diff --git a/dev-app-update.yml b/dev-app-update.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..95ca79f94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-app-update.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+provider: github
+owner: multica-ai
+repo: multica
diff --git a/src/main/index.ts b/src/main/index.ts
index 3782915e4..928f27039 100644
--- a/src/main/index.ts
+++ b/src/main/index.ts
@@ -7,12 +7,13 @@ import { Conductor } from './conductor/Conductor'
 import { IPC_CHANNELS } from '../shared/ipc-channels'
 import type { PermissionResponse } from '../shared/electron-api'
 import { PermissionManager } from './permission'
-import { updater } from './updater'
+import { createUpdater, AutoUpdater } from './updater'
 
 // Global instances
 let conductor: Conductor
 let mainWindow: BrowserWindow | null = null
 let permissionManager: PermissionManager
+let updater: AutoUpdater
 
 function createWindow(): BrowserWindow {
   const window = new BrowserWindow({
@@ -122,10 +123,14 @@ app.whenReady().then(async () => {
 
   mainWindow = createWindow()
 
-  // Initialize auto-updater (only in production)
-  if (!is.dev) {
-    updater.setMainWindow(() => mainWindow)
-    // Check for updates after window is ready
+  // Initialize auto-updater
+  // Set FORCE_DEV_UPDATE=true to test updates in dev mode
+  const forceDevUpdate = process.env.FORCE_DEV_UPDATE === 'true'
+  updater = createUpdater(forceDevUpdate)
+  updater.setMainWindow(() => mainWindow)
+
+  // Auto-check for updates (in production or when forced)
+  if (!is.dev || forceDevUpdate) {
     mainWindow.once('ready-to-show', () => {
       updater.checkForUpdates()
     })
diff --git a/src/main/updater/index.ts b/src/main/updater/index.ts
index 0ffc3897c..7e4b5c01a 100644
--- a/src/main/updater/index.ts
+++ b/src/main/updater/index.ts
@@ -16,11 +16,25 @@ export interface UpdateStatus {
 export class AutoUpdater {
   private mainWindow: (() => BrowserWindow | null) | null = null
 
-  constructor() {
+  constructor(forceDevUpdateConfig = false) {
     // Configure auto-updater
     autoUpdater.autoDownload = false
     autoUpdater.autoInstallOnAppQuit = true
 
+    // Enable update checking in dev mode for testing
+    if (forceDevUpdateConfig) {
+      autoUpdater.forceDevUpdateConfig = true
+      console.log('[AutoUpdater] Force dev update config enabled')
+    }
+
+    // Enable logging
+    autoUpdater.logger = {
+      info: (msg) => console.log('[AutoUpdater]', msg),
+      warn: (msg) => console.warn('[AutoUpdater]', msg),
+      error: (msg) => console.error('[AutoUpdater]', msg),
+      debug: (msg) => console.log('[AutoUpdater:debug]', msg)
+    }
+
     // Set up event handlers
     autoUpdater.on('checking-for-update', () => {
       this.sendStatus({ status: 'checking' })
@@ -102,5 +116,7 @@ export class AutoUpdater {
   }
 }
 
-// Singleton instance
-export const updater = new AutoUpdater()
+// Factory function to create updater with options
+export function createUpdater(forceDevUpdateConfig = false): AutoUpdater {
+  return new AutoUpdater(forceDevUpdateConfig)
+}