diff --git a/graphify/build.py b/graphify/build.py
index 4ea30a45e..53f4a5f21 100644
--- a/graphify/build.py
+++ b/graphify/build.py
@@ -1124,9 +1124,14 @@ def deduplicate_by_label(nodes: list[dict], edges: list[dict]) -> tuple[list[dic
     return deduped_nodes, deduped_edges
 
 
-def _load_existing_graph(graph_path: Path) -> "tuple[list, list, list] | None":
-    """Load (nodes, edges, hyperedges) from an existing graph.json for an
-    incremental merge, accepting both the ``links`` and ``edges`` spellings.
+def _load_existing_graph(graph_path: Path) -> "tuple[list, list, list, bool] | None":
+    """Load (nodes, edges, hyperedges, directed) from an existing graph.json for
+    an incremental merge, accepting both the ``links`` and ``edges`` spellings.
+
+    ``directed`` is the persisted graph type, so an incremental merge can rebuild
+    the same kind of graph instead of silently downgrading a directed graph to an
+    undirected one (#2342). Missing key reads as False, matching the
+    ``cluster-only`` round-trip in cli.py.
 
     Reads the JSON directly instead of going through node_link_graph().
     The latter rebuilds an undirected nx.Graph and then enumerating
@@ -1156,6 +1161,7 @@ def _load_existing_graph(graph_path: Path) -> "tuple[list, list, list] | None":
         list(data.get("nodes", [])),
         list(data.get(links_key, [])),
         list(data.get("hyperedges", [])),
+        bool(data.get("directed", False)),
     )
 
 
@@ -1193,7 +1199,7 @@ def merge_raw_extraction(
     loaded = _load_existing_graph(graph_path)
     if loaded is None:
         return new
-    existing_nodes, existing_edges, existing_hyperedges = loaded
+    existing_nodes, existing_edges, existing_hyperedges, _existing_directed = loaded
 
     _eff_root = (
         str(Path(root).resolve()) if root is not None
@@ -1260,7 +1266,7 @@ def build_merge(
     graph_path: str | Path | None = None,
     prune_sources: list[str] | None = None,
     *,
-    directed: bool = False,
+    directed: bool | None = None,
     dedup: bool = True,
     dedup_llm_backend: str | None = None,
     root: str | Path | None = None,
@@ -1273,17 +1279,23 @@ def build_merge(
     preserved unchanged; deleted files are removed via prune_sources.
     Safe to call repeatedly.
     root: if given, absolute source_file paths in new_chunks are made relative (#932).
+    directed: None (default) INHERITS the loaded graph's type, so a routine
+    incremental refresh can't silently rebuild a directed graph as undirected and
+    turn betweenness into a ubiquity score (#2342). Pass True/False to force it.
     """
     graph_path = Path(graph_path if graph_path is not None else _default_graph_json())
     _loaded = _load_existing_graph(graph_path)
     if _loaded is not None:
-        existing_nodes, existing_edges, existing_hyperedges = _loaded
+        existing_nodes, existing_edges, existing_hyperedges, existing_directed = _loaded
         had_graph = True
     else:
         existing_nodes = []
         existing_edges = []
         existing_hyperedges = []
+        existing_directed = False
         had_graph = False
+    if directed is None:
+        directed = existing_directed
 
     # Effective root for relativizing absolute source_file / prune paths back to the
     # stored relative source_file keys. When the caller passes root we use it;
diff --git a/graphify/watch.py b/graphify/watch.py
index c87ec8e6f..5c847b1cb 100644
--- a/graphify/watch.py
+++ b/graphify/watch.py
@@ -1258,7 +1258,11 @@ def _add_deleted_source(path: Path) -> None:
             "total_words": detected.get("total_words", 0),
         }
 
-        G = build_from_json(result)
+        # Inherit the persisted graph type. Rebuilding a graph that was written
+        # with --directed as an undirected one silently breaks betweenness — a
+        # pure sink every module imports scores as the top god node — and nothing
+        # in the report says the graph changed type (#2342).
+        G = build_from_json(result, directed=bool(existing_graph_data.get("directed", False)))
         candidate_topology = _topology_from_graph(G)
         if existing_graph_data:
             try:
diff --git a/tests/test_build.py b/tests/test_build.py
index 0851ba75e..695268d41 100644
--- a/tests/test_build.py
+++ b/tests/test_build.py
@@ -498,6 +498,81 @@ def test_ghost_merge_non_ast_same_file_still_merges():
     assert G.number_of_nodes() == 1
 
