diff --git a/.planning/NOTES.md b/.planning/NOTES.md
index c108b99..86e4dcd 100644
--- a/.planning/NOTES.md
+++ b/.planning/NOTES.md
@@ -3483,3 +3483,26 @@ public tap.
 
 A guard added today does not protect a tag that points at yesterday. When
 re-pointing a tag, check what the workflows looked like *there*.
+
+## A tag reader looks at exactly one spelling of "total" (measured 2026-08-18)
+
+Writing #16's totals means matching the reader, which is
+`dhowden/tag`, and it is narrower than the specs are:
+
+- **Vorbis (FLAC, OGG): `TRACKTOTAL` and `DISCTOTAL` only.**
+  `vorbis.go`'s `Track()` reads `tracknumber` and `tracktotal` and
+  nothing else, so `TOTALTRACKS` — which several taggers write and
+  which xiph lists — and a `1/12` packed into `TRACKNUMBER` both read
+  back as *no total*. They write successfully. Nothing errors.
+- **ID3v2 (MP3): `TRCK`/`TPOS` as `n/N`**, via `parseXofN`. That is one
+  frame carrying two facts, which is why `applyPositionFrame` reads the
+  existing frame before writing either half.
+- **WAV: nothing at all.** There is no RIFF reader in the module, so a
+  WAV's `id3 ` chunk is invisible to `metadata.ExtractTags` — every
+  field, not just the totals. Filed as #104.
+
+The general shape, and the reason this is written down: a tag written
+under a name the reader does not look at is indistinguishable from one
+never written. So the tests assert the round trip through
+`metadata.ExtractTags` — the reader the *scan* uses — rather than
+through the bytes the writer produced.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index ee56427..7d861bc 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -1547,11 +1547,55 @@ shape as the encoding probe beside it.
 
 What neither side can give is *which* tracks are missing, only how many
 — so an incomplete album still browses, and that is now the exception
-rather than every album load. Two smaller consequences: existing databases
-read "unknown" until a rescan repopulates the column (which degrades to
-exactly the old behaviour, so nothing breaks), and our own `tagwriter`
-writes track and disc *numbers* but not totals, so autotagging a folder
-currently degrades the field this rests on.
+rather than every album load. One smaller consequence: existing databases
+read "unknown" until a rescan repopulates the column, which degrades to
+exactly the old behaviour, so nothing breaks.
+
+**And our own writers declare the total, because for a long time they
+did not.** `tagwriter` wrote track and disc *numbers* and dropped the
+totals, so autotagging an album actively **erased** the evidence this
+rests on: the release became MBID-matched — a green tick — while the
+field `GetAlbumCompleteness` reads stayed absent, which is exactly the
+"2 of 10 tracks, reported as in your library" the report described.
+`FieldTotalTracks` / `FieldTotalDiscs` are written by the autotag apply
+pass and by the download importer, and `dbsync` persists the track
+total to the row so the album page agrees with the file without waiting
+for a rescan.
+
+Five things about it are load-bearing, and four of them fail silently:
+
+- **The total is per *disc*, not per release**, because that is what
+  the tag form declares and what `GetAlbumCompleteness` **sums** per
+  disc — a release total written on every file multiplies a two-disc
+  album's expectation by two, and no library can then satisfy it.
+  `backend/tagtotals` is that derivation, once, because the two callers
+  must not import each other or the writer.
+- **The Vorbis names are `TRACKTOTAL` and `DISCTOTAL` and no other
+  spelling.** `dhowden/tag`'s Vorbis reader looks at exactly those two
+  keys, so a perfectly reasonable `TOTALTRACKS`, or a `1/12` inside
+  `TRACKNUMBER`, is written successfully and reads back as no total at
+  all. The tests assert the round trip through the reader the *scan*
+  uses rather than through the bytes, for that reason.
+- **ID3's number and total share one frame**, so writing either alone
+  has to read the other off the existing tag or it silently discards
+  it. A total with no number is not written: `/12` is what a reader
+  parses as track 0.
+- **The totals are written unconditionally, not on a diff.** The case
+  this exists for is a file that declares *no* total, which compares
+  equal to nothing and is exactly what a "only if it changed" guard
+  skips.
+- **A single-track download must not be totalled.** A `RecordingMBID`
+  anchor resolves `Expected` to that one track, so the same code would
+  tag a track off a twelve-track album "1 of 1" — and a declared total
+  outranks the catalog total that would otherwise have answered
+  correctly. Confidently wrong is worse than absent here, which is the
+  same rule `Known` exists for.
+
+One gap this did not close, and it is older: **`dhowden/tag` has no
+RIFF reader**, so nothing the tag writer puts in a WAV's `id3 ` chunk
+is visible to `metadata.ExtractTags` — not the totals and not the title
+either. `wav_test.go` reads that chunk itself, which is why no test
+ever noticed.
 
