diff --git a/apps/web/package.json b/apps/web/package.json
index f3b9f02..0eb0686 100644
--- a/apps/web/package.json
+++ b/apps/web/package.json
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
     "@radix-ui/react-tabs": "^1.1.15",
     "@tanstack/react-query": "^5.101.0",
     "@tanstack/react-router": "^1.170.16",
+    "@tauri-apps/api": "^2.11.1",
     "@tauri-apps/plugin-http": "^2.5.2",
     "@tauri-apps/plugin-process": "^2.3.1",
     "@tauri-apps/plugin-updater": "^2.10.1",
diff --git a/apps/web/src/lib/origin.ts b/apps/web/src/lib/origin.ts
index 41d947b..4fda7df 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/lib/origin.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/lib/origin.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export function wsUrl(path: string): string {
 }
 
 /** True when running inside the Tauri webview (not a normal browser). */
-function inTauri(): boolean {
+export function inTauri(): boolean {
   return typeof window !== "undefined" && "__TAURI_INTERNALS__" in window;
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/web/src/router.tsx b/apps/web/src/router.tsx
index 1a87f7f..12ab48d 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/router.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/router.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import {
   Outlet,
   redirect,
 } from "@tanstack/react-router";
-import { lazy, Suspense, useState } from "react";
+import { lazy, Suspense, useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import type { Lang, Permission, SessionUser, Theme } from "./api.js";
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import { Spinner } from "./ui/Spinner.js";
 import { setLanguage } from "./lib/i18n/index.js";
 import { applyTheme, applyFontScale } from "./lib/theme.js";
 import { useLiveFeed } from "./lib/use-live-feed.js";
+import { inTauri } from "./lib/origin.js";
 import { useShift } from "./lib/use-shift.js";
 import { DeviceFooter } from "./ui/DeviceFooter.js";
 import { StatusDot } from "./ui/StatusDot.js";
@@ -106,6 +107,29 @@ function VersionBadge() {
   return <span className="ml-auto shrink-0 pl-3 text-[0.7rem] text-term-muted">{version}</span>;
 }
 
+/** The installed Tauri app's own "vX.Y.Z" (from tauri.conf.json, synced to the git tag by
+ *  release.yml — see wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md) — the client's version, distinct
+ *  from VersionBadge's SERVER build. No-op / renders nothing in a browser (there's no Tauri
+ *  API to call). Was invisible before this: an operator had no way to tell which desktop
+ *  build was actually installed short of reading the update-available prompt. */
+function DesktopVersionBadge() {
+  const [version, setVersion] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!inTauri()) return;
+    let cancelled = false;
+    void import("@tauri-apps/api/app").then(({ getVersion }) =>
+      getVersion().then((v) => {
+        if (!cancelled) setVersion(v);
+      }),
+    );
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+    };
+  }, []);
+  if (!version) return null;
+  return <span className="ml-auto shrink-0 pl-3 text-[0.7rem] text-term-muted">app v{version}</span>;
+}
+
 /** Setup layout — the config hub. Renders a permission-gated tab bar and the active
  *  tab's screen via <Outlet>. Each tab is a child route (its own URL + guard), so
  *  deep links and the back button work and a denied tab redirects to the booth. */
@@ -125,6 +149,7 @@ function SetupLayout() {
         {show("log:read") && <SetupTab to="/setup/logs" label={t("nav.logs")} />}
         {show("backup:read") && <SetupTab to="/setup/backup" label={t("nav.backup")} />}
         {show("site:read") && <VersionBadge />}
+        <DesktopVersionBadge />
       </nav>
       <Outlet />
     </div>
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index e1a25da..8697c72 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -108,6 +108,9 @@ importers:
       '@tanstack/react-router':
         specifier: ^1.170.16
         version: 1.170.16(react-dom@19.2.7(react@19.2.7))(react@19.2.7)
+      '@tauri-apps/api':
+        specifier: ^2.11.1
+        version: 2.11.1
       '@tauri-apps/plugin-http':
         specifier: ^2.5.2
         version: 2.6.0
diff --git a/wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md b/wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md
index b4bb638..630883f 100644
--- a/wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md
+++ b/wiki/decisions/desktop-shell-tauri.md
@@ -178,6 +178,16 @@ Per the user's choices — the operator **keeps OS access** (no fullscreen lockd
     together; a `resources.toml` change still needs a Komodo sync + Stack redeploy to take effect on
     a live booth, it isn't automatic from a git push alone — and see [[fleet-deployment-komodo]] for
     a real ResourceSync-branch gotcha this exact fix ran into.
+- **No way to see the installed app's own version (found + fixed 2026-09-03).** `VersionBadge` in
+  `router.tsx` shows the *server's* `<branch>-<sha>` (from `/api/version`, gated `site:read`) — but
+  nothing showed the *desktop client's* own version. An operator debugging a stuck update had no way
+  to confirm which build was actually installed short of reading the update-available prompt's
+  target version and inferring backwards. Fixed with `DesktopVersionBadge`, next to `VersionBadge`:
+  calls `@tauri-apps/api/app`'s `getVersion()` (the real running app's version, baked in from
+  `tauri.conf.json` — synced to the git tag by `release.yml`, see the version-drift gotcha above),
+  no-ops/renders nothing in a browser (`inTauri()` guard, now exported from `origin.ts` instead of
+  redefined a 4th time). `@tauri-apps/api` added as an explicit dependency (was only ever transitive
+  via the plugins).
 - **`VITE_API_BASE` — desktop vs. browser (regression found + fixed 2026-09-03):**
   `apps/web/.env.production` (committed, shared by both builds) sets `VITE_API_BASE=` (empty) — this
   is correct for the **browser/booth** build (Fastify same-origin, stays relative) since commit
diff --git a/wiki/log.md b/wiki/log.md
index d4ec173..22ec5f5 100644
--- a/wiki/log.md
+++ b/wiki/log.md
@@ -2808,3 +2808,12 @@ and fixed a real, pre-existing Komodo ResourceSync misconfig (resource-sync-park
 `dev`, not `stage`, silently reading resources.toml from the wrong branch for months with zero
 effect until dev/stage first diverged today) — full writeup on [[fleet-deployment-komodo]], which
 had already warned about exactly this gotcha back in 2026-07-07 and it happened anyway.
+
+## [2026-09-03] feat | Desktop app version now visible in the UI (was invisible)
+
+There was no way to see which desktop build was actually installed anywhere in the app — an
+operator debugging a stuck update had to infer it backwards from the update prompt's target
+version ("it's offering v0.1.4, so I must be on v0.1.3"). Added DesktopVersionBadge next to the
+existing server-side VersionBadge in router.tsx, using @tauri-apps/api's getVersion() (the real
+running app version, synced to the git tag at build time by release.yml). No-ops in a browser.
+Full detail on [[desktop-shell-tauri]].