diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9b0d033..195729d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -31,12 +31,24 @@ The installer creates:
 - Environment file: `/etc/synapsis.env`
 - Embedded Turso database: `/var/lib/synapsis/synapsis.db`
 - Service: `synapsis.service`
+- Mandatory update timer: `synapsis-update.timer`
+
+Every node checks `origin/main` about once per minute. When a new commit is available, Synapsis fast-forwards the checkout, replaces the single `backups/latest` database snapshot, installs dependencies, runs migrations, builds, and restarts automatically. The currently deployed commit is shown in the Network Info card and exposed by `/api/version`.
+
+For a node installed before automatic updates existed, bootstrap the timer once with:
+
+```bash
+sudo -u synapsis git -C /opt/synapsis pull --ff-only
+sudo /opt/synapsis/deploy/update.sh
+```
 
 Useful commands:
 
 ```bash
 sudo systemctl status synapsis
+sudo systemctl status synapsis-update.timer
 sudo journalctl -u synapsis -f
+sudo journalctl -u synapsis-update -f
 sudo /opt/synapsis/deploy/update.sh
 sudo /opt/synapsis/deploy/uninstall.sh
 ```
diff --git a/deploy/install.sh b/deploy/install.sh
index a025271..c38484a 100755
--- a/deploy/install.sh
+++ b/deploy/install.sh
@@ -59,8 +59,12 @@ runuser -u synapsis -- npm --prefix "$APP_DIR" run db:migrate
 runuser -u synapsis -- npm --prefix "$APP_DIR" run build
 
 install -m 0644 "$APP_DIR/deploy/synapsis.service" /etc/systemd/system/synapsis.service
+install -m 0644 "$APP_DIR/deploy/synapsis-update.service" /etc/systemd/system/synapsis-update.service
+install -m 0644 "$APP_DIR/deploy/synapsis-update.timer" /etc/systemd/system/synapsis-update.timer
+runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" rev-parse HEAD | install -m 0644 -o synapsis -g synapsis /dev/stdin "$DATA_DIR/deployed-commit"
 systemctl daemon-reload
 systemctl enable --now synapsis
+systemctl enable --now synapsis-update.timer
 
 echo "Synapsis is listening on http://127.0.0.1:${PORT}"
 echo "Edit $ENV_FILE, run $APP_DIR/deploy/update.sh, then configure your own reverse proxy."
diff --git a/deploy/synapsis-update.service b/deploy/synapsis-update.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f31a155
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/synapsis-update.service
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Update Synapsis to the latest main commit
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+ConditionPathExists=/opt/synapsis/.git
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStart=/opt/synapsis/deploy/update.sh
+TimeoutStartSec=30min
+UMask=0027
diff --git a/deploy/synapsis-update.timer b/deploy/synapsis-update.timer
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a857697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/synapsis-update.timer
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Keep Synapsis on the latest main commit
+
+[Timer]
+OnBootSec=1min
+OnUnitInactiveSec=1min
+RandomizedDelaySec=15s
+AccuracySec=5s
+Persistent=true
+Unit=synapsis-update.service
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/deploy/uninstall.sh b/deploy/uninstall.sh
index b95b1f6..97f3db5 100755
--- a/deploy/uninstall.sh
+++ b/deploy/uninstall.sh
@@ -10,8 +10,12 @@ if [[ ${EUID} -ne 0 ]]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
+systemctl disable --now synapsis-update.timer 2>/dev/null || true
+systemctl stop synapsis-update.service 2>/dev/null || true
 systemctl disable --now synapsis 2>/dev/null || true
-rm -f /etc/systemd/system/synapsis.service
+rm -f /etc/systemd/system/synapsis.service \
+  /etc/systemd/system/synapsis-update.service \
+  /etc/systemd/system/synapsis-update.timer
 systemctl daemon-reload
 rm -rf "$APP_DIR"
 
diff --git a/deploy/update.sh b/deploy/update.sh
index 924976f..bcd0201 100755
--- a/deploy/update.sh
+++ b/deploy/update.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ set -euo pipefail
 APP_DIR="${APP_DIR:-/opt/synapsis}"
 DATA_DIR="${DATA_DIR:-/var/lib/synapsis}"
 ENV_FILE="${ENV_FILE:-/etc/synapsis.env}"
+BRANCH="${BRANCH:-main}"
+DEPLOYED_COMMIT_FILE="$DATA_DIR/deployed-commit"
 
 if [[ ${EUID} -ne 0 ]]; then
   echo "Run this updater as root." >&2
@@ -17,27 +19,83 @@ set -a
 source "$ENV_FILE"
 set +a
 
