feat(update): add rolling dev update channel for per-commit builds

Adds an opt-in Dev channel so panels running CI per-commit builds can self-update to the latest commit, mirroring the stable online-update flow.

CI publishes/overwrites a single fixed-tag pre-release (dev-latest), force-moved to the newest main commit and marked --latest=false so releases/latest stays the stable tag. Builds stamp the short commit via -ldflags; the panel compares the running commit to the dev release commit to detect an update, and update.sh honors XUI_UPDATE_TAG to install from that tag. Linux/systemd only.

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -97,7 +97,13 @@ jobs:
           export CC=$(realpath "$(find "$TOOLCHAIN_DIR/bin" -name '*-gcc.br_real' -type f -executable | head -n1)")
           [ -z "$CC" ] && { echo "No gcc.br_real found in $TOOLCHAIN_DIR/bin" >&2; exit 1; }
           cd -
-          go build -ldflags "-w -s -linkmode external -extldflags '-static'" -o xui-release -v main.go
+          # Stamp the commit into per-commit (dev channel) builds only; tagged
+          # stable releases stay unstamped so config.IsDevBuild() returns false.
+          LDFLAGS="-w -s -linkmode external -extldflags '-static'"
+          if [[ "$GITHUB_REF" != refs/tags/* ]]; then
+            LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS -X github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/config.buildCommit=${GITHUB_SHA::8} -X github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/config.buildDate=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
+          fi
+          go build -ldflags "$LDFLAGS" -o xui-release -v main.go
           file xui-release
           ldd xui-release || echo "Static binary confirmed"
 
@@ -245,7 +251,12 @@ jobs:
           go version
           gcc --version
 
-          go build -ldflags "-w -s" -o xui-release.exe -v main.go
+          # Stamp the commit into per-commit (dev channel) builds only.
+          LDFLAGS="-w -s"
+          if [[ "$GITHUB_REF" != refs/tags/* ]]; then
+            LDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS -X github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/config.buildCommit=${GITHUB_SHA:0:8} -X github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/config.buildDate=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
+          fi
+          go build -ldflags "$LDFLAGS" -o xui-release.exe -v main.go
 
       - name: Copy and download resources
         shell: pwsh
@@ -302,3 +313,61 @@ jobs:
           asset_name: x-ui-windows-amd64.zip
           overwrite: true
           prerelease: true
+
+  # =================================
+  #  Rolling dev channel (per-commit)
+  # =================================
+  # Publishes/overwrites the build artifacts to a single fixed-tag pre-release
+  # `dev-latest`, force-moved to the new commit on every push to main. The panel's
+  # "Dev" update channel installs from this tag. `--latest=false` is load-bearing:
+  # it keeps releases/latest pointing at the real stable tag, so the stable
+  # channel is unaffected.
+  publish-dev:
+    name: Publish rolling dev release
+    needs: [build, build-windows]
+    if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    # Serialize racing pushes; never cancel an in-flight upload, or the dev
+    # release could be left with a partial asset set.
+    concurrency:
+      group: dev-release
+      cancel-in-progress: false
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+
+      - name: Download all build artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          path: dev-artifacts
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Publish dev-latest pre-release
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          COMMIT: ${{ github.sha }}
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          short="${COMMIT::8}"
+          notes="Rolling development build — installs via the panel's Dev update channel.
+
+          commit=${COMMIT}
+          built=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
+
+          Automated per-commit build from main. Not a stable release."
+
+          # Force-move the dev-latest tag to this commit so the release tracks it.
+          git tag -f dev-latest "${COMMIT}"
+          git push -f origin refs/tags/dev-latest
+
+          if gh release view dev-latest >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            gh release edit dev-latest --prerelease --latest=false \
+              --title "Dev build ${short}" --notes "${notes}"
+          else
+            gh release create dev-latest --prerelease --latest=false \
+              --target "${COMMIT}" --title "Dev build ${short}" --notes "${notes}"
+          fi
+
+          gh release upload dev-latest dev-artifacts/*.tar.gz dev-artifacts/*.zip --clobber

frontend/public/openapi.json

@@ -4240,6 +4240,49 @@
         }
       }
     },
+    "/panel/api/server/setUpdateChannel": {
+      "post": {
+        "tags": [
+          "Server"
+        ],
+        "summary": "Toggle the panel update channel between stable and the rolling per-commit dev release. Only effective on dev builds.",
+        "operationId": "post_panel_api_server_setUpdateChannel",
+        "requestBody": {
+          "required": true,
+          "content": {
+            "application/json": {
+              "schema": {
+                "type": "object"
+              },
+              "example": {
+                "dev": true
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        },
+        "responses": {
+          "200": {
+            "description": "Successful response",
+            "content": {
+              "application/json": {
+                "schema": {
+                  "type": "object",
+                  "properties": {
+                    "success": {
+                      "type": "boolean"
+                    },
+                    "msg": {
+                      "type": "string"
+                    },
+                    "obj": {}
+                  }
+                }
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
     "/panel/api/server/updateGeofile": {
       "post": {
         "tags": [

