fix(status): report beta registry channel

src/cli/update-cli/status.ts

@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ import {
 import { readConfigFileSnapshot } from "../../config/config.js";
 import {
   normalizeUpdateChannel,
+  resolveRegistryUpdateChannel,
   resolveUpdateChannelDisplay,
 } from "../../infra/update-channels.js";
 import { checkUpdateStatus } from "../../infra/update-check.js";
 import { defaultRuntime } from "../../runtime.js";
 import { getTerminalTableWidth, renderTable } from "../../terminal/table.js";
 import { theme } from "../../terminal/theme.js";
+import { VERSION } from "../../version.js";
 import { parseTimeoutMsOrExit, resolveUpdateRoot, type UpdateStatusOptions } from "./shared.js";
 
 function formatGitStatusLine(params: {
@@ -47,10 +49,15 @@ export async function updateStatusCommand(opts: UpdateStatusOptions): Promise<vo
     timeoutMs: timeoutMs ?? 3500,
     fetchGit: true,
     includeRegistry: true,
+    registryChannel: resolveRegistryUpdateChannel({
+      configChannel,
+      currentVersion: VERSION,
+    }),
   });
 
   const channelInfo = resolveUpdateChannelDisplay({
     configChannel,
+    currentVersion: VERSION,
     installKind: update.installKind,
     gitTag: update.git?.tag ?? null,
     gitBranch: update.git?.branch ?? null,

src/commands/status-all/format.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from "../../infra/update-channels.js";
 import { formatGitInstallLabel, type UpdateCheckResult } from "../../infra/update-check.js";
 import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
+import { VERSION } from "../../version.js";
 import { formatUpdateOneLiner, resolveUpdateAvailability } from "../status.update.js";
 
 export { formatTimeAgo } from "../../infra/format-time/format-relative.ts";
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ export function resolveStatusUpdateChannelInfo(params: {
 }) {
   return resolveUpdateChannelDisplay({
     configChannel: normalizeUpdateChannel(params.updateConfigChannel),
+    currentVersion: VERSION,
     installKind: params.update.installKind ?? "unknown",
     gitTag: params.update.git?.tag ?? null,
     gitBranch: params.update.git?.branch ?? null,

src/commands/status-json-payload.test.ts

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ describe("status-json-payload", () => {
     expect(mocks.normalizeUpdateChannel).toHaveBeenCalledWith("beta");
     expect(mocks.resolveUpdateChannelDisplay).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
       configChannel: "beta",
+      currentVersion: expect.any(String),
       installKind: "package",
       gitTag: "v1.2.3",
       gitBranch: "main",

src/commands/status.scan.bootstrap-shared.ts

@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ type StatusScanCoreBootstrapParams<TAgentStatus> = {
     timeoutMs: number;
     fetchGit: boolean;
     includeRegistry: boolean;
+    updateConfigChannel?: string | null;
   }) => Promise<UpdateCheckResult>;
   getAgentLocalStatuses: (cfg: OpenClawConfig) => Promise<TAgentStatus>;
 };
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ export async function createStatusScanCoreBootstrap<TAgentStatus>(
         timeoutMs: updateTimeoutMs,
         fetchGit: true,
         includeRegistry: true,
+        updateConfigChannel: params.cfg.update?.channel ?? null,
       });
   const agentStatusPromise = skipColdStartNetworkChecks
     ? Promise.resolve(buildColdStartAgentLocalStatuses() as TAgentStatus)

src/commands/status.update.test.ts

@@ -140,6 +140,24 @@ describe("formatUpdateOneLiner", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("renders beta registry tags instead of calling them npm latest", () => {
+    const update = buildUpdate({
+      installKind: "package",
+      packageManager: "npm",
+      registry: { latestVersion: VERSION, tag: "beta" },
+      deps: {
+        manager: "npm",
+        status: "ok",
+        lockfilePath: "package-lock.json",
+        markerPath: "node_modules",
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(formatUpdateOneLiner(update)).toBe(
+      `Update: npm · up to date · npm beta ${VERSION} · deps ok`,
+    );
+  });
+
   it("renders package-manager mode with registry error", () => {
     const update = buildUpdate({
       installKind: "package",

src/commands/status.update.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { formatCliCommand } from "../cli/command-format.js";
 import { resolveOpenClawPackageRoot } from "../infra/openclaw-root.js";
+import { normalizeUpdateChannel, resolveRegistryUpdateChannel } from "../infra/update-channels.js";
 import {
   checkUpdateStatus,
   compareSemverStrings,
@@ -11,7 +12,9 @@ export async function getUpdateCheckResult(params: {
   timeoutMs: number;
   fetchGit: boolean;
   includeRegistry: boolean;
+  updateConfigChannel?: string | null;
 }): Promise<UpdateCheckResult> {
+  const configChannel = normalizeUpdateChannel(params.updateConfigChannel);
   const root = await resolveOpenClawPackageRoot({
     moduleUrl: import.meta.url,
     argv1: process.argv[1],
@@ -22,6 +25,10 @@ export async function getUpdateCheckResult(params: {
     timeoutMs: params.timeoutMs,
     fetchGit: params.fetchGit,
     includeRegistry: params.includeRegistry,
+    registryChannel: resolveRegistryUpdateChannel({
+      configChannel,
+      currentVersion: VERSION,
+    }),
   });
 }
 