+install_update_units() {
+  units_changed=0
+  for unit in synapsis.service synapsis-update.service synapsis-update.timer; do
+    if ! cmp -s "$APP_DIR/deploy/$unit" "/etc/systemd/system/$unit"; then
+      install -m 0644 "$APP_DIR/deploy/$unit" "/etc/systemd/system/$unit"
+      units_changed=1
+    fi
+  done
+
+  if [[ "$units_changed" == "1" ]]; then
+    systemctl daemon-reload
+  fi
+  if ! systemctl is-enabled --quiet synapsis-update.timer; then
+    systemctl enable synapsis-update.timer
+  fi
+  if ! systemctl is-active --quiet synapsis-update.timer; then
+    systemctl start synapsis-update.timer
+  fi
+}
+
+if [[ "${SYNAPSIS_APPLY_UPDATE:-0}" != "1" ]]; then
+  runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" fetch --prune origin "+refs/heads/$BRANCH:refs/remotes/origin/$BRANCH"
+
+  current_commit="$(runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" rev-parse HEAD)"
+  target_commit="$(runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" rev-parse "origin/$BRANCH")"
+  deployed_commit=""
+  if [[ -f "$DEPLOYED_COMMIT_FILE" ]]; then
+    deployed_commit="$(tr -d '[:space:]' < "$DEPLOYED_COMMIT_FILE")"
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -n "$deployed_commit" && "$deployed_commit" == "$target_commit" ]]; then
+    install_update_units
+    echo "Synapsis is already current at ${target_commit:0:7}."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$current_commit" != "$target_commit" ]]; then
+    if ! runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" merge-base --is-ancestor "$current_commit" "$target_commit"; then
+      echo "Cannot auto-update: local checkout has diverged from origin/$BRANCH." >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+    runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" merge --ff-only "origin/$BRANCH"
+  fi
+
+  exec env SYNAPSIS_APPLY_UPDATE=1 APP_DIR="$APP_DIR" DATA_DIR="$DATA_DIR" ENV_FILE="$ENV_FILE" BRANCH="$BRANCH" bash "$APP_DIR/deploy/update.sh"
+fi
+
 systemctl stop synapsis
 trap 'systemctl start synapsis' EXIT
 
 if [[ -f "${DATABASE_PATH:-$DATA_DIR/synapsis.db}" ]]; then
   database_file="${DATABASE_PATH:-$DATA_DIR/synapsis.db}"
-  backup_dir="$DATA_DIR/backups/$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
-  install -d -o synapsis -g synapsis -m 0750 "$backup_dir"
-  cp "$database_file" "$backup_dir/synapsis.db"
+  backup_root="$DATA_DIR/backups"
+  backup_staging="$backup_root/.latest.$$"
+  backup_dir="$backup_root/latest"
+  install -d -o synapsis -g synapsis -m 0750 "$backup_root"
+  rm -rf "$backup_staging"
+  install -d -o synapsis -g synapsis -m 0750 "$backup_staging"
+  cp "$database_file" "$backup_staging/synapsis.db"
   for suffix in -wal -shm; do
     if [[ -f "${database_file}${suffix}" ]]; then
-      cp "${database_file}${suffix}" "$backup_dir/synapsis.db${suffix}"
+      cp "${database_file}${suffix}" "$backup_staging/synapsis.db${suffix}"
     fi
   done
-  chown -R synapsis:synapsis "$backup_dir"
+  chown -R synapsis:synapsis "$backup_staging"
+  rm -rf "$backup_dir"
+  mv "$backup_staging" "$backup_dir"
+  find "$backup_root" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 ! -name latest -exec rm -rf {} +
 fi
 
-runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" pull --ff-only
 runuser -u synapsis -- npm --prefix "$APP_DIR" ci
 runuser -u synapsis -- npm --prefix "$APP_DIR" run db:migrate
 runuser -u synapsis -- npm --prefix "$APP_DIR" run build
 
