diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 892d83a3b..5300fd61c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -29,11 +29,23 @@ jobs:
         id: version
         run: |
           if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "push" ]; then
-            echo "version=${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            VERSION="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
           else
             BRANCH="${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}"
-            echo "version=${BRANCH#release/v}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            VERSION="${BRANCH#release/v}"
           fi
+          echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+          # Detect pre-release tag (e.g. 0.1.16-alpha.1 → alpha, 0.1.16-beta.2 → beta)
+          if [[ "$VERSION" =~ -([a-zA-Z]+) ]]; then
+            DIST_TAG="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+            echo "prerelease=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            DIST_TAG="latest"
+            echo "prerelease=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          fi
+          echo "dist_tag=${DIST_TAG}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Resolved version=${VERSION} dist_tag=${DIST_TAG}"
 
       - name: Create release tag
         if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
@@ -56,6 +68,7 @@ jobs:
           NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
         run: |
           VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          DIST_TAG="${{ steps.version.outputs.dist_tag }}"
           FAILED=0
 
           publish_pkg() {
@@ -69,7 +82,7 @@ jobs:
             fi
 
             echo "📦 Publishing ${name}@${VERSION}..."
-            if pnpm --filter "$filter" publish --access public --no-git-checks; then
+            if pnpm --filter "$filter" publish --access public --no-git-checks --tag "$DIST_TAG"; then
               echo "✅ ${name}@${VERSION} published"
             else
               echo "❌ ${name}@${VERSION} failed to publish"
@@ -96,7 +109,7 @@ jobs:
               fs.writeFileSync(p, JSON.stringify(pkg, null, 2) + '\n');
             "
             echo "📦 Publishing hyperframes@${VERSION}..."
-            if (cd packages/cli && npm publish --access public); then
+            if (cd packages/cli && npm publish --access public --tag "$DIST_TAG"); then
               echo "✅ hyperframes@${VERSION} published"
             else
               echo "❌ hyperframes@${VERSION} failed to publish"
@@ -114,12 +127,14 @@ jobs:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
           VERSION="${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}"
+          PRERELEASE="${{ steps.version.outputs.prerelease }}"
           # Skip if release already exists (idempotent re-runs)
           if gh release view "v${VERSION}" --repo "${{ github.repository }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
             echo "Release v${VERSION} already exists — skipping"
           else
-            gh release create "v${VERSION}" \
-              --repo "${{ github.repository }}" \
-              --title "v${VERSION}" \
-              --generate-notes
+            FLAGS=(--repo "${{ github.repository }}" --title "v${VERSION}" --generate-notes)
+            if [ "$PRERELEASE" = "true" ]; then
+              FLAGS+=(--prerelease)
+            fi
+            gh release create "v${VERSION}" "${FLAGS[@]}"
           fi
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 22f1d7b36..fecd6aaa1 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ Git hooks (via [lefthook](https://github.com/evilmartians/lefthook)) run automat
 
 All packages use **fixed versioning** — every release bumps all packages to the same version.
 
+### Stable releases
+
 ```bash
 bun run set-version 0.2.0            # bumps all packages, commits, and creates git tag
 git push origin main --tags           # triggers the publish workflow
@@ -66,6 +68,26 @@ git push origin main --tags           # triggers the publish workflow
 
 The `set-version` script automatically creates a `chore: release v<version>` commit and a `v<version>` git tag. Pushing the tag triggers CI to publish all packages to npm and create a GitHub Release.
 
+### Pre-releases (alpha / beta / rc)
+
+Use a pre-release suffix to publish to a named npm dist-tag instead of `latest`:
+
+```bash
+bun run set-version 0.2.0-alpha.1    # first alpha
+git push origin v0.2.0-alpha.1       # publishes to npm with --tag alpha
+
+bun run set-version 0.2.0-alpha.2    # iterate
+bun run set-version 0.2.0-beta.1     # promote to beta (--tag beta)
+bun run set-version 0.2.0-rc.1       # release candidate (--tag rc)
+bun run set-version 0.2.0            # final stable release (--tag latest)
+```
+
+Consumers install pre-releases with `npm install @hyperframes/core@alpha` (or `@beta`, `@rc`). The `latest` tag is never touched by pre-releases, so `npm install @hyperframes/core` always gets the last stable version.
+
+Pre-releases also create GitHub Releases marked as **pre-release**.
+
+### Options
+
 If you need to bump versions without committing (e.g., for a release PR), pass `--no-tag`:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/scripts/set-version.ts b/scripts/set-version.ts
index f01310ff8..166dced5a 100644
--- a/scripts/set-version.ts
+++ b/scripts/set-version.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,13 @@
  * then create a git commit and tag.
  *
  * Usage:
- *   bun run set-version 0.1.1          # bump, commit, and tag
+ *   bun run set-version 0.1.1          # stable release → npm "latest" tag
+ *   bun run set-version 0.1.1-alpha.1  # pre-release  → npm "alpha" tag
  *   bun run set-version 0.1.1 --no-tag # bump only (no commit or tag)
  *
  * All packages share a single version number (fixed versioning).
+ * Pre-release suffixes (-alpha, -beta, -rc, etc.) are detected by the
+ * publish workflow and published to the corresponding npm dist-tag.
  */
 
 import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
@@ -79,7 +82,16 @@ function main() {
   execSync(`git commit -m "chore: release v${version}"`, { cwd: ROOT, stdio: "inherit" });
   execSync(`git tag v${version}`, { cwd: ROOT, stdio: "inherit" });
   console.log(`\nCreated commit and tag v${version}`);
-  console.log(`Run 'git push origin main --tags' to trigger the publish workflow.`);
+
+  const isPrerelease = version.includes("-");
+  if (isPrerelease) {
+    const distTag = version.replace(/^.*-([a-zA-Z]+).*$/, "$1");
+    console.log(`\nThis is a pre-release — npm dist-tag will be "${distTag}" (not "latest").`);
+    console.log(`Consumers install with: npm install @hyperframes/core@${distTag}`);
+    console.log(`\nRun 'git push origin v${version}' to trigger the publish workflow.`);
+  } else {
+    console.log(`Run 'git push origin main --tags' to trigger the publish workflow.`);
+  }
 }
 
 main();