diff --git a/.mokogitea/manifest.xml b/.mokogitea/manifest.xml
index 4a2beb4..b3c0439 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/manifest.xml
+++ b/.mokogitea/manifest.xml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     <name>moko-platform</name>
     <org>MokoConsulting</org>
     <description>Enterprise automation, validation, sync, and governance engine for all Moko Consulting repositories</description>
-    <version>09.01.00</version>
+    <version>09.02.05</version>
     <license spdx="GPL-3.0-or-later">GNU General Public License v3</license>
   </identity>
   <governance>
diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
index f0b1d88..4d8affb 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/pre-release.yml
@@ -76,14 +76,15 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           STABILITY="${{ inputs.stability || 'development' }}"
 
+          # Map stability to Gitea release tag
           case "$STABILITY" in
-            development)        SUFFIX="-dev";   TAG="development" ;;
-            alpha)              SUFFIX="-alpha"; TAG="alpha" ;;
-            beta)               SUFFIX="-beta";  TAG="beta" ;;
-            release-candidate)  SUFFIX="-rc";    TAG="release-candidate" ;;
+            development)        TAG="development" ;;
+            alpha)              TAG="alpha" ;;
+            beta)               TAG="beta" ;;
+            release-candidate)  TAG="release-candidate" ;;
           esac
 
-          # Read current version (bump already handled by push workflow)
+          # Read current version (includes suffix from manifest, e.g. 01.02.14-dev)
           VERSION=$(php ${MOKO_CLI}/version_read.php --path . 2>/dev/null)
           [ -z "$VERSION" ] && VERSION="00.00.01"
 
@@ -112,16 +113,15 @@ jobs:
           EXT_ELEMENT=$(grep '^ext_element=' "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" | tail -1 | cut -d= -f2)
           ZIP_NAME=$(grep '^zip_name=' "$GITHUB_OUTPUT" | tail -1 | cut -d= -f2)
           [ -z "$EXT_ELEMENT" ] && EXT_ELEMENT=$(echo "${GITEA_REPO}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | tr -d ' -')
-          [ -z "$ZIP_NAME" ] && ZIP_NAME="${EXT_ELEMENT}-${VERSION}${SUFFIX}.zip"
+          [ -z "$ZIP_NAME" ] && ZIP_NAME="${EXT_ELEMENT}-${VERSION}.zip"
 
           echo "version=${VERSION}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "stability=${STABILITY}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-          echo "suffix=${SUFFIX}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "tag=${TAG}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "zip_name=${ZIP_NAME}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           echo "ext_element=${EXT_ELEMENT}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
-          echo "=== Pre-Release: ${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION}${SUFFIX} ==="
+          echo "=== Pre-Release: ${EXT_ELEMENT} ${VERSION} ==="
 
       - name: Create release
         id: release
diff --git a/.mokogitea/workflows/update-server.yml b/.mokogitea/workflows/update-server.yml
index 23cd2b5..b011f1b 100644
--- a/.mokogitea/workflows/update-server.yml
+++ b/.mokogitea/workflows/update-server.yml
@@ -182,14 +182,8 @@ jobs:
           PHP_TAG=""
           [ -n "$PHP_MINIMUM" ] && PHP_TAG="<php_minimum>${PHP_MINIMUM}</php_minimum>"
 
-          # Version suffix for non-stable
-          DISPLAY_VERSION="$VERSION"
-          case "$STABILITY" in
-            development) DISPLAY_VERSION="${VERSION}-dev" ;;
-            alpha)       DISPLAY_VERSION="${VERSION}-alpha" ;;
-            beta)        DISPLAY_VERSION="${VERSION}-beta" ;;
-            rc)          DISPLAY_VERSION="${VERSION}-rc" ;;
-          esac
+          # VERSION already includes suffix from manifest (e.g. 01.02.14-dev)
+          # No separate DISPLAY_VERSION needed
 
           MAJOR=$(echo "$VERSION" | awk -F. '{print $1}')
 
@@ -202,7 +196,7 @@ jobs:
             *)           RELEASE_TAG="v${MAJOR}" ;;
           esac
 