frontend/src/pages/api-docs/endpoints.ts

@@ -400,6 +400,12 @@ export const sections: readonly Section[] = [
         path: '/panel/api/server/updatePanel',
         summary: 'Self-update the panel to the latest version. The server restarts on success.',
       },
+      {
+        method: 'POST',
+        path: '/panel/api/server/setUpdateChannel',
+        summary: 'Toggle the panel update channel between stable and the rolling per-commit dev release. Only effective on dev builds.',
+        body: '{\n  "dev": true\n}',
+      },
       {
         method: 'POST',
         path: '/panel/api/server/updateGeofile',

frontend/src/pages/index/IndexPage.tsx

@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ export default function IndexPage() {
   useEffect(() => { setMessageInstance(messageApi); }, [messageApi]);
 
   const [accessLogEnable, setAccessLogEnable] = useState(false);
+  const [isDevBuild, setIsDevBuild] = useState(false);
+  const [devChannelEnable, setDevChannelEnable] = useState(false);
   const [panelUpdateInfo, setPanelUpdateInfo] = useState<PanelUpdateInfo>({
     currentVersion: '',
     latestVersion: '',
@@ -87,8 +89,14 @@ export default function IndexPage() {
   const [loadingTip, setLoadingTip] = useState(t('loading'));
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    HttpUtil.post<{ accessLogEnable?: boolean }>('/panel/api/setting/defaultSettings').then((msg) => {
-      if (msg?.success && msg.obj) setAccessLogEnable(!!msg.obj.accessLogEnable);
+    HttpUtil.post<{ accessLogEnable?: boolean; isDevBuild?: boolean; devChannelEnable?: boolean }>(
+      '/panel/api/setting/defaultSettings',
+    ).then((msg) => {
+      if (msg?.success && msg.obj) {
+        setAccessLogEnable(!!msg.obj.accessLogEnable);
+        setIsDevBuild(!!msg.obj.isDevBuild);
+        setDevChannelEnable(!!msg.obj.devChannelEnable);
+      }
     });
     HttpUtil.get<PanelUpdateInfo>('/panel/api/server/getPanelUpdateInfo').then((msg) => {
       if (msg?.success && msg.obj) setPanelUpdateInfo(msg.obj);
@@ -119,13 +127,21 @@ export default function IndexPage() {
   }, [refresh]);
 
   function openPanelVersion() {
-    if (panelUpdateInfo.updateAvailable) {
+    if (panelUpdateInfo.updateAvailable || isDevBuild) {
       setPanelUpdateOpen(true);
     } else {
       window.open('https://github.com/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases', '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer');
     }
   }
 
+  async function handleChannelChange(dev: boolean) {
+    const res = await HttpUtil.post('/panel/api/server/setUpdateChannel', { dev });
+    if (!res?.success) return;
+    setDevChannelEnable(dev);
+    const msg = await HttpUtil.get<PanelUpdateInfo>('/panel/api/server/getPanelUpdateInfo');
+    if (msg?.success && msg.obj) setPanelUpdateInfo(msg.obj);
+  }
+
   function openTelegram() {
     window.open('https://t.me/XrayUI', '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer');
   }
@@ -224,7 +240,9 @@ export default function IndexPage() {
                           {isMobile && displayVersion && (
                             <Tag color={panelUpdateInfo.updateAvailable ? 'orange' : 'green'}>
                               {panelUpdateInfo.updateAvailable
-                                ? `v${panelUpdateInfo.latestVersion}`
+                                ? panelUpdateInfo.channel === 'dev'
+                                  ? panelUpdateInfo.latestVersion
+                                  : `v${panelUpdateInfo.latestVersion}`
                                 : `v${displayVersion}`}
                             </Tag>
                           )}
@@ -446,6 +464,9 @@ export default function IndexPage() {
           <PanelUpdateModal
             open={panelUpdateOpen}
             info={panelUpdateInfo}
+            isDevBuild={isDevBuild}
+            devChannelEnable={devChannelEnable}
+            onChannelChange={handleChannelChange}
             onClose={() => setPanelUpdateOpen(false)}
             onBusy={setBusy}
           />

frontend/src/pages/index/PanelUpdateModal.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
+import { useState } from 'react';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
-import { Alert, Button, Modal, Tag } from 'antd';
+import { Alert, Button, Modal, Switch, Tag } from 'antd';
 import { CloudDownloadOutlined } from '@ant-design/icons';
 import axios from 'axios';
 
@@ -7,8 +8,11 @@ import { HttpUtil, PromiseUtil } from '@/utils';
 import './PanelUpdateModal.css';
 
 export interface PanelUpdateInfo {
+  channel?: string;
   currentVersion: string;
   latestVersion: string;
+  currentCommit?: string;
+  latestCommit?: string;
   updateAvailable: boolean;
 }
 