 
+def _directed_graph_json(tmp_path):
+    """Write a small DIRECTED graph.json (caller -> callee -> leaf) and return its path."""
+    from graphify.export import to_json
+
+    extraction = {
+        "nodes": [
+            {"id": "a_caller", "label": "caller()", "file_type": "code", "source_file": "a.py"},
+            {"id": "a_callee", "label": "callee()", "file_type": "code", "source_file": "a.py"},
+            {"id": "a_leaf", "label": "leaf()", "file_type": "code", "source_file": "a.py"},
+        ],
+        "edges": [
+            {"source": "a_caller", "target": "a_callee", "relation": "calls",
+             "confidence": "EXTRACTED", "confidence_score": 1.0, "source_file": "a.py"},
+            {"source": "a_callee", "target": "a_leaf", "relation": "calls",
+             "confidence": "EXTRACTED", "confidence_score": 1.0, "source_file": "a.py"},
+        ],
+        "hyperedges": [],
+    }
+    graph_path = tmp_path / "graph.json"
+    G = build_from_json(extraction, directed=True)
+    assert to_json(G, {}, str(graph_path), force=True)
+    assert json.loads(graph_path.read_text())["directed"] is True
+    return graph_path
+
+
+def test_build_merge_inherits_persisted_directed_flag(tmp_path):
+    """Regression for #2342.
+
+    build_merge defaulted to directed=False, so an incremental refresh rebuilt a
+    graph saved with --directed as an undirected one and wrote it back. Nothing
+    reported the change, but betweenness silently stops meaning anything: an
+    undirected graph turns a pure sink (in_degree=N, out_degree=0) into a fake
+    bridge between every pair of its importers, so god-node rankings report
+    ubiquity instead of architecture.
+
+    The saved flag already round-trips on the cluster-only path
+    (cli.py: build_from_json(_raw, directed=_directed)); the merge path must
+    honour it too.
+    """
+    from graphify.export import to_json
+
+    graph_path = _directed_graph_json(tmp_path)
+
+    # What `graphify update` does: merge an empty chunk set and save back.
+    G2 = build_merge([{"nodes": [], "edges": [], "hyperedges": []}], graph_path, dedup=False)
+    assert G2.is_directed(), (
+        "build_merge downgraded a directed graph to undirected (#2342)"
+    )
+    assert to_json(G2, {}, str(graph_path), force=True)
+    assert json.loads(graph_path.read_text())["directed"] is True
+
+    # A sink must not score as a bridge once direction survives the merge.
+    assert nx.betweenness_centrality(G2)["a_leaf"] == 0.0
+
+
+def test_build_merge_directed_flag_still_forceable(tmp_path):
+    """directed=None inherits, but an explicit value still wins in both
+    directions — callers that deliberately pick a graph type keep doing so."""
+    graph_path = _directed_graph_json(tmp_path)
+
+    assert not build_merge([], graph_path, dedup=False, directed=False).is_directed()
+    assert build_merge([], graph_path, dedup=False, directed=True).is_directed()
+
+
+def test_build_merge_defaults_undirected_without_existing_graph(tmp_path):
+    """No graph on disk means nothing to inherit — keep the historical default."""
+    chunk = {
+        "nodes": [{"id": "n1", "label": "n1()", "file_type": "code", "source_file": "a.py"}],
+        "edges": [],
+        "hyperedges": [],
+    }
+    G = build_merge([chunk], tmp_path / "missing.json", dedup=False)
+    assert not G.is_directed()
+
+
 def test_build_merge_preserves_call_edge_direction(tmp_path):
     """Regression for #760.
 
diff --git a/tests/test_watch.py b/tests/test_watch.py
index 1b2efce33..afad11a78 100644
--- a/tests/test_watch.py
+++ b/tests/test_watch.py
@@ -160,6 +160,41 @@ def test_graphify_root_preserves_relative_when_invoked_with_relative_path(tmp_pa
     )
 
 
+def test_rebuild_code_preserves_directed_graph(tmp_path):
+    """#2342: `graphify update` must rebuild a directed graph as directed.
+
+    _rebuild_code called build_from_json(result) with no `directed=`, so every
+    routine refresh rewrote a graph saved with --directed as an undirected one,
+    silently and with nothing in the output saying the graph changed type. The
+    damage is in the report: betweenness is only meaningful on a directed graph,
+    so undirected a pure sink every module imports becomes the top god node."""
+    from graphify.watch import _rebuild_code
+
+    corpus = tmp_path / "corpus"
+    corpus.mkdir()
+    (corpus / "a.py").write_text(
+        "def alpha():\n    return beta()\n\ndef beta():\n    return 1\n", encoding="utf-8"
+    )
+    assert _rebuild_code(corpus, acquire_lock=False) is True
+
+    # Stand in for a graph built with --directed: flip the persisted graph type.
+    graph_file = corpus / "graphify-out" / "graph.json"
+    graph = json.loads(graph_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    graph["directed"] = True
+    graph_file.write_text(json.dumps(graph), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    # Grow the corpus so the next rebuild has real work and actually writes.
+    (corpus / "b.py").write_text(
+        "import a\n\ndef gamma():\n    return a.alpha()\n", encoding="utf-8"
+    )
+    assert _rebuild_code(corpus, acquire_lock=False) is True
+
+    rebuilt = json.loads(graph_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert rebuilt["directed"] is True, (
+        "incremental rebuild downgraded a directed graph to undirected (#2342)"
+    )
+
+
 def test_rebuild_code_writes_community_name(tmp_path):
     """#1808: `graphify update` / _rebuild_code must forward community_labels to
     to_json, so graph.json nodes carry a human-readable community_name (hub-derived