diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b7743f4e..a2bbab23 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -49,11 +49,17 @@ What the verbs cover:
   **verified** store→disk write, statusline footer, and a background daemon with
   **local-only ($0) workers** (token-spending AI workers stay opt-in behind
   upstream's machine-wide budget).
-- **status** — per-subsystem ✓/⚠/✗ (versions, natives, security, learning, aqe/RVF,
-  MCP, daemons, CLAUDE.md blocks, statusline), each drift row naming what `sync`
-  would do about it.
+- **status** — per-subsystem ✓/⚠/✗ (versions, the kit's own version, natives,
+  security, learning, aqe/RVF, MCP, daemons, CLAUDE.md blocks, statusline), each
+  drift row naming what `sync` would do about it.
 - **sync** — the one convergence verb: upgrades first when a new release exists,
-  then re-heals everything an upgrade wipes, then re-checks and reports.
+  then re-heals everything an upgrade wipes, then re-checks and reports. It also
+  **self-updates the kit**: when a newer `@pacphi/agentic-kit` exists it installs
+  it as the *last* step (the new code applies from the next `ak` run, never
+  mid-sync). Prerelease installs (`4.0.0-alpha.*`) track the `next` npm dist-tag
+  as well as `latest`, so alphas see their successors; stable installs only ever
+  follow `latest`. `--no-upgrade` skips the self-update along with the package
+  upgrades.
 - **uninstall** — removes the kit's footprint (and any legacy shell-kit install);
   project data is never touched; `--purge` also offers to remove the global packages.
 
diff --git a/src/commands/status.mjs b/src/commands/status.mjs
index a3b5603d..718d3e52 100644
--- a/src/commands/status.mjs
+++ b/src/commands/status.mjs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { listDaemons, staleDaemons } from '../lib/daemons.mjs';
 import { scanRvf } from '../lib/rvf.mjs';
 import { registry, syncBlocks } from '../lib/blocks.mjs';
 import { loadKitConfig } from '../lib/config.mjs';
-import { driftReport } from '../lib/versions.mjs';
+import { driftReport, selfDrift } from '../lib/versions.mjs';
 import { readJson } from '../lib/settings.mjs';
 
 export const options = {
@@ -43,6 +43,20 @@ export async function collect({ pkgRoot, cwd = process.cwd() }) {
     rows.push(row('versions', 'warn', `version check unavailable: ${e.message}`));
   }
 
+  // self (the kit's own version — prerelease installs track the `next` tag)
+  try {
+    const s = await selfDrift({ pkgRoot });
+    if (s.outdated) {
+      rows.push(row('self', 'warn',
+        `kit ${s.installed} installed, ${s.latest} available (${s.tag} tag)`,
+        'sync self-updates the kit (runs last)'));
+    } else if (s.installed) {
+      rows.push(row('self', 'ok', `kit ${s.installed}${s.latest ? ' (latest)' : ''}`));
+    }
+  } catch (e) {
+    rows.push(row('self', 'warn', `kit version check unavailable: ${e.message}`));
+  }
+
   // natives (better-sqlite3 in agentdb locations + aqe)
   try {
     const n = nativesStatus();
diff --git a/src/commands/sync.mjs b/src/commands/sync.mjs
index 7ac65049..7f9218d9 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync.mjs
+++ b/src/commands/sync.mjs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { registry, syncBlocks } from '../lib/blocks.mjs';
 import { register as mcpRegister, applyExclusions } from '../lib/mcp.mjs';
 import { listDaemons, staleDaemons, reap } from '../lib/daemons.mjs';
 import { loadKitConfig } from '../lib/config.mjs';
-import { driftReport } from '../lib/versions.mjs';
+import { driftReport, selfDrift } from '../lib/versions.mjs';
 import * as paths from '../lib/paths.mjs';
 import { ok, warn, fail, bold, dim } from '../lib/output.mjs';
 
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export async function run({ flags, pkgRoot }) {
   const cwd = process.cwd();
   const rows = await collect({ pkgRoot, cwd });
   const plan = rows.filter((r) => r.fix)
-    .filter((r) => !(flags['no-upgrade'] && r.subsystem === 'versions'));
+    .filter((r) => !(flags['no-upgrade'] && (r.subsystem === 'versions' || r.subsystem === 'self')));
 
   if (plan.length === 0) { ok('nothing to do — all subsystems healthy'); return 0; }
 
@@ -78,6 +78,14 @@ export async function run({ flags, pkgRoot }) {
     (r.applied || !r.reason ? ok : warn)(`statusline: ${r.applied ? `footer injected (v${r.version})` : r.reason ?? 'in sync'}`);
   }
 
