diff --git a/__tests__/index-reindex-totals.test.ts b/__tests__/index-reindex-totals.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..28383355e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/__tests__/index-reindex-totals.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/**
+ * Regression test for #874 — `codegraph index` reported "0 nodes, 0 edges"
+ * on a re-index of unchanged files.
+ *
+ * `indexAll()` reports `nodesCreated`/`edgesCreated` as the *net delta* of the
+ * run. When `init` has already populated the index and `index` is re-run with
+ * no file changes, every file's content hash matches, so no nodes are
+ * re-inserted and the delta is 0 — even though the index is fully populated.
+ *
+ * The fix adds absolute `totalNodes`/`totalEdges` to the result so the CLI can
+ * show the real index size instead of a misleading 0. These tests pin that
+ * `indexAll` keeps the index populated across a re-index and surfaces the
+ * absolute totals.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as path from 'path';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import CodeGraph from '../src/index';
+
+describe('#874 — re-index of unchanged files reports absolute totals', () => {
+  let testDir: string;
+  let cg: CodeGraph;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    testDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'codegraph-reindex-totals-'));
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(testDir, 'app.ts'),
+      `export function hello(name: string) { return 'hi ' + name; }\n` +
+        `export class Greeter {\n` +
+        `  constructor(private prefix: string) {}\n` +
+        `  greet(name: string) { return this.prefix + hello(name); }\n` +
+        `}\n`
+    );
+
+    cg = CodeGraph.initSync(testDir, {
+      config: { include: ['**/*.ts'], exclude: [] },
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (cg) cg.destroy();
+    if (fs.existsSync(testDir)) {
+      fs.rmSync(testDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('populates totals on the first full index', async () => {
+    const first = await cg.indexAll();
+
+    expect(first.success).toBe(true);
+    expect(first.filesIndexed).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    // First index into an empty DB: delta == absolute total.
+    expect(first.nodesCreated).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(first.totalNodes).toBe(first.nodesCreated);
+    expect(first.totalEdges).toBe(first.edgesCreated);
+  });
+
+  it('re-index of unchanged files: delta is 0 but totals stay populated (#874)', async () => {
+    const first = await cg.indexAll();
+    const firstTotalNodes = first.totalNodes;
+    const firstTotalEdges = first.totalEdges;
+
+    // Re-run with no file changes — every content hash matches, so nothing is
+    // re-inserted and the net delta is 0.
+    const second = await cg.indexAll();
+
+    expect(second.success).toBe(true);
+    expect(second.filesIndexed).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    // The misleading part the user saw: net delta is 0...
+    expect(second.nodesCreated).toBe(0);
+    expect(second.edgesCreated).toBe(0);
+    // ...but the index is NOT empty — absolute totals match the first index.
+    expect(second.totalNodes).toBe(firstTotalNodes);
+    expect(second.totalEdges).toBe(firstTotalEdges);
+    expect(second.totalNodes).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+
+    // And the data really is still queryable.
+    const results = cg.searchNodes('Greeter');
+    expect(results.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/bin/codegraph.ts b/src/bin/codegraph.ts
index 12facd5aa..ad61ff9ad 100644
--- a/src/bin/codegraph.ts
+++ b/src/bin/codegraph.ts
@@ -318,6 +318,8 @@ type IndexResult = {
   filesErrored: number;
   nodesCreated: number;
   edgesCreated: number;
+  totalNodes?: number;
+  totalEdges?: number;
   errors: Array<{ message: string; filePath?: string; severity: string; code?: string }>;
   durationMs: number;
 };
@@ -351,7 +353,22 @@ function printIndexResult(clack: typeof import('@clack/prompts'), result: IndexR
     } else {
       clack.log.success(`Indexed ${formatNumber(result.filesIndexed)} files`);
     }
-    clack.log.info(`${formatNumber(result.nodesCreated)} nodes, ${formatNumber(result.edgesCreated)} edges in ${formatDuration(result.durationMs)}`);
+    // `nodesCreated`/`edgesCreated` are this run's *net delta*. On a re-index of
+    // unchanged files the delta is 0 even though the index is fully populated,
+    // which read as a misleading "0 nodes, 0 edges" (#874). Prefer the absolute
+    // totals when available and the delta is 0, so the summary reflects the real
+    // index size; otherwise fall back to the delta.
+    const showTotals =
+      result.nodesCreated === 0 &&
+      result.edgesCreated === 0 &&
+      result.totalNodes !== undefined &&
+      result.totalEdges !== undefined &&
+      (result.totalNodes > 0 || result.totalEdges > 0);
+    if (showTotals) {
+      clack.log.info(`${formatNumber(result.totalNodes!)} nodes, ${formatNumber(result.totalEdges!)} edges in ${formatDuration(result.durationMs)} (index already up to date)`);
+    } else {
+      clack.log.info(`${formatNumber(result.nodesCreated)} nodes, ${formatNumber(result.edgesCreated)} edges in ${formatDuration(result.durationMs)}`);
+    }
   } else if (hasErrors) {
     clack.log.error(`Indexing failed ${getGlyphs().dash} all ${formatNumber(result.filesErrored)} files had errors`);
   } else {
diff --git a/src/extraction/index.ts b/src/extraction/index.ts
index 643634d66..cfd0ac48d 100644
--- a/src/extraction/index.ts
+++ b/src/extraction/index.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,17 @@ export interface IndexResult {
   filesErrored: number;
   nodesCreated: number;
   edgesCreated: number;
+  /**
+   * Absolute node/edge totals in the index after this operation. Unlike
+   * `nodesCreated`/`edgesCreated` (which are the *net delta* of this run),
+   * these reflect the full graph size. On a re-index of unchanged files the
+   * delta is 0 even though the index is fully populated, so the CLI prefers
+   * these totals to avoid reporting a misleading "0 nodes, 0 edges" (#874).
+   * Optional/back-compat: only set by `CodeGraph.indexAll`, not the raw
+   * orchestrator path.
+   */
+  totalNodes?: number;
+  totalEdges?: number;
   errors: ExtractionError[];
   durationMs: number;
 }
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 35855e8b1..473013684 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -400,6 +400,11 @@ export class CodeGraph {
           const after = this.queries.getNodeAndEdgeCount();
           result.nodesCreated = after.nodes - before.nodes;
           result.edgesCreated = after.edges - before.edges;
+          // Absolute totals so the CLI can report the real index size even
+          // when this run's net delta is 0 (re-index of unchanged files). See
+          // IndexResult.totalNodes / #874.
+          result.totalNodes = after.nodes;
+          result.totalEdges = after.edges;
         }
 
         // Stamp the index with the engine that built it, so `codegraph status`