diff --git a/apps/ui/package.json b/apps/ui/package.json
index 9c3522c6..410e63c1 100644
--- a/apps/ui/package.json
+++ b/apps/ui/package.json
@@ -74,10 +74,11 @@
     "react": "19.2.3",
     "react-dom": "19.2.3",
     "react-markdown": "^10.1.0",
-    "rehype-raw": "^7.0.0",
     "react-resizable-panels": "^3.0.6",
+    "rehype-raw": "^7.0.0",
     "sonner": "^2.0.7",
     "tailwind-merge": "^3.4.0",
+    "usehooks-ts": "^3.1.1",
     "zustand": "^5.0.9"
   },
   "optionalDependencies": {
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/components/graph-filter-controls.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/components/graph-filter-controls.tsx
index 4fb015d4..f1564e81 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/components/graph-filter-controls.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/components/graph-filter-controls.tsx
@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ interface GraphFilterControlsProps {
   filterState: GraphFilterState;
   availableCategories: string[];
   hasActiveFilter: boolean;
-  onSearchQueryChange: (query: string) => void;
   onCategoriesChange: (categories: string[]) => void;
   onStatusesChange: (statuses: string[]) => void;
   onNegativeFilterChange: (isNegative: boolean) => void;
@@ -54,7 +53,6 @@ export function GraphFilterControls({
   filterState,
   availableCategories,
   hasActiveFilter,
-  onSearchQueryChange,
   onCategoriesChange,
   onStatusesChange,
   onNegativeFilterChange,
@@ -62,9 +60,6 @@ export function GraphFilterControls({
 }: GraphFilterControlsProps) {
   const { selectedCategories, selectedStatuses, isNegativeFilter } = filterState;
 
-  // Suppress unused variable warning - onSearchQueryChange is used by parent for search input
-  void onSearchQueryChange;
-
   const handleCategoryToggle = (category: string) => {
     if (selectedCategories.includes(category)) {
       onCategoriesChange(selectedCategories.filter((c) => c !== category));
@@ -267,6 +262,12 @@ export function GraphFilterControls({
               <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
                 <button
                   onClick={() => onNegativeFilterChange(!isNegativeFilter)}
+                  aria-label={
+                    isNegativeFilter
+                      ? 'Switch to show matching nodes'
+                      : 'Switch to hide matching nodes'
+                  }
+                  aria-pressed={isNegativeFilter}
                   className={cn(
                     'flex items-center gap-1.5 px-2 py-1 rounded text-xs transition-colors',
                     isNegativeFilter
@@ -289,6 +290,7 @@ export function GraphFilterControls({
                 <Switch
                   checked={isNegativeFilter}
                   onCheckedChange={onNegativeFilterChange}
+                  aria-label="Toggle between show and hide filter modes"
                   className="h-5 w-9 data-[state=checked]:bg-orange-500"
                 />
               </div>
@@ -311,6 +313,7 @@ export function GraphFilterControls({
                     size="sm"
                     className="h-8 w-8 p-0 text-muted-foreground hover:text-destructive"
                     onClick={onClearFilters}
+                    aria-label="Clear all filters"
                   >
                     <X className="w-4 h-4" />
                   </Button>
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/graph-canvas.tsx b/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/graph-canvas.tsx
index 1558bfe9..283de400 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/graph-canvas.tsx
+++ b/apps/ui/src/components/views/graph-view/graph-canvas.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   Background,
   BackgroundVariant,
   MiniMap,
+  Panel,
   useNodesState,
   useEdgesState,
   ReactFlowProvider,
@@ -30,6 +31,9 @@ import {
   type NodeActionCallbacks,
 } from './hooks';
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { useDebounceValue } from 'usehooks-ts';
+import { SearchX } from 'lucide-react';
+import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
 
 // Define custom node and edge types - using any to avoid React Flow's strict typing
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
@@ -71,9 +75,12 @@ function GraphCanvasInner({
   const [selectedStatuses, setSelectedStatuses] = useState<string[]>([]);
   const [isNegativeFilter, setIsNegativeFilter] = useState(false);
 
