diff --git a/commands/gsd/graphify.md b/commands/gsd/graphify.md
index 52ecacdf7..dcdb7cc8e 100644
--- a/commands/gsd/graphify.md
+++ b/commands/gsd/graphify.md
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ gsd-tools path: $HOME/.claude/get-shit-done/bin/gsd-tools.cjs
 1. **Invoke graphify:**
    Run from the project root:
    ```
-   graphify . --update
+   graphify update .
    ```
    This builds the knowledge graph with SHA256 incremental caching.
    Timeout: up to 5 minutes (or as configured via graphify.build_timeout).
diff --git a/get-shit-done/bin/lib/graphify.cjs b/get-shit-done/bin/lib/graphify.cjs
index 5a7fa2a87..a31e0fa2f 100644
--- a/get-shit-done/bin/lib/graphify.cjs
+++ b/get-shit-done/bin/lib/graphify.cjs
@@ -102,26 +102,55 @@ function checkGraphifyInstalled() {
 }
 
 /**
- * Detect graphify version via python3 importlib.metadata and check compatibility.
+ * Detect graphify version and check compatibility.
  * Tested range: >=0.4.0,<1.0
  *
+ * Detection strategy:
+ * 1. Try `graphify --version` (works for most CLI installations, incl. venv installs)
+ * 2. Fall back to python3 importlib.metadata (legacy / system Python path)
+ * 3. Return null version gracefully if both fail
+ *
  * @returns {{ version: string|null, compatible: boolean|null, warning: string|null }}
  */
 function checkGraphifyVersion() {
-  const result = childProcess.spawnSync('python3', [
-    '-c',
-    'from importlib.metadata import version; print(version("graphifyy"))',
-  ], {
+  // Strategy 1: try `graphify --version` directly (2s timeout -- fast path)
+  const versionResult = childProcess.spawnSync('graphify', ['--version'], {
     stdio: 'pipe',
     encoding: 'utf-8',
-    timeout: 5000,
+    timeout: 2000,
   });
 
-  if (result.status !== 0 || !result.stdout || !result.stdout.trim()) {
+  let versionStr = null;
+
+  if (!versionResult.error && versionResult.status === 0) {
+    const raw = (versionResult.stdout || '').trim();
+    // graphify --version may emit "graphify 0.4.23" or just "0.4.23"
+    const match = raw.match(/(\d+\.\d+(?:\.\d+)*)/);
+    if (match) {
+      versionStr = match[1];
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Strategy 2: fall back to python3 importlib.metadata
+  if (!versionStr) {
+    const pyResult = childProcess.spawnSync('python3', [
+      '-c',
+      'from importlib.metadata import version; print(version("graphifyy"))',
+    ], {
+      stdio: 'pipe',
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      timeout: 5000,
+    });
+
+    if (!pyResult.error && pyResult.status === 0 && pyResult.stdout && pyResult.stdout.trim()) {
+      versionStr = pyResult.stdout.trim();
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!versionStr) {
     return { version: null, compatible: null, warning: 'Could not determine graphify version' };
   }
 
-  const versionStr = result.stdout.trim();
   const parts = versionStr.split('.').map(Number);
 
   if (parts.length < 2 || parts.some(isNaN)) {
diff --git a/tests/graphify.test.cjs b/tests/graphify.test.cjs
index 988c7c0c8..afef9edb0 100644
--- a/tests/graphify.test.cjs
+++ b/tests/graphify.test.cjs
@@ -384,18 +384,36 @@ describe('checkGraphifyVersion', () => {
     assert.ok(result.warning.includes('Could not parse'));
   });
 
-  test('calls python3 with importlib.metadata', () => {
-    let capturedCmd;
-    let capturedArgs;
+  test('tries graphify --version first before python3', () => {
+    const calls = [];
     mock.method(childProcess, 'spawnSync', (cmd, args) => {
-      capturedCmd = cmd;
-      capturedArgs = args;
+      calls.push({ cmd, args });
       return { status: 0, stdout: '0.4.3\n', stderr: '', error: undefined, signal: null };
     });
 
     checkGraphifyVersion();
-    assert.strictEqual(capturedCmd, 'python3');
-    assert.ok(capturedArgs.some(arg => arg.includes('importlib.metadata')));
+    assert.ok(calls.length >= 1, 'at least one spawnSync call');
+    assert.strictEqual(calls[0].cmd, 'graphify');
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(calls[0].args, ['--version']);
+  });
+
+  test('falls back to python3 importlib.metadata when graphify --version fails', () => {
+    const calls = [];
+    mock.method(childProcess, 'spawnSync', (cmd, args) => {
+      calls.push({ cmd, args });
+      if (cmd === 'graphify') {
+        return { status: 1, stdout: '', stderr: 'unknown option', error: undefined, signal: null };
+      }
+      // python3 fallback
+      return { status: 0, stdout: '0.4.3\n', stderr: '', error: undefined, signal: null };
+    });
+
+    const result = checkGraphifyVersion();
+    assert.strictEqual(result.version, '0.4.3');
+    assert.strictEqual(result.compatible, true);
+    const pythonCall = calls.find(c => c.cmd === 'python3');
+    assert.ok(pythonCall, 'python3 should be called as fallback');
+    assert.ok(pythonCall.args.some(arg => arg.includes('importlib.metadata')));
   });
 });