diff --git a/.github/workflows/hourly-mac-build.yml b/.github/workflows/hourly-mac-build.yml
index d256faecb..7576fabc6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/hourly-mac-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/hourly-mac-build.yml
@@ -170,7 +170,37 @@ jobs:
       - name: Compute hourly version
         id: hourly
         if: steps.freshness.outputs.should_build == 'true'
-        run: node config/scripts/hourly-build-version.mjs >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          # Why read the highest number off existing titles rather than counting
+          # releases: the prune step trims to HOURLY_RETAIN_COUNT, so a count would
+          # roll backwards after three days and reissue numbers already in use. The
+          # maximum is always among the retained builds, because pruning drops the
+          # oldest. `capture(...)?` swallows the non-match on legacy titles, which
+          # were the raw tag, so the series simply starts at 01.
+          #
+          # Why drafts count here but not in the freshness check: that check asks
+          # "did this commit ship", where a draft is a no. This one asks "is the
+          # number free", where a stranded draft still holds one.
+          last_number="$(gh release list --repo "$HOURLY_REPO" --limit 200 --json name,isDraft \
+            --jq '[.[] | (.name // "") | capture(" • (?<n>[0-9]+) • ")? | .n | tonumber] | max // 0')"
+          build_number=$(( last_number + 1 ))
+          echo "Hourly build number $build_number (previous high: $last_number)"
+          ORCA_HOURLY_BUILD_NUMBER="$build_number" node config/scripts/hourly-build-version.mjs \
+            >"$RUNNER_TEMP/hourly-identity.txt"
+          # Why check rather than trust: the checkout above pins `ref: main`, but a
+          # workflow_dispatch runs this file from whatever branch was dispatched. A
+          # branch that edits this step while main still has the old script yields
+          # an empty name and an untitled release — silent, and only visible once
+          # someone opens the releases page. Fail here instead.
+          if ! grep -q '^name=' "$RUNNER_TEMP/hourly-identity.txt"; then
+            echo "::error::hourly-build-version.mjs emitted no release name; this workflow and main's copy of the script are out of sync."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          cat "$RUNNER_TEMP/hourly-identity.txt" >>"$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Build app
         if: steps.freshness.outputs.should_build == 'true'
@@ -189,9 +219,12 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
           TAG: v${{ steps.hourly.outputs.version }}
+          NAME: ${{ steps.hourly.outputs.name }}
           SHA: ${{ steps.freshness.outputs.head_sha }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
+          # Kept at 12 even though the title shows 7: the freshness check above
+          # parses this back out of the body to decide whether main has moved.
           short_sha="${SHA:0:12}"
           # Why create it up front: electron-builder then uploads into a known tag
           # rather than inferring one from package.json.
@@ -205,7 +238,7 @@ jobs:
           # after the manifest is verified.
           gh release create "$TAG" \
             --repo "$HOURLY_REPO" \
-            --title "$TAG" \
+            --title "$NAME" \
             --draft \
             --notes "Automated hourly macOS dev build from commit \`$short_sha\`.
 
@@ -276,10 +309,14 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
           TAG: ${{ steps.release.outputs.tag }}
+          NAME: ${{ steps.hourly.outputs.name }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          gh release edit "$TAG" --repo "$HOURLY_REPO" --draft=false --prerelease
-          echo "Published $TAG"
+          # --title again: electron-builder resolves this draft by tag and may
+          # rewrite its title on upload. Re-asserting here means the name the
+          # picker reads is the one composed above, whatever it did in between.
+          gh release edit "$TAG" --repo "$HOURLY_REPO" --draft=false --prerelease --title "$NAME"
+          echo "Published $TAG as \"$NAME\""
 
       # Why: a draft left behind by a failed publish is invisible to users but still
       # holds its tag name, so the next run for the same minute would collide.
diff --git a/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.mjs b/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.mjs
index 6ed30a059..8d8dafc22 100644
--- a/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.mjs
@@ -28,16 +28,59 @@ export function createHourlyBuildVersion(baseVersion, date) {
   return `${match[1]}-hourly.${stamp}`
 }
 
