diff --git a/atsf_server/service/update.go b/atsf_server/service/update.go
index b373e1df..cff3c56f 100644
--- a/atsf_server/service/update.go
+++ b/atsf_server/service/update.go
@@ -580,10 +580,12 @@ func isVersionNewer(current string, latest string) bool {
 }
 
 type versionInfo struct {
-	Valid      bool
-	IsDev      bool
-	Numbers    []int
-	Prerelease []string
+	Valid               bool
+	IsDev               bool
+	Numbers             []int
+	Prerelease          []string
+	GitDescribeDistance int
+	GitDescribeTail     []string
 }
 
 func parseVersionInfo(version string) versionInfo {
@@ -626,11 +628,32 @@ func parseVersionInfo(version string) versionInfo {
 	}
 	info := versionInfo{Valid: len(parts) > 0, Numbers: parts}
 	if prerelease != "" {
-		info.Prerelease = splitPrereleaseIdentifiers(prerelease)
+		identifiers := splitPrereleaseIdentifiers(prerelease)
+		if distance, tail, ok := parseGitDescribeIdentifiers(identifiers); ok {
+			info.GitDescribeDistance = distance
+			info.GitDescribeTail = tail
+		} else {
+			info.Prerelease = identifiers
+		}
 	}
 	return info
 }
 
+func parseGitDescribeIdentifiers(identifiers []string) (int, []string, bool) {
+	if len(identifiers) < 2 {
+		return 0, nil, false
+	}
+	distance, err := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(identifiers[0]))
+	if err != nil || distance <= 0 {
+		return 0, nil, false
+	}
+	commitToken := strings.TrimSpace(identifiers[1])
+	if commitToken == "" || !strings.HasPrefix(strings.ToLower(commitToken), "g") {
+		return 0, nil, false
+	}
+	return distance, identifiers[1:], true
+}
+
 func splitPrereleaseIdentifiers(value string) []string {
 	parts := strings.FieldsFunc(strings.TrimSpace(value), func(r rune) bool {
 		return r == '.' || r == '-'
@@ -667,6 +690,34 @@ func compareVersionInfo(left versionInfo, right versionInfo) int {
 		}
 	}
 
+	if left.GitDescribeDistance != right.GitDescribeDistance {
+		if left.GitDescribeDistance < right.GitDescribeDistance {
+			return -1
+		}
+		return 1
+	}
+	if left.GitDescribeDistance > 0 || right.GitDescribeDistance > 0 {
+		maxLen = len(left.GitDescribeTail)
+		if len(right.GitDescribeTail) > maxLen {
+			maxLen = len(right.GitDescribeTail)
+		}
+		for index := 0; index < maxLen; index++ {
+			if index >= len(left.GitDescribeTail) {
+				return -1
+			}
+			if index >= len(right.GitDescribeTail) {
+				return 1
+			}
+			if left.GitDescribeTail[index] < right.GitDescribeTail[index] {
+				return -1
+			}
+			if left.GitDescribeTail[index] > right.GitDescribeTail[index] {
+				return 1
+			}
+		}
+		return 0
+	}
+
 	if len(left.Prerelease) == 0 && len(right.Prerelease) == 0 {
 		return 0
 	}
diff --git a/atsf_server/service/update_test.go b/atsf_server/service/update_test.go
index 90425a43..618826c6 100644
--- a/atsf_server/service/update_test.go
+++ b/atsf_server/service/update_test.go
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ func TestIsVersionNewer(t *testing.T) {
 		{name: "stable newer than prerelease", current: "v1.2.3-rc.1", latest: "v1.2.3", expected: true},
 		{name: "prerelease not newer than same stable", current: "v1.2.3", latest: "v1.2.3-rc.1", expected: false},
 		{name: "newer prerelease sequence", current: "v1.2.3-rc.1", latest: "v1.2.3-rc.2", expected: true},
+		{name: "git describe newer than same tag", current: "v0.6.3", latest: "v0.6.3-2-gf4d36be", expected: true},
+		{name: "git describe distance compares numerically", current: "v0.6.3-2-gf4d36be", latest: "v0.6.3-5-gabc1234", expected: true},
 		{name: "dev build", current: "dev", latest: "v0.4.0", expected: true},
 	}
 
@@ -225,6 +227,13 @@ func TestUploadManualServerBinary(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestBuildUploadedServerBinaryViewAcceptsGitDescribeNewerThanTag(t *testing.T) {
+	info := buildUploadedServerBinaryView("atsflare-server-test", "v0.6.3", "v0.6.3-2-gf4d36be", time.Now())
+	if !info.HasUpdate || !info.ReadyToUpgrade {
+		t.Fatalf("expected git describe binary to be upgradeable: %+v", info)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestUploadManualServerBinaryRejectsSameVersion(t *testing.T) {
 	originalVersion := common.Version
 	common.Version = "v0.5.0"