+  // kit self-update — LAST, after every other heal: npm replaces the kit's
+  // files on disk, and the new code applies from the next ak run, so nothing
+  // after this point should depend on the kit's own modules being current.
+  if (subsystems.has('self') && !flags['no-upgrade']) {
+    const s = await selfDrift({ pkgRoot, force: true });
+    if (s.outdated) report('self-update', await heal.selfUpdate(s.latest));
+  }
+
   // converge proof
   console.log('');
   const after = await collect({ pkgRoot, cwd });
diff --git a/src/lib/heal.mjs b/src/lib/heal.mjs
index 82aad8d3..6ad0bffa 100644
--- a/src/lib/heal.mjs
+++ b/src/lib/heal.mjs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import path from 'node:path';
 import { run } from './exec.mjs';
 import { rufloRoot, aqeRoot } from './paths.mjs';
 import { agentdbLocations, bsq3IsNative, aidefencePresent } from './natives.mjs';
+import { KIT_PKG } from './versions.mjs';
 import { scanRvf, quarantine } from './rvf.mjs';
 
 // Packages whose install scripts must run for natives to build (npm >=11.17
@@ -80,6 +81,20 @@ export async function upgradePackage(pkg) {
   return { ok: r.code === 0, detail: r.code === 0 ? 'upgraded' : r.stderr.split('\n').slice(-3).join(' ') };
 }
 
+/** Upgrade the kit itself to a pinned version. Runs LAST in sync: npm
+ *  replaces the kit's files on disk, so the new code applies from the next
+ *  ak invocation — never mid-run. Pinning the exact version (not a dist-tag)
+ *  installs precisely what the drift check saw. */
+export async function selfUpdate(version) {
+  const r = await run('npm', ['install', '-g', `${KIT_PKG}@${version}`], { timeout: 300_000 });
+  return {
+    ok: r.code === 0,
+    detail: r.code === 0
+      ? `kit upgraded to ${version} (applies from the next ak run)`
+      : `FAILED (${(r.stderr || `exit ${r.code}`).trim().split('\n').slice(-2).join(' ').slice(0, 200)})`,
+  };
+}
+
 /** Stop all ruflo daemons before an upgrade (3.27+; best-effort). */
 export async function stopAllDaemons() {
   const r = await run('ruflo', ['daemon', 'stop', '--all'], { timeout: 60_000 });
diff --git a/src/lib/versions.mjs b/src/lib/versions.mjs
index 85f65256..80d3bf8e 100644
--- a/src/lib/versions.mjs
+++ b/src/lib/versions.mjs
@@ -16,20 +16,42 @@ export function installedVersion(pkg) {
   }
 }
 
-async function latestVersion(pkg) {
-  const r = await run('npm', ['view', pkg, 'version'], { timeout: 20_000 });
+async function latestVersion(pkg, tag = 'latest') {
+  const r = await run('npm', ['view', `${pkg}@${tag}`, 'version'], { timeout: 20_000 });
   return r.code === 0 ? r.stdout.trim() : null;
 }
 
-const newer = (a, b) => {
-  // semver-lite compare, prerelease-insensitive (enough for drift detection)
-  const pa = String(a).split(/[.-]/).map(Number);
-  const pb = String(b).split(/[.-]/).map(Number);
+/** Semver compare, prerelease-aware (4.0.0 > 4.0.0-alpha.1 > 4.0.0-alpha.0).
+ *  Exported for tests. */
+export function cmpVersions(a, b) {
+  const parse = (v) => {
+    const [core, ...rest] = String(v).split('-');
+    return {
+      core: core.split('.').map(Number),
+      pre: rest.length ? rest.join('-').split('.') : null,
+    };
+  };
+  const A = parse(a); const B = parse(b);
   for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
-    if ((pa[i] || 0) !== (pb[i] || 0)) return (pa[i] || 0) > (pb[i] || 0);
+    const d = (A.core[i] || 0) - (B.core[i] || 0);
+    if (d) return d;
   }
-  return false;
-};
+  if (!A.pre && !B.pre) return 0;
+  if (!A.pre) return 1;  // a release outranks any prerelease of the same core
+  if (!B.pre) return -1;
+  for (let i = 0; i < Math.max(A.pre.length, B.pre.length); i++) {
+    const x = A.pre[i]; const y = B.pre[i];
+    if (x === undefined) return -1; // shorter prerelease list is lower
+    if (y === undefined) return 1;
+    const nx = /^\d+$/.test(x); const ny = /^\d+$/.test(y);
+    if (nx && ny) { const d = Number(x) - Number(y); if (d) return d; }
+    else if (nx !== ny) return nx ? -1 : 1; // numeric identifiers < alphanumeric
+    else if (x !== y) return x < y ? -1 : 1;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+const newer = (a, b) => cmpVersions(a, b) > 0;
 