@@ -73,22 +80,30 @@ export function formatUpdateOneLiner(update: UpdateCheckResult): string {
   const parts: string[] = [];
 
   const appendRegistryUpdateSummary = () => {
+    const registryLabel =
+      update.registry?.tag && update.registry.tag !== "latest"
+        ? `npm ${update.registry.tag}`
+        : "npm latest";
     if (update.registry?.latestVersion) {
       const cmp = compareSemverStrings(VERSION, update.registry.latestVersion);
       if (cmp === 0) {
         if (update.installKind !== "git") {
           parts.push("up to date");
         }
-        parts.push(`npm latest ${update.registry.latestVersion}`);
+        parts.push(`${registryLabel} ${update.registry.latestVersion}`);
       } else if (cmp != null && cmp < 0) {
-        parts.push(`npm update ${update.registry.latestVersion}`);
+        parts.push(
+          update.registry.tag && update.registry.tag !== "latest"
+            ? `${registryLabel} update ${update.registry.latestVersion}`
+            : `npm update ${update.registry.latestVersion}`,
+        );
       } else {
-        parts.push(`npm latest ${update.registry.latestVersion} (local newer)`);
+        parts.push(`${registryLabel} ${update.registry.latestVersion} (local newer)`);
       }
       return;
     }
     if (update.registry?.error) {
-      parts.push("npm latest unknown");
+      parts.push(`${registryLabel} unknown`);
     }
   };
 

src/infra/update-channels.test.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   isStableTag,
   normalizeUpdateChannel,
   resolveEffectiveUpdateChannel,
+  resolveRegistryUpdateChannel,
   resolveUpdateChannelDisplay,
   type UpdateChannel,
   type UpdateChannelSource,
@@ -66,6 +67,15 @@ describe("resolveEffectiveUpdateChannel", () => {
       },
       expected: { channel: "beta", source: "config" },
     },
+    {
+      name: "uses installed beta version over stale stable config",
+      params: {
+        configChannel: "stable",
+        currentVersion: "2026.5.2-beta.1",
+        installKind: "package" as const,
+      },
+      expected: { channel: "beta", source: "installed-version" },
+    },
     {
       name: "uses beta git tag",
       params: {
@@ -152,6 +162,11 @@ describe("formatUpdateChannelLabel", () => {
       params: { channel: "dev", source: "git-branch" as const },
       expected: "dev (branch)",
     },
+    {
+      name: "formats installed-version labels",
+      params: { channel: "beta", source: "installed-version" as const },
+      expected: "beta (installed version)",
+    },
     {
       name: "formats default labels",
       params: { channel: "stable", source: "default" as const },
@@ -167,6 +182,20 @@ describe("formatUpdateChannelLabel", () => {
 });
 
 describe("resolveUpdateChannelDisplay", () => {
+  it("labels stale stable config on a beta install from the installed version", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveUpdateChannelDisplay({
+        configChannel: "stable",
+        currentVersion: "2026.5.2-beta.1",
+        installKind: "package",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      channel: "beta",
+      source: "installed-version",
+      label: "beta (installed version)",
+    });
+  });
+
   it("includes the derived label for git branches", () => {
     expect(
       resolveUpdateChannelDisplay({
@@ -206,3 +235,14 @@ describe("resolveUpdateChannelDisplay", () => {
     });
   });
 });
+
+describe("resolveRegistryUpdateChannel", () => {
+  it("queries beta when the installed version is beta even if config is stale stable", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveRegistryUpdateChannel({
+        configChannel: "stable",
+        currentVersion: "2026.5.2-beta.1",
+      }),
+    ).toBe("beta");
+  });
+});

src/infra/update-channels.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 import { normalizeOptionalLowercaseString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 
 export type UpdateChannel = "stable" | "beta" | "dev";
-export type UpdateChannelSource = "config" | "git-tag" | "git-branch" | "default";
+export type UpdateChannelSource =
+  | "config"
+  | "git-tag"
+  | "git-branch"
+  | "installed-version"
+  | "default";
 
 export const DEFAULT_PACKAGE_CHANNEL: UpdateChannel = "stable";
 export const DEFAULT_GIT_CHANNEL: UpdateChannel = "dev";
@@ -36,11 +41,36 @@ export function isStableTag(tag: string): boolean {
   return !isBetaTag(tag);
 }
 