 **The absence is what gets marked, not the presence.** The tracklist
 put a green tick against every owned track and a legend underneath
diff --git a/backend/autotag/apply.go b/backend/autotag/apply.go
index 578798f..757a89b 100644
--- a/backend/autotag/apply.go
+++ b/backend/autotag/apply.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"log/slog"
 
 	"yellowjacket/backend/database/sql/sqlcgen"
+	"yellowjacket/backend/tagtotals"
 )
 
 // TagChanges mirrors tagwriter.TagChanges — redefined here so the
@@ -28,6 +29,8 @@ const (
 	FieldYear        = "year"
 	FieldTrackNumber = "track_number"
 	FieldDiscNumber  = "disc_number"
+	FieldTotalTracks = "total_tracks"
+	FieldTotalDiscs  = "total_discs"
 	FieldCoverArt    = "cover_art"
 )
 
@@ -418,5 +421,32 @@ func buildChanges(
 		changes[FieldDiscNumber] = track.DiscNumber
 	}
 
+	// The totals are what says "2 of 10" rather than a bare tick, and
+	// dropping them here is what made autotagging an album *erase* the
+	// evidence: the release becomes MBID-matched while the field
+	// GetAlbumCompleteness reads stays absent.
+	//
+	// They are written unconditionally where the candidate has a
+	// tracklist, not only when they differ from the local value, because
+	// the common case is a file that declares no total at all -- which
+	// compares equal to nothing and would be skipped by a diff guard.
+	if tracks, discs := tagtotals.For(
+		candidatePositions(cand), track.DiscNumber,
+	); tracks > 0 {
+		changes[FieldTotalTracks] = tracks
+		changes[FieldTotalDiscs] = discs
+	}
+
 	return changes
 }
+
+// candidatePositions is the candidate's tracklist as bare positions.
+func candidatePositions(cand Candidate) []tagtotals.Position {
+	out := make([]tagtotals.Position, 0, len(cand.Tracks))
+
+	for _, t := range cand.Tracks {
+		out = append(out, tagtotals.Position{Disc: t.DiscNumber, Track: t.Position})
+	}
+
+	return out
+}
diff --git a/backend/autotag/buildchanges_test.go b/backend/autotag/buildchanges_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21615fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/autotag/buildchanges_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package autotag
+
+import "testing"
+
+// Autotagging an album used to *erase* the evidence that says "2 of 10":
+// the release became MBID-matched while the totals the files declared
+// went unwritten, so the album page showed a plain tick.  These pin the
+// two halves of the fix that are easy to get wrong silently.
+func TestBuildChanges_Totals(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	twoDiscs := Candidate{
+		Tracks: []CandidateTrack{
+			{DiscNumber: 1, Position: 1},
+			{DiscNumber: 1, Position: 2},
+			{DiscNumber: 2, Position: 1},
+			{DiscNumber: 2, Position: 2},
+			{DiscNumber: 2, Position: 3},
+		},
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		cand       Candidate
+		local      LocalTrack
+		track      CandidateTrack
+		wantTracks any
+		wantDiscs  any
+	}{
+		{
+			// The common case, and the one a diff guard would skip: the
+			// file declares no total at all, so the total "has not
+			// changed" and would never be written.
+			name: "a file with no total gets one",
+			cand: Candidate{Tracks: []CandidateTrack{
+				{Position: 1}, {Position: 2}, {Position: 3},
+			}},
+			local:      LocalTrack{TrackNumber: 1},
+			track:      CandidateTrack{Position: 1},
+			wantTracks: 3,
+			wantDiscs:  1,
+		},
+		{
+			// 5 here would be the release's track count.  Summed once
+			// per disc by GetAlbumCompleteness that claims a ten-track
+			// expectation for a five-track album, which no library can
+			// ever satisfy.
+			name:       "a multi-disc release totals the track's own disc",
+			cand:       twoDiscs,
+			local:      LocalTrack{},
+			track:      CandidateTrack{DiscNumber: 2, Position: 1},
+			wantTracks: 3,
+			wantDiscs:  2,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "the other disc gets its own total",
+			cand:       twoDiscs,
+			local:      LocalTrack{},
+			track:      CandidateTrack{DiscNumber: 1, Position: 1},
+			wantTracks: 2,
+			wantDiscs:  2,
+		},
+		{
+			// A candidate with no tracklist knows nothing, and writing
+			// a zero would claim it did.
+			name:       "a candidate with no tracklist writes no total",
+			cand:       Candidate{},
+			local:      LocalTrack{},
+			track:      CandidateTrack{Position: 1},
+			wantTracks: nil,
+			wantDiscs:  nil,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			changes := buildChanges(tc.local, tc.cand, tc.track)
+
+			if got := changes[FieldTotalTracks]; got != tc.wantTracks {
+				t.Errorf("%s: got %v, want %v", FieldTotalTracks, got, tc.wantTracks)
+			}
+
+			if got := changes[FieldTotalDiscs]; got != tc.wantDiscs {
+				t.Errorf("%s: got %v, want %v", FieldTotalDiscs, got, tc.wantDiscs)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/autotagservice/fieldnames_test.go b/backend/autotagservice/fieldnames_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bbfd2cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/autotagservice/fieldnames_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package autotagservice
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"yellowjacket/backend/autotag"
+	"yellowjacket/backend/tagwriter"
+)
+
+// twAdapter passes the diff map through unchanged, so autotag's field
+// constants and tagwriter's are the same keys written down twice --
+// deliberately, to keep autotag out of the write pipeline's import
+// graph.  A key that drifts does not fail to compile and does not fail
+// to write: the writer simply finds no entry under the name it looks
+// for, and the field is silently dropped.  That is what this pins, and
+// this package is the one place that imports both.
+func TestAutotagAndTagwriterAgreeOnFieldNames(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	pairs := map[string][2]string{
+		"title":        {autotag.FieldTitle, tagwriter.FieldTitle},
+		"artist":       {autotag.FieldArtist, tagwriter.FieldArtist},
+		"album":        {autotag.FieldAlbum, tagwriter.FieldAlbum},
+		"album artist": {autotag.FieldAlbumArtist, tagwriter.FieldAlbumArtist},
+		"year":         {autotag.FieldYear, tagwriter.FieldYear},
+		"track number": {autotag.FieldTrackNumber, tagwriter.FieldTrackNumber},
+		"disc number":  {autotag.FieldDiscNumber, tagwriter.FieldDiscNumber},
+		"total tracks": {autotag.FieldTotalTracks, tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks},
+		"total discs":  {autotag.FieldTotalDiscs, tagwriter.FieldTotalDiscs},
+		"cover art":    {autotag.FieldCoverArt, tagwriter.FieldCoverArt},
+	}
+
+	for name, pair := range pairs {
+		if pair[0] != pair[1] {
+			t.Errorf("%s: autotag says %q, tagwriter says %q", name, pair[0], pair[1])
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/download/importer.go b/backend/download/importer.go
index 6754be5..45020a5 100644
--- a/backend/download/importer.go
+++ b/backend/download/importer.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 
+	"yellowjacket/backend/tagtotals"
 	"yellowjacket/backend/tagwriter"
 )
 
