diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2f0bd94..fa22f2a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
     "jsonwebtoken": "^9.0.0",
     "morgan": "^1.10.0",
     "node-fetch": "^2.6.11",
+    "semver": "^7.5.4",
     "transmission-promise": "^1.1.5",
     "xml2js": "^0.5.0"
   },
diff --git a/server-endpoints.js b/server-endpoints.js
index d2a6d57..4dc45ea 100644
--- a/server-endpoints.js
+++ b/server-endpoints.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ const { promisify } = require('util');
 const execAsync = promisify(exec);
 const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
+const semver = require('semver'); // Add this - for semantic version comparison
 
 // Add these endpoints
 
@@ -60,9 +61,8 @@ app.get('/api/system/check-updates', async (req, res) => {
       });
     }
     
-    // Get current version
-    const packageJson = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, 'package.json'), 'utf8'));
-    const currentVersion = packageJson.version;
+    // Get current version from the global APP_VERSION constant
+    const currentVersion = APP_VERSION;
     
     // Check for test mode flag which forces update availability for testing
     const testMode = req.query.test === 'true';
@@ -94,13 +94,17 @@ app.get('/api/system/check-updates', async (req, res) => {
       const remotePackage = JSON.parse(remotePackageJson);
       const remoteVersion = remotePackage.version;
       
+      // Compare versions semantically - only consider it an update if remote version is higher
+      const isNewerVersion = semver.gt(remoteVersion, currentVersion);
+      
       return res.json({
         status: 'success',
         data: {
-          updateAvailable: true,
+          updateAvailable: isNewerVersion,
           currentVersion,
           remoteVersion,
-          commitsBehind: behindCount
+          commitsBehind: behindCount,
+          newerVersion: isNewerVersion
         }
       });
     } else {
diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index 0f3ad8d..1b028d5 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ const DEFAULT_PORT = 3000;
 const JWT_SECRET = process.env.JWT_SECRET || 'transmission-rss-manager-secret';
 const JWT_EXPIRY = '24h';
 
+// Get the version from package.json (single source of truth)
+const PACKAGE_JSON = require('./package.json');
+const APP_VERSION = PACKAGE_JSON.version;
+
 // Create Express app
 const app = express();
 
@@ -92,7 +96,7 @@ async function loadConfig() {
   try {
     // Define default configuration
     const defaultConfig = {
-      version: '2.0.0',
+      version: APP_VERSION, // Use the version from package.json
       transmissionConfig: {
         host: 'localhost',
         port: 9091,
@@ -152,9 +156,9 @@ async function loadConfig() {
       const mergedConfig = mergeConfigs(defaultConfig, loadedConfig);
       
       // If version is different, save updated config
-      if (loadedConfig.version !== defaultConfig.version) {
-        console.log(`Updating config from version ${loadedConfig.version || 'unknown'} to ${defaultConfig.version}`);
-        mergedConfig.version = defaultConfig.version;
+      if (loadedConfig.version !== APP_VERSION) {
+        console.log(`Updating config from version ${loadedConfig.version || 'unknown'} to ${APP_VERSION}`);
+        mergedConfig.version = APP_VERSION;
         await saveConfig(mergedConfig);
       }