diff --git a/src/seqwin/cli.py b/src/seqwin/cli.py
index 59b68d6..09ea4c8 100644
--- a/src/seqwin/cli.py
+++ b/src/seqwin/cli.py
@@ -193,6 +193,11 @@ def main(
         help='Number of parallel processes or threads to use.',
         rich_help_panel='Miscellaneous'
     ),
+    low_memory: bool = typer.Option(
+        False, '--low-memory', show_default=False,
+        help='Reduce peak memory by recomputing minimizers in a second pass.',
+        rich_help_panel='Miscellaneous'
+    ),
     version: bool = typer.Option(
         False, '--version', callback=print_version, show_default=False, expose_value=False,
         is_eager=True, # run this before any other options
@@ -232,14 +237,15 @@ def main(
         run_blast=not no_blast,
         no_filter=no_filter,
         #blast_neg_only=blast_neg_only,
-        seed=seed,
-        n_cpu=n_cpu,
         level=level,
         source=source,
         annotated=annotated,
         exclude_mag=exclude_mag,
         gzip=not no_gzip,
         api_key=api_key,
-        download_only=download_only
+        download_only=download_only,
+        seed=seed,
+        n_cpu=n_cpu,
+        low_memory=low_memory
     )
     _ = run(config)
diff --git a/src/seqwin/config.py b/src/seqwin/config.py
index 3a0fbf1..92986f4 100644
--- a/src/seqwin/config.py
+++ b/src/seqwin/config.py
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ class Config(BaseModel):
 
         seed (int): Random seed for reproducibility. [42]
         n_cpu (int): Number of parallel processes or threads to use. [4]
+        low_memory (bool): If True, reduce peak memory by recomputing minimizers in a second pass. [False]
         version (str): Seqwin version.
     """
     # Inputs
@@ -162,6 +163,7 @@ class Config(BaseModel):
     # Miscellaneous
     seed: int = 42
     n_cpu: int = 4
+    low_memory: bool = False
 
     @computed_field
     @cached_property
diff --git a/src/seqwin/kmers.py b/src/seqwin/kmers.py
index c5fb706..55e6594 100644
--- a/src/seqwin/kmers.py
+++ b/src/seqwin/kmers.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 K-mer Graph
 ===========
 
-A core module of Seqwin. Create a k-mer graph from k-mers of all input genome assemblies.
+A core module of Seqwin. Build a k-mer graph from minimizers of all input genome assemblies.
 
 Dependencies:
 -------------
@@ -39,14 +39,14 @@
 from .graph import build, _filter_kmers
 from .assemblies import Assemblies
 from .helpers import get_subgraphs
-from .utils import print_time_delta, log_and_raise
+from .utils import print_time_delta
 from .config import Config, RunState, HAS_MASH, WORKINGDIR, EDGE_W, NODE_P
 
 
 class KmerGraph(object):
     """
-    1. Create a weighted, undirected k-mer graph, and calculate node penalty scores.
-    2. Extract low-penalty subgraphs from the k-mer graph with `self.filter()`.
+    1. Build a weighted, undirected k-mer graph, and calculate node penalty scores.
+    2. Extract low-penalty subgraphs with `self.filter()`.
 
     Attributes:
         kmers (NDArray[np.void]): A 1-D NumPy structured array of k-mers from all assemblies, grouped by node range.
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class KmerGraph(object):
             Generated with `self.filter()`.
     """
     __slots__ = (
-        'kmers', 'nodes', 'edges', 'record_offsets', 'graph', 'subgraphs', '_filtered_flag'
+        'kmers', 'nodes', 'edges', 'record_offsets', 'graph', 'subgraphs', '_is_filtered'
     )
     kmers: NDArray[np.void]
     nodes: NDArray[np.void]
@@ -68,21 +68,22 @@ class KmerGraph(object):
     record_offsets: NDArray[np.uintp]
     graph: nx.Graph
     subgraphs: tuple[frozenset[np.uint64], ...] | None
-    _filtered_flag: bool # True if `self.filter()` is called
+    _is_filtered: bool # True if `self.filter()` is called
 
-    def __init__(self, assemblies: Assemblies, kmerlen: int, windowsize: int, n_cpu: int) -> None:
-        """
-        1. Generate minimizer sketches and weighted edges.
-        2. Generate k-mer nodes and calculate node penalty scores.
+    def __init__(self, assemblies: Assemblies, kmerlen: int, windowsize: int, n_cpu: int, low_memory: bool) -> None:
+        """Build the k-mer graph and calculate node penalty scores.
 
