diff --git a/cloud_backend/.env.example b/cloud_backend/.env.example
index 27e1b1a..ae0e639 100644
--- a/cloud_backend/.env.example
+++ b/cloud_backend/.env.example
@@ -12,3 +12,6 @@ ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES=60
 # Default sysadmin credentials (created on first startup if admin table is empty)
 ADMIN_USERNAME=sysadmin
 ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme
+
+# The current latest release version — clients compare against this to detect updates
+LATEST_VERSION=0.0.0
diff --git a/cloud_backend/config.py b/cloud_backend/config.py
index 22789d6..6a1f72f 100644
--- a/cloud_backend/config.py
+++ b/cloud_backend/config.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES: int = 60
     ADMIN_USERNAME: str = "sysadmin"
     ADMIN_PASSWORD: str = "changeme"
+    LATEST_VERSION: str = "0.0.0"
 
     model_config = {"env_file": str(_HERE / ".env")}