diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 98b1294a..645b846d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -792,7 +792,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "conductor"
-version = "4.37.0"
+version = "4.37.0-alpha"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "conductor-core",
@@ -826,7 +826,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "conductor-core"
-version = "4.37.0"
+version = "4.37.0-alpha"
 dependencies = [
  "alsa",
  "anyhow",
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "conductor-daemon"
-version = "4.37.0"
+version = "4.37.0-alpha"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "arc-swap",
@@ -913,7 +913,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "conductor-gui"
-version = "4.37.0"
+version = "4.37.0-alpha"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-trait",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index c8261a0b..90cef638 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ exclude = [
 resolver = "2"
 
 [workspace.package]
-version = "4.37.0"
+version = "4.37.0-alpha"
 edition = "2024"
 authors = ["Conductor Contributors"]
 license = "MIT"
diff --git a/conductor-gui/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json b/conductor-gui/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
index 8881d13c..7d2b4184 100644
--- a/conductor-gui/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
+++ b/conductor-gui/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "productName": "Conductor",
-  "version": "4.26.6",
+  "version": "4.37.0-alpha",
   "identifier": "com.amiable.conductor",
   "build": {
     "beforeDevCommand": "npm --prefix ui run dev",
diff --git a/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.svelte b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.svelte
index 3544ebdf..2cd00a73 100644
--- a/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.svelte
+++ b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.svelte
@@ -6,8 +6,22 @@
 -->
 
 <script>
+  import { onMount } from 'svelte';
+  import { getVersion } from '@tauri-apps/api/app';
   import { deviceBindingsStore, profileStore } from '$lib/stores.js';
   import { workspaceView, WORKSPACE_VIEWS } from '$lib/stores/workspace.js';
+  import { parseReleaseStage } from '$lib/utils/release-stage';
+
+  let releaseStage = null;
+
+  onMount(async () => {
+    try {
+      const version = await getVersion();
+      releaseStage = parseReleaseStage(version);
+    } catch {
+      releaseStage = null;
+    }
+  });
 
   // Track selected values from store state
   $: selectedDeviceId = $deviceBindingsStore.bindings?.[0]?.device_id || '';
@@ -34,6 +48,11 @@
 <div class="titlebar">
   <div class="titlebar-left">
     <span class="logo">CONDUCTOR</span>
+    {#if releaseStage}
+      <span class="release-stage" class:stage-alpha={releaseStage === 'alpha'} class:stage-beta={releaseStage === 'beta'}>
+        {releaseStage.toUpperCase()}
+      </span>
+    {/if}
   </div>
 
   <div class="titlebar-right">
@@ -85,6 +104,24 @@
     letter-spacing: 1px;
   }
 
+  .release-stage {
+    font-size: 9px;
+    font-weight: 700;
+    letter-spacing: 1px;
+    padding: 2px 6px;
+    border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+    color: var(--bg-app);
+    text-transform: uppercase;
+  }
+
+  .release-stage.stage-alpha {
+    background: var(--amber);
+  }
+
+  .release-stage.stage-beta {
+    background: var(--blue);
+  }
+
   .titlebar-right {
     display: flex;
     align-items: center;
diff --git a/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.test.ts b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.test.ts
index e8f00cb2..215a84b1 100644
--- a/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.test.ts
+++ b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/components/TitleBar.test.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,13 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 import { render, screen, cleanup, fireEvent } from '@testing-library/svelte';
 
-const { mockSwitchTo } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+const { mockSwitchTo, mockGetVersion } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   mockSwitchTo: vi.fn(() => Promise.resolve({ success: true })),
+  mockGetVersion: vi.fn(() => Promise.resolve('4.37.0-alpha')),
+}));
+
+vi.mock('@tauri-apps/api/app', () => ({
+  getVersion: mockGetVersion,
 }));
 
 vi.mock('$lib/stores.js', async () => {
@@ -88,4 +93,34 @@ describe('TitleBar', () => {
     await fireEvent.change(profileDropdown, { target: { value: 'p2' } });
     expect(mockSwitchTo).toHaveBeenCalledWith('p2');
   });
+
+  it('shows ALPHA release stage badge when version is alpha', async () => {
+    mockGetVersion.mockResolvedValue('4.37.0-alpha');
+    const TitleBar = (await import('./TitleBar.svelte')).default;
+    render(TitleBar);
+    // Wait for onMount async to complete and Svelte to re-render
+    await vi.waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText('ALPHA')).toBeTruthy();
+    }, { timeout: 2000 });
+  });
+
+  it('shows BETA release stage badge when version is beta', async () => {
+    mockGetVersion.mockResolvedValue('4.37.0-beta');
+    const TitleBar = (await import('./TitleBar.svelte')).default;
+    render(TitleBar);
+    await vi.waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.getByText('BETA')).toBeTruthy();
+    }, { timeout: 2000 });
+  });
+
+  it('does not show release stage badge for production version', async () => {
+    mockGetVersion.mockResolvedValue('4.37.0');
+    const TitleBar = (await import('./TitleBar.svelte')).default;
+    render(TitleBar);
+    // Wait for Svelte to update DOM and ensure no release stage badge is shown
+    await vi.waitFor(() => {
+      expect(screen.queryByText('ALPHA')).toBeNull();
+      expect(screen.queryByText('BETA')).toBeNull();
+    }, { timeout: 2000 });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/utils/release-stage.test.ts b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/utils/release-stage.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cea9bb26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/utils/release-stage.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/**
+ * Release stage utility tests (#512)
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { parseReleaseStage } from './release-stage';
+
+describe('parseReleaseStage', () => {
+  it('returns "alpha" for alpha pre-release', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-alpha')).toBe('alpha');
+  });
+
+  it('returns "beta" for beta pre-release', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-beta')).toBe('beta');
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for production (no pre-release)', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0')).toBe(null);
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for empty string', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('')).toBe(null);
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for "dev"', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('dev')).toBe(null);
+  });
+
+  it('is case-insensitive', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-ALPHA')).toBe('alpha');
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-Beta')).toBe('beta');
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for unrecognised pre-release tags', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-rc1')).toBe(null);
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-snapshot')).toBe(null);
+  });
+
+  it('handles version with dotted pre-release identifier', () => {
+    expect(parseReleaseStage('4.37.0-alpha.1')).toBe('alpha');
+  });
+});
+
diff --git a/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/utils/release-stage.ts b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/utils/release-stage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a979d36d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/conductor-gui/ui/src/lib/utils/release-stage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/**
+ * Release stage utilities — parse alpha/beta/prod from semver version strings.
+ *
+ * This helper is agnostic about where the version string comes from; it simply
+ * inspects the pre-release suffix (e.g., "4.37.0-alpha" or "4.37.0-beta") to
+ * determine the release stage. Callers are responsible for ensuring version
+ * values are consistent across Cargo.toml, tauri.conf.json (used by Tauri's
+ * getVersion()), and any other sources.
+ */
+
+export type ReleaseStage = 'alpha' | 'beta' | null;
+
+/**
+ * Extract the release stage from a semver version string.
+ *
+ * "4.37.0-alpha" → "alpha"
+ * "4.37.0-beta"  → "beta"
+ * "4.37.0"       → null (production)
+ * "dev"          → null
+ */
+export function parseReleaseStage(version: string): ReleaseStage {
+  if (!version) return null;
+  const match = version.match(/-(\w+)/);
+  if (!match) return null;
+  const stage = match[1].toLowerCase();
+  if (stage === 'alpha') return 'alpha';
+  if (stage === 'beta') return 'beta';
+  return null;
+}
+