         Args:
             assemblies (Assemblies): See `Assemblies` in `assemblies.py`.
             kmerlen (int): See `Config` in `config.py`.
             windowsize (int): See `Config` in `config.py`.
             n_cpu (int): See `Config` in `config.py`.
+            low_memory (bool): See `Config` in `config.py`.
         """
         n_assemblies = len(assemblies)
         logger.info(f'Building minimizer graph from {n_assemblies} assemblies...')
+        if low_memory:
+            logger.warning(' - Low-memory mode is enabled; graph construction may take longer.')
         tik = time()
 
         kmers, nodes, edges, record_offsets, record_ids = build(
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ def __init__(self, assemblies: Assemblies, kmerlen: int, windowsize: int, n_cpu:
             windowsize,
             assemblies.is_target,
             n_cpu=n_cpu,
+            low_memory=low_memory
         )
         # calculate penalty for each node
         n_tar = sum(assemblies.is_target)
@@ -113,7 +115,7 @@ def __init__(self, assemblies: Assemblies, kmerlen: int, windowsize: int, n_cpu:
         self.record_offsets = record_offsets
         self.graph = None # create graph after filtering nodes and edges
         self.subgraphs = None
-        self._filtered_flag = False
+        self._is_filtered = False
 
     def filter(
         self, penalty_th: float, edge_weight_th: float, min_nodes: int, max_nodes: int | None, rng: Random
@@ -133,9 +135,9 @@ def filter(
         kmers = self.kmers
         nodes = self.nodes
         edges = self.edges
-        filtered_flag = self._filtered_flag
+        is_filtered = self._is_filtered
 
-        if filtered_flag:
+        if is_filtered:
             logger.error(f'K-mers are already filtered, cannot filter again.')
             return None
 
@@ -164,7 +166,7 @@ def filter(
         self.edges = edges
         self.graph = graph
         self.subgraphs = subgraphs
-        self._filtered_flag = True
+        self._is_filtered = True
 
     @staticmethod
     def __filter_graph(nodes: NDArray, edges: NDArray, edge_weight_th: float) -> tuple[NDArray, NDArray, nx.Graph]:
@@ -258,13 +260,14 @@ def get_kmers(
     max_nodes_cap = config.max_nodes_cap
     sketchsize = config.sketchsize
     n_cpu = config.n_cpu
+    low_memory = config.low_memory
 
     working_dir = state.working_dir
     rng = state.rng
     n_tar = state.n_tar
     n_neg = state.n_neg
 
-    kmers = KmerGraph(assemblies, kmerlen, windowsize, n_cpu)
+    kmers = KmerGraph(assemblies, kmerlen, windowsize, n_cpu, low_memory)
 
     if no_filter:
         return kmers, None
diff --git a/tests/smoke/test_cli.py b/tests/smoke/test_cli.py
index 9bc7b00..af26875 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/smoke/test_cli.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ def test_help_shows_key_options() -> None:
         '--no-mash',
         '--no-blast',
         '--threads',
+        '--low-memory',
         '--prefix',
     ):
         assert opt in output
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ def _fake_run(config):
             '--no-mash',
             '--no-blast',
             '--threads', '2',
+            '--low-memory',
             '--prefix', str(tmp_path),
         ],
     )
@@ -72,6 +74,7 @@ def _fake_run(config):
     assert cfg.run_mash is False
     assert cfg.run_blast is False
     assert cfg.n_cpu == 2
+    assert cfg.low_memory is True
     assert cfg.prefix == tmp_path.resolve(strict=True)
     assert cfg.tar_paths == targets_txt.resolve(strict=True)
     assert cfg.neg_paths == non_targets_txt.resolve(strict=True)
diff --git a/tests/smoke/test_config.py b/tests/smoke/test_config.py
index b8682be..e782320 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/smoke/test_config.py
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ def test_json_serialization_contains_important_fields(
         run_mash=False,
         run_blast=False,
         n_cpu=2,
+        low_memory=True,
     )
 
     json_text = config.model_dump_json()
@@ -84,6 +85,7 @@ def test_json_serialization_contains_important_fields(
     assert '"run_mash":false' in json_text
     assert '"run_blast":false' in json_text
     assert '"n_cpu":2' in json_text
+    assert '"low_memory":true' in json_text
 
 
 def test_api_key_secret_and_serialization(tmp_path: Path, targets_txt: Path, non_targets_txt: Path) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/smoke/test_core.py b/tests/smoke/test_core.py
index d1230ed..f630e58 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/test_core.py
+++ b/tests/smoke/test_core.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ def test_api_run_and_overwrite_behavior(
         min_len=8,
         max_len=120,
         n_cpu=1,
+        low_memory=True,
     )
 
     seq = run(Config(**run_config))
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ def test_api_run_and_overwrite_behavior(
     assert (out_dir / 'assemblies.csv').exists()
     assert (out_dir / 'signatures.fasta').exists()
     assert seq.config.run_mash is False
+    assert seq.config.low_memory is True
 
     with pytest.raises(FileExistsError):
         run(Config(**run_config))
diff --git a/tests/smoke/test_outputs.py b/tests/smoke/test_outputs.py
index 5df9f61..bdd81a9 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/test_outputs.py
+++ b/tests/smoke/test_outputs.py
@@ -119,3 +119,18 @@ def test_graph_matches_expected(tmp_path: Path, targets_txt: Path, non_targets_t
     )
 
     _assert_graph_matches_expected(out_dir / WORKINGDIR.graph, expected_graph)
+
+
+def test_low_memory_graph_matches_expected(tmp_path: Path, targets_txt: Path, non_targets_txt: Path, expected_graph: Path) -> None:
+    out_dir = _run_cli(
+        '--tar-paths', str(targets_txt),
+        '--neg-paths', str(non_targets_txt),
+        '--prefix', str(tmp_path),
+        '--threads', '1',
+        '--title', 'no-filter-low-memory',
+        '--no-filter',
+        '--low-memory',
+        *_shared_config,
+    )
+
+    _assert_graph_matches_expected(out_dir / WORKINGDIR.graph, expected_graph)