@@ -275,6 +276,25 @@ func (i *Importer) tagFile(p plannedFile, dl Download) error {
 		changes[tagwriter.FieldDiscNumber] = p.Track.DiscNumber
 	}
 
+	// An imported file should arrive knowing how much of the album it
+	// is one of, or the album reads as "in your library" from its first
+	// imported track onward.
+	//
+	// A *track* download is the case this must not touch: a
+	// RecordingMBID anchor resolves Expected to exactly that one track,
+	// so totalling it would write "1 of 1" onto a track off a
+	// twelve-track album -- a confident lie, and one that outranks the
+	// catalog's own total, which is the fallback that would otherwise
+	// have answered correctly.
+	if dl.RecordingMBID == "" {
+		if tracks, discs := tagtotals.For(
+			expectedPositions(dl.Expected), p.Track.DiscNumber,
+		); tracks > 0 {
+			changes[tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks] = tracks
+			changes[tagwriter.FieldTotalDiscs] = discs
+		}
+	}
+
 	if err := i.tags.WriteUntrackedFileTags(p.Source, changes); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("write tags: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -282,6 +302,18 @@ func (i *Importer) tagFile(p plannedFile, dl Download) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// expectedPositions is the download's resolved tracklist as bare
+// positions.
+func expectedPositions(expected []ExpectedTrack) []tagtotals.Position {
+	out := make([]tagtotals.Position, 0, len(expected))
+
+	for _, t := range expected {
+		out = append(out, tagtotals.Position{Disc: t.DiscNumber, Track: t.Position})
+	}
+
+	return out
+}
+
 // destinationFor computes a file's library path from the template.
 func (i *Importer) destinationFor(
 	p plannedFile,
diff --git a/backend/download/importer_test.go b/backend/download/importer_test.go
index fbac0e7..8ff8889 100644
--- a/backend/download/importer_test.go
+++ b/backend/download/importer_test.go
@@ -446,3 +446,77 @@ func keysOf(m map[string]tagwriter.TagChanges) []string {
 