@@ -20,13 +24,27 @@ interface BusyEvent {
 interface PanelUpdateModalProps {
   open: boolean;
   info: PanelUpdateInfo;
+  isDevBuild?: boolean;
+  devChannelEnable?: boolean;
+  onChannelChange?: (dev: boolean) => void | Promise<void>;
   onClose: () => void;
   onBusy: (e: BusyEvent) => void;
 }
 
-export default function PanelUpdateModal({ open, info, onClose, onBusy }: PanelUpdateModalProps) {
+export default function PanelUpdateModal({
+  open,
+  info,
+  isDevBuild,
+  devChannelEnable,
+  onChannelChange,
+  onClose,
+  onBusy,
+}: PanelUpdateModalProps) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const [modal, contextHolder] = Modal.useModal();
+  const [channelBusy, setChannelBusy] = useState(false);
+
+  const isDev = info.channel === 'dev';
 
   async function pollUntilBack(): Promise<boolean> {
     await PromiseUtil.sleep(5000);
@@ -43,6 +61,16 @@ export default function PanelUpdateModal({ open, info, onClose, onBusy }: PanelU
     return false;
   }
 
+  async function handleChannel(checked: boolean) {
+    if (!onChannelChange) return;
+    setChannelBusy(true);
+    try {
+      await onChannelChange(checked);
+    } finally {
+      setChannelBusy(false);
+    }
+  }
+
   function updatePanel() {
     modal.confirm({
       title: t('pages.index.panelUpdateDialog'),
@@ -84,15 +112,41 @@ export default function PanelUpdateModal({ open, info, onClose, onBusy }: PanelU
           />
         )}
 
+        {isDevBuild && (
+          <div className="version-list">
+            <div className="version-list-item">
+              <span>{t('pages.index.devChannel')}</span>
+              <Switch
+                checked={!!devChannelEnable}
+                loading={channelBusy}
+                onChange={handleChannel}
+              />
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        )}
+
+        {devChannelEnable && (
+          <Alert
+            type="info"
+            className="mb-12"
+            title={t('pages.index.devChannelWarning')}
+            showIcon
+          />
+        )}
+
         <div className="version-list">
           <div className="version-list-item">
-            <span>{t('pages.index.currentPanelVersion')}</span>
-            <Tag color="green">v{info.currentVersion || '?'}</Tag>
+            <span>{isDev ? t('pages.index.currentCommit') : t('pages.index.currentPanelVersion')}</span>
+            {isDev ? (
+              <Tag color="green">{info.currentCommit || '?'}</Tag>
+            ) : (
+              <Tag color="green">v{info.currentVersion || '?'}</Tag>
+            )}
           </div>
           {info.updateAvailable ? (
             <div className="version-list-item">
-              <span>{t('pages.index.latestPanelVersion')}</span>
-              <Tag color="purple">{info.latestVersion || '-'}</Tag>
+              <span>{isDev ? t('pages.index.latestCommit') : t('pages.index.latestPanelVersion')}</span>
+              <Tag color="purple">{(isDev ? info.latestCommit : info.latestVersion) || '-'}</Tag>
             </div>
           ) : (
             <div className="version-list-item">

internal/config/config.go

@@ -20,6 +20,15 @@ var version string
 //go:embed name
 var name string
 
+// buildCommit and buildDate are injected at build time via `-ldflags -X` for
+// CI per-commit (dev channel) builds; see .github/workflows/release.yml. They
+// stay empty for a plain `go build` and for stable tagged releases, which is how
+// IsDevBuild tells a rolling dev build apart from a stable/local one.
+var (
+	buildCommit string
+	buildDate   string
+)
+
 // LogLevel represents the logging level for the application.
 type LogLevel string
 
@@ -42,6 +51,23 @@ func GetName() string {
 	return strings.TrimSpace(name)
 }
 
+// GetBuildCommit returns the short git commit this binary was built from, or an
+// empty string for a plain/local build or a stable tagged release.
+func GetBuildCommit() string {
+	return strings.TrimSpace(buildCommit)
+}
+
+// GetBuildDate returns the UTC build timestamp injected at build time, or empty.
+func GetBuildDate() string {
+	return strings.TrimSpace(buildDate)
+}
+
+// IsDevBuild reports whether this binary is a CI per-commit (dev channel) build,
+// detected by the injected commit. Stable releases and local builds return false.
+func IsDevBuild() bool {
+	return GetBuildCommit() != ""
+}
+
 // GetLogLevel returns the current logging level based on environment variables or defaults to Info.
 func GetLogLevel() LogLevel {
 	if IsDebug() {

internal/web/controller/server.go

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ func (a *ServerController) initRouter(g *gin.RouterGroup) {
 	g.POST("/restartXrayService", a.restartXrayService)
 	g.POST("/installXray/:version", a.installXray)
 	g.POST("/updatePanel", a.updatePanel)
+	g.POST("/setUpdateChannel", a.setUpdateChannel)
 	g.POST("/updateGeofile", a.updateGeofile)
 	g.POST("/updateGeofile/:fileName", a.updateGeofile)
 	g.POST("/logs/:count", a.getLogs)
@@ -211,6 +212,19 @@ func (a *ServerController) updatePanel(c *gin.Context) {
 	jsonMsg(c, I18nWeb(c, "pages.index.panelUpdateStartedPopover"), err)
 }
 
