diff --git a/src/cli/config-manager.test.ts b/src/cli/config-manager.test.ts
index 97a4eddb8..ad73c3d44 100644
--- a/src/cli/config-manager.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/config-manager.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, expect, test, mock, beforeEach, afterEach } from "bun:test"
+import { describe, expect, test, mock, afterEach } from "bun:test"
 
 import { ANTIGRAVITY_PROVIDER_CONFIG, getPluginNameWithVersion, fetchNpmDistTags, generateOmoConfig } from "./config-manager"
 import type { InstallConfig } from "./types"
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ describe("getPluginNameWithVersion", () => {
     expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode@next")
   })
 
-  test("returns pinned version when no tag matches", async () => {
+  test("returns prerelease channel tag when no dist-tag matches prerelease version", async () => {
     // #given npm dist-tags with beta=3.0.0-beta.3
     globalThis.fetch = mock(() =>
       Promise.resolve({
@@ -70,22 +70,22 @@ describe("getPluginNameWithVersion", () => {
     // #when current version is old beta 3.0.0-beta.2
     const result = await getPluginNameWithVersion("3.0.0-beta.2")
 
-    // #then should pin to specific version
-    expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode@3.0.0-beta.2")
+    // #then should preserve prerelease channel
+    expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode@beta")
   })
 
-  test("returns pinned version when fetch fails", async () => {
+  test("returns prerelease channel tag when fetch fails", async () => {
     // #given network failure
     globalThis.fetch = mock(() => Promise.reject(new Error("Network error"))) as unknown as typeof fetch
 
     // #when current version is 3.0.0-beta.3
     const result = await getPluginNameWithVersion("3.0.0-beta.3")
 
-    // #then should fall back to pinned version
-    expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode@3.0.0-beta.3")
+    // #then should preserve prerelease channel
+    expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode@beta")
   })
 
-  test("returns pinned version when npm returns non-ok response", async () => {
+  test("returns bare package name when npm returns non-ok response for stable version", async () => {
     // #given npm returns 404
     globalThis.fetch = mock(() =>
       Promise.resolve({
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ describe("getPluginNameWithVersion", () => {
     // #when current version is 2.14.0
     const result = await getPluginNameWithVersion("2.14.0")
 
-    // #then should fall back to pinned version
-    expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode@2.14.0")
+    // #then should fall back to bare package entry
+    expect(result).toBe("oh-my-opencode")
   })
 
   test("prioritizes latest over other tags when version matches multiple", async () => {
diff --git a/src/cli/config-manager/plugin-name-with-version.ts b/src/cli/config-manager/plugin-name-with-version.ts
index a80ada643..7bffce842 100644
--- a/src/cli/config-manager/plugin-name-with-version.ts
+++ b/src/cli/config-manager/plugin-name-with-version.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,15 @@ import { fetchNpmDistTags } from "./npm-dist-tags"
 const PACKAGE_NAME = "oh-my-opencode"
 const PRIORITIZED_TAGS = ["latest", "beta", "next"] as const
 
+function getFallbackEntry(version: string): string {
+  const prereleaseMatch = version.match(/-([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*)\./)
+  if (prereleaseMatch) {
+    return `${PACKAGE_NAME}@${prereleaseMatch[1]}`
+  }
+
+  return PACKAGE_NAME
+}
+
 export async function getPluginNameWithVersion(currentVersion: string): Promise<string> {
   const distTags = await fetchNpmDistTags(PACKAGE_NAME)
 
@@ -15,5 +24,5 @@ export async function getPluginNameWithVersion(currentVersion: string): Promise<
     }
   }
 
