diff --git a/graphify/watch.py b/graphify/watch.py
index fce4053df..b2f977d60 100644
--- a/graphify/watch.py
+++ b/graphify/watch.py
@@ -2067,7 +2067,12 @@ def _rebuild_code(
             (out / _HTML_STALE_MARKER).touch()
             from graphify.export import backup_if_protected as _backup
             _backup(out)
-            graph_tmp.replace(existing_graph)
+            # os_replace_with_fallback, not a plain Path.replace (#2689): this
+            # function read existing_graph a few lines up for the same_graph
+            # comparison, and on a VMware HGFS shared folder a replace over a
+            # destination read earlier in the same process raises
+            # PermissionError even on the same drive.
+            os_replace_with_fallback(graph_tmp, existing_graph)
             report_path.write_text(report, encoding="utf-8")
             labels_file.write_text(labels_json, encoding="utf-8")
             # Keep the membership signatures in step with the labels we just wrote.