diff --git a/tests/graph-renderer-guardrails.mjs b/tests/graph-renderer-guardrails.mjs
index 68f7ad1..71770f4 100644
--- a/tests/graph-renderer-guardrails.mjs
+++ b/tests/graph-renderer-guardrails.mjs
@@ -4,9 +4,28 @@ globalThis.window = {
   devicePixelRatio: 1,
   matchMedia: () => ({ matches: false, addEventListener() {}, removeEventListener() {} }),
 };
-globalThis.performance ??= { now: () => Date.now() };
-globalThis.requestAnimationFrame = (callback) => setTimeout(() => callback(performance.now()), 0);
-globalThis.cancelAnimationFrame = (id) => clearTimeout(id);
+let mockNow = 1000;
+globalThis.performance = { now: () => mockNow };
+let rafId = 0;
+const rafCallbacks = new Map();
+let timerId = 0;
+const timerCallbacks = new Map();
+globalThis.requestAnimationFrame = (callback) => {
+  const id = ++rafId;
+  rafCallbacks.set(id, callback);
+  return id;
+};
+globalThis.cancelAnimationFrame = (id) => {
+  rafCallbacks.delete(id);
+};
+globalThis.setTimeout = (callback, delay = 0) => {
+  const id = ++timerId;
+  timerCallbacks.set(id, { callback, dueAt: mockNow + Math.max(0, Number(delay) || 0) });
+  return id;
+};
+globalThis.clearTimeout = (id) => {
+  timerCallbacks.delete(id);
+};
 globalThis.ResizeObserver = class ResizeObserver {
   observe() {}
   disconnect() {}
@@ -15,8 +34,31 @@ globalThis.ResizeObserver = class ResizeObserver {
 const canvasMockStats = {
   radialGradientCalls: 0,
   linearGradientCalls: 0,
+  strokeCalls: 0,
 };
 
+function flushNextRaf(ms = 16) {
+  const [id, callback] = rafCallbacks.entries().next().value || [];
+  if (!id) return false;
+  rafCallbacks.delete(id);
+  mockNow += ms;
+  callback(mockNow);
+  return true;
+}
+
+function advanceMockTime(ms = 0) {
+  mockNow += ms;
+  let ran = false;
+  for (const [id, timer] of [...timerCallbacks.entries()].sort((a, b) => a[1].dueAt - b[1].dueAt)) {
+    if (timer.dueAt <= mockNow) {
+      timerCallbacks.delete(id);
+      timer.callback();
+      ran = true;
+    }
+  }
+  return ran;
+}
+
 function createNoopContext() {
   const noop = () => {};
   return {
@@ -30,7 +72,9 @@ function createNoopContext() {
     arc: noop,
     arcTo: noop,
     fill: noop,
-    stroke: noop,
+    stroke: () => {
+      canvasMockStats.strokeCalls += 1;
+    },
     moveTo: noop,
     lineTo: noop,
     quadraticCurveTo: noop,
@@ -57,6 +101,8 @@ function createNoopContext() {
     set globalAlpha(_value) {},
     set lineCap(_value) {},
     set lineJoin(_value) {},
+    set shadowColor(_value) {},
+    set shadowBlur(_value) {},
   };
 }
 
@@ -101,6 +147,12 @@ function assertInputUnchanged(graph, beforeJson) {
   }
 }
 
+function resetCanvasStats() {
+  canvasMockStats.radialGradientCalls = 0;
+  canvasMockStats.linearGradientCalls = 0;
+  canvasMockStats.strokeCalls = 0;
+}
+
 const { GraphRenderer } = await import("../ui/graph-renderer.js");
 
 {
@@ -211,4 +263,85 @@ const { GraphRenderer } = await import("../ui/graph-renderer.js");
   renderer.destroy();
 }
 
