diff --git a/internal/cli/root.go b/internal/cli/root.go
index f243fb2..4018c61 100644
--- a/internal/cli/root.go
+++ b/internal/cli/root.go
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		if cmd.CommandPath() == "flashduty update" {
 			return nil
 		}
+		if update.IsManagedByRunner() {
+			return nil
+		}
 		if !isTerminalFn(int(os.Stderr.Fd())) {
 			return nil
 		}
diff --git a/internal/cli/root_managed_test.go b/internal/cli/root_managed_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a3b543
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/cli/root_managed_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"runtime"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/flashcatcloud/flashduty-cli/internal/update"
+)
+
+func TestRootSkipsAutoUpdateWhenManagedByRunner(t *testing.T) {
+	saveAndResetGlobals(t)
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("HOME", tmp)
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Setenv("USERPROFILE", tmp)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("CI", "")
+	t.Setenv("GITHUB_ACTIONS", "")
+	t.Setenv("JENKINS_URL", "")
+	t.Setenv("GITLAB_CI", "")
+	t.Setenv("FLASHDUTY_NO_UPDATE_CHECK", "")
+	t.Setenv("FLASHDUTY_MANAGED_BY_RUNNER", "1")
+
+	origIsTerminal := isTerminalFn
+	isTerminalFn = func(int) bool { return true }
+	t.Cleanup(func() { isTerminalFn = origIsTerminal })
+
+	called := false
+	origCheck := checkForUpdateAutoFn
+	checkForUpdateAutoFn = func(string) (*update.CheckResult, error) {
+		called = true
+		return &update.CheckResult{}, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { checkForUpdateAutoFn = origCheck })
+
+	if _, err := execCommand("version"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("version command should run in runner-managed mode: %v", err)
+	}
+	if called {
+		t.Fatal("runner-managed CLI must not check for updates")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/update.go b/internal/cli/update.go
index 921aaef..9597540 100644
--- a/internal/cli/update.go
+++ b/internal/cli/update.go
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ func newUpdateCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Use:   "update",
 		Short: "Update flashduty to the latest version",
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+			if update.IsManagedByRunner() {
+				return fmt.Errorf("flashduty is managed by flashduty-runner; upgrade the runner instead")
+			}
+
 			w := cmd.OutOrStdout()
 			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "Current version: %s\n", versionStr)
 			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "Checking for updates...\n")
diff --git a/internal/cli/update_managed_test.go b/internal/cli/update_managed_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78e081c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/cli/update_managed_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestUpdateRejectsRunnerManagedCLIWithoutChecking(t *testing.T) {
+	saveAndResetGlobals(t)
+	t.Setenv("FLASHDUTY_MANAGED_BY_RUNNER", "1")
+
+	checked := false
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		checked = true
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("v0.0.0\n"))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(server.Close)
+	t.Setenv("FLASHDUTY_UPDATE_BASE_URL", server.URL)
+
+	_, err := execCommand("update", "--check")
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "managed by flashduty-runner") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected runner-managed update rejection, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if checked {
+		t.Fatal("runner-managed CLI must reject update before checking for releases")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/update/managed.go b/internal/update/managed.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..77dad63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/update/managed.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package update
+
+import "os"
+
+// IsManagedByRunner reports whether flashduty-runner owns this CLI binary.
+// The marker is intentionally exact so a user environment cannot
+// accidentally disable standalone CLI updates with a truthy-looking value.
+func IsManagedByRunner() bool {
+	return os.Getenv("FLASHDUTY_MANAGED_BY_RUNNER") == "1"
+}
diff --git a/internal/update/managed_test.go b/internal/update/managed_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb7073f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/update/managed_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package update
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestIsManagedByRunner(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("FLASHDUTY_MANAGED_BY_RUNNER", "1")
+	if !IsManagedByRunner() {
+		t.Fatal("runner-managed CLI was not detected")
+	}
+
+	t.Setenv("FLASHDUTY_MANAGED_BY_RUNNER", "true")
+	if IsManagedByRunner() {
+		t.Fatal("only the runner's explicit marker value should enable managed mode")
+	}
+}