diff --git a/crates/archivr-core/src/archive.rs b/crates/archivr-core/src/archive.rs
index 63fd55a..a20ff6e 100644
--- a/crates/archivr-core/src/archive.rs
+++ b/crates/archivr-core/src/archive.rs
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ pub fn list_root_entries(
             e.visibility,
             si.canonical_url,
             COUNT(ea.id) AS artifact_count,
-            COALESCE(SUM(b.byte_size), 0) AS total_artifact_bytes,
+            COALESCE(SUM(b.byte_size), 0) + COALESCE((SELECT SUM(b2.byte_size) FROM archived_entries c2 JOIN entry_artifacts ea2 ON ea2.entry_id = c2.id JOIN blobs b2 ON b2.id = ea2.blob_id WHERE c2.parent_entry_id = e.id), 0) AS total_artifact_bytes,
             NULL AS parent_entry_uid,
             EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM entry_artifacts fav WHERE fav.entry_id = e.id AND fav.artifact_role = 'favicon') AS has_favicon,
             e.cached_bytes,
@@ -689,7 +689,7 @@ pub fn parse_search_query(raw: &str) -> Result<SearchEntriesQuery, String> {
 
 const ENTRY_SELECT_COLS: &str = "SELECT e.entry_uid, e.archived_at, e.source_kind, e.entity_kind, e.title, \
     e.visibility, si.canonical_url, COUNT(ea.id) AS artifact_count, \
-    COALESCE(SUM(b.byte_size), 0) AS total_artifact_bytes, \
+    COALESCE(SUM(b.byte_size), 0) + COALESCE((SELECT SUM(b2.byte_size) FROM archived_entries c2 JOIN entry_artifacts ea2 ON ea2.entry_id = c2.id JOIN blobs b2 ON b2.id = ea2.blob_id WHERE c2.parent_entry_id = e.id), 0) AS total_artifact_bytes, \
     parent.entry_uid AS parent_entry_uid, \
     EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM entry_artifacts fav WHERE fav.entry_id = e.id AND fav.artifact_role = 'favicon') AS has_favicon, \
     e.cached_bytes, \
diff --git a/crates/archivr-core/src/capture.rs b/crates/archivr-core/src/capture.rs
index 72b7af1..7d838d8 100644
--- a/crates/archivr-core/src/capture.rs
+++ b/crates/archivr-core/src/capture.rs
@@ -90,10 +90,13 @@ pub struct CaptureConfig {
     /// Route WebPage captures through the Freedium mirror to bypass paywalls.
     /// The original locator is still recorded in the DB; only the fetch URL changes.
     pub via_freedium: bool,
-    /// Per-item quality overrides for playlist captures.
+    /// Per-item quality overrides and include-set for playlist captures.
     /// Keys are yt-dlp video IDs (e.g. "dQw4w9WgXcQ"); values are quality strings
     /// accepted by `quality_format` ("best", "audio", "1080p", etc.).
-    /// Empty map = apply the global `quality` to all items.
+    /// - Empty map: all playlist items are downloaded using the global `quality`.
+    /// - Non-empty map: ONLY items whose ID appears as a key are downloaded;
+    ///   items absent from the map are skipped entirely. This is how the UI's
+    ///   per-video delete button excludes specific videos from a capture.
     pub per_item_quality: HashMap<String, String>,
     /// When true, skip playlist items whose URL is already archived as a child
     /// of any container entry with the same canonical playlist URL.
@@ -1139,6 +1142,16 @@ pub fn perform_capture(
             if config.sync && already_archived.contains(&playlist_item.url) {
                 continue;
             }
+            // Per-item exclusion: when per_item_quality is non-empty (frontend
+            // probe ran and the user confirmed the item list), only download
+            // items whose ID appears in the map. IDs absent from a non-empty
+            // map were removed by the user via the delete button before submit.
+            if !config.per_item_quality.is_empty()
+                && !config.per_item_quality.contains_key(&playlist_item.id)
+            {
+                continue;
+            }
+
 
             let child_timestamp = format!(
                 "{}-{}",
diff --git a/crates/archivr-server/src/routes.rs b/crates/archivr-server/src/routes.rs
index a7bb4f6..d26c563 100644
--- a/crates/archivr-server/src/routes.rs
+++ b/crates/archivr-server/src/routes.rs
@@ -872,13 +872,14 @@ async fn capture_handler(
             )));
         }
     }
-    // NOTE: the server does not enforce that every playlist item has a per_item_quality
-    // entry. Items without an override receive the global `quality` value, which
-    // yt-dlp applies as a format-selector cap (e.g. bestvideo[height<=1080]) and
-    // falls back gracefully to the best available format below that cap. The
-    // "must choose quality for unsupported videos" invariant is enforced by the
+    // per_item_quality semantics (enforced in capture.rs):
+    // - Absent or empty map: all playlist items are downloaded; quality is the
+    //   global `quality` field applied as a yt-dlp cap with graceful fallback.
+    // - Non-empty map: ONLY items whose yt-dlp ID appears as a key are downloaded;
+    //   absent IDs are skipped. This is how the frontend's delete-item button works.
+    // The "must choose quality for unsupported videos" invariant is enforced by the
     // frontend before submission; a direct API caller bypassing the UI accepts
-    // yt-dlp's standard cap-and-fallback behavior.
+    // yt-dlp's standard cap-and-fallback behavior for items it includes.
     let mounted = mounted_archive(&state, &archive_id)?;
     let archive_paths =
         archive::read_archive_paths(&mounted.archive_path).map_err(ApiError::from)?;