diff --git a/docs/brainstorms/2026-04-16-fabro-upgrade-prerelease-requirements.md b/docs/brainstorms/2026-04-16-fabro-upgrade-prerelease-requirements.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..46267be6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/brainstorms/2026-04-16-fabro-upgrade-prerelease-requirements.md
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# `fabro upgrade --prerelease` — requirements
+
+## Problem
+
+`fabro upgrade` hits GitHub's `/releases/latest`, which excludes prereleases. Users on a prerelease (e.g. `0.204.0-beta.0`) or wanting to opt into betas must supply an exact `--version v0.X.Y-alpha.N`. There is no channel opt-in.
+
+## Goal
+
+Add `--prerelease` to `fabro upgrade` so a single invocation picks the highest semver across stable **and** prereleases.
+
+## Behavior
+
+- New bool flag `--prerelease` on `fabro upgrade`. Conflicts with `--version` (explicit version already selects any tag).
+- Scope: only the explicit `fabro upgrade` command. Background auto-check (`spawn_upgrade_check` / `check_and_print_notice`) stays stable-only.
+- Selection when `--prerelease` is set:
+  1. Fetch `GET /repos/fabro-sh/fabro/releases` (first page, 30 items — `gh` and HTTP backends).
+  2. Drop entries with `draft: true` or an unparseable `tag_name`.
+  3. Pick the max by semver over the remaining set (stable + prereleases together). This means a newer stable beats an older beta; `--prerelease` *widens* the candidate set, it does not prefer prereleases.
+  4. If the filtered set is empty, fall back to the existing stable-latest path (`/releases/latest`).
+- Downgrade protection unchanged:
+  - Target < current, no explicit version → bail ("latest release … is older than installed version …, skipping").
+  - Target == current, no `--force` → "Already on version …".
+- `--dry-run`, `--force`, JSON output, SHA256 verify, atomic swap — all unchanged.
+
+## Code touchpoints
+
+- `lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/args.rs` — add `prerelease: bool` with `#[arg(long, conflicts_with = "version")]`.
+- `lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/commands/upgrade.rs`:
+  - New local `ReleaseSummary { tag_name: String, draft: bool, prerelease: bool }` (serde).
+  - New `Backend::fetch_releases(&self) -> Result<Vec<ReleaseSummary>>` that hits `/releases` via HTTP or `gh api repos/{repo}/releases`.
+  - New pure `fn pick_latest_tag(releases: &[ReleaseSummary]) -> Option<String>` — filters drafts + unparseable tags, returns max-semver `tag_name`.
+  - `run_upgrade`: when `args.prerelease`, call `fetch_releases` → `pick_latest_tag`; on `None`, fall back to `fetch_latest_release_tag`.
+  - `spawn_upgrade_check` / `check_and_print_notice` untouched.
+
+## Tests (unit, no network)
+
+- `pick_latest_tag`:
+  - mixed stable + prerelease, newest is prerelease → picks prerelease.
+  - mixed stable + prerelease, newest is stable → picks stable.
+  - all drafts → `None` (triggers fallback).
+  - malformed tag (`"weekly-build-3"`) alongside valid tags → skipped, valid winner returned.
+  - empty input → `None`.
+- Clap: `fabro upgrade --prerelease --version 0.1.0` exits with `conflicts_with` error. (Existing `UpgradeArgs` tests style.)
+
+## Out of scope
+
+- Persistent channel config, env var (`FABRO_UPGRADE_CHANNEL`), `--stable` opt-out.
+- Changing background upgrade notice to include prereleases.
+- Docs/changelog updates beyond the `--help` string (can follow in the same PR as trivial diffs).
+
+## Open questions
+
+None.
diff --git a/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/args.rs b/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/args.rs
index bd7a31606..ecb9a0891 100644
--- a/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/args.rs
+++ b/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/args.rs
@@ -853,6 +853,10 @@ pub(crate) struct UpgradeArgs {
     #[arg(long)]
     pub(crate) version: Option<String>,
 
+    /// Include prereleases (alpha, beta, rc) when selecting the latest version
+    #[arg(long, conflicts_with = "version")]
+    pub(crate) prerelease: bool,
+
     /// Upgrade even if already on the target version
     #[arg(long)]
     pub(crate) force: bool,
diff --git a/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/commands/upgrade.rs b/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/commands/upgrade.rs
index 158b85907..f47a40cac 100644
--- a/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/commands/upgrade.rs
+++ b/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/commands/upgrade.rs
@@ -73,6 +73,41 @@ impl Backend {
         }
     }
 