+{
+  resetCanvasStats();
+  const graph = createGraphFixture();
+  const before = JSON.stringify(graph);
+  const renderer = new GraphRenderer(createCanvas(), {
+    runtimeConfig: { graphUseNativeLayout: false, graphNativeForceDisable: true },
+    layoutConfig: { neuralIterations: 8 },
+  });
+
+  renderer.loadGraph(graph, { userPovAliases: ["Host"] });
+  renderer.setTransientHighlights({
+    recallNodeIds: ["objective-1", { nodeId: "user-1" }],
+    extractedNodeIds: [{ id: "char-1" }, "objective-1"],
+    ttlMs: 80,
+    reason: "test",
+  });
+  assertInputUnchanged(graph, before);
+  let diagnostics = renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics();
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.count, 3);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.activeCount, 3);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.reducedMotion, false);
+  assert.ok(flushNextRaf());
+  assert.ok(canvasMockStats.radialGradientCalls > 0);
+  assert.ok(canvasMockStats.strokeCalls > 0);
+  diagnostics = renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics();
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.count, 3);
+  mockNow += 120;
+  diagnostics = renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics();
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.count, 0);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.animationScheduled, false);
+  renderer.destroy();
+}
+
+{
+  const graph = createGraphFixture();
+  const renderer = new GraphRenderer(createCanvas(), {
+    runtimeConfig: { graphUseNativeLayout: false, graphNativeForceDisable: true },
+    layoutConfig: { neuralIterations: 8 },
+  });
+
+  renderer.loadGraph(graph, { userPovAliases: ["Host"] });
+  renderer.setTransientHighlights({ recallNodeIds: ["objective-1"], ttlMs: 1000 });
+  assert.equal(renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics().count, 1);
+  renderer.setEnabled(false);
+  const diagnostics = renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics();
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.count, 0);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.animationScheduled, false);
+  renderer.destroy();
+}
+
+{
+  const previousMatchMedia = globalThis.window.matchMedia;
+  globalThis.window.matchMedia = () => ({ matches: true, addEventListener() {}, removeEventListener() {} });
+  const graph = createGraphFixture();
+  const before = JSON.stringify(graph);
+  const renderer = new GraphRenderer(createCanvas(), {
+    runtimeConfig: { graphUseNativeLayout: false, graphNativeForceDisable: true },
+    layoutConfig: { neuralIterations: 8 },
+  });
+
+  renderer.loadGraph(graph, { userPovAliases: ["Host"] });
+  resetCanvasStats();
+  renderer.setTransientHighlights({ recallNodeIds: ["objective-1"], ttlMs: 1000 });
+  flushNextRaf();
+  let diagnostics = renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics();
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.reducedMotion, true);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.count, 1);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.animationScheduled, false);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.expiryScheduled, true);
+  assert.ok(canvasMockStats.strokeCalls > 0);
+  advanceMockTime(1002);
+  assert.ok(flushNextRaf());
+  diagnostics = renderer.getTransientHighlightDiagnostics();
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.count, 0);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.animationScheduled, false);
+  assert.equal(diagnostics.expiryScheduled, false);
+  assertInputUnchanged(graph, before);
+  renderer.destroy();
+  globalThis.window.matchMedia = previousMatchMedia;
+}
+
 console.log("graph-renderer guardrail tests passed");
diff --git a/ui/graph-renderer.js b/ui/graph-renderer.js
index 990549f..99482f3 100644
--- a/ui/graph-renderer.js
+++ b/ui/graph-renderer.js
@@ -359,6 +359,9 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         this._suppressMouseUntil = 0;
 
         this.animId = null;
+        this._highlightAnimId = null;
+        this._highlightExpiryTimer = null;
+        this._transientHighlights = new Map();
         this.enabled = true;
 
         // Callbacks
@@ -416,6 +419,7 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         const rawPartitionCounts = countRawNodesByScope(activeRawNodes, this._userPovAliasSet);
 
         if (!this.enabled) {
+            this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
             this._setLastLayoutDiagnostics({
                 mode: 'skipped',
                 nodeCount: 0,
@@ -545,6 +549,8 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
             this.selectedNode = this.nodeMap.get(prevSelectedId) || null;
         }
 
+        this._pruneTransientHighlights(this._nowMs());
+
         this._cancelAnim();
         this._render();
 
@@ -589,6 +595,69 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         if (this.enabled) this._render();
     }
 
