diff --git a/webui/index.html b/webui/index.html
index 218b0005..310b8fca 100644
--- a/webui/index.html
+++ b/webui/index.html
@@ -2307,11 +2307,19 @@
                             <!-- Artist cards will be populated here -->
                         </div>
 
-                        <!-- Empty State -->
+                        <!-- Empty State — populated by showLibraryEmpty() in library.js.
+                             Shows a generic "no artists" message by default; when the
+                             user's search has no library matches, it switches to a
+                             search-online CTA that hands off to the /search page. -->
                         <div class="library-empty hidden" id="library-empty">
-                            <div class="empty-icon">🎵</div>
-                            <div class="empty-title">No artists found</div>
-                            <div class="empty-subtitle">Try adjusting your search or filters</div>
+                            <div class="empty-icon" id="library-empty-icon">🎵</div>
+                            <div class="empty-title" id="library-empty-title">No artists found</div>
+                            <div class="empty-subtitle" id="library-empty-subtitle">Try adjusting your search or filters</div>
+                            <button class="library-empty-search-cta hidden" id="library-empty-search-cta">
+                                <span class="library-empty-search-cta-icon">🔍</span>
+                                <span class="library-empty-search-cta-text">Search online for <span id="library-empty-search-cta-query"></span></span>
+                                <span class="library-empty-search-cta-arrow">→</span>
+                            </button>
                         </div>
 
                         <!-- Pagination -->
diff --git a/webui/static/library.js b/webui/static/library.js
index b74a30ed..0cc1efc0 100644
--- a/webui/static/library.js
+++ b/webui/static/library.js
@@ -358,13 +358,60 @@ function showLibraryLoading(show) {
 
 function showLibraryEmpty(show) {
     const emptyElement = document.getElementById("library-empty");
-    if (emptyElement) {
-        if (show) {
-            emptyElement.classList.remove("hidden");
-        } else {
-            emptyElement.classList.add("hidden");
+    if (!emptyElement) return;
+    if (!show) {
+        emptyElement.classList.add("hidden");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // When a search query is active and returned zero library hits, swap the
+    // generic "no artists" copy for a CTA that hands the query off to /search
+    // so the user can look the artist up across metadata sources without
+    // retyping.
+    const query = (libraryPageState.currentSearch || '').trim();
+    const iconEl = document.getElementById('library-empty-icon');
+    const titleEl = document.getElementById('library-empty-title');
+    const subtitleEl = document.getElementById('library-empty-subtitle');
+    const ctaEl = document.getElementById('library-empty-search-cta');
+    const ctaQueryEl = document.getElementById('library-empty-search-cta-query');
+
+    if (query) {
+        if (iconEl) iconEl.textContent = '🔎';
+        if (titleEl) titleEl.textContent = `"${query}" isn't in your library`;
+        if (subtitleEl) subtitleEl.textContent = 'They might be available on a connected metadata source.';
+        if (ctaQueryEl) ctaQueryEl.textContent = `"${query}"`;
+        if (ctaEl) {
+            ctaEl.classList.remove('hidden');
+            // Rebind cleanly — onclick avoids duplicate listeners across renders.
+            ctaEl.onclick = () => _handoffLibrarySearchToEnhancedSearch(query);
+        }
+    } else {
+        if (iconEl) iconEl.textContent = '🎵';
+        if (titleEl) titleEl.textContent = 'No artists found';
+        if (subtitleEl) subtitleEl.textContent = 'Try adjusting your search or filters';
+        if (ctaEl) {
+            ctaEl.classList.add('hidden');
+            ctaEl.onclick = null;
         }
     }
+
+    emptyElement.classList.remove("hidden");
+}
+
+// Navigate to /search and pre-fill the enhanced search input with the query
+// the user had typed into the library search. Uses the same hand-off pattern
+// the global widget uses for Soulseek — navigate, then dispatch an `input`
+// event so the Search page's existing debounced search kicks in.
+function _handoffLibrarySearchToEnhancedSearch(query) {
+    if (typeof navigateToPage !== 'function') return;
+    navigateToPage('search');
+    setTimeout(() => {
+        const input = document.getElementById('enhanced-search-input');
+        if (input && query) {
+            input.value = query;
+            input.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));
+        }
+    }, 300);
 }
 
 async function openWatchAllUnwatchedModal() {
diff --git a/webui/static/style.css b/webui/static/style.css
index ada5555e..b2d70932 100644
--- a/webui/static/style.css
+++ b/webui/static/style.css
@@ -23054,6 +23054,39 @@ body.helper-mode-active #dashboard-activity-feed:hover {
     max-width: 400px;
 }
 
+/* Hand-off CTA shown in the library empty state when the user's search
+   returns no library matches — offers to run the same query against the
+   configured metadata source on the /search page. */
+.library-empty-search-cta {
+    display: inline-flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 10px;
+    margin-top: 8px;
+    padding: 12px 20px;
+    background: linear-gradient(135deg, rgba(var(--accent-rgb), 0.22), rgba(var(--accent-rgb), 0.08));
+    border: 1px solid rgba(var(--accent-rgb), 0.35);
+    border-radius: 10px;
+    color: rgb(var(--accent-light-rgb, var(--accent-rgb)));
+    font-family: inherit;
+    font-size: 14px;
+    font-weight: 600;
+    cursor: pointer;
+    transition: transform 0.15s ease, box-shadow 0.15s ease, border-color 0.15s ease;
+}
+.library-empty-search-cta:hover {
+    transform: translateY(-1px);
+    border-color: rgba(var(--accent-rgb), 0.55);
+    box-shadow: 0 6px 20px rgba(var(--accent-rgb), 0.22);
+}
+.library-empty-search-cta:active { transform: translateY(0); }
+.library-empty-search-cta-icon { font-size: 16px; }
+.library-empty-search-cta-arrow {
+    font-weight: 700;
+    transition: transform 0.15s ease;
+}
+.library-empty-search-cta:hover .library-empty-search-cta-arrow { transform: translateX(3px); }
+#library-empty-search-cta-query { color: #fff; }
+
 /* Pagination */
 .library-pagination {
     display: flex;