@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ This document covers the unified release workflow for stable and nightly desktop
   - tag format: `nightly-vX.Y.Z-nightly.YYYYMMDD.<run_number>`
   - release name includes the short commit SHA
   - `make_latest` is always `false`
-- Uses the current `apps/desktop/package.json` semver core (`X.Y.Z`) as the nightly base, then appends a nightly prerelease suffix.
+- Uses the next stable patch version as the nightly base. For example, `0.0.17` produces nightlies on `0.0.18-nightly.*`.
 - Publishes Electron auto-update metadata to the dedicated `nightly` updater channel, so desktop users can opt into that track independently from stable.
 - Publishes the CLI package (`apps/server`, npm package `t3`) to the `nightly` npm dist-tag using the same nightly version.
 - Does not commit version bumps back to `main`.
 
@@ -127,17 +127,17 @@ try {
   );
   assertContains(
     nightlyReleaseMetadata,
-    "version=9.9.9-nightly.20260413.321",
+    "version=9.9.10-nightly.20260413.321",
     "Expected nightly metadata to contain the derived nightly version.",
   );
   assertContains(
     nightlyReleaseMetadata,
-    "tag=nightly-v9.9.9-nightly.20260413.321",
+    "tag=nightly-v9.9.10-nightly.20260413.321",
     "Expected nightly metadata to contain the derived nightly tag.",
   );
   assertContains(
     nightlyReleaseMetadata,
-    "name=T3 Code Nightly 9.9.9-nightly.20260413.321 (abcdef123456)",
+    "name=T3 Code Nightly 9.9.10-nightly.20260413.321 (abcdef123456)",
     "Expected nightly metadata to include the short commit SHA in the release name.",
   );
 
 
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { assert, it } from "@effect/vitest";
 import {
   resolveNightlyBaseVersion,
   resolveNightlyReleaseMetadata,
+  resolveNightlyTargetVersion,
 } from "./resolve-nightly-release.ts";
 
 it("strips prerelease and build metadata when deriving the nightly base version", () => {
@@ -11,14 +12,20 @@ it("strips prerelease and build metadata when deriving the nightly base version"
   assert.equal(resolveNightlyBaseVersion("1.2.3-beta.4+build.9"), "1.2.3");
 });
 
+it("bumps the patch version before deriving nightly prerelease versions", () => {
+  assert.equal(resolveNightlyTargetVersion("0.0.17"), "0.0.18");
+  assert.equal(resolveNightlyTargetVersion("9.9.9-smoke.0"), "9.9.10");
+  assert.equal(resolveNightlyTargetVersion("1.2.3-beta.4+build.9"), "1.2.4");
+});
+
 it("derives nightly metadata including the short commit sha in the release name", () => {
   assert.deepStrictEqual(
-    resolveNightlyReleaseMetadata("9.9.9", "20260413", 321, "abcdef1234567890"),
+    resolveNightlyReleaseMetadata("9.9.10", "20260413", 321, "abcdef1234567890"),
     {
-      baseVersion: "9.9.9",
-      version: "9.9.9-nightly.20260413.321",
-      tag: "nightly-v9.9.9-nightly.20260413.321",
-      name: "T3 Code Nightly 9.9.9-nightly.20260413.321 (abcdef123456)",
+      baseVersion: "9.9.10",
+      version: "9.9.10-nightly.20260413.321",
+      tag: "nightly-v9.9.10-nightly.20260413.321",
+      name: "T3 Code Nightly 9.9.10-nightly.20260413.321 (abcdef123456)",
       shortSha: "abcdef123456",
     },
   );
 
@@ -32,6 +32,17 @@ const decodeDesktopPackageJson = Schema.decodeUnknownEffect(
 
 export const resolveNightlyBaseVersion = (version: string) => version.replace(/[-+].*$/, "");
 
+export const resolveNightlyTargetVersion = (version: string) => {
+  const stableCore = resolveNightlyBaseVersion(version);
+  const match = /^(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)$/.exec(stableCore);
+  if (!match) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid desktop package version '${version}'.`);
+  }
+
+  const [, major, minor, patch] = match;
+  return `${major}.${minor}.${Number(patch) + 1}`;
+};
+
 export const resolveNightlyReleaseMetadata = (
   baseVersion: string,
   date: string,
@@ -59,7 +70,7 @@ const readDesktopBaseVersion = Effect.fn("readDesktopBaseVersion")(function* (
   const packageJson = yield* fs
     .readFileString(packageJsonPath)
     .pipe(Effect.flatMap(decodeDesktopPackageJson));
-  return resolveNightlyBaseVersion(packageJson.version);
+  return resolveNightlyTargetVersion(packageJson.version);
 });
 
 const writeOutput = Effect.fn("writeOutput")(function* (