diff --git a/graphify/__main__.py b/graphify/__main__.py
index 155501a98d..dd0c84dfb7 100644
--- a/graphify/__main__.py
+++ b/graphify/__main__.py
@@ -534,6 +534,7 @@ def _run_cli() -> None:
         print("    --contributor \"Name\"    tag who added it to the corpus")
         print("    --dir <path>            target directory (default: ./raw)")
         print("  watch <path>            watch a folder and rebuild the graph on code changes")
+        print("    --debounce N          seconds to wait after last change before updating (default: 3)")
         print("  update <path>           re-extract code files and update the graph (no LLM needed)")
         print("    --force                 overwrite graph.json even if the rebuild has fewer nodes")
         print("                            (also: GRAPHIFY_FORCE=1 env var; use after refactors that delete code)")
diff --git a/graphify/cli.py b/graphify/cli.py
index cb30420473..bf6fe48ce8 100644
--- a/graphify/cli.py
+++ b/graphify/cli.py
@@ -1730,14 +1730,59 @@ def dispatch_command(cmd: str) -> None:
             sys.exit(1)
 
     elif cmd == "watch":
-        watch_path = Path(sys.argv[2]) if len(sys.argv) > 2 else Path(".")
+        args = sys.argv[2:]
+        watch_path: Path | None = None
+        debounce: float | None = None
+        i = 0
+        while i < len(args):
+            a = args[i]
+            if a == "--debounce":
+                if i + 1 >= len(args):
+                    print("error: --debounce requires a value", file=sys.stderr)
+                    sys.exit(2)
+                try:
+                    debounce = float(args[i + 1])
+                except ValueError:
+                    print(f"error: invalid debounce value: {args[i + 1]}", file=sys.stderr)
+                    sys.exit(2)
+                if debounce < 0:
+                    print("error: debounce must be non-negative", file=sys.stderr)
+                    sys.exit(2)
+                i += 2
+                continue
+            if a.startswith("--debounce="):
+                val = a.split("=", 1)[1]
+                try:
+                    debounce = float(val)
+                except ValueError:
+                    print(f"error: invalid debounce value: {val}", file=sys.stderr)
+                    sys.exit(2)
+                if debounce < 0:
+                    print("error: debounce must be non-negative", file=sys.stderr)
+                    sys.exit(2)
+                i += 1
+                continue
+            if a.startswith("-"):
+                print(f"error: unknown watch option: {a}", file=sys.stderr)
+                sys.exit(2)
+            if watch_path is not None:
+                print("error: watch accepts at most one path argument", file=sys.stderr)
+                sys.exit(2)
+            watch_path = Path(a)
+            i += 1
+
+        if watch_path is None:
+            watch_path = Path(".")
         if not watch_path.exists():
             print(f"error: path not found: {watch_path}", file=sys.stderr)
             sys.exit(1)
         from graphify.watch import watch as _watch
 
         try:
-            _watch(watch_path)
+            if debounce is not None:
+                _watch(watch_path, debounce=debounce)
+            else:
+                _watch(watch_path)
         except ImportError as exc:
             print(f"error: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
             sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/tests/test_cli_watch.py b/tests/test_cli_watch.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..24b66510a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_cli_watch.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+"""#3061: graphify watch must parse --debounce and forward it to watch()."""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from graphify.cli import dispatch_command
+
+PYTHON = sys.executable
+
+
+def _run_watch(argv_tail: list[str], cwd: str) -> object:
+    """Invoke dispatch_command('watch') with a patched watch(); cwd must exist."""
+    with patch("graphify.watch.watch") as mock_watch:
+        old_argv = sys.argv
+        sys.argv = ["graphify", "watch"] + argv_tail
+        try:
+            dispatch_command("watch")
+        finally:
+            sys.argv = old_argv
+        return mock_watch
+
+
+def test_watch_debounce_space_form(tmp_path):
+    mock = _run_watch(["--debounce", "60", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    mock.assert_called_once_with(tmp_path, debounce=60.0)
+
+
+def test_watch_debounce_equals_form(tmp_path):
+    mock = _run_watch(["--debounce=60", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    mock.assert_called_once_with(tmp_path, debounce=60.0)
+
+
+def test_watch_debounce_zero_allowed(tmp_path):
+    mock = _run_watch(["--debounce", "0", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    mock.assert_called_once_with(tmp_path, debounce=0.0)
+
+
+def test_watch_without_debounce_uses_default_kwarg(tmp_path):
+    mock = _run_watch([str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    mock.assert_called_once_with(tmp_path)
+
+
+def test_watch_debounce_missing_value(tmp_path):
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+        _run_watch(["--debounce", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    assert exc.value.code == 2
+
+
+def test_watch_debounce_negative_rejected(tmp_path):
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+        _run_watch(["--debounce", "-1", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    assert exc.value.code == 2
+
+
+def test_watch_debounce_non_numeric_rejected(tmp_path):
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+        _run_watch(["--debounce", "foo", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    assert exc.value.code == 2
+
+
+def test_watch_unknown_option_rejected(tmp_path):
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+        _run_watch(["--bogus", str(tmp_path)], str(tmp_path))
+    assert exc.value.code == 2
+
+
+def test_watch_help_lists_debounce():
+    import subprocess
+
+    r = subprocess.run(
+        [PYTHON, "-m", "graphify", "--help"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    assert r.returncode == 0
+    assert "--debounce" in r.stdout