 	return out
 }
+
+// An imported album should arrive knowing its own size, or the album
+// page reads "in your library" from its first imported track onward --
+// which is the badge complaint this exists to answer.
+func TestImportWritesTheAlbumTotals(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	f := newImportFixture(t,
+		"01 - Airbag.flac",
+		"02 - Paranoid Android.flac",
+		"03 - Subterranean Homesick Alien.flac",
+		"04 - Exit Music (For a Film).flac",
+	)
+
+	if _, err := f.importer.Import(
+		context.Background(),
+		fourTrackDownload(),
+		Result{Dir: f.dir, Files: f.files},
+		ImportOptions{LibraryRoot: f.root, WriteTags: true},
+	); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Import: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	changes := f.tags.writes["01 - Airbag.flac"]
+	if changes == nil {
+		t.Fatal("no tag write recorded for the first track")
+	}
+
+	if got := changes[tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks]; got != 4 {
+		t.Errorf("%s: got %v, want 4", tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks, got)
+	}
+
+	if got := changes[tagwriter.FieldTotalDiscs]; got != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("%s: got %v, want 1", tagwriter.FieldTotalDiscs, got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A RecordingMBID anchor resolves Expected to exactly the one track it
+// asked for, so totalling it would tag a track off a twelve-track album
+// as "1 of 1" -- worse than saying nothing, because a declared total
+// outranks the catalog total that would have answered correctly.
+func TestImportWritesNoTotalsForATrackDownload(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	f := newImportFixture(t, "01 - Airbag.flac")
+
+	dl := Download{
+		ID:            "dl-track",
+		LibraryID:     1,
+		RecordingMBID: "mbid-recording",
+		Artist:        "Radiohead",
+		Album:         "OK Computer",
+		Expected:      []ExpectedTrack{{Position: 1, Title: "Airbag"}},
+	}
+
+	if _, err := f.importer.Import(
+		context.Background(),
+		dl,
+		Result{Dir: f.dir, Files: f.files},
+		ImportOptions{LibraryRoot: f.root, WriteTags: true},
+	); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Import: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	changes := f.tags.writes["01 - Airbag.flac"]
+	if changes == nil {
+		t.Fatal("no tag write recorded")
+	}
+
+	if _, ok := changes[tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks]; ok {
+		t.Errorf("%s written for a single-track download: %v",
+			tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks, changes[tagwriter.FieldTotalTracks])
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/tagtotals/tagtotals.go b/backend/tagtotals/tagtotals.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68afc84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tagtotals/tagtotals.go
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+// Package tagtotals derives the totals a tag's "5/12" form declares.
+//
+// It exists because the two writers that know a release's full
+// tracklist -- the autotag apply pass and the download importer --
+// must not import each other or the tag writer, and because getting
+// the denominator wrong is invisible: a total that is too large marks
+// a complete album incomplete forever, and nothing fails.
+package tagtotals
+
+// Position is one track's place in a release.  A zero Disc means the
+// release did not say, which is disc 1.
+type Position struct {
+	Disc  int
+	Track int
+}
+
+// For returns the totals to write on a file sitting on disc `disc`:
+// how many tracks that disc has, and how many discs the release has.
+//
+// The track total is **per disc** and not the release's track count,
+// because that is what the tag form means and what
+// GetAlbumCompleteness sums -- summing a release total once per disc
+// would multiply a two-disc album's expectation by two.
+//
+// Tracks are counted by distinct position rather than by row: a
+// tracklist that lists a position twice is a defect in the source, and
+// counting it twice would put an album permanently out of reach of its
+// own total.
+func For(all []Position, disc int) (tracks, discs int) {
+	disc = normaliseDisc(disc)
+
+	seenTracks := make(map[int]struct{}, len(all))
+	seenDiscs := make(map[int]struct{}, 1)
+
+	for _, p := range all {
+		d := normaliseDisc(p.Disc)
+		seenDiscs[d] = struct{}{}
+
+		if d != disc || p.Track <= 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		seenTracks[p.Track] = struct{}{}
+	}
+
+	return len(seenTracks), len(seenDiscs)
+}
+
+// normaliseDisc treats an undeclared disc as disc 1.
+func normaliseDisc(d int) int {
+	if d <= 0 {
+		return 1
+	}
+
+	return d
+}
diff --git a/backend/tagtotals/tagtotals_test.go b/backend/tagtotals/tagtotals_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d89bf43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tagtotals/tagtotals_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+package tagtotals_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"yellowjacket/backend/tagtotals"
+)
+
+func TestFor(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	singleDisc := []tagtotals.Position{
+		{Disc: 0, Track: 1}, {Disc: 0, Track: 2}, {Disc: 0, Track: 3},
+	}
+
+	twoDiscs := []tagtotals.Position{
+		{Disc: 1, Track: 1},
+		{Disc: 1, Track: 2},
+		{Disc: 2, Track: 1},
+		{Disc: 2, Track: 2},
+		{Disc: 2, Track: 3},
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		all        []tagtotals.Position
+		disc       int
+		wantTracks int
+		wantDiscs  int
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "a single-disc release totals its own tracks",
+			all:  singleDisc, disc: 0, wantTracks: 3, wantDiscs: 1,
+		},
+		{
+			// An undeclared disc is disc 1, on both sides of the
+			// question -- a file tagged "disc 1" and a tracklist that
+			// declares no disc describe the same disc.
+			name: "an undeclared disc is disc 1",
+			all:  singleDisc, disc: 1, wantTracks: 3, wantDiscs: 1,
+		},
+		{
+			// The whole point: 5 here would be the release's track
+			// count, which summed once per disc claims a ten-track
+			// expectation for a five-track album.
+			name: "a multi-disc release totals the file's own disc",
+			all:  twoDiscs, disc: 2, wantTracks: 3, wantDiscs: 2,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "the other disc gets its own total",
+			all:  twoDiscs, disc: 1, wantTracks: 2, wantDiscs: 2,
+		},
+		{
+			// A disc the tracklist does not mention cannot be totalled,
+			// and 0 is how the caller is told to write nothing.
+			name: "a disc with no tracks totals nothing",
+			all:  twoDiscs, disc: 3, wantTracks: 0, wantDiscs: 2,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "an empty tracklist totals nothing",
+			all:  nil, disc: 1, wantTracks: 0, wantDiscs: 0,
+		},
+		{
+			// A source that lists a position twice would otherwise put
+			// the album permanently one track short of its own total.
+			name: "a repeated position counts once",
+			all: []tagtotals.Position{
+				{Disc: 1, Track: 1}, {Disc: 1, Track: 1}, {Disc: 1, Track: 2},
+			},
+			disc: 1, wantTracks: 2, wantDiscs: 1,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "a track with no position is not counted",
+			all: []tagtotals.Position{
+				{Disc: 1, Track: 0}, {Disc: 1, Track: 1},
+			},
+			disc: 1, wantTracks: 1, wantDiscs: 1,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			tracks, discs := tagtotals.For(tc.all, tc.disc)
+			if tracks != tc.wantTracks || discs != tc.wantDiscs {
+				t.Errorf("For(%v, %d) = (%d, %d), want (%d, %d)",
+					tc.all, tc.disc, tracks, discs, tc.wantTracks, tc.wantDiscs)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/dbsync.go b/backend/tagwriter/dbsync.go
index 68e57ce..d644d9e 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/dbsync.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/dbsync.go
@@ -183,6 +183,15 @@ func syncDatabase(
 		discNum = toNullInt64(v)
 	}
 