-          PACKAGE_NAME="${EXT_ELEMENT}-${DISPLAY_VERSION}.zip"
+          PACKAGE_NAME="${EXT_ELEMENT}-${VERSION}.zip"
           DOWNLOAD_URL="${GITEA_URL}/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}/releases/download/${RELEASE_TAG}/${PACKAGE_NAME}"
           INFO_URL="${GITEA_URL}/${GITEA_ORG}/${GITEA_REPO}"
 
@@ -211,7 +205,7 @@ jobs:
           [ ! -d "$SOURCE_DIR" ] && SOURCE_DIR="htdocs"
           if [ -d "$SOURCE_DIR" ]; then
             EXCLUDES=".ftpignore sftp-config* *.ppk *.pem *.key .env*"
-            TAR_NAME="${EXT_ELEMENT}-${DISPLAY_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+            TAR_NAME="${EXT_ELEMENT}-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
 
             cd "$SOURCE_DIR"
             zip -r "/tmp/${PACKAGE_NAME}" . -x $EXCLUDES
@@ -234,7 +228,7 @@ jobs:
                 "${API_BASE}/releases" \
                 -d "$(python3 -c "import json; print(json.dumps({
                   'tag_name': '${RELEASE_TAG}',
-                  'name': '${RELEASE_TAG} (${DISPLAY_VERSION})',
+                  'name': '${RELEASE_TAG} (${VERSION})',
                   'body': '${STABILITY} release',
                   'prerelease': True,
                   'target_commitish': 'main'
@@ -371,7 +365,7 @@ jobs:
           git config --local user.name "gitea-actions[bot]"
           git add updates.xml
           git diff --cached --quiet || {
-            git commit -m "chore: update updates.xml (${STABILITY}: ${DISPLAY_VERSION}) [skip ci]" \
+            git commit -m "chore: update updates.xml (${STABILITY}: ${VERSION}) [skip ci]" \
               --author="gitea-actions[bot] <gitea-actions[bot]@mokoconsulting.tech>"
             git push
           }
@@ -600,6 +594,6 @@ jobs:
           echo "| Field | Value |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "|-------|-------|" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Stability | \`${STABILITY}\` |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "| Version | \`${DISPLAY_VERSION}\` |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "| Version | \`${VERSION}\` |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Element | \`${EXT_ELEMENT}\` |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo "| Download | [ZIP](${DOWNLOAD_URL}) |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d6e4565..3ed44e2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ DEFGROUP: MokoStandards.Root
 INGROUP: MokoStandards
 REPO: https://git.mokoconsulting.tech/MokoConsulting/moko-platform
 PATH: /README.md
-VERSION: 09.02.04
+VERSION: 09.02.05
 BRIEF: Project overview and documentation
 -->
 
diff --git a/cli/version_bump.php b/cli/version_bump.php
index f2ba7c3..052bbcb 100644
--- a/cli/version_bump.php
+++ b/cli/version_bump.php
@@ -26,12 +26,14 @@ $root = realpath($path) ?: $path;
 
 // -- 1. Read version from .mokogitea/manifest.xml (canonical) --
 $mokoVersion = null;
+$mokoSuffix = '';
 $mokoManifest = "{$root}/.mokogitea/manifest.xml";
 $mokoContent = '';
 if (file_exists($mokoManifest)) {
     $mokoContent = file_get_contents($mokoManifest);
-    if (preg_match('|<version>(\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2})</version>|', $mokoContent, $m)) {
+    if (preg_match('|<version>(\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2})(?:-([a-z]+))?</version>|', $mokoContent, $m)) {
         $mokoVersion = $m[1];
+        $mokoSuffix = isset($m[2]) ? $m[2] : '';
     }
 }
 
@@ -66,8 +68,8 @@ foreach ($manifestFiles as $xmlFile) {
         $candidate = $xm[1];
         if ($manifestVersion === null || version_compare($candidate, $manifestVersion, '>')) {
             $manifestVersion = $candidate;
-            // Preserve the suffix from the manifest (e.g. -dev, -rc)
-            $manifestSuffix = $xm[2] ?? '';
+            // Preserve the suffix from the manifest (e.g. dev, rc) — strip leading dash
+            $manifestSuffix = ltrim($xm[2] ?? '', '-');
         }
     }
 }
@@ -109,16 +111,15 @@ switch ($type) {
 