+export function resolveRegistryUpdateChannel(params: {
+  configChannel?: UpdateChannel | null;
+  currentVersion?: string | null;
+}): UpdateChannel {
+  if (
+    params.currentVersion &&
+    isBetaTag(params.currentVersion) &&
+    params.configChannel !== "beta" &&
+    params.configChannel !== "dev"
+  ) {
+    return "beta";
+  }
+  return params.configChannel ?? DEFAULT_PACKAGE_CHANNEL;
+}
+
 export function resolveEffectiveUpdateChannel(params: {
   configChannel?: UpdateChannel | null;
+  currentVersion?: string | null;
   installKind: "git" | "package" | "unknown";
   git?: { tag?: string | null; branch?: string | null };
 }): { channel: UpdateChannel; source: UpdateChannelSource } {
+  if (
+    params.currentVersion &&
+    isBetaTag(params.currentVersion) &&
+    params.configChannel !== "beta" &&
+    params.configChannel !== "dev"
+  ) {
+    return { channel: "beta", source: "installed-version" };
+  }
+
   if (params.configChannel) {
     return { channel: params.configChannel, source: "config" };
   }
@@ -81,17 +111,22 @@ export function formatUpdateChannelLabel(params: {
       ? `${params.channel} (${params.gitBranch})`
       : `${params.channel} (branch)`;
   }
+  if (params.source === "installed-version") {
+    return "beta (installed version)";
+  }
   return `${params.channel} (default)`;
 }
 
 export function resolveUpdateChannelDisplay(params: {
   configChannel?: UpdateChannel | null;
+  currentVersion?: string | null;
   installKind: "git" | "package" | "unknown";
   gitTag?: string | null;
   gitBranch?: string | null;
 }): { channel: UpdateChannel; source: UpdateChannelSource; label: string } {
   const channelInfo = resolveEffectiveUpdateChannel({
     configChannel: params.configChannel,
+    currentVersion: params.currentVersion,
     installKind: params.installKind,
     git:
       params.gitTag || params.gitBranch

src/infra/update-check.test.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   compareSemverStrings,
   fetchNpmLatestVersion,
   fetchNpmPackageTargetStatus,
+  fetchNpmRegistryVersionForChannel,
   fetchNpmTagVersion,
   formatGitInstallLabel,
   resolveNpmChannelTag,
@@ -116,8 +117,20 @@ describe("resolveNpmChannelTag", () => {
       latestVersion: "1.0.4",
       error: undefined,
     });
+    versionByTag.beta = "1.0.5-beta.1";
+    await expect(
+      fetchNpmRegistryVersionForChannel({ channel: "beta", timeoutMs: 1000 }),
+    ).resolves.toEqual({
+      latestVersion: "1.0.5-beta.1",
+      tag: "beta",
+    });
     await expect(fetchNpmTagVersion({ tag: "beta", timeoutMs: 1000 })).resolves.toEqual({
       tag: "beta",
+      version: "1.0.5-beta.1",
+      error: undefined,
+    });
+    await expect(fetchNpmTagVersion({ tag: "missing", timeoutMs: 1000 })).resolves.toEqual({
+      tag: "missing",
       version: null,
       error: "HTTP 404",
     });

src/infra/update-check.ts

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ export type DepsStatus = {
 
 export type RegistryStatus = {
   latestVersion: string | null;
+  tag?: string;
   error?: string;
 };
 
@@ -302,6 +303,20 @@ export async function fetchNpmLatestVersion(params?: {
   };
 }
 
+export async function fetchNpmRegistryVersionForChannel(params: {
+  channel: UpdateChannel;
+  timeoutMs?: number;
+}): Promise<RegistryStatus> {
+  const res = await resolveNpmChannelTag({
+    channel: params.channel,
+    timeoutMs: params.timeoutMs,
+  });
+  return {
+    latestVersion: res.version,
+    tag: res.tag,
+  };
+}
+
 export async function fetchNpmPackageTargetStatus(params: {
   target: string;
   timeoutMs?: number;
@@ -380,15 +395,23 @@ export async function checkUpdateStatus(params: {
   timeoutMs?: number;
   fetchGit?: boolean;
   includeRegistry?: boolean;
+  registryChannel?: UpdateChannel;
 }): Promise<UpdateCheckResult> {
   const timeoutMs = params.timeoutMs ?? 6000;
+  const fetchRegistry = () =>
+    params.registryChannel
+      ? fetchNpmRegistryVersionForChannel({
+          channel: params.registryChannel,
+          timeoutMs,
+        })
+      : fetchNpmLatestVersion({ timeoutMs });
   const root = params.root ? path.resolve(params.root) : null;
   if (!root) {
     return {
       root: null,
       installKind: "unknown",
       packageManager: "unknown",
-      registry: params.includeRegistry ? await fetchNpmLatestVersion({ timeoutMs }) : undefined,
+      registry: params.includeRegistry ? await fetchRegistry() : undefined,
     };
   }
 
@@ -396,7 +419,7 @@ export async function checkUpdateStatus(params: {
   const [pm, gitRoot, registry] = await Promise.all([
     detectPackageManager(root),
     detectGitRoot(root),
-    params.includeRegistry ? fetchNpmLatestVersion({ timeoutMs }) : Promise.resolve(undefined),
+    params.includeRegistry ? fetchRegistry() : Promise.resolve(undefined),
   ]);
   const isGit = gitRoot && path.resolve(gitRoot) === path.resolve(rootRealpath);