typing" not in merged.nodes and "repoB::typing" not in merged.nodes
+    assert merged.nodes["typing"].get("repo") is None, "an external node belongs to no repo"
+    # both repos' import edges land on the one shared node
+    assert merged.degree("typing") == 2
+
+
+def test_no_cluster_update_leaves_no_undeclared_endpoint(tmp_path: Path):
+    """End-to-end: `graphify update --no-cluster` writes the raw merged
+    extraction, not a build_from_json graph, so it must stub external endpoints
+    on that path too. Routes through the real watch rebuild."""
+    from graphify.watch import _rebuild_code
+
+    corpus = tmp_path / "corpus"
+    (corpus / "pkg").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (corpus / "pkg" / "a.py").write_text(
+        "import typing\nfrom pathlib import Path\nfrom .b import helper\n\n"
+        "def go(x: 'typing.Any') -> None:\n    helper(Path(str(x)))\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    (corpus / "pkg" / "b.py").write_text(
+        "import re\n\ndef helper(x):\n    return re.match(r'.', str(x))\n", encoding="utf-8"
+    )
+    (corpus / "pkg" / "__init__.py").write_text("from .a import go\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+    assert _rebuild_code(corpus, no_cluster=True, acquire_lock=False) is True
+    data = json.loads((corpus / "graphify-out" / "graph.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    declared = {n["id"] for n in data["nodes"]}
+    dangling = [
+        (e.get("source"), e.get("target"))
+        for e in data["links"]
+        if e.get("source") not in declared or e.get("target") not in declared
+    ]
+    assert not dangling, f"graph.json has undeclared edge endpoints: {dangling}"
+    # networkx must not have to materialise any phantom node
+    G = nx.node_link_graph(data, edges="links")
+    assert G.number_of_nodes() == len(data["nodes"])
+    # the stdlib imports resolved to typed external stubs
+    externals = {n["id"] for n in data["nodes"] if n.get("external")}
+    assert {"typing", "pathlib", "re"} <= externals