diff --git a/src/main/main.ts b/src/main/main.ts
index 3c8fea8..cfd89e5 100644
--- a/src/main/main.ts
+++ b/src/main/main.ts
@@ -5247,14 +5247,16 @@ interface GitHubRelease {
   body: string;
   html_url: string;
   published_at: string;
+  prerelease: boolean;
   assets: Array<{ name: string; browser_download_url: string }>;
 }
 
 // Check for updates from GitHub releases
 ipcMain.handle('updates:checkForUpdate', async () => {
   try {
+    // Fetch release list so we can skip non-semver tags (e.g. the "assets" release)
     const response = await fetch(
-      `https://api.github.com/repos/${GITHUB_REPO_OWNER}/${GITHUB_REPO_NAME}/releases/latest`,
+      `https://api.github.com/repos/${GITHUB_REPO_OWNER}/${GITHUB_REPO_NAME}/releases?per_page=10`,
       {
         headers: {
           Accept: 'application/vnd.github.v3+json',
@@ -5270,7 +5272,15 @@ ipcMain.handle('updates:checkForUpdate', async () => {
       throw new Error(`GitHub API error: ${response.status}`);
     }
 
-    const release = (await response.json()) as GitHubRelease;
+    const releases = (await response.json()) as GitHubRelease[];
+    // Find the first non-prerelease release with a semver tag
+    const semverRegex = /^v?\d+\.\d+\.\d+$/;
+    const release = releases.find((r) => !r.prerelease && semverRegex.test(r.tag_name));
+
+    if (!release) {
+      return { hasUpdate: false, error: 'No semver releases found' };
+    }
+
     const latestVersion = release.tag_name.replace(/^v/, '');
 
     // Get current version from package.json
@@ -5297,15 +5307,19 @@ ipcMain.handle('updates:checkForUpdate', async () => {
     // Compare versions (simple comparison, assumes semver)
     const hasUpdate = compareVersions(latestVersion, currentVersion) > 0;
 
+    // Pick a platform-appropriate download asset
+    const isWindows = process.platform === 'win32';
+    const installerAsset = release.assets.find((a) =>
+      isWindows ? a.name.endsWith('.exe') : a.name.endsWith('.dmg')
+    );
+
     return {
       hasUpdate: hasUpdate && latestVersion !== (store.get('dismissedUpdateVersion', '') as string),
       currentVersion,
       latestVersion,
       releaseNotes: release.body || '',
       releaseUrl: release.html_url,
-      downloadUrl:
-        release.assets.find((a) => a.name.endsWith('.dmg'))?.browser_download_url ||
-        release.html_url,
+      downloadUrl: installerAsset?.browser_download_url || release.html_url,
     };
   } catch (error) {
     console.error('Failed to check for updates:', error);
diff --git a/src/renderer/App.tsx b/src/renderer/App.tsx
index 63c2e48..bb9cd6c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/App.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/App.tsx
@@ -713,6 +713,26 @@ const App: React.FC = () => {
     return () => clearTimeout(timer);
   }, []);
 
+  // Debug helper: run window.showUpdateModal() in DevTools console to test the modal
+  useEffect(() => {
+    (window as any).showUpdateModal = (info?: {
+      currentVersion?: string;
+      latestVersion?: string;
+      downloadUrl?: string;
+    }) => {
+      const defaults = {
+        currentVersion: buildInfo.baseVersion,
+        latestVersion: '99.0.0',
+        downloadUrl: 'https://github.com/CooperAgent/cooper/releases',
+      };
+      setUpdateInfo({ ...defaults, ...info });
+      setShowUpdateModal(true);
+    };
+    return () => {
+      delete (window as any).showUpdateModal;
+    };
+  }, []);
+
   // Check if user has seen welcome wizard on startup
   useEffect(() => {
     const checkWelcomeWizard = async () => {
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/UpdateAvailableModal/UpdateAvailableModal.tsx b/src/renderer/components/UpdateAvailableModal/UpdateAvailableModal.tsx
index b94e200..0b8fa5c 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/UpdateAvailableModal/UpdateAvailableModal.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/components/UpdateAvailableModal/UpdateAvailableModal.tsx
@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ export const UpdateAvailableModal: React.FC<UpdateAvailableModalProps> = ({
   };
 
   const handleOpenReleases = () => {
-    window.electronAPI.updates.openDownloadUrl('https://github.com/CooperAgent/cooper');
+    window.electronAPI.updates.openDownloadUrl(
+      'https://github.com/CooperAgent/cooper/releases/latest'
+    );
   };
 
   return (
@@ -69,23 +71,8 @@ export const UpdateAvailableModal: React.FC<UpdateAvailableModalProps> = ({
           </div>
 
           <p className="text-copilot-text-muted text-xs text-center">
-            Pull the latest version and rebuild to upgrade.
+            Visit the releases page to download the latest version.
           </p>
-
-          <div className="space-y-3 text-xs">
-            <div>
-              <div className="text-copilot-text-muted mb-1">macOS</div>
-              <pre className="bg-copilot-background rounded p-2 overflow-auto whitespace-pre-wrap">
-                {`cd cooper\ngit pull\nnpm install\nnpm run dist\nopen release/Cooper-*-arm64.dmg`}
-              </pre>
-            </div>
-            <div>
-              <div className="text-copilot-text-muted mb-1">Windows (PowerShell)</div>
-              <pre className="bg-copilot-background rounded p-2 overflow-auto whitespace-pre-wrap">
-                {`cd cooper\ngit pull\npwsh -NoProfile -File .\\scripts\\setup-windows.ps1\nnpm run dist:win`}
-              </pre>
-            </div>
-          </div>
         </div>
       </Modal.Body>
       <Modal.Footer className="p-4 border-t border-copilot-border">
@@ -95,7 +82,7 @@ export const UpdateAvailableModal: React.FC<UpdateAvailableModalProps> = ({
               Later
             </Button>
             <Button variant="primary" onClick={handleOpenReleases}>
-              Open Repository
+              Open Releases
             </Button>
           </div>
           <div className="flex justify-center">
diff --git a/tests/components/UpdateModals.test.tsx b/tests/components/UpdateModals.test.tsx
index e6d0354..0f95abc 100644
--- a/tests/components/UpdateModals.test.tsx
+++ b/tests/components/UpdateModals.test.tsx
@@ -64,17 +64,19 @@ describe('UpdateAvailableModal', () => {
     expect(defaultProps.onClose).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it('opens repository page when Open Repository button is clicked', async () => {
+  it('opens releases page when Open Releases button is clicked', async () => {
     render(<UpdateAvailableModal {...defaultProps} />);
 
     await waitFor(() => {
-      expect(screen.getByText('Open Repository')).toBeInTheDocument();
+      expect(screen.getByText('Open Releases')).toBeInTheDocument();
     });
 
-    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText('Open Repository'));
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText('Open Releases'));
 
     await waitFor(() => {
-      expect(mockOpenDownloadUrl).toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(mockOpenDownloadUrl).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'https://github.com/CooperAgent/cooper/releases/latest'
+      );
     });
   });
 });