+	// The completeness evidence.  Without this the row keeps whatever
+	// the last scan read while the file on disk now declares a total,
+	// so the album stays "unknown" until a full rescan -- which is the
+	// state the report describes.
+	totalTracks := old.TotalTracks
+	if v, ok := asInt(params.changes[FieldTotalTracks]); ok {
+		totalTracks = toNullInt64(v)
+	}
+
 	composer := old.Composer
 	if v, ok := params.changes[FieldComposer].(string); ok {
 		composer = v
@@ -207,7 +216,7 @@ func syncDatabase(
 		AlbumID:            albumID,
 		TrackNumber:        trackNum,
 		DiscNumber:         discNum,
-		TotalTracks:        old.TotalTracks,
+		TotalTracks:        totalTracks,
 		Year:               year,
 		Composer:           composer,
 		Comment:            old.Comment,
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/flac.go b/backend/tagwriter/flac.go
index bca99c1..54a2036 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/flac.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/flac.go
@@ -101,6 +101,11 @@ func applyFlacTextChanges(cmt *flacvorbis.MetaDataBlockVorbisComment, changes Ta
 		{FieldYear, flacvorbis.FIELD_DATE, true},
 		{FieldTrackNumber, flacvorbis.FIELD_TRACKNUMBER, true},
 		{FieldDiscNumber, "DISCNUMBER", true},
+		// TRACKTOTAL/DISCTOTAL and no other spelling: dhowden/tag's
+		// Vorbis reader looks at exactly these two keys, so TOTALTRACKS
+		// or a "1/12" inside TRACKNUMBER reads back as no total at all.
+		{FieldTotalTracks, "TRACKTOTAL", true},
+		{FieldTotalDiscs, "DISCTOTAL", true},
 		{FieldComposer, "COMPOSER", false},
 	}
 
