diff --git a/plugin/scripts/smart-install.js b/plugin/scripts/smart-install.js
index 4d2f1a3767..1cd408f861 100644
--- a/plugin/scripts/smart-install.js
+++ b/plugin/scripts/smart-install.js
@@ -343,54 +343,71 @@ function installUv() {
  * Add shell alias for claude-mem command
  */
 function installCLI() {
-  const WORKER_CLI = join(ROOT, 'scripts', 'worker-service.cjs');
   const bunPath = getBunPath() || 'bun';
-  const aliasLine = `alias claude-mem='${bunPath} "${WORKER_CLI}"'`;
-  const markerPath = join(ROOT, '.cli-installed');
 
-  // Skip if already installed
-  if (existsSync(markerPath)) return;
+  // Use the stable marketplace path so the alias survives plugin upgrades.
+  // $HOME is expanded at shell invocation time, keeping the line portable.
+  const STABLE_WORKER_PATH = '$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/worker-service.cjs';
+  const aliasLine = `alias claude-mem='${bunPath} "${STABLE_WORKER_PATH}"'`;
+
+  // Regex anchored to line start (multiline) — ignores commented-out lines.
+  const ALIAS_RE = /^alias claude-mem=.*$/m;
 
   try {
     if (IS_WINDOWS) {
-      // Windows: Add to PATH via PowerShell profile
+      // Windows: Add/update PowerShell function in profile
       const profilePath = join(process.env.USERPROFILE || homedir(), 'Documents', 'PowerShell', 'Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1');
       const profileDir = join(process.env.USERPROFILE || homedir(), 'Documents', 'PowerShell');
-      const functionDef = `function claude-mem { & "${bunPath}" "${WORKER_CLI}" $args }\n`;
+      const STABLE_WORKER_PATH_WIN = '$HOME\\.claude\\plugins\\marketplaces\\thedotmack\\plugin\\scripts\\worker-service.cjs';
+      const functionDef = `function claude-mem { & "${bunPath}" "${STABLE_WORKER_PATH_WIN}" $args }`;
+      const PS_FUNC_RE = /^function claude-mem \{[^}]*\}$/m;
 
       if (!existsSync(profileDir)) {
         execSync(`mkdir "${profileDir}"`, { stdio: 'ignore', shell: true });
       }
 
       const existingContent = existsSync(profilePath) ? readFileSync(profilePath, 'utf-8') : '';
-      if (!existingContent.includes('function claude-mem')) {
-        writeFileSync(profilePath, existingContent + '\n' + functionDef);
+      const psMatch = existingContent.match(PS_FUNC_RE);
+
+      if (!psMatch) {
+        writeFileSync(profilePath, existingContent.trimEnd() + '\n' + functionDef + '\n');
         console.error(`✅ PowerShell function added to profile`);
         console.error('   Restart your terminal to use: claude-mem <command>');
+      } else if (psMatch[0] !== functionDef) {
+        writeFileSync(profilePath, existingContent.replace(PS_FUNC_RE, functionDef));
+        console.error(`✅ PowerShell function updated in profile`);
       }
     } else {
-      // Unix: Add alias to shell configs
+      // Unix: Add/update alias in shell configs
       const shellConfigs = [
         join(homedir(), '.bashrc'),
         join(homedir(), '.zshrc')
       ];
 
