diff --git a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
index b93e1e59..3caf0961 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
+++ b/apps/desktop/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
       ],
       "pubkey": "dW50cnVzdGVkIGNvbW1lbnQ6IG1pbmlzaWduIHB1YmxpYyBrZXk6IDdCQUZGMEVCMEZBOTk5RTcKUldUbm1ha1A2L0N2ZTlOZjN5T3pGOHBHRUlibytMY2tPeWJkQ01heDJzdTJqK3B3a2lBdDZ1T1oK",
       "windows": {
-        "installMode": "quiet"
+        "installMode": "passive"
       }
     }
   },
@@ -50,7 +50,14 @@
   "bundle": {
     "active": true,
     "createUpdaterArtifacts": true,
-    "targets": "all",
+    "targets": [
+      "app",
+      "dmg",
+      "deb",
+      "rpm",
+      "appimage",
+      "nsis"
+    ],
     "icon": [
       "icons/32x32.png",
       "icons/128x128.png",
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx
index 3741edb4..b0d64656 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/App.tsx
@@ -104,6 +104,12 @@ function AppContent() {
   // into the new version — so a restart picks up updates with no clicks.
   // Otherwise just surface the dismissible banner for a manual install.
   useEffect(() => {
+    // Never auto-update under `pnpm dev`. A dev build would otherwise detect a
+    // newer published release, install it over this build, and relaunch — so
+    // your local changes would vanish before you could see them. Production
+    // builds (import.meta.env.DEV === false) are unaffected.
+    if (import.meta.env.DEV) return;
+
     const checkForUpdates = async () => {
       try {
         const { checkForUpdate } = await import('@/lib/updates');
diff --git a/tests/ts/components/App.test.tsx b/tests/ts/components/App.test.tsx
index d653ce5c..0fd35105 100644
--- a/tests/ts/components/App.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/ts/components/App.test.tsx
@@ -288,6 +288,10 @@ describe('App – dynamic gateway URL display', () => {
 
 describe('App – update banner', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
+    // The startup auto-update check is gated behind `!import.meta.env.DEV`
+    // (it must never run under `pnpm dev`). Vitest runs in dev mode, so stub
+    // DEV=false here to exercise the production update flow.
+    vi.stubEnv('DEV', false);
     vi.useFakeTimers();
     gatewayEventCallbacks = [];
     setupInvoke({ get_version: '0.1.2' });
@@ -296,6 +300,7 @@ describe('App – update banner', () => {
 
   afterEach(() => {
     vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.unstubAllEnvs();
   });
 
   it('should show update banner when update is available', async () => {