+// setUpdateChannel toggles whether self-update tracks the rolling dev release.
+func (a *ServerController) setUpdateChannel(c *gin.Context) {
+	var req struct {
+		Dev bool `json:"dev"`
+	}
+	if err := c.ShouldBindJSON(&req); err != nil {
+		jsonMsg(c, "invalid data", err)
+		return
+	}
+	err := a.settingService.SetDevChannelEnable(req.Dev)
+	jsonMsg(c, I18nWeb(c, "pages.index.updateChannelChanged"), err)
+}
+
 // updateGeofile updates the specified geo file for Xray.
 func (a *ServerController) updateGeofile(c *gin.Context) {
 	fileName := c.Param("fileName")

internal/web/service/panel/panel.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"regexp"
 	"runtime"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -25,17 +26,27 @@ import (
 type PanelService struct{}
 
 // PanelUpdateInfo contains the current and latest available panel versions.
+// On the dev channel the version fields carry a "dev+<sha>" label and the commit
+// fields hold the short SHAs that drive the update-available decision.
 type PanelUpdateInfo struct {
+	Channel         string `json:"channel"`
 	CurrentVersion  string `json:"currentVersion"`
 	LatestVersion   string `json:"latestVersion"`
+	CurrentCommit   string `json:"currentCommit,omitempty"`
+	LatestCommit    string `json:"latestCommit,omitempty"`
 	UpdateAvailable bool   `json:"updateAvailable"`
 }
 
 const (
 	panelUpdaterURL      = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MHSanaei/3x-ui/main/update.sh"
 	maxPanelUpdaterBytes = 2 << 20
+	// devReleaseTag is the fixed-tag rolling pre-release the CI force-moves to the
+	// newest main commit; the dev update channel installs from it.
+	devReleaseTag = "dev-latest"
 )
 
+var releaseCommitRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)commit=([0-9a-f]{7,40})`)
+
 func (s *PanelService) RestartPanel(delay time.Duration) error {
 	go func() {
 		time.Sleep(delay)
@@ -58,20 +69,59 @@ func (s *PanelService) RestartPanel(delay time.Duration) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// GetUpdateInfo checks GitHub for the latest 3x-ui release.
+// GetUpdateInfo checks GitHub for the latest 3x-ui release. When the dev channel
+// is enabled on a dev build it compares commits against the rolling dev release;
+// otherwise it compares versions against the latest stable tag.
 func (s *PanelService) GetUpdateInfo() (*PanelUpdateInfo, error) {
+	if devChannelActive() {
+		return getDevUpdateInfo()
+	}
 	latest, err := fetchLatestPanelVersion()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	current := config.GetVersion()
 	return &PanelUpdateInfo{
+		Channel:         "stable",
 		CurrentVersion:  current,
 		LatestVersion:   latest,
 		UpdateAvailable: isNewerVersion(latest, current),
 	}, nil
 }
 
+// devChannelActive reports whether self-update should track the rolling dev
+// release. It requires both the opt-in setting and a dev build, so a stable
+// binary with the toggle left on never cross-grades to the dev channel.
+func devChannelActive() bool {
+	if !config.IsDevBuild() {
+		return false
+	}
+	enabled, err := (&service.SettingService{}).GetDevChannelEnable()
+	return err == nil && enabled
+}
+
+// getDevUpdateInfo compares the running commit against the commit recorded in the
+// rolling dev release.
+func getDevUpdateInfo() (*PanelUpdateInfo, error) {
+	release, err := fetchPanelRelease(devReleaseTag)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	latestCommit := extractReleaseCommit(release)
+	if latestCommit == "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("dev release commit is unknown")
+	}
+	currentCommit := config.GetBuildCommit()
+	return &PanelUpdateInfo{
+		Channel:         "dev",
+		CurrentVersion:  config.GetVersion(),
+		CurrentCommit:   shortCommit(currentCommit),
+		LatestCommit:    shortCommit(latestCommit),
+		LatestVersion:   "dev+" + shortCommit(latestCommit),
+		UpdateAvailable: !commitsEqual(currentCommit, latestCommit),
+	}, nil
+}
+
 // StartUpdate starts the official updater outside of the current web request.
 func (s *PanelService) StartUpdate() error {
 	if runtime.GOOS != "linux" {
@@ -89,6 +139,10 @@ func (s *PanelService) StartUpdate() error {
 	}
 