 /** Drift report for the managed packages. Network hit at most once per TTL
  *  window (cached in kit.json); force=true bypasses the cache. */
@@ -57,3 +79,37 @@ export async function driftReport({ force = false } = {}) {
   }
   return report;
 }
+
+export const KIT_PKG = '@pacphi/agentic-kit';
+
+/** Drift for the kit itself. Installed = the running copy's package.json
+ *  (pkgRoot). Prerelease installs also consult the `next` dist-tag —
+ *  prereleases publish there, so `latest` alone would never see them; the
+ *  higher of latest/next wins. Cached in kit.json alongside versionCheck. */
+export async function selfDrift({ pkgRoot, force = false } = {}) {
+  let installed = null;
+  try {
+    installed = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(pkgRoot, 'package.json'), 'utf8')).version;
+  } catch { /* unreadable pkgRoot: report as not installed */ }
+  const cfg = loadKitConfig();
+  const ttlMs = (cfg.versionCheck?.ttlHours ?? 24) * 3600_000;
+  const cached = cfg.versionCheck?.self;
+  const fresh = !force && cached?.last && Date.now() - cached.last < ttlMs;
+  let best = fresh ? cached.best ?? null : null;
+  if (!fresh) {
+    const tags = installed?.includes('-') ? ['latest', 'next'] : ['latest'];
+    for (const tag of tags) {
+      const v = await latestVersion(KIT_PKG, tag);
+      if (v && (!best || newer(v, best.version))) best = { version: v, tag };
+    }
+    cfg.versionCheck = { ...cfg.versionCheck, self: { last: Date.now(), best } };
+    try { saveKitConfig(cfg); } catch { /* read-only envs: next call re-fetches */ }
+  }
+  return {
+    pkg: KIT_PKG,
+    installed,
+    latest: best?.version ?? null,
+    tag: best?.tag ?? null,
+    outdated: !!(installed && best && newer(best.version, installed)),
+  };
+}
diff --git a/tests/kit/versions.test.mjs b/tests/kit/versions.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88446593
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/kit/versions.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+// cmpVersions — the prerelease-aware comparator behind drift detection and
+// kit self-update. The old comparator was prerelease-insensitive, which made
+// 4.0.0-alpha.1 vs 4.0.0-alpha.0 compare equal and self-update impossible.
+import { test } from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { cmpVersions } from '../../src/lib/versions.mjs';
+
+const newer = (a, b) => cmpVersions(a, b) > 0;
+
+test('core versions compare numerically', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.1', '4.0.0'), true);
+  assert.equal(newer('4.1.0', '4.0.9'), true);
+  assert.equal(newer('3.29.0', '3.28.0'), true);
+  assert.equal(newer('3.28.0', '3.29.0'), false);
+  assert.equal(newer('10.0.0', '9.9.9'), true); // numeric, not lexicographic
+});
+
+test('equal versions are not newer', () => {
+  assert.equal(cmpVersions('4.0.0', '4.0.0'), 0);
+  assert.equal(cmpVersions('4.0.0-alpha.1', '4.0.0-alpha.1'), 0);
+});
+
+test('release outranks any prerelease of the same core', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0', '4.0.0-alpha.1'), true);
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-rc.9', '4.0.0'), false);
+});
+
+test('prerelease increments compare (the alpha.0 → alpha.1 case)', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-alpha.1', '4.0.0-alpha.0'), true);
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-alpha.0', '4.0.0-alpha.1'), false);
+});
+
+test('numeric prerelease identifiers compare numerically', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-alpha.10', '4.0.0-alpha.9'), true);
+});
+
+test('prerelease channels compare lexically (alpha < beta < rc)', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-beta.0', '4.0.0-alpha.9'), true);
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-rc.0', '4.0.0-beta.9'), true);
+});
+
+test('numeric prerelease identifiers rank below alphanumeric ones', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-alpha', '4.0.0-1'), true); // semver §11.4.3
+});
+
+test('shorter prerelease list ranks below a longer prefix-equal one', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.0-alpha.1', '4.0.0-alpha'), true); // semver §11.4.4
+});
+
+test('higher core wins regardless of prerelease', () => {
+  assert.equal(newer('4.0.1-alpha.0', '4.0.0'), true);
+});