-export function getHourlyBuildIdentity(now = new Date()) {
+const RELEASE_NAME_TIME_ZONE = 'America/Los_Angeles'
+
+/**
+ * `1.4.163 • 01 • 07-31 13:54 • e698241` — the human-facing release title, shown
+ * verbatim in both the GitHub releases list and the in-app build picker.
+ *
+ * Why Pacific while the tag's stamp stays UTC: the stamp is a sort key, and a
+ * local one would repeat an hour at every DST fall-back, making two distinct
+ * builds compare equal. The title is only ever read, so it uses the timezone the
+ * people reading it are in. The two therefore disagree by the current offset.
+ */
+export function formatHourlyReleaseName(version, buildNumber, commit, date) {
+  if (!Number.isInteger(buildNumber) || buildNumber < 1) {
+    throw new Error(`Hourly build number must be a positive integer: ${buildNumber}`)
+  }
+  if (!(date instanceof Date) || Number.isNaN(date.getTime())) {
+    throw new Error('Hourly build timestamp is invalid.')
+  }
+  const parts = Object.fromEntries(
+    new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', {
+      timeZone: RELEASE_NAME_TIME_ZONE,
+      month: '2-digit',
+      day: '2-digit',
+      hour: '2-digit',
+      minute: '2-digit',
+      // Why h23 rather than hour12: false: some ICU builds render midnight as 24.
+      hourCycle: 'h23'
+    })
+      .formatToParts(date)
+      .map((part) => [part.type, part.value])
+  )
+  return [
+    version.split('-')[0],
+    String(buildNumber).padStart(2, '0'),
+    `${parts.month}-${parts.day} ${parts.hour}:${parts.minute}`,
+    commit.slice(0, 7)
+  ].join(' • ')
+}
+
+export function getHourlyBuildIdentity(now = new Date(), buildNumber = 1) {
   const packageJson = JSON.parse(readFileSync(resolve('package.json'), 'utf8'))
   const commit = execFileSync('git', ['rev-parse', '--short=12', 'HEAD'], {
     encoding: 'utf8'
   }).trim()
-  return { commit, version: createHourlyBuildVersion(packageJson.version, now) }
+  const version = createHourlyBuildVersion(packageJson.version, now)
+  return { commit, version, name: formatHourlyReleaseName(version, buildNumber, commit, now) }
 }
 
 if (process.argv[1] && resolve(process.argv[1]) === resolve(import.meta.filename)) {
-  const identity = getHourlyBuildIdentity()
+  const buildNumber = Number(process.env.ORCA_HOURLY_BUILD_NUMBER ?? '1')
+  const identity = getHourlyBuildIdentity(new Date(), buildNumber)
   // Consumed by the workflow via $GITHUB_OUTPUT.
-  process.stdout.write(`version=${identity.version}\ncommit=${identity.commit}\n`)
+  process.stdout.write(
+    `version=${identity.version}\ncommit=${identity.commit}\nname=${identity.name}\n`
+  )
 }
diff --git a/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.test.mjs b/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.test.mjs
index e75951c48..4454ff815 100644
--- a/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.test.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/hourly-build-version.test.mjs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { createHourlyBuildVersion } from './hourly-build-version.mjs'
+import { createHourlyBuildVersion, formatHourlyReleaseName } from './hourly-build-version.mjs'
 import { compareAppVersions } from '../../src/shared/app-version'
 
 describe('createHourlyBuildVersion', () => {
@@ -28,3 +28,45 @@ describe('createHourlyBuildVersion', () => {
     expect(() => createHourlyBuildVersion('1.4.160', new Date('nope'))).toThrow(/invalid/)
   })
 })
+
+describe('formatHourlyReleaseName', () => {
+  const name = (iso, buildNumber = 1, commit = 'e698241abcde') =>
+    formatHourlyReleaseName('1.4.163-hourly.x', buildNumber, commit, new Date(iso))
+
+  it('renders version, number, Pacific timestamp, and short sha', () => {
+    expect(name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z')).toBe('1.4.163 • 01 • 07-31 13:54 • e698241')
+  })
+
+  // Why both sides of DST: the tag's stamp is UTC and the title is Pacific, so
+  // the offset between them is not a constant. A test pinned to one season would
+  // pass all summer and start failing in November.
+  it('follows the Pacific offset across DST', () => {
+    expect(name('2026-01-15T02:30:00Z')).toBe('1.4.163 • 01 • 01-14 18:30 • e698241')
+    expect(name('2026-07-31T07:00:00Z')).toBe('1.4.163 • 01 • 07-31 00:00 • e698241')
+  })
+
+  // Why: hour12: false renders midnight as "24" on some ICU builds, which would
+  // read as an hour that does not exist and sort oddly beside 00:xx.
+  it('renders midnight as 00, never 24', () => {
+    expect(name('2026-07-31T07:00:00Z')).toContain(' 00:00 ')
+  })
+
+  it('pads to two digits and grows past them', () => {
+    expect(name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', 9)).toContain(' • 09 • ')
+    expect(name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', 42)).toContain(' • 42 • ')
+    expect(name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', 1234)).toContain(' • 1234 • ')
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a build number that is not a positive integer', () => {
+    expect(() => name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', 0)).toThrow(/positive integer/)
+    expect(() => name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', -1)).toThrow(/positive integer/)
+    expect(() => name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', 1.5)).toThrow(/positive integer/)
+    expect(() => name('2026-07-31T20:54:00Z', Number.NaN)).toThrow(/positive integer/)
+  })
+
+  it('rejects an invalid timestamp', () => {
+    expect(() => formatHourlyReleaseName('1.4.163', 1, 'abcdefg', new Date('nope'))).toThrow(
+      /invalid/
+    )
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/updater-release-builds.test.ts b/src/main/updater-release-builds.test.ts
index 2ab08ae62..b9344954a 100644
--- a/src/main/updater-release-builds.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/updater-release-builds.test.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,29 @@ describe('listReleaseBuilds', () => {
     expect(builds.map((build) => build.version)).toEqual(['1.4.159'])
   })
 
