diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index d681f58..04e873c 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -7,14 +7,16 @@ members = [".", "crates/*", "crates/*/fuzz"]
 resolver = "2"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
-bimap = "0.6.3"
 derive-getters = "0.5"
-petgraph = { git = "https://codeberg.org/topola/petgraph.git" }
 rstar = "0.12"
 serde_json = "1.0"
 spade = "2.12"
 thiserror = "2.0"
 
+[workspace.dependencies.bimap]
+version = "0.6.3"
+features = ["serde"]
+
 [workspace.dependencies.geo-types]
 version = "0.7"
 default-features = false
@@ -25,6 +27,10 @@ version = "0.29"
 default-features = false
 features = ["spade", "use-serde"]
 
+[workspace.dependencies.petgraph]
+git = "https://codeberg.org/topola/petgraph.git"
+features = ["serde-1"]
+
 [workspace.dependencies.serde]
 version = "1"
 features = ["derive"]
diff --git a/src/drawing/graph.rs b/src/drawing/graph.rs
index 8b14957..3ecfdde 100644
--- a/src/drawing/graph.rs
+++ b/src/drawing/graph.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 
 use enum_dispatch::enum_dispatch;
-
 use petgraph::stable_graph::NodeIndex;
 
 use crate::{drawing::Drawing, graph::GetPetgraphIndex};
@@ -90,7 +89,7 @@ macro_rules! impl_loose_weight {
 // TODO: This enum shouldn't exist: we shouldn't be carrying the tag around like this. Instead we
 // should be getting it from the graph when it's needed.
 #[enum_dispatch(GetPetgraphIndex, MakePrimitive)]
-#[derive(Debug, Hash, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
 pub enum PrimitiveIndex {
     FixedDot(FixedDotIndex),
     LooseDot(LooseDotIndex),
diff --git a/src/geometry/geometry.rs b/src/geometry/geometry.rs
index 1d85c74..5846bb5 100644
--- a/src/geometry/geometry.rs
+++ b/src/geometry/geometry.rs
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use petgraph::{
     visit::EdgeRef,
     Direction::{self, Incoming},
 };
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 use crate::{
     drawing::{
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ pub enum GeometryLabel {
     Compound,
 }
 
-#[derive(Debug, Hash, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Deserialize, Serialize)]
 pub enum GenericNode<P, C> {
     Primitive(P),
     Compound(C),
diff --git a/src/graph.rs b/src/graph.rs
index 29bbc07..492d5e1 100644
--- a/src/graph.rs
+++ b/src/graph.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use std::{
 
 use enum_dispatch::enum_dispatch;
 use petgraph::stable_graph::NodeIndex;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 pub trait MakeRef<'a, R: 'a, C> {
     fn ref_(&self, context: &'a C) -> R;
@@ -19,9 +20,14 @@ pub trait GetPetgraphIndex {
     fn petgraph_index(&self) -> NodeIndex<usize>;
 }
 
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+// unfortunately, as we don't want any restrictions on `W`,
+// we have to implement many traits ourselves, instead of using derive macros.
+#[derive(Deserialize, Serialize)]
+#[serde(bound = "")]
+#[serde(transparent)]
 pub struct GenericIndex<W> {
     node_index: NodeIndex<usize>,
+    #[serde(skip)]
     marker: PhantomData<W>,
 }
 
@@ -34,22 +40,59 @@ impl<W> GenericIndex<W> {
     }
 }
 
+impl<W> core::clone::Clone for GenericIndex<W> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn clone(&self) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            node_index: self.node_index,
+            marker: PhantomData,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<W> core::fmt::Debug for GenericIndex<W> {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut core::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> core::fmt::Result {
+        f.debug_tuple("GenericIndex")
+            .field(&self.node_index.index())
+            .finish()
+    }
+}
+
+impl<W> PartialEq for GenericIndex<W> {
+    #[inline]
+    fn eq(&self, oth: &Self) -> bool {
+        self.node_index == oth.node_index
+    }
+}
+
+impl<W> core::marker::Copy for GenericIndex<W> {}
+impl<W> Eq for GenericIndex<W> {}
+
 impl<W> Hash for GenericIndex<W> {
     fn hash<H: Hasher>(&self, state: &mut H) {
         self.node_index.hash(state)
     }
 }
 
-impl<W> PartialEq for GenericIndex<W> {
-    fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
-        self.node_index == other.node_index
-    }
-}
-
-impl<W> Eq for GenericIndex<W> {}
-
 impl<W> GetPetgraphIndex for GenericIndex<W> {
     fn petgraph_index(&self) -> NodeIndex<usize> {
         self.node_index
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn serializable_index() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            serde_json::to_string(&GenericIndex::<()>::new(NodeIndex::new(0))).unwrap(),
+            "0"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            serde_json::from_str::<GenericIndex<()>>("0").unwrap(),
+            GenericIndex::new(NodeIndex::new(0))
+        );
+    }
+}