+    async fn fetch_releases(&self) -> Result<Vec<ReleaseSummary>> {
+        match self {
+            Self::Gh => {
+                let output = TokioCommand::new("gh")
+                    .args(["api", &format!("repos/{GITHUB_REPO}/releases")])
+                    .output()
+                    .await
+                    .context("failed to run `gh api repos/.../releases`")?;
+                if !output.status.success() {
+                    let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+                    bail!("gh api repos/.../releases failed: {stderr}");
+                }
+                let releases: Vec<ReleaseSummary> = serde_json::from_slice(&output.stdout)
+                    .context("failed to parse gh releases JSON")?;
+                Ok(releases)
+            }
+            Self::Http(client) => {
+                let url = format!("https://api.github.com/repos/{GITHUB_REPO}/releases");
+                let resp = client
+                    .get(&url)
+                    .send()
+                    .await
+                    .context("failed to fetch releases from GitHub API")?;
+                if !resp.status().is_success() {
+                    bail!(
+                        "GitHub API returned status {} when fetching releases",
+                        resp.status()
+                    );
+                }
+                let releases: Vec<ReleaseSummary> = resp.json().await?;
+                Ok(releases)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     async fn download_release(&self, tag: &str, asset: &str, dest_dir: &Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
         let dest = dest_dir.join(asset);
         match self {
@@ -164,6 +199,31 @@ fn parse_version_from_tag(tag: &str) -> Result<Version> {
     Version::parse(stripped).with_context(|| format!("invalid version: {tag}"))
 }
 
+// ── Release listing (for --prerelease) ─────────────────────────────────────
+
+#[derive(serde::Deserialize)]
+struct ReleaseSummary {
+    tag_name: String,
+    #[serde(default)]
+    draft:    bool,
+}
+
+/// Pick the `tag_name` with the highest semver from `releases`, skipping
+/// drafts and entries whose `tag_name` does not parse as semver. Returns
+/// `None` if no candidate remains (caller may fall back to stable-latest).
+fn pick_latest_tag(releases: &[ReleaseSummary]) -> Option<String> {
+    releases
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|r| !r.draft)
+        .filter_map(|r| {
+            parse_version_from_tag(&r.tag_name)
+                .ok()
+                .map(|v| (v, &r.tag_name))
+        })
+        .max_by(|a, b| a.0.cmp(&b.0))
+        .map(|(_, tag)| tag.clone())
+}
+
 // ── SHA256 verification ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 fn verify_checksum(path: &Path, expected_hex: &str) -> Result<()> {
@@ -238,7 +298,14 @@ pub(crate) async fn run_upgrade(
         let tag = format!("v{version}");
         (version, tag)
     } else {
-        let tag = backend.fetch_latest_release_tag().await?;
+        let tag = if args.prerelease {
+            match pick_latest_tag(&backend.fetch_releases().await?) {
+                Some(t) => t,
+                None => backend.fetch_latest_release_tag().await?,
+            }
+        } else {
+            backend.fetch_latest_release_tag().await?
+        };
         let version = parse_version_from_tag(&tag)?;
         (version, tag)
     };
@@ -559,4 +626,72 @@ mod tests {
         // Just ensure it doesn't panic; actual variant depends on environment
         let _backend = select_backend().await;
     }
+
+    // -- Release selection --
+
+    fn release(tag: &str, draft: bool) -> ReleaseSummary {
+        ReleaseSummary {
+            tag_name: tag.to_string(),
+            draft,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pick_latest_tag_prefers_newer_prerelease_when_stable_is_older() {
+        let releases = [
+            release("v0.204.0-beta.0", false),
+            release("v0.203.0", false),
+            release("v0.202.0", false),
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(
+            pick_latest_tag(&releases).as_deref(),
+            Some("v0.204.0-beta.0")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pick_latest_tag_prefers_newer_stable_over_older_prerelease() {
+        let releases = [
+            release("v0.205.0", false),
+            release("v0.205.0-beta.1", false),
+            release("v0.204.0", false),
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(pick_latest_tag(&releases).as_deref(), Some("v0.205.0"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pick_latest_tag_filters_drafts() {
+        let releases = [
+            release("v0.300.0", true),
+            release("v0.204.0-beta.0", false),
+            release("v0.203.0", false),
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(
+            pick_latest_tag(&releases).as_deref(),
+            Some("v0.204.0-beta.0")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pick_latest_tag_skips_unparseable_tags() {
+        let releases = [
+            release("weekly-build-3", false),
+            release("v0.204.0-beta.0", false),
+        ];
+        assert_eq!(
+            pick_latest_tag(&releases).as_deref(),
+            Some("v0.204.0-beta.0")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pick_latest_tag_returns_none_when_all_drafts() {
+        let releases = [release("v0.300.0", true), release("v0.299.0", true)];
+        assert_eq!(pick_latest_tag(&releases), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn pick_latest_tag_returns_none_for_empty_input() {
+        assert_eq!(pick_latest_tag(&[]), None);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/main.rs b/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/main.rs
index 1ec8d43bb..8f75c3c13 100644
--- a/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/lib/crates/fabro-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -631,6 +631,20 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(result.is_err(), "should reject top-level --storage-dir");
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_upgrade_prerelease_conflicts_with_version() {
+        use clap::error::ErrorKind;
+        let err = Cli::try_parse_from(["fabro", "upgrade", "--prerelease", "--version", "0.1.0"])
+            .err()
+            .expect("should reject --prerelease combined with --version");
+        assert_eq!(
+            err.kind(),
+            ErrorKind::ArgumentConflict,
+            "expected ArgumentConflict, got {:?}: {err}",
+            err.kind()
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn parse_store_dump_command() {
         let cli = Cli::try_parse_from(["fabro", "store", "dump", "ABC123", "-o", "./out"])