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/mp3.go b/backend/tagwriter/mp3.go
index b654a7d..768a435 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/mp3.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/mp3.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"log/slog"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 
 	id3v2 "github.com/bogem/id3v2/v2"
 
@@ -66,17 +67,10 @@ func applyTextChanges(tag *id3v2.Tag, changes TagChanges) {
 		tag.SetYear(strconv.Itoa(v))
 	}
 
-	if v, ok := asInt(changes[FieldTrackNumber]); ok {
-		trckID := tag.CommonID("Track number/Position in set")
-		tag.DeleteFrames(trckID)
-		tag.AddTextFrame(trckID, id3v2.EncodingUTF8, strconv.Itoa(v))
-	}
-
-	if v, ok := asInt(changes[FieldDiscNumber]); ok {
-		tposID := tag.CommonID("Part of a set")
-		tag.DeleteFrames(tposID)
-		tag.AddTextFrame(tposID, id3v2.EncodingUTF8, strconv.Itoa(v))
-	}
+	applyPositionFrame(tag, "Track number/Position in set", changes,
+		FieldTrackNumber, FieldTotalTracks)
+	applyPositionFrame(tag, "Part of a set", changes,
+		FieldDiscNumber, FieldTotalDiscs)
 
 	if v, ok := changes[FieldComposer].(string); ok {
 		tag.DeleteFrames("TCOM")
@@ -90,6 +84,64 @@ func applyTextChanges(tag *id3v2.Tag, changes TagChanges) {
 	}
 }
 
+// applyPositionFrame writes an ID3v2 position frame (TRCK or TPOS) in
+// the "n/N" form the readers parse.
+//
+// The number and the total are separate diff entries and either may be
+// absent, so the frame's *existing* value is the base: writing a total
+// alone must not discard the number that is already there, and writing
+// a number alone must not discard a total the file already declared.
+// A total with no number at all is not written, since "/12" says
+// nothing a reader can use.
+func applyPositionFrame(
+	tag *id3v2.Tag, description string, changes TagChanges, numKey, totalKey string,
+) {
+	_, hasNum := changes[numKey]
+	_, hasTotal := changes[totalKey]
+
+	if !hasNum && !hasTotal {
+		return
+	}
+
+	frameID := tag.CommonID(description)
+
+	num, total := parseXofN(
+		strings.TrimRight(tag.GetTextFrame(frameID).Text, "\x00 \t\n\r"),
+	)
+
+	if v, ok := asInt(changes[numKey]); ok {
+		num = v
+	}
+
+	if v, ok := asInt(changes[totalKey]); ok {
+		total = v
+	}
+
+	if num <= 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	value := strconv.Itoa(num)
+	if total > 0 {
+		value += "/" + strconv.Itoa(total)
+	}
+
+	tag.DeleteFrames(frameID)
+	tag.AddTextFrame(frameID, id3v2.EncodingUTF8, value)
+}
+
+// parseXofN splits an ID3v2 "n/N" position value.  A bare "n" yields a
+// zero total, and anything unparseable yields zeros — the same reading
+// dhowden/tag gives the frame.
+func parseXofN(s string) (int, int) {
+	numText, totalText, _ := strings.Cut(s, "/")
+
+	num, _ := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(numText))
+	total, _ := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(totalText))
+
+	return num, total
+}
+
 // applyCoverArtChanges handles the FieldCoverArt entry in the diff map.
 //
 //   - []byte with len > 0: embed the given image as front cover.
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/ogg_vorbis.go b/backend/tagwriter/ogg_vorbis.go
index 44d8d86..69d0b26 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/ogg_vorbis.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/ogg_vorbis.go
@@ -166,6 +166,8 @@ var oggFieldMappings = []struct { //nolint:gochecknoglobals // field mapping tab
 	{FieldYear, "DATE", true},
 	{FieldTrackNumber, "TRACKNUMBER", true},
 	{FieldDiscNumber, "DISCNUMBER", true},
+	{FieldTotalTracks, "TRACKTOTAL", true},
+	{FieldTotalDiscs, "DISCTOTAL", true},
 	{FieldComposer, "COMPOSER", false},
 }
 