+  // Why: the hourly workflow composes the release title and the picker renders it
+  // verbatim, so the two can never drift. A title that only repeats the tag says
+  // nothing the version beside it does not, and must not become a picker row
+  // reading "v1.4.163-hourly.202607311933".
+  it('keeps a composed release title and drops one that repeats the tag', async () => {
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(
+      jsonResponse([
+        release('v1.4.163-hourly.202607312054', { name: '1.4.163 • 01 • 07-31 13:54 • e698241' }),
+        release('v1.4.163-hourly.202607311933', { name: 'v1.4.163-hourly.202607311933' }),
+        release('v1.4.163-hourly.202607311835', { name: '   ' }),
+        release('v1.4.163-hourly.202607311735', { name: 42 })
+      ])
+    )
+
+    const builds = await listReleaseBuilds('hourly')
+    expect(builds.map((build) => build.name)).toEqual([
+      '1.4.163 • 01 • 07-31 13:54 • e698241',
+      null,
+      null,
+      null
+    ])
+  })
+
   it('surfaces a rate limit as an actionable message', async () => {
     fetchMock.mockResolvedValue(jsonResponse(null, { ok: false, status: 403 }))
     await expect(listReleaseBuilds('hourly')).rejects.toThrow(/rate limit/i)
diff --git a/src/main/updater-release-builds.ts b/src/main/updater-release-builds.ts
index a7ff6089b..f4f694fac 100644
--- a/src/main/updater-release-builds.ts
+++ b/src/main/updater-release-builds.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ export function getReleaseDownloadUrlForRepo(repo: string, tag: string): string
 
 type GitHubReleaseEntry = {
   tag_name?: unknown
+  name?: unknown
   draft?: unknown
   published_at?: unknown
   html_url?: unknown
@@ -37,10 +38,15 @@ function parseReleaseEntry(entry: GitHubReleaseEntry, repo: string): ReleaseBuil
   if (!isValidVersion(version) || !channel) {
     return null
   }
+  // Why null when it merely repeats the tag: GitHub titles an untitled release
+  // with its tag name, and hourlies predating the naming change were created that
+  // way too. Neither says anything the version beside it does not.
+  const name = typeof entry.name === 'string' ? entry.name.trim() : ''
   return {
     tag,
     version,
     channel,
+    name: name && name !== tag ? name : null,
     publishedAt: typeof entry.published_at === 'string' ? entry.published_at : null,
     releaseUrl:
       typeof entry.html_url === 'string'
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ReleaseChannelSection.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ReleaseChannelSection.tsx
index 29a7acdfe..491196593 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ReleaseChannelSection.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/settings/ReleaseChannelSection.tsx
@@ -31,12 +31,19 @@ const CHANNEL_DESCRIPTIONS: Record<ReleaseChannel, string> = {
 }
 
 function formatBuildLabel(build: ReleaseBuild): string {
+  // Why the release's own title wins: the hourly workflow composes it
+  // (`1.4.163 • 01 • 07-31 13:54 • e698241`), so this row is the same string the
+  // GitHub releases list shows — one thing to search for in either place, rather
+  // than two renderings of the same build that have to be matched up by eye.
+  if (build.name) {
+    return build.name
+  }
   const stamp = parseHourlyVersionStamp(build.version)
   if (!stamp) {
     return build.version
   }
-  // Why: an hourly's semver tail is an opaque timestamp; show it as local time so
-  // "which build was that" is answerable at a glance.
+  // Fallback for hourlies cut before that naming; retention ages them out in ~3
+  // days. An hourly's semver tail is an opaque timestamp, so show it as a date.
   return `${build.version.split('-')[0]} · ${stamp.toLocaleString(undefined, {
     month: 'short',
     day: 'numeric',
diff --git a/src/shared/release-channel.test.ts b/src/shared/release-channel.test.ts
index d8e74ee13..dde3109bb 100644
--- a/src/shared/release-channel.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/release-channel.test.ts
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ describe('release channel', () => {
       tag: `v${version}`,
       version,
       channel: 'hourly',
+      name: null,
       publishedAt: null,
       releaseUrl: `https://github.com/stablyai/orca-hourly/releases/tag/v${version}`
     })
diff --git a/src/shared/release-channel.ts b/src/shared/release-channel.ts
index d95b0b2aa..a700bc719 100644
--- a/src/shared/release-channel.ts
+++ b/src/shared/release-channel.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,9 @@ export type ReleaseBuild = {
   tag: string
   version: string
   channel: ReleaseChannel
+  /** The release's GitHub title. Null when it is absent or just repeats the tag,
+   *  so the picker can tell "the workflow named this" from "nobody did". */
+  name: string | null
   publishedAt: string | null
   releaseUrl: string
 }