diff --git a/ui/desktop/README.md b/ui/desktop/README.md
index 09c20f8b7..5db4b1791 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/README.md
+++ b/ui/desktop/README.md
@@ -72,7 +72,8 @@ These environment variables may be used to customized the build.
 | Variable | Description |
 | -------- | ----------- |
 | `DEBUG_APP_UPDATER` | Enable to debug app updater feature. Must be enabled for all `APP_UPDATER_*` variables to be used. |
-| `APP_UPDATER_LATEST_VERSION_TAG` | Version string for comparison with current release version. |
+| `APP_UPDATER_CURRENT_VERSION` | Version of client. |
+| `APP_UPDATER_LATEST_VERSION_TAG` | Next version for comparison with current version. |
 | `APP_UPDATER_LATEST_VERSION_LOCATION` | Location of app release to use for updating client. Can be a filepath or url. |
 
 ### Building for Production
diff --git a/ui/desktop/electron-app/config/forge.config.js b/ui/desktop/electron-app/config/forge.config.js
index 7cea2a94e..293ae0952 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/electron-app/config/forge.config.js
+++ b/ui/desktop/electron-app/config/forge.config.js
@@ -18,12 +18,13 @@ console.log('RELEASE_VERSION     ', process.env.RELEASE_VERSION);
 console.log('RELEASE_COMMIT      ', process.env.RELEASE_COMMIT);
 
 module.exports = {
+  releaseVersion: process.env.RELEASE_VERSION,
   hooks: {
     prePackage: () => {
       if (!process.env.BOUNDARY_DESKTOP_SIGNING_IDENTITY) {
         console.warn('\nWARNING: Could not find signing identity.');
       }
-    }
+    },
   },
   packagerConfig: {
     ignore: ['/ember-test(/|$)', '/tests(/|$)'],
diff --git a/ui/desktop/electron-app/src/app-updater.js b/ui/desktop/electron-app/src/app-updater.js
index db702743c..8fcc785e7 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/electron-app/src/app-updater.js
+++ b/ui/desktop/electron-app/src/app-updater.js
@@ -4,10 +4,14 @@ const https = require('https');
 const semver = require('semver');
 const { parse } = require('node-html-parser');
 const { autoUpdater, dialog } = require('electron');
+const { releaseVersion } = require('../config/forge.config.js');
 
 const debug = process.env.DEBUG_APP_UPDATER;
 const releasesUrl = 'https://releases.hashicorp.com/boundary-desktop/';
-const currentVersion = '1.0.0-beta';
+let currentVersion = releaseVersion;
+if (debug && process.env.APP_UPDATER_CURRENT_VERSION) {
+  currentVersion = process.env.APP_UPDATER_CURRENT_VERSION;
+}
 
 // Query releases url to find latest version
 const findLatestVersion = (url) => {