 	mainFolder, serviceFolder := resolveUpdateFolders()
+	updateTag := ""
+	if devChannelActive() {
+		updateTag = devReleaseTag
+	}
 	updateScript := fmt.Sprintf("set -e; trap 'rm -f %s' EXIT; %s %s", shellQuote(scriptPath), shellQuote(bash), shellQuote(scriptPath))
 
 	if systemdRun, err := exec.LookPath("systemd-run"); err == nil {
@@ -97,6 +151,7 @@ func (s *PanelService) StartUpdate() error {
 			"--unit", unitName,
 			"--setenv", "XUI_MAIN_FOLDER="+mainFolder,
 			"--setenv", "XUI_SERVICE="+serviceFolder,
+			"--setenv", "XUI_UPDATE_TAG="+updateTag,
 			bash, "-lc", updateScript,
 		)
 		out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
@@ -118,6 +173,7 @@ func (s *PanelService) StartUpdate() error {
 	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(),
 		"XUI_MAIN_FOLDER="+mainFolder,
 		"XUI_SERVICE="+serviceFolder,
+		"XUI_UPDATE_TAG="+updateTag,
 	)
 	setDetachedProcess(cmd)
 	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
@@ -170,24 +226,86 @@ func downloadPanelUpdater() (string, error) {
 }
 
 func fetchLatestPanelVersion() (string, error) {
-	client := (&service.SettingService{}).NewProxiedHTTPClient(10 * time.Second)
-	resp, err := client.Get("https://api.github.com/repos/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases/latest")
+	release, err := fetchPanelRelease("")
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
+	if release.TagName == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("latest panel release tag is empty")
+	}
+	return release.TagName, nil
+}
+
+// fetchPanelRelease fetches a release from GitHub. An empty tag resolves the
+// latest stable release; a non-empty tag (e.g. dev-latest) resolves that tag.
+func fetchPanelRelease(tag string) (*service.Release, error) {
+	url := "https://api.github.com/repos/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases/latest"
+	if tag != "" {
+		url = "https://api.github.com/repos/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases/tags/" + tag
+	}
+	client := (&service.SettingService{}).NewProxiedHTTPClient(10 * time.Second)
+	resp, err := client.Get(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("GitHub API returned status %d: %s", resp.StatusCode, resp.Status)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("GitHub API returned status %d: %s", resp.StatusCode, resp.Status)
 	}
 
 	var release service.Release
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&release); err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return nil, err
 	}
-	if release.TagName == "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("latest panel release tag is empty")
+	return &release, nil
+}
+
+// extractReleaseCommit reads the build commit recorded in the dev release: first
+// the `commit=<sha>` marker the CI writes into the body, falling back to the
+// tag's target commit.
+func extractReleaseCommit(release *service.Release) string {
+	if m := releaseCommitRegex.FindStringSubmatch(release.Body); m != nil {
+		return strings.ToLower(m[1])
 	}
-	return release.TagName, nil
+	if isCommitSHA(release.TargetCommitish) {
+		return strings.ToLower(release.TargetCommitish)
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+func isCommitSHA(s string) bool {
+	s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
+	if len(s) < 7 || len(s) > 40 {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, r := range s {
+		if (r < '0' || r > '9') && (r < 'a' || r > 'f') && (r < 'A' || r > 'F') {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+func shortCommit(sha string) string {
+	sha = strings.TrimSpace(sha)
+	if len(sha) > 8 {
+		return sha[:8]
+	}
+	return sha
+}
+
+// commitsEqual compares a short (injected) commit against a full release commit
+// by prefix, so an 8-char build stamp matches the 40-char release SHA.
+func commitsEqual(a, b string) bool {
+	a = strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(a))
+	b = strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(b))
+	if a == "" || b == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	if len(a) > len(b) {
+		a, b = b, a
+	}
+	return strings.HasPrefix(b, a)
 }
 
 func resolveUpdateFolders() (string, string) {

internal/web/service/panel/panel_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 package panel
 
-import "testing"
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/web/service"
+)
 