+    setTransientHighlights(payload = {}) {
+        const wasActive = this._transientHighlights?.size > 0;
+        const ttlMs = Math.max(1, Math.min(60000, Number(payload?.ttlMs) || 1800));
+        const reason = String(payload?.reason || '').trim();
+        const now = this._nowMs();
+        const next = new Map();
+        const recallIds = this._normalizeTransientHighlightIds(payload?.recallNodeIds);
+        const extractedIds = this._normalizeTransientHighlightIds(payload?.extractedNodeIds);
+
+        for (const id of extractedIds) {
+            next.set(id, {
+                kind: 'extracted',
+                startedAt: now,
+                expiresAt: now + ttlMs,
+                ttlMs,
+                reason,
+            });
+        }
+        for (const id of recallIds) {
+            const existing = next.get(id);
+            next.set(id, {
+                kind: existing ? 'mixed' : 'recall',
+                startedAt: now,
+                expiresAt: now + ttlMs,
+                ttlMs,
+                reason,
+            });
+        }
+
+        this._transientHighlights = next;
+        this._cancelHighlightAnimationFrame();
+        this._cancelHighlightExpiryTimer();
+
+        if (!this.enabled) {
+            this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
+            return;
+        }
+        if (next.size > 0) {
+            this._scheduleRender();
+            if (this._isReducedMotion()) {
+                this._scheduleReducedMotionHighlightExpiry();
+            }
+        } else if (wasActive) {
+            this._scheduleRender();
+        }
+    }
+
+    getTransientHighlightDiagnostics() {
+        const now = this._nowMs();
+        this._pruneTransientHighlights(now);
+        if (this._transientHighlights.size <= 0) {
+            this._cancelHighlightAnimationFrame();
+            this._cancelHighlightExpiryTimer();
+        }
+        return {
+            count: this._transientHighlights.size,
+            activeCount: this._transientHighlights.size,
+            reducedMotion: this._isReducedMotion(),
+            animationScheduled: !!this._highlightAnimId,
+            expiryScheduled: !!this._highlightExpiryTimer,
+        };
+    }
+
     setRuntimeConfig(runtimeConfig = {}) {
         this.runtimeConfig = normalizeGraphNativeRuntimeOptions(runtimeConfig);
         if (this._nativeLayoutBridge) {
@@ -635,7 +704,10 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
     setEnabled(enabled = true) {
         const nextEnabled = enabled !== false;
         if (this.enabled === nextEnabled) {
-            if (!nextEnabled) this._clearCanvas();
+            if (!nextEnabled) {
+                this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
+                this._clearCanvas();
+            }
             return;
         }
         this._nextLayoutSolveRevision();
@@ -652,6 +724,7 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         this._dragStartMouse = null;
         this.hoveredNode = null;
         if (!nextEnabled) {
+            this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
             this.nodeMap.clear();
             this.nodes = [];
             this.edges = [];
@@ -1378,6 +1451,7 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         const dpr = window.devicePixelRatio || 1;
         const W = this.canvas.width / dpr;
         const H = this.canvas.height / dpr;
+        this._pruneTransientHighlights(this._nowMs());
 
         ctx.setTransform(1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0);
         ctx.clearRect(0, 0, this.canvas.width, this.canvas.height);
@@ -1406,6 +1480,7 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
             const isHovered = node === this.hoveredNode;
             const isDimmed = focus.selectedNode && !focus.connectedNodes.has(node);
             const r = (isSelected ? baseRadius * 1.12 : baseRadius) * (isDimmed ? 0.6 : 1);
+            const transientHighlight = this._transientHighlights.get(node.id) || null;
             const scope = normalizeMemoryScope(node.raw?.scope);
             const outlineColor = scope.layer === 'pov'
                 ? (scope.ownerType === 'user'
@@ -1416,6 +1491,10 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
             ctx.save();
             if (isDimmed) ctx.globalAlpha = 0.2;
 
+            if (transientHighlight) {
+                this._drawTransientHighlight(ctx, node, r, transientHighlight);
+            }
+
             if (isSelected || isHovered) {
                 const glowRadius = r + (isSelected ? 20 : 13);
                 ctx.beginPath();
@@ -1512,6 +1591,71 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         }
 