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/pipeline_test.go b/backend/tagwriter/pipeline_test.go
index f59a32f..ad1cf48 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/pipeline_test.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/pipeline_test.go
@@ -333,3 +333,31 @@ func TestWriteTrackTags_DBSync(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("expected FTS5 result for 'New Title'")
 	}
 }
+
+// The row is what the album page reads, and it is only refreshed by a
+// scan.  Leaving total_tracks at whatever the last scan saw means an
+// album autotagged just now stays "unknown" -- a plain tick on an album
+// the user holds two tracks of -- until a full rescan happens to run.
+func TestWriteTrackTags_PersistsTheTotal(t *testing.T) {
+	db := database.NewTestDB(t)
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	trackID := seedTestTrack(t, db, createPipelineTestMP3(t, dir))
+
+	tw := NewTagWriter(testLogger(), db, &mockPlayer{}, &mockPipelineLocker{})
+
+	if err := tw.WriteTrackTags(trackID, TagChanges{
+		FieldTrackNumber: 2,
+		FieldTotalTracks: 10,
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteTrackTags: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	af, err := db.Queries.GetAudioFile(context.Background(), trackID)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("get audio file: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if !af.TotalTracks.Valid || af.TotalTracks.Int64 != 10 {
+		t.Errorf("total_tracks: got %v, want 10", af.TotalTracks)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/tagwriter.go b/backend/tagwriter/tagwriter.go
index 433adcf..87c2d70 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/tagwriter.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/tagwriter.go
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ const (
 	FieldDiscNumber  = "disc_number"
 	FieldComposer    = "composer"
 	FieldCoverArt    = "cover_art" // []byte for set, nil for clear
+
+	// FieldTotalTracks is how many tracks are on *this file's disc*, not
+	// in the whole release.  That is what the "5/12" form declares and
+	// what GetAlbumCompleteness sums per disc; a release total written
+	// here would multiply the expectation by the number of discs.
+	FieldTotalTracks = "total_tracks"
+
+	// FieldTotalDiscs is how many discs the release has.
+	FieldTotalDiscs = "total_discs"
 )
 