-  return `${PACKAGE_NAME}@${currentVersion}`
+  return getFallbackEntry(currentVersion)
 }
diff --git a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.test.ts b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..34431239d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from "bun:test"
+import * as fs from "node:fs"
+import * as os from "node:os"
+import * as path from "node:path"
+import { findPluginEntry } from "./plugin-entry"
+
+describe("findPluginEntry", () => {
+  let temporaryDirectory: string
+  let configPath: string
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    temporaryDirectory = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "omo-plugin-entry-test-"))
+    const opencodeDirectory = path.join(temporaryDirectory, ".opencode")
+    fs.mkdirSync(opencodeDirectory, { recursive: true })
+    configPath = path.join(opencodeDirectory, "opencode.json")
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    fs.rmSync(temporaryDirectory, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  })
+
+  test("returns unpinned for bare package name", () => {
+    // #given plugin is configured without a tag
+    fs.writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify({ plugin: ["oh-my-opencode"] }))
+
+    // #when plugin entry is detected
+    const pluginInfo = findPluginEntry(temporaryDirectory)
+
+    // #then entry is not pinned
+    expect(pluginInfo).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(pluginInfo?.isPinned).toBe(false)
+    expect(pluginInfo?.pinnedVersion).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  test("returns unpinned for latest dist-tag", () => {
+    // #given plugin is configured with latest dist-tag
+    fs.writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify({ plugin: ["oh-my-opencode@latest"] }))
+
+    // #when plugin entry is detected
+    const pluginInfo = findPluginEntry(temporaryDirectory)
+
+    // #then latest is treated as channel, not pin
+    expect(pluginInfo).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(pluginInfo?.isPinned).toBe(false)
+    expect(pluginInfo?.pinnedVersion).toBe("latest")
+  })
+
+  test("returns unpinned for beta dist-tag", () => {
+    // #given plugin is configured with beta dist-tag
+    fs.writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify({ plugin: ["oh-my-opencode@beta"] }))
+
+    // #when plugin entry is detected
+    const pluginInfo = findPluginEntry(temporaryDirectory)
+
+    // #then beta is treated as channel, not pin
+    expect(pluginInfo).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(pluginInfo?.isPinned).toBe(false)
+    expect(pluginInfo?.pinnedVersion).toBe("beta")
+  })
+
+  test("returns pinned for explicit semver", () => {
+    // #given plugin is configured with explicit version
+    fs.writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify({ plugin: ["oh-my-opencode@3.5.2"] }))
+
+    // #when plugin entry is detected
+    const pluginInfo = findPluginEntry(temporaryDirectory)
+
+    // #then explicit semver is treated as pin
+    expect(pluginInfo).not.toBeNull()
+    expect(pluginInfo?.isPinned).toBe(true)
+    expect(pluginInfo?.pinnedVersion).toBe("3.5.2")
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.ts b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.ts
index eb9f198d7..7aa79cc1e 100644
--- a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/checker/plugin-entry.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ export interface PluginEntryInfo {
   configPath: string
 }
 
+function isExplicitVersionPin(pinnedVersion: string): boolean {
+  return /^\d+\.\d+\.\d+/.test(pinnedVersion)
+}
+
 export function findPluginEntry(directory: string): PluginEntryInfo | null {
   for (const configPath of getConfigPaths(directory)) {
     try {
@@ -25,8 +29,8 @@ export function findPluginEntry(directory: string): PluginEntryInfo | null {
         }
         if (entry.startsWith(`${PACKAGE_NAME}@`)) {
           const pinnedVersion = entry.slice(PACKAGE_NAME.length + 1)
-          const isPinned = pinnedVersion !== "latest"
-          return { entry, isPinned, pinnedVersion: isPinned ? pinnedVersion : null, configPath }
+          const isPinned = isExplicitVersionPin(pinnedVersion)
+          return { entry, isPinned, pinnedVersion, configPath }
         }
       }
     } catch {
diff --git a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.test.ts b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.test.ts
index 4a770b305..69d514211 100644
--- a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.test.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.test.ts
@@ -80,14 +80,16 @@ describe("runBackgroundUpdateCheck", () => {
       expect(mockUpdatePinnedVersion).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
     })
 
-    it("#then should show update-available toast instead", async () => {
+    it("#then should show manual-update toast message", async () => {
       await runBackgroundUpdateCheck(mockCtx, true, mockGetToastMessage)
 
-      expect(mockShowUpdateAvailableToast).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-        mockCtx,
-        "3.5.0",
-        mockGetToastMessage
-      )
+      expect(mockShowUpdateAvailableToast).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+
+      const [toastContext, latestVersion, getToastMessage] = mockShowUpdateAvailableToast.mock.calls[0] ?? []
+      expect(toastContext).toBe(mockCtx)
+      expect(latestVersion).toBe("3.5.0")
+      expect(typeof getToastMessage).toBe("function")
+      expect(getToastMessage(true, "3.5.0")).toBe("Update available: 3.5.0 (version pinned, update manually)")
     })
 
     it("#then should NOT run bun install", async () => {
diff --git a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.ts b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.ts
index 16de7628a..161031839 100644
--- a/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/auto-update-checker/hook/background-update-check.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ import { extractChannel } from "../version-channel"
 import { findPluginEntry, getCachedVersion, getLatestVersion, revertPinnedVersion } from "../checker"
 import { showAutoUpdatedToast, showUpdateAvailableToast } from "./update-toasts"
 
+function getPinnedVersionToastMessage(latestVersion: string): string {
+  return `Update available: ${latestVersion} (version pinned, update manually)`
+}
+
 async function runBunInstallSafe(): Promise<boolean> {
   try {
     return await runBunInstall()
@@ -56,7 +60,7 @@ export async function runBackgroundUpdateCheck(
   }
 
   if (pluginInfo.isPinned) {
-    await showUpdateAvailableToast(ctx, latestVersion, getToastMessage)
+    await showUpdateAvailableToast(ctx, latestVersion, () => getPinnedVersionToastMessage(latestVersion))
     log(`[auto-update-checker] User-pinned version detected (${pluginInfo.entry}), skipping auto-update. Notification only.`)
     return
   }