diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 804d7dbf3..7c38294e0 100755
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -2051,8 +2051,11 @@ async function handleCliOnly(command: string, args: string[]) {
         // v0.30.1: still works; canonical entrypoint is now `gbrain backfill
         // effective_date`. This command stays as a thin alias for back-compat.
         const { reindexFrontmatterCli } = await import('./commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts');
-        await reindexFrontmatterCli(args);
-        return; // reindexFrontmatterCli handles its own engine lifecycle
+        // This dispatcher already owns a connected engine. Passing it through
+        // avoids a second PGLite connection trying to acquire the lock held by
+        // this process.
+        await reindexFrontmatterCli(args, engine);
+        break;
       }
       case 'backfill': {
         // v0.30.1: first-class generic backfill command. Subcommand dispatch
diff --git a/src/commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts b/src/commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts
index 0571731ae..fa7ae0e0d 100644
--- a/src/commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts
+++ b/src/commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts
@@ -151,8 +151,14 @@ export async function runReindexFrontmatter(
   };
 }
 
-/** CLI entrypoint. Argv shape matches reindex-code for consistency. */
-export async function reindexFrontmatterCli(args: string[]): Promise<void> {
+/**
+ * CLI entrypoint. Argv shape matches reindex-code for consistency.
+ *
+ * When dispatched from cli.ts, `existingEngine` is already connected and is
+ * owned by the caller. Standalone callers may omit it and retain the original
+ * create/connect/init/disconnect lifecycle.
+ */
+export async function reindexFrontmatterCli(args: string[], existingEngine?: BrainEngine): Promise<void> {
   const opts: ReindexFrontmatterOpts = {};
   for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
     const a = args[i];
@@ -173,21 +179,29 @@ export async function reindexFrontmatterCli(args: string[]): Promise<void> {
     }
   }
 
-  const { createEngine } = await import('../core/engine-factory.ts');
-  const { loadConfig, toEngineConfig } = await import('../core/config.ts');
-  const cfg = loadConfig();
-  if (!cfg) {
-    console.error('No gbrain config; run `gbrain init` first.');
-    process.exit(1);
+  let engine: BrainEngine;
+  let ownsEngine = false;
+
+  if (existingEngine) {
+    engine = existingEngine;
+  } else {
+    const { createEngine } = await import('../core/engine-factory.ts');
+    const { loadConfig, toEngineConfig } = await import('../core/config.ts');
+    const cfg = loadConfig();
+    if (!cfg) {
+      console.error('No gbrain config; run `gbrain init` first.');
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+    const engineConfig = toEngineConfig(cfg);
+    engine = await createEngine(engineConfig);
+    // v0.37.7.0 #1225: createEngine() only constructs; callers MUST connect
+    // before any executeRaw call. Pre-fix, the first query in countAffected
+    // crashed with "PGLite not connected. Call connect() first." even on
+    // --dry-run. initSchema is idempotent on a current schema, costs ~1ms.
+    await engine.connect(engineConfig);
+    await engine.initSchema();
+    ownsEngine = true;
   }
-  const engineConfig = toEngineConfig(cfg);
-  const engine = await createEngine(engineConfig);
-  // v0.37.7.0 #1225: createEngine() only constructs; callers MUST connect
-  // before any executeRaw call. Pre-fix, the first query in countAffected
-  // crashed with "PGLite not connected. Call connect() first." even on
-  // --dry-run. initSchema is idempotent on a current schema, costs ~1ms.
-  await engine.connect(engineConfig);
-  await engine.initSchema();
 
   try {
     const result = await runReindexFrontmatter(engine, opts);
@@ -202,7 +216,7 @@ export async function reindexFrontmatterCli(args: string[]): Promise<void> {
     }
     if (result.status === 'cancelled') process.exit(1);
   } finally {
-    if ('disconnect' in engine && typeof engine.disconnect === 'function') {
+    if (ownsEngine && 'disconnect' in engine && typeof engine.disconnect === 'function') {
       await engine.disconnect();
     }
   }
diff --git a/test/reindex-frontmatter-connect.test.ts b/test/reindex-frontmatter-connect.test.ts
index 6bb85e9d2..e0b4f1a2f 100644
--- a/test/reindex-frontmatter-connect.test.ts
+++ b/test/reindex-frontmatter-connect.test.ts
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@
  * happy path without throwing.
  */
 
-import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll, beforeEach } from 'bun:test';
+import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll, beforeEach, mock } from 'bun:test';
 import { PGLiteEngine } from '../src/core/pglite-engine.ts';
-import { runReindexFrontmatter } from '../src/commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts';
+import { reindexFrontmatterCli, runReindexFrontmatter } from '../src/commands/reindex-frontmatter.ts';
 
 let engine: PGLiteEngine;
 
@@ -61,4 +61,36 @@ describe('reindex-frontmatter connect-before-query (#1225)', () => {
     expect(result.status).toBe('dry_run');
     expect(result.examined).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
   });
+
+  test('reuses the CLI-owned engine instead of constructing a second PGLite connection', async () => {
+    await engine.executeRaw(
+      `INSERT INTO pages (slug, type, title, compiled_truth, page_kind, frontmatter, effective_date)
+       VALUES ($1, 'note', $2, $3, 'markdown', $4::jsonb, NULL)`,
+      [
+        'cli-owned-engine',
+        'CLI owned engine',
+        '# CLI owned engine\n\nbody',
+        JSON.stringify({ effective_date: '2026-01-01' }),
+      ],
+    );
+
+    const disconnect = engine.disconnect.bind(engine);
+    const disconnectSpy = mock(disconnect);
+    engine.disconnect = disconnectSpy;
+    const logs: string[] = [];
+    const originalLog = console.log;
+    console.log = (message?: unknown) => logs.push(String(message));
+
+    try {
+      await reindexFrontmatterCli(['--dry-run', '--json'], engine);
+      const result = JSON.parse(logs.at(-1) ?? '{}') as { examined?: number };
+      // A second engine would see a different/empty database; this asserts that
+      // the CLI command queried the connected engine supplied by its dispatcher.
+      expect(result.examined).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
+      expect(disconnectSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    } finally {
+      console.log = originalLog;
+      engine.disconnect = disconnect;
+    }
+  });
 });