diff --git a/core/Cargo.lock b/core/Cargo.lock
index 2df3e3c1..46f9083c 100644
--- a/core/Cargo.lock
+++ b/core/Cargo.lock
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ checksum = "a23eb6b1614318a8071c9b2521f36b424b2c83db5eb3a0fead4a6c0809af6e61"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "archipelago"
-version = "1.7.6-alpha"
+version = "1.7.7-alpha"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "archipelago-container",
diff --git a/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml b/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml
index 0616123d..7229be2e 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml
+++ b/core/archipelago/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "archipelago"
-version = "1.7.6-alpha"
+version = "1.7.7-alpha"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "Archipelago Bitcoin Node OS - Native backend"
 authors = ["Archipelago Team"]
diff --git a/releases/manifest.json b/releases/manifest.json
index 5ea1d9ee..bbe449bb 100644
--- a/releases/manifest.json
+++ b/releases/manifest.json
@@ -1,24 +1,23 @@
 {
-  "version": "1.7.6-alpha",
+  "version": "1.7.7-alpha",
   "release_date": "2026-04-20",
   "changelog": [
-    "Install Update is now more robust. Each install gets its own uniquely-named staging folder and then moves files into place — the previous version had a small cleanup step that could hit a transient filesystem hiccup and bail out halfway. You'll also still see a rollback folder after a successful install.",
-    "Dev-box OTA: nodes that build archipelago from source can now opt into the standard Download → Install flow instead of Pull & Rebuild, by setting ARCHIPELAGO_UPDATE_URL in the service environment. Useful when the dev machine has a checked-out repo but you want to test the regular update path."
+    "Over-the-air update test — no feature changes, just a version bump so your node can walk through the whole update flow end-to-end using the new robust installer. Safe to apply; nothing to do afterwards."
   ],
   "components": [
     {
       "name": "archipelago",
-      "current_version": "1.7.5-alpha",
-      "new_version": "1.7.6-alpha",
-      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.6-alpha/archipelago",
-      "sha256": "356e78cc40234a07a38f07c3cb8776f5e4856158256bbd6572f9d6a0f891a6dd",
-      "size_bytes": 40372288
+      "current_version": "1.7.6-alpha",
+      "new_version": "1.7.7-alpha",
+      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago",
+      "sha256": "e3f1740dcb008a6fcef1adc7f2c9d2f86bfa8d5397e9b8f425260977c7006025",
+      "size_bytes": 40373392
     },
     {
-      "name": "archipelago-frontend-1.7.6-alpha.tar.gz",
-      "current_version": "1.7.5-alpha",
-      "new_version": "1.7.6-alpha",
-      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.6-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.6-alpha.tar.gz",
+      "name": "archipelago-frontend-1.7.7-alpha.tar.gz",
+      "current_version": "1.7.6-alpha",
+      "new_version": "1.7.7-alpha",
+      "download_url": "https://git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/archy/raw/branch/main/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.7-alpha.tar.gz",
       "sha256": "4fb796643cc9dc8469078ca3392f7cc5541071f6849979922b3259e5f20172e9",
       "size_bytes": 76984615
     }
diff --git a/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago b/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..c8c07283
Binary files /dev/null and b/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago differ
diff --git a/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.7-alpha.tar.gz b/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.7-alpha.tar.gz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2465942a
Binary files /dev/null and b/releases/v1.7.7-alpha/archipelago-frontend-1.7.7-alpha.tar.gz differ