         ctx.restore();
+        this._afterRenderTransientHighlights();
+    }
+
+    _drawTransientHighlight(ctx, node, radius, highlight) {
+        if (!highlight || !node) return;
+        const now = this._nowMs();
+        const ttl = Math.max(1, Number(highlight.ttlMs) || 1);
+        const progress = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, (now - Number(highlight.startedAt || now)) / ttl));
+        const reducedMotion = this._isReducedMotion();
+        const phase = reducedMotion ? 0.55 : (Math.sin(progress * Math.PI * 4) + 1) / 2;
+        const fade = Math.max(0, 1 - progress);
+        const kind = highlight.kind || 'recall';
+        const drawPulse = (color, offset, alphaScale = 1) => {
+            const pulse = reducedMotion ? 0.35 : phase;
+            const ringRadius = radius + offset + pulse * 11;
+            const glowRadius = ringRadius + 11;
+            ctx.beginPath();
+            ctx.arc(node.x, node.y, glowRadius, 0, Math.PI * 2);
+            ctx.fillStyle = createCanvasGradient(
+                ctx,
+                'createRadialGradient',
+                [node.x, node.y, Math.max(1, radius * 0.8), node.x, node.y, glowRadius],
+                [
+                    [0, colorWithAlpha(color, 0.10 * fade * alphaScale)],
+                    [0.58, colorWithAlpha(color, 0.16 * fade * alphaScale)],
+                    [1, colorWithAlpha(color, 0)],
+                ],
+                colorWithAlpha(color, 0.08 * fade * alphaScale),
+            );
+            ctx.fill();
+
+            ctx.beginPath();
+            ctx.arc(node.x, node.y, ringRadius, 0, Math.PI * 2);
+            ctx.strokeStyle = colorWithAlpha(color, (0.28 + phase * 0.34) * fade * alphaScale);
+            ctx.lineWidth = 1.2 + phase * 1.4;
+            ctx.stroke();
+        };
+
+        if (kind === 'mixed') {
+            drawPulse('#7cf8ff', 7, 1);
+            drawPulse('#b79cff', 14, 0.88);
+        } else if (kind === 'extracted') {
+            drawPulse('#b79cff', 9, 0.9);
+            drawPulse('#75ffb1', 15, 0.5);
+        } else {
+            drawPulse('#7cf8ff', 8, 1);
+        }
+    }
+
+    _afterRenderTransientHighlights() {
+        if (!this.enabled) {
+            this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
+            return;
+        }
+        const hasActive = this._pruneTransientHighlights(this._nowMs()) > 0;
+        if (!hasActive) {
+            this._cancelHighlightAnimationFrame();
+            this._cancelHighlightExpiryTimer();
+            return;
+        }
+        if (!this._isReducedMotion()) {
+            this._scheduleHighlightAnimationFrame();
+        } else {
+            this._scheduleReducedMotionHighlightExpiry();
+        }
     }
 
     _drawDeepSpaceBackground(ctx, W, H) {
@@ -1616,6 +1760,105 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
         return { selectedNode, connectedNodes };
     }
 
+    _nowMs() {
+        if (typeof performance !== 'undefined' && typeof performance.now === 'function') {
+            return performance.now();
+        }
+        return Date.now();
+    }
+
+    _isReducedMotion() {
+        try {
+            return window?.matchMedia?.('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)')?.matches === true;
+        } catch {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    _normalizeTransientHighlightIds(input) {
+        const source = Array.isArray(input) ? input : (input == null ? [] : [input]);
+        const ids = new Set();
+        for (const item of source) {
+            let raw = item;
+            if (item && typeof item === 'object') {
+                raw = item.id ?? item.nodeId;
+            }
+            if (raw == null) continue;
+            const id = String(raw).trim();
+            if (id) ids.add(id);
+        }
+        return ids;
+    }
+
+    _pruneTransientHighlights(now = this._nowMs()) {
+        for (const [nodeId, highlight] of this._transientHighlights) {
+            if (!this.nodeMap.has(nodeId) || Number(highlight?.expiresAt || 0) <= now) {
+                this._transientHighlights.delete(nodeId);
+            }
+        }
+        return this._transientHighlights.size;
+    }
+
+    _clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation = false } = {}) {
+        this._transientHighlights.clear();
+        if (cancelAnimation) {
+            this._cancelHighlightAnimationFrame();
+            this._cancelHighlightExpiryTimer();
+        }
+    }
+
+    _cancelHighlightAnimationFrame() {
+        if (this._highlightAnimId) {
+            cancelAnimationFrame(this._highlightAnimId);
+            this._highlightAnimId = null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    _cancelHighlightExpiryTimer() {
+        if (this._highlightExpiryTimer) {
+            clearTimeout(this._highlightExpiryTimer);
+            this._highlightExpiryTimer = null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    _scheduleReducedMotionHighlightExpiry() {
+        if (!this.enabled || this._highlightExpiryTimer || !this._isReducedMotion()) return;
+        if (this._transientHighlights.size <= 0) return;
+        const now = this._nowMs();
+        let nextExpiresAt = Infinity;
+        for (const highlight of this._transientHighlights.values()) {
+            const expiresAt = Number(highlight?.expiresAt || 0);
+            if (expiresAt > now) nextExpiresAt = Math.min(nextExpiresAt, expiresAt);
+        }
+        if (!Number.isFinite(nextExpiresAt)) return;
+        const delay = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(nextExpiresAt - now) + 1);
+        this._highlightExpiryTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+            this._highlightExpiryTimer = null;
+            if (!this.enabled) {
+                this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
+                return;
+            }
+            const hadHighlights = this._transientHighlights.size > 0;
+            const active = this._pruneTransientHighlights(this._nowMs());
+            if (hadHighlights) this._scheduleRender();
+            if (active > 0) this._scheduleReducedMotionHighlightExpiry();
+        }, delay);
+    }
+
+    _scheduleHighlightAnimationFrame() {
+        if (!this.enabled || this._highlightAnimId || this._isReducedMotion()) return;
+        if (this._transientHighlights.size <= 0) return;
+        this._highlightAnimId = requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+            this._highlightAnimId = null;
+            if (!this.enabled) {
+                this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
+                return;
+            }
+            if (this._pruneTransientHighlights(this._nowMs()) <= 0) return;
+            this._render();
+        });
+    }
+
     _scheduleRender() {
         if (!this.enabled || this.animId) return;
         this.animId = requestAnimationFrame(() => {
@@ -1960,6 +2203,7 @@ export class GraphRenderer {
     destroy() {
         this._nextLayoutSolveRevision();
         this._cancelAnim();
+        this._clearTransientHighlights({ cancelAnimation: true });
         this._nativeLayoutBridge?.dispose?.();
         this._nativeLayoutBridge = null;
         recordGraphLayoutDebugSnapshot(
diff --git a/ui/panel.js b/ui/panel.js
index e57d7f2..273f85d 100644
--- a/ui/panel.js
+++ b/ui/panel.js
@@ -361,6 +361,8 @@ let pendingVisibleGraphRefreshToken = "";
 let pendingVisibleGraphRefreshForce = false;
 let lastVisibleGraphRefreshToken = "";
 let lastVisibleGraphRefreshAt = 0;
+let lastGraphTransientHighlightSignature = "";
+let lastGraphTransientHighlightRenderer = null;
 let graphRenderingEnabled = true;
 