 func TestIsNewerVersion(t *testing.T) {
 	cases := []struct {
@@ -39,3 +43,67 @@ func TestShellQuote(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected quote result with single quote: %s", got)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestExtractReleaseCommit(t *testing.T) {
+	full := "1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b"
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		release service.Release
+		want    string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "from body marker",
+			release: service.Release{Body: "Rolling build\n\ncommit=" + full + "\nbuilt=2026-06-24T00:00:00Z"},
+			want:    full,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "body marker is case-insensitive and wins over target",
+			release: service.Release{Body: "COMMIT=" + full, TargetCommitish: "deadbeef"},
+			want:    full,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "fallback to target commit sha",
+			release: service.Release{Body: "no marker here", TargetCommitish: full},
+			want:    full,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "branch target is not a commit",
+			release: service.Release{Body: "no marker", TargetCommitish: "main"},
+			want:    "",
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		if got := extractReleaseCommit(&tc.release); got != tc.want {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: extractReleaseCommit = %q, want %q", tc.name, got, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCommitsEqual(t *testing.T) {
+	full := "1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b"
+	cases := []struct {
+		a, b string
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{"1a2b3c4d", full, true},  // injected 8-char prefix matches full release sha
+		{full, "1a2b3c4d", true},  // order independent
+		{"1A2B3C4D", full, true},  // case insensitive
+		{"deadbeef", full, false}, // different commit
+		{"", full, false},         // empty current never matches
+		{"1a2b3c4d", "", false},   // empty latest never matches
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		if got := commitsEqual(tc.a, tc.b); got != tc.want {
+			t.Fatalf("commitsEqual(%q, %q) = %v, want %v", tc.a, tc.b, got, tc.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestShortCommit(t *testing.T) {
+	if got := shortCommit("1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b"); got != "1a2b3c4d" {
+		t.Fatalf("shortCommit truncation = %q, want %q", got, "1a2b3c4d")
+	}
+	if got := shortCommit("abc"); got != "abc" {
+		t.Fatalf("shortCommit short input = %q, want %q", got, "abc")
+	}
+}

internal/web/service/server.go

@@ -117,7 +117,10 @@ type Status struct {
 
 // Release represents information about a software release from GitHub.
 type Release struct {
-	TagName string `json:"tag_name"` // The tag name of the release
+	TagName         string `json:"tag_name"`         // The tag name of the release
+	Body            string `json:"body"`             // The release notes; the dev channel reads its commit from here
+	TargetCommitish string `json:"target_commitish"` // The branch/commit the tag points at
+	Prerelease      bool   `json:"prerelease"`       // Whether this is a pre-release
 }
 
 // ServerService provides business logic for server monitoring and management.

internal/web/service/setting.go

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/config"
 	"github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/database"
 	"github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/database/model"
 	"github.com/mhsanaei/3x-ui/v3/internal/logger"
@@ -109,6 +110,7 @@ var defaultValueMap = map[string]string{
 	"restartXrayOnClientDisable":  "true",
 	"xrayOutboundTestUrl":         "https://www.google.com/generate_204",
 	"panelOutbound":               "",
+	"devChannelEnable":            "false",
 
 	// LDAP defaults
 	"ldapEnable":            "false",
@@ -855,6 +857,16 @@ func (s *SettingService) SetRestartXrayOnClientDisable(value bool) error {
 	return s.setBool("restartXrayOnClientDisable", value)
 }
 
+// GetDevChannelEnable reports whether the panel self-update tracks the rolling
+// per-commit dev release instead of the latest stable tag.
+func (s *SettingService) GetDevChannelEnable() (bool, error) {
+	return s.getBool("devChannelEnable")
+}
+
+func (s *SettingService) SetDevChannelEnable(value bool) error {
+	return s.setBool("devChannelEnable", value)
+}
+
 // GetIpLimitEnable reports whether the IP-limit feature is available. Always
 // true since the panel enforces limits via the core's online-stats API; on an
 // older core the job falls back to access-log parsing and warns there when the
@@ -1209,25 +1221,27 @@ func (s *SettingService) BuildSubURIBase(host string) string {
 func (s *SettingService) GetDefaultSettings(host string) (any, error) {
 	type settingFunc func() (any, error)
 	settings := map[string]settingFunc{
-		"expireDiff":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetExpireDiff() },
-		"trafficDiff":     func() (any, error) { return s.GetTrafficDiff() },
-		"pageSize":        func() (any, error) { return s.GetPageSize() },
-		"defaultCert":     func() (any, error) { return s.GetCertFile() },
-		"defaultKey":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetKeyFile() },
-		"tgBotEnable":     func() (any, error) { return s.GetTgbotEnabled() },
-		"subThemeDir":     func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubThemeDir() },
-		"subEnable":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubEnable() },
-		"subJsonEnable":   func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubJsonEnable() },
-		"subClashEnable":  func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubClashEnable() },
-		"subTitle":        func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubTitle() },
-		"subURI":          func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubURI() },
-		"subJsonURI":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubJsonURI() },
-		"subClashURI":     func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubClashURI() },
-		"datepicker":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetDatepicker() },
-		"ipLimitEnable":   func() (any, error) { return s.GetIpLimitEnable() },
-		"accessLogEnable": func() (any, error) { return s.GetAccessLogEnable() },
-		"webDomain":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetWebDomain() },
-		"subDomain":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubDomain() },
+		"expireDiff":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetExpireDiff() },
+		"trafficDiff":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetTrafficDiff() },
+		"pageSize":         func() (any, error) { return s.GetPageSize() },
+		"defaultCert":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetCertFile() },
+		"defaultKey":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetKeyFile() },
+		"tgBotEnable":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetTgbotEnabled() },
+		"subThemeDir":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubThemeDir() },
+		"subEnable":        func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubEnable() },
+		"subJsonEnable":    func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubJsonEnable() },
+		"subClashEnable":   func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubClashEnable() },
+		"subTitle":         func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubTitle() },
+		"subURI":           func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubURI() },
+		"subJsonURI":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubJsonURI() },
+		"subClashURI":      func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubClashURI() },
+		"datepicker":       func() (any, error) { return s.GetDatepicker() },
+		"ipLimitEnable":    func() (any, error) { return s.GetIpLimitEnable() },
+		"accessLogEnable":  func() (any, error) { return s.GetAccessLogEnable() },
+		"webDomain":        func() (any, error) { return s.GetWebDomain() },
+		"subDomain":        func() (any, error) { return s.GetSubDomain() },
+		"devChannelEnable": func() (any, error) { return s.GetDevChannelEnable() },
+		"isDevBuild":       func() (any, error) { return config.IsDevBuild(), nil },
 	}
 