 // AudioFormat represents a supported audio file format.
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/totals_test.go b/backend/tagwriter/totals_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..860b4ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/totals_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,199 @@
+package tagwriter
+
+import (
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"yellowjacket/backend/metadata"
+)
+
+// The totals are the evidence GetAlbumCompleteness reads, and every way
+// of getting them wrong is silent: a tag written under a name the
+// reader does not look at reads back as no total at all, which is
+// indistinguishable from never having written one.  So these assert the
+// round trip through the *reader the scan uses*, not the bytes.
+//
+// WAV is the exception and it is not this change's: dhowden/tag has no
+// RIFF reader at all, so metadata.ExtractTags cannot see a WAV's ID3
+// chunk -- which is why every other test here reads that chunk itself.
+func TestWriteTotals_RoundTripsInEveryFormat(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	changes := TagChanges{
+		FieldTitle:       "Some Song",
+		FieldTrackNumber: 2,
+		FieldTotalTracks: 10,
+		FieldDiscNumber:  1,
+		FieldTotalDiscs:  2,
+	}
+
+	viaScanner := func(t *testing.T, path string) *metadata.TrackMetadata {
+		t.Helper()
+
+		meta, err := metadata.ExtractTags(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ExtractTags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		return meta
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name  string
+		write func(t *testing.T, dir string) string
+		read  func(t *testing.T, path string) *metadata.TrackMetadata
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "mp3",
+			read: viaScanner,
+			write: func(t *testing.T, dir string) string {
+				t.Helper()
+
+				path := createTestMP3(t, dir, "totals.mp3", nil)
+				if err := writeMp3Tags(testLogger(), path, changes); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("writeMp3Tags: %v", err)
+				}
+
+				return path
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "flac",
+			read: viaScanner,
+			write: func(t *testing.T, dir string) string {
+				t.Helper()
+
+				path := filepath.Join(dir, "totals.flac")
+				makeMinimalFLAC(t, path)
+
+				if err := writeFlacTags(testLogger(), path, changes); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("writeFlacTags: %v", err)
+				}
+
+				return path
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "ogg",
+			read: viaScanner,
+			write: func(t *testing.T, dir string) string {
+				t.Helper()
+
+				path := filepath.Join(dir, "totals.ogg")
+				createTestOGG(t, path)
+
+				if err := writeOggTags(testLogger(), path, changes); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("writeOggTags: %v", err)
+				}
+
+				return path
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "wav",
+			read: readWavID3Tags,
+			write: func(t *testing.T, dir string) string {
+				t.Helper()
+
+				path := createTestWAV(t, dir, "totals.wav", nil)
+
+				if err := writeWavTags(testLogger(), path, changes); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("writeWavTags: %v", err)
+				}
+
+				return path
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			meta := tc.read(t, tc.write(t, t.TempDir()))
+
+			assertIntField(t, "TrackNumber", meta.TrackNumber, 2)
+			assertIntField(t, "TotalTracks", meta.TotalTracks, 10)
+			assertIntField(t, "DiscNumber", meta.DiscNumber, 1)
+			assertIntField(t, "TotalDiscs", meta.TotalDiscs, 2)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// A number and a total are separate diff entries, so writing one must
+// not discard the other.  For ID3v2 they share a single "n/N" frame,
+// which is the only place this can go wrong -- and it goes wrong by
+// silently zeroing a total the file already declared.
+func TestWriteMp3Totals_PartialUpdateKeepsTheOtherHalf(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	t.Run("writing the number keeps the total", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		path := createTestMP3(t, dir, "seeded.mp3", TagChanges{
+			FieldTrackNumber: 2,
+			FieldTotalTracks: 10,
+		})
+
+		if err := writeMp3Tags(testLogger(), path, TagChanges{
+			FieldTrackNumber: 4,
+		}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("writeMp3Tags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		meta, err := metadata.ExtractTags(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ExtractTags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		assertIntField(t, "TrackNumber", meta.TrackNumber, 4)
+		assertIntField(t, "TotalTracks", meta.TotalTracks, 10)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("writing the total keeps the number", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		path := createTestMP3(t, dir, "seeded.mp3", TagChanges{
+			FieldTrackNumber: 7,
+		})
+
+		if err := writeMp3Tags(testLogger(), path, TagChanges{
+			FieldTotalTracks: 12,
+		}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("writeMp3Tags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		meta, err := metadata.ExtractTags(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ExtractTags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		assertIntField(t, "TrackNumber", meta.TrackNumber, 7)
+		assertIntField(t, "TotalTracks", meta.TotalTracks, 12)
+	})
+
+	// "/12" says nothing a reader can use, and dhowden/tag reads it as
+	// track 0 -- which the scan would store as a real track number.
+	t.Run("a total with no number writes nothing", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Parallel()
+
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		path := createTestMP3(t, dir, "bare.mp3", nil)
+
+		if err := writeMp3Tags(testLogger(), path, TagChanges{
+			FieldTotalTracks: 12,
+		}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("writeMp3Tags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		meta, err := metadata.ExtractTags(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ExtractTags: %v", err)
+		}
+
+		assertIntField(t, "TrackNumber", meta.TrackNumber, 0)
+		assertIntField(t, "TotalTracks", meta.TotalTracks, 0)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/backend/tagwriter/wav_test.go b/backend/tagwriter/wav_test.go
index 3b54280..e8fa853 100644
--- a/backend/tagwriter/wav_test.go
+++ b/backend/tagwriter/wav_test.go
@@ -522,19 +522,20 @@ func readWavID3Tags(
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Track number (TRCK).
+	// Track number and total (TRCK), disc number and total (TPOS).
+	// Both carry the "n/N" form, so they are read the way a reader
+	// reads them rather than with Atoi -- which sees "2/10" as 0.
 	trckID := parsed.CommonID("Track number/Position in set")
 	if frames := parsed.GetFrames(trckID); len(frames) > 0 {
 		if tf, ok := frames[0].(id3v2.TextFrame); ok {
-			meta.TrackNumber = atoiSafe(tf.Text)
+			meta.TrackNumber, meta.TotalTracks = parseXofN(tf.Text)
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Disc number (TPOS).
 	tposID := parsed.CommonID("Part of a set")
 	if frames := parsed.GetFrames(tposID); len(frames) > 0 {
 		if tf, ok := frames[0].(id3v2.TextFrame); ok {
-			meta.DiscNumber = atoiSafe(tf.Text)
+			meta.DiscNumber, meta.TotalDiscs = parseXofN(tf.Text)
 		}
 	}