 function _isPluginEnabled(settings = _getSettings?.() || {}) {
@@ -859,6 +861,7 @@ function _refreshVisibleGraphWorkspace({ force = false } = {}) {
   if (visibleMode === "desktop:graph") {
     if (graph && graphRenderer) {
       graphRenderer.loadGraph(graph, hints);
+      _syncGraphTransientHighlights({ renderer: graphRenderer, visibleMode });
     }
   } else if (visibleMode === "desktop:cognition") {
     _refreshCognitionWorkspace();
@@ -867,6 +870,7 @@ function _refreshVisibleGraphWorkspace({ force = false } = {}) {
   } else if (visibleMode === "mobile:graph") {
     if (graph && mobileGraphRenderer) {
       mobileGraphRenderer.loadGraph(graph, hints);
+      _syncGraphTransientHighlights({ renderer: mobileGraphRenderer, visibleMode });
     }
     _buildMobileLegend();
   } else if (visibleMode === "mobile:cognition") {
@@ -887,6 +891,26 @@ function _refreshVisibleGraphWorkspace({ force = false } = {}) {
   };
 }
 
+function _syncGraphTransientHighlights({ renderer = null, visibleMode = null, force = false } = {}) {
+  const mode = visibleMode || _getVisibleGraphWorkspaceMode();
+  if (mode !== "desktop:graph" && mode !== "mobile:graph") return;
+  const targetRenderer = renderer || (mode === "mobile:graph" ? mobileGraphRenderer : graphRenderer);
+  if (!targetRenderer?.setTransientHighlights) return;
+  const recallNodeIds = _getLastRecall?.() || [];
+  const extractedNodeIds = _getLastExtract?.() || [];
+  const signature = JSON.stringify({ mode, recallNodeIds, extractedNodeIds });
+  const rendererChanged = targetRenderer !== lastGraphTransientHighlightRenderer;
+  if (!force && !rendererChanged && signature === lastGraphTransientHighlightSignature) return;
+  lastGraphTransientHighlightSignature = signature;
+  lastGraphTransientHighlightRenderer = targetRenderer;
+  targetRenderer.setTransientHighlights({
+    recallNodeIds,
+    extractedNodeIds,
+    ttlMs: 1800,
+    reason: "panel-live-state",
+  });
+}
+
 function _flushScheduledVisibleGraphRefresh() {
   const shouldForce = pendingVisibleGraphRefreshForce === true;
   _clearScheduledVisibleGraphRefresh();
@@ -1334,6 +1358,7 @@ function _doRefreshLiveState() {
   }
 
   _scheduleVisibleGraphWorkspaceRefresh();
+  _syncGraphTransientHighlights();
 }
 
 function _refreshHideOldMessagesStatus(settings = _getSettings?.() || {}) {