 	result := make(map[string]any)

internal/web/translation/ar-EG.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "إصدار البانل الحالي",
       "latestPanelVersion": "أحدث إصدار للبانل",
       "panelUpToDate": "البانل محدث لآخر إصدار",
+      "devChannel": "قناة التطوير",
+      "devChannelWarning": "تتابع نسخ التطوير كل كومِت على main وليست إصدارات مستقرة — لا يوجد رجوع تلقائي لإصدار أقدم.",
+      "currentCommit": "الكومِت الحالي",
+      "latestCommit": "أحدث كومِت",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "تم تغيير قناة التحديث",
       "upToDate": "محدث",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "مش معروف",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "شغالة",

internal/web/translation/en-US.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Current panel version",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Latest panel version",
       "panelUpToDate": "Panel is up to date",
+      "devChannel": "Dev channel",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Dev builds track every commit on main and aren't stable releases — there is no automatic downgrade.",
+      "currentCommit": "Current commit",
+      "latestCommit": "Latest commit",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Update channel changed",
       "upToDate": "Up to date",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Unknown",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Running",

internal/web/translation/es-ES.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Versión actual del panel",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Última versión del panel",
       "panelUpToDate": "El panel está actualizado",
+      "devChannel": "Canal de desarrollo",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Las compilaciones de desarrollo siguen cada commit en main y no son versiones estables; no hay reversión automática.",
+      "currentCommit": "Commit actual",
+      "latestCommit": "Último commit",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Canal de actualización cambiado",
       "upToDate": "Actualizado",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Desconocido",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "En ejecución",

internal/web/translation/fa-IR.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "نسخه فعلی پنل",
       "latestPanelVersion": "آخرین نسخه پنل",
       "panelUpToDate": "پنل به‌روز است",
+      "devChannel": "کانال توسعه (Dev)",
+      "devChannelWarning": "بیلدهای توسعه هر کامیت روی main را دنبال می‌کنند و نسخهٔ پایدار نیستند — بازگشت خودکار به نسخهٔ قبلی وجود ندارد.",
+      "currentCommit": "کامیت فعلی",
+      "latestCommit": "آخرین کامیت",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "کانال به‌روزرسانی تغییر کرد",
       "upToDate": "به‌روز",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "ناشناخته",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "در حال اجرا",

internal/web/translation/id-ID.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Versi panel saat ini",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Versi panel terbaru",
       "panelUpToDate": "Panel sudah terbaru",
+      "devChannel": "Kanal dev",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Build dev mengikuti setiap commit di main dan bukan rilis stabil — tidak ada penurunan versi otomatis.",
+      "currentCommit": "Commit saat ini",
+      "latestCommit": "Commit terbaru",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Kanal pembaruan diubah",
       "upToDate": "Terbaru",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Tidak diketahui",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Berjalan",

internal/web/translation/ja-JP.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "現在のパネルバージョン",
       "latestPanelVersion": "最新のパネルバージョン",
       "panelUpToDate": "パネルは最新です",
+      "devChannel": "開発チャンネル",
+      "devChannelWarning": "開発ビルドは main の各コミットを追跡し、安定版ではありません。自動ダウングレードはありません。",
+      "currentCommit": "現在のコミット",
+      "latestCommit": "最新のコミット",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "更新チャンネルを変更しました",
       "upToDate": "最新",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "不明",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "実行中",

internal/web/translation/pt-BR.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Versão atual do painel",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Última versão do painel",
       "panelUpToDate": "O painel está atualizado",
+      "devChannel": "Canal de desenvolvimento",
+      "devChannelWarning": "As builds de desenvolvimento acompanham cada commit na main e não são versões estáveis — não há downgrade automático.",
+      "currentCommit": "Commit atual",
+      "latestCommit": "Último commit",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Canal de atualização alterado",
       "upToDate": "Atualizado",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Desconhecido",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Em execução",