 $new = sprintf('%02d.%02d.%02d', $major, $minor, $patch);
 
-// Preserve suffix from the original version (e.g. -dev, -rc, -alpha, -beta)
-// The suffix only changes when the branch changes, not on patch bumps
-$suffix = $manifestSuffix ?? '';
-$newWithSuffix = $new . $suffix;
+// -- Determine suffix to preserve (moko manifest takes priority, then Joomla) --
+$suffix = !empty($mokoSuffix) ? $mokoSuffix : (!empty($manifestSuffix) ? $manifestSuffix : '');
+$newFull = $suffix !== '' ? "{$new}-{$suffix}" : $new;
 
-// -- Update .mokogitea/manifest.xml (canonical target) --
+// -- Update .mokogitea/manifest.xml (canonical — preserves suffix) --
 if (file_exists($mokoManifest) && !empty($mokoContent)) {
     $updated = preg_replace(
         '|<version>\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(?:-[a-z]+)?</version>|',
-        "<version>{$newWithSuffix}</version>",
+        "<version>{$newFull}</version>",
         $mokoContent,
         1
     );
@@ -129,7 +130,7 @@ if (file_exists($mokoManifest) && !empty($mokoContent)) {
 if (file_exists($readme) && !empty($readmeContent)) {
     $updated = preg_replace(
         '/(VERSION:\s*)\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(?:-[a-z]+)?/m',
-        '${1}' . $newWithSuffix,
+        '${1}' . $newFull,
         $readmeContent,
         1
     );
@@ -154,7 +155,7 @@ foreach ($xmlPatterns as $pattern) {
         }
         $newContent = preg_replace(
             '|<version>\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(?:-[a-z]+)?</version>|',
-            "<version>{$newWithSuffix}</version>",
+            "<version>{$newFull}</version>",
             $content
         );
         if ($newContent !== $content) {
@@ -174,7 +175,7 @@ if (file_exists($packageJsonFile)) {
     $pkgContent = file_get_contents($packageJsonFile);
     $updatedPkg = preg_replace(
         '/("version"\s*:\s*")\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(?:-[a-z]+)?(")/m',
-        '${1}' . $newWithSuffix . '${2}',
+        '${1}' . $newFull . '${2}',
         $pkgContent
     );
     if ($updatedPkg !== $pkgContent) {
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ if (file_exists($pyprojectFile)) {
     $pyContent = file_get_contents($pyprojectFile);
     $updatedPy = preg_replace(
         '/^(version\s*=\s*")\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(?:-[a-z]+)?(")/m',
-        '${1}' . $newWithSuffix . '${2}',
+        '${1}' . $newFull . '${2}',
         $pyContent
     );
     if ($updatedPy !== $pyContent) {
@@ -198,5 +199,6 @@ if (file_exists($pyprojectFile)) {
     }
 }
 
-echo "{$old}{$suffix} -> {$newWithSuffix}\n";
+$oldFull = $suffix !== '' ? "{$old}-{$suffix}" : $old;
+echo "{$oldFull} -> {$newFull}\n";
 exit(0);
diff --git a/cli/version_read.php b/cli/version_read.php
index a6baedf..bdc2350 100644
--- a/cli/version_read.php
+++ b/cli/version_read.php
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if (file_exists($mokoManifest)) {
     $xml = @simplexml_load_file($mokoManifest);
     if ($xml !== false) {
         $v = (string)($xml->identity->version ?? '');
-        if (preg_match('/^\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}$/', $v)) {
+        if (preg_match('/^\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(-[a-z]+)?$/', $v)) {
             $mokoVersion = $v;
         }
     }
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ if ($version === null) {
 // -- Backfill: if manifest.xml exists but lacks <version>, insert it --
 if (file_exists($mokoManifest)) {
     $content = file_get_contents($mokoManifest);
-    if (!preg_match('|<version>\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}</version>|', $content)) {
+    if (!preg_match('|<version>\d{2}\.\d{2}\.\d{2}(-[a-z]+)?</version>|', $content)) {
         if (strpos($content, '<license') !== false) {
             $content = preg_replace(
                 '|(\s*<license)|',