+  // Debounce search query for performance with large graphs
+  const [debouncedSearchQuery] = useDebounceValue(searchQuery, 200);
+
   // Combined filter state
   const filterState: GraphFilterState = {
-    searchQuery,
+    searchQuery: debouncedSearchQuery,
     selectedCategories,
     selectedStatuses,
     isNegativeFilter,
@@ -196,7 +203,6 @@ function GraphCanvasInner({
           filterState={filterState}
           availableCategories={filterResult.availableCategories}
           hasActiveFilter={filterResult.hasActiveFilter}
-          onSearchQueryChange={onSearchQueryChange}
           onCategoriesChange={setSelectedCategories}
           onStatusesChange={setSelectedStatuses}
           onNegativeFilterChange={setIsNegativeFilter}
@@ -204,6 +210,24 @@ function GraphCanvasInner({
         />
 
         <GraphLegend />
+
+        {/* Empty state when all nodes are filtered out */}
+        {filterResult.hasActiveFilter && filterResult.matchedNodeIds.size === 0 && (
+          <Panel position="top-center" className="mt-20">
+            <div className="flex flex-col items-center gap-3 p-6 rounded-lg bg-popover/95 backdrop-blur-sm border border-border shadow-lg text-popover-foreground">
+              <SearchX className="w-10 h-10 text-muted-foreground" />
+              <div className="text-center">
+                <p className="text-sm font-medium">No matching tasks</p>
+                <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-1">
+                  Try adjusting your filters or search query
+                </p>
+              </div>
+              <Button variant="outline" size="sm" onClick={handleClearFilters} className="mt-1">
+                Clear Filters
+              </Button>
+            </div>
+          </Panel>
+        )}
       </ReactFlow>
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 54b2beb3..cd1a62a6 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@
         "rehype-raw": "^7.0.0",
         "sonner": "^2.0.7",
         "tailwind-merge": "^3.4.0",
+        "usehooks-ts": "^3.1.1",
         "zustand": "^5.0.9"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
@@ -1215,7 +1216,7 @@
     },
     "node_modules/@electron/node-gyp": {
       "version": "10.2.0-electron.1",
-      "resolved": "git+https://github.com/electron/node-gyp.git#06b29aafb7708acef8b3669835c8a7857ebc92d2",
+      "resolved": "git+ssh://git@github.com/electron/node-gyp.git#06b29aafb7708acef8b3669835c8a7857ebc92d2",
       "integrity": "sha512-4MSBTT8y07YUDqf69/vSh80Hh791epYqGtWHO3zSKhYFwQg+gx9wi1PqbqP6YqC4WMsNxZ5l9oDmnWdK5pfCKQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
@@ -11446,6 +11447,12 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-v2kDEe57lecTulaDIuNTPy3Ry4gLGJ6Z1O3vE1krgXZNrsQ+LFTGHVxVjcXPs17LhbZVGedAJv8XZ1tvj5FvSg==",
       "license": "MIT"
     },
+    "node_modules/lodash.debounce": {
+      "version": "4.0.8",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lodash.debounce/-/lodash.debounce-4.0.8.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-FT1yDzDYEoYWhnSGnpE/4Kj1fLZkDFyqRb7fNt6FdYOSxlUWAtp42Eh6Wb0rGIv/m9Bgo7x4GhQbm5Ys4SG5ow==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/lodash.merge": {
       "version": "4.6.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lodash.merge/-/lodash.merge-4.6.2.tgz",
@@ -15889,6 +15896,21 @@
         "react": "^16.8.0 || ^17.0.0 || ^18.0.0 || ^19.0.0"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/usehooks-ts": {
+      "version": "3.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/usehooks-ts/-/usehooks-ts-3.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-I4diPp9Cq6ieSUH2wu+fDAVQO43xwtulo+fKEidHUwZPnYImbtkTjzIJYcDcJqxgmX31GVqNFURodvcgHcW0pA==",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "lodash.debounce": "^4.0.8"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=16.15.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "react": "^16.8.0  || ^17 || ^18 || ^19 || ^19.0.0-rc"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/utf8-byte-length": {
       "version": "1.0.5",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/utf8-byte-length/-/utf8-byte-length-1.0.5.tgz",