internal/web/translation/ru-RU.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Текущая версия панели",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Последняя версия панели",
       "panelUpToDate": "Панель обновлена",
+      "devChannel": "Канал разработки",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Сборки разработки отслеживают каждый коммит в main и не являются стабильными релизами — автоматического отката нет.",
+      "currentCommit": "Текущий коммит",
+      "latestCommit": "Последний коммит",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Канал обновления изменён",
       "upToDate": "Обновлено",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Неизвестно",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Запущен",

internal/web/translation/tr-TR.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Mevcut panel sürümü",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Panelin en son sürümü",
       "panelUpToDate": "Panel güncel",
+      "devChannel": "Geliştirme kanalı",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Geliştirme yapıları main üzerindeki her commit'i izler ve kararlı sürüm değildir — otomatik geri alma yoktur.",
+      "currentCommit": "Geçerli commit",
+      "latestCommit": "Son commit",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Güncelleme kanalı değiştirildi",
       "upToDate": "Güncel",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Bilinmiyor",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Çalışıyor",

internal/web/translation/uk-UA.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Поточна версія панелі",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Остання версія панелі",
       "panelUpToDate": "Панель оновлено",
+      "devChannel": "Канал розробки",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Збірки розробки відстежують кожен коміт у main і не є стабільними релізами — автоматичного відкату немає.",
+      "currentCommit": "Поточний коміт",
+      "latestCommit": "Останній коміт",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Канал оновлення змінено",
       "upToDate": "Оновлено",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Невідомо",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Запущено",

internal/web/translation/vi-VN.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "Phiên bản panel hiện tại",
       "latestPanelVersion": "Phiên bản panel mới nhất",
       "panelUpToDate": "Panel đã được cập nhật",
+      "devChannel": "Kênh phát triển",
+      "devChannelWarning": "Bản dev bám theo từng commit trên main và không phải bản ổn định — không có hạ cấp tự động.",
+      "currentCommit": "Commit hiện tại",
+      "latestCommit": "Commit mới nhất",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "Đã đổi kênh cập nhật",
       "upToDate": "Đã cập nhật",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "Không xác định",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "Đang chạy",

internal/web/translation/zh-CN.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "当前面板版本",
       "latestPanelVersion": "最新面板版本",
       "panelUpToDate": "面板已是最新",
+      "devChannel": "开发通道",
+      "devChannelWarning": "开发版会跟踪 main 的每次提交，并非稳定版本，且无法自动降级。",
+      "currentCommit": "当前提交",
+      "latestCommit": "最新提交",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "更新通道已切换",
       "upToDate": "已是最新",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "未知",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "运行中",

internal/web/translation/zh-TW.json

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@
       "currentPanelVersion": "目前面板版本",
       "latestPanelVersion": "最新面板版本",
       "panelUpToDate": "面板已是最新",
+      "devChannel": "開發通道",
+      "devChannelWarning": "開發版會追蹤 main 的每次提交，並非穩定版本，且無法自動降級。",
+      "currentCommit": "目前提交",
+      "latestCommit": "最新提交",
+      "updateChannelChanged": "更新通道已切換",
       "upToDate": "已是最新",
       "xrayStatusUnknown": "未知",
       "xrayStatusRunning": "運行中",

update.sh

@@ -895,9 +895,16 @@ update_x-ui() {
 
     echo -e "${green}Downloading new x-ui version...${plain}"
 
-    tag_version=$(${curl_bin} -Ls "https://api.github.com/repos/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases/latest" 2> /dev/null | grep '"tag_name":' | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
-    if [[ ! -n "$tag_version" ]]; then
-        _fail "ERROR: Failed to fetch x-ui version, it may be due to GitHub API restrictions, please try it later"
+    # XUI_UPDATE_TAG lets the panel target a specific release tag (e.g. the
+    # rolling dev-latest pre-release). Empty keeps the default latest-stable flow.
+    if [[ -n "${XUI_UPDATE_TAG}" ]]; then
+        tag_version="${XUI_UPDATE_TAG}"
+        echo -e "${green}Using update tag: ${tag_version}${plain}"
+    else
+        tag_version=$(${curl_bin} -Ls "https://api.github.com/repos/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases/latest" 2> /dev/null | grep '"tag_name":' | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+        if [[ ! -n "$tag_version" ]]; then
+            _fail "ERROR: Failed to fetch x-ui version, it may be due to GitHub API restrictions, please try it later"
+        fi
     fi
     echo -e "Got x-ui latest version: ${tag_version}, beginning the installation..."
     ${curl_bin} -fLRo ${xui_folder}-linux-$(arch).tar.gz https://github.com/MHSanaei/3x-ui/releases/download/${tag_version}/x-ui-linux-$(arch).tar.gz 2> /dev/null