+deployed_commit="$(runuser -u synapsis -- git -C "$APP_DIR" rev-parse HEAD)"
+printf '%s\n' "$deployed_commit" | install -m 0644 -o synapsis -g synapsis /dev/stdin "$DEPLOYED_COMMIT_FILE"
+install_update_units
 systemctl start synapsis
 trap - EXIT
-echo "Synapsis updated successfully."
+echo "Synapsis updated successfully to ${deployed_commit:0:7}."
diff --git a/next.config.ts b/next.config.ts
index 7c8ec18..95f8d79 100644
--- a/next.config.ts
+++ b/next.config.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,25 @@
 import type { NextConfig } from "next";
+import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
+
+function getBuildCommit(): string {
+  if (process.env.APP_COMMIT) return process.env.APP_COMMIT;
+
+  try {
+    return execFileSync('git', ['rev-parse', 'HEAD'], {
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+    }).trim();
+  } catch {
+    return 'unknown';
+  }
+}
 
 const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
+  env: {
+    APP_COMMIT: getBuildCommit(),
+    APP_BUILD_DATE: process.env.APP_BUILD_DATE || new Date().toISOString(),
+  },
+
   // Turso ships a platform-native Node module and must remain a runtime dependency.
   serverExternalPackages: ['@tursodatabase/database'],
   
diff --git a/src/components/RightSidebar.tsx b/src/components/RightSidebar.tsx
index 62d2658..b6299ff 100644
--- a/src/components/RightSidebar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/RightSidebar.tsx
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
     });
     const [version, setVersion] = useState<{
         version: string;
+        commit: string | null;
         buildDate: string | null;
     } | null>(null);
 
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
         fetch('/api/version')
             .then(res => res.json())
             .then(data => setVersion(data))
-            .catch(() => setVersion({ version: 'unknown', buildDate: null }));
+            .catch(() => setVersion({ version: 'unknown', commit: null, buildDate: null }));
 
         return () => window.removeEventListener('synapsis:node-updated', handleNodeUpdated);
     }, []);
@@ -152,8 +153,12 @@ export function RightSidebar() {
                 <h3 style={{ fontWeight: 600, marginBottom: '12px' }}>Network Info</h3>
                 <p style={{ color: 'var(--foreground-secondary)', fontSize: '13px' }}>
                     Running{' '}
-                    <a href="https://synapsis.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style={{ color: 'var(--accent)' }}>Synapsis</a>
-                    {version?.version ? ` ${version.version}` : ''}
+                    <a href="https://synapsis.gnosyslabs.xyz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style={{ color: 'var(--accent)' }}>Synapsis</a>
+                    {version?.commit
+                        ? ` ${version.commit.slice(0, 7)}`
+                        : version?.version
+                            ? ` ${version.version}`
+                            : ''}
                 </p>
 
                 {nodeInfo.admins.length > 0 && (
diff --git a/src/lib/swarm/discovery.ts b/src/lib/swarm/discovery.ts
index d826e4d..9146edc 100644
--- a/src/lib/swarm/discovery.ts
+++ b/src/lib/swarm/discovery.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import { db, nodes, users, posts } from '@/db';
 import { eq, sql } from 'drizzle-orm';
 import type { SwarmAnnouncement, SwarmNodeInfo, SwarmCapability } from './types';
+import { getCurrentBuildInfo } from '@/lib/version';
 import { upsertSwarmNode, getSeedNodes, markNodeSuccess, markNodeFailure } from './registry';
 import {
   getCanonicalSwarmSeedDomain,
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ const PUBLIC_SWARM_DOMAIN_ERROR = 'Public swarm participation requires a real IC
  */
 export async function buildAnnouncement(): Promise<SwarmAnnouncement> {
   const domain = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_NODE_DOMAIN || 'localhost:43821';
+  const buildInfo = getCurrentBuildInfo();
   
   let name = 'Synapsis Node';
   let description: string | undefined;
@@ -61,7 +63,7 @@ export async function buildAnnouncement(): Promise<SwarmAnnouncement> {
     description,
     logoUrl,
     publicKey,
-    softwareVersion: '0.1.0', // TODO: Get from package.json
+    softwareVersion: buildInfo.commit || buildInfo.version,
     userCount,
     postCount,
     capabilities,