diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1862365..ab6ea34 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agenthub",
-  "version": "0.6.0",
+  "version": "0.6.1",
   "description": "Local coordination layer for AI coding agents",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "./dist/index.js",
diff --git a/src/cli/commands/update.ts b/src/cli/commands/update.ts
index bd49dfe..6f43737 100644
--- a/src/cli/commands/update.ts
+++ b/src/cli/commands/update.ts
@@ -5,11 +5,10 @@ import { dirname, join, parse } from 'node:path';
 import { homedir } from 'node:os';
 
 const CHECK_INTERVAL_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
-// In auto-update mode we refresh more often so a freshly pushed version is
-// picked up within the hour, and we cool down between background updates so we
-// never spawn a second reset+build while one is still running.
+// In auto-update mode we run an actual background `agenthub update` at most this
+// often (it self-no-ops when current), so a freshly pushed version is picked up
+// within the hour without spawning competing reset+builds.
 const AUTO_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000;
-const AUTO_UPDATE_COOLDOWN_MS = 10 * 60 * 1000;
 
 /** Opt-in: set AGENTHUB_AUTO_UPDATE=1 to self-update in the background. */
 function autoUpdateEnabled(): boolean {
@@ -180,11 +179,26 @@ export function maybeNotifyUpdate(rootOverride?: string): void {
     if (!root || !existsSync(join(root, '.git'))) return;
 
     const branch = currentBranch(root);
-    const auto = autoUpdateEnabled();
 
+    // Auto-update: on a throttled tick, fire `agenthub update` directly in the
+    // background. It does its OWN fresh fetch + reset + build and no-ops when
+    // already current — so it self-heals on the FIRST invocation. (The old
+    // path checked a possibly-stale origin ref, so it lagged a fetch cycle and
+    // took two invocations to ever fire.)
+    if (autoUpdateEnabled()) {
+      const stamp = stampPath('last-auto-update');
+      if (Date.now() - readStamp(stamp) > AUTO_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS) {
+        writeStamp(stamp);
+        process.stderr.write('\n🔄 AgentHub: checking for updates in the background…\n\n');
+        spawnBackgroundUpdate(root);
+      }
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Notify-only: throttled background fetch keeps the behind-count fresh,
+    // then a one-line hint if the install is behind.
     const stamp = stampPath('last-update-check');
-    const interval = auto ? AUTO_CHECK_INTERVAL_MS : CHECK_INTERVAL_MS;
-    if (Date.now() - readStamp(stamp) > interval) {
+    if (Date.now() - readStamp(stamp) > CHECK_INTERVAL_MS) {
       writeStamp(stamp);
       try {
         spawn('git', ['fetch', '--quiet', 'origin', branch], { cwd: root, detached: true, stdio: 'ignore' }).unref();
@@ -199,18 +213,7 @@ export function maybeNotifyUpdate(rootOverride?: string): void {
     } catch {
       return;
     }
-    if (behind === '0') return;
-
-    if (auto) {
-      // Only one background update per cooldown window — a second command while
-      // the reset+build is in flight must not spawn a competing update.
-      const autoStamp = stampPath('last-auto-update');
-      if (Date.now() - readStamp(autoStamp) > AUTO_UPDATE_COOLDOWN_MS) {
-        writeStamp(autoStamp);
-        process.stderr.write(`\n🔄 AgentHub: updating in background (${behind} commit(s) behind)…\n\n`);
-        spawnBackgroundUpdate(root);
-      }
-    } else {
+    if (behind !== '0') {
       process.stderr.write(`\n🔄 A newer AgentHub is available (${behind} commit(s) behind). Run \`agenthub update\`.\n\n`);
     }
   } catch {
diff --git a/src/cli/index.ts b/src/cli/index.ts
index 3b5b4b9..ba5f692 100644
--- a/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ async function runRemote(serverUrl: string, fn: () => Promise<void>): Promise<vo
 export function createProgram(cwd: string): Command {
   const program = new Command('agenthub')
     .description('Local coordination layer for AI coding agents')
-    .version('0.6.0')
+    .version('0.6.1')
     .option('--server <url>', 'AgentHub server URL (env: AGENTHUB_SERVER)');
 
   program