       for (const config of shellConfigs) {
-        if (existsSync(config)) {
-          const content = readFileSync(config, 'utf-8');
-          if (!content.includes('alias claude-mem=')) {
-            writeFileSync(config, content + '\n' + aliasLine + '\n');
-            console.error(`✅ Alias added to ${config}`);
-          }
+        if (!existsSync(config)) continue;
+        let content = readFileSync(config, 'utf-8');
+        const match = content.match(ALIAS_RE);
+
+        if (!match) {
+          // Not present — append it.
+          writeFileSync(config, content.trimEnd() + '\n' + aliasLine + '\n');
+          console.error(`✅ Alias added to ${config}`);
+          continue;
         }
+
+        if (match[0] === aliasLine) continue;   // already canonical
+
+        // Replace existing (potentially stale) alias line with the canonical one.
+        content = content.replace(ALIAS_RE, aliasLine);
+        writeFileSync(config, content);
+        console.error(`✅ Alias updated in ${config}`);
       }
       console.error('   Restart your terminal to use: claude-mem <command>');
     }
-
-    writeFileSync(markerPath, new Date().toISOString());
   } catch (error) {
     console.error(`⚠️  Could not add shell alias: ${error.message}`);
-    console.error(`   Use directly: ${bunPath} "${WORKER_CLI}" <command>`);
+    console.error(`   Use directly: ${bunPath} "${STABLE_WORKER_PATH}" <command>`);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/smart-install.test.ts b/tests/smart-install.test.ts
index d702e66cb8..7126dba2bc 100644
--- a/tests/smart-install.test.ts
+++ b/tests/smart-install.test.ts
@@ -239,6 +239,113 @@ describe('smart-install stdout JSON output (#1253)', () => {
   });
 });
 
+/**
+ * Tests for installCLI() alias stability (version-pinning fix).
+ *
+ * installCLI() is not exported, so these tests verify the source-level
+ * patterns (stable path, regex guard, update logic) and the runtime
+ * behaviour via a helper that simulates the alias write/update cycle.
+ */
+describe('smart-install installCLI alias stability', () => {
+  const SCRIPT_PATH = join(__dirname, '..', 'plugin', 'scripts', 'smart-install.js');
+
+  /** Extract the installCLI() function body from the source file. */
+  function getInstallCLIBody(): string {
+    const content = readFileSync(SCRIPT_PATH, 'utf-8');
+    const funcStart = content.indexOf('function installCLI()');
+    const funcEnd = content.indexOf('\n/**', funcStart + 1);
+    return content.slice(funcStart, funcEnd);
+  }
+
+  it('should use the stable marketplace path instead of ROOT for the alias', () => {
+    const content = readFileSync(SCRIPT_PATH, 'utf-8');
+    // The alias must point to the stable marketplace path, not a version-pinned ROOT
+    expect(content).toContain(
+      "const STABLE_WORKER_PATH = '$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/worker-service.cjs'"
+    );
+    // The alias line should be composed from STABLE_WORKER_PATH, not WORKER_CLI/ROOT
+    expect(content).toContain("const aliasLine = `alias claude-mem='${bunPath} \"${STABLE_WORKER_PATH}\"'`");
+  });
+
+  it('should not compose the alias from ROOT (which is version-pinned)', () => {
+    const funcBody = getInstallCLIBody();
+    expect(funcBody).not.toContain("join(ROOT, 'scripts', 'worker-service.cjs')");
+  });
+
+  it('should use a regex guard instead of simple includes() for alias detection', () => {
+    const funcBody = getInstallCLIBody();
+    expect(funcBody).not.toContain("content.includes('alias claude-mem=')");
+    expect(funcBody).toContain('ALIAS_RE');
+    expect(funcBody).toContain('content.match(ALIAS_RE)');
+  });
+
+  it('should have logic to update stale aliases, not just skip them', () => {
+    const funcBody = getInstallCLIBody();
+    expect(funcBody).toContain('content.replace(ALIAS_RE, aliasLine)');
+    expect(funcBody).toContain('Alias updated in');
+  });
+
+  it('should not use .cli-installed marker for early return', () => {
+    const funcBody = getInstallCLIBody();
+    expect(funcBody).not.toContain('.cli-installed');
+  });
+
+  it('should use $HOME literal in the alias for portability', () => {
+    const funcBody = getInstallCLIBody();
+    expect(funcBody).toContain("'$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/worker-service.cjs'");
+  });
+
+  // --- Runtime simulation tests ---
+  // These simulate the regex-based alias write/update logic
+  // without calling installCLI() directly.
+
+  const ALIAS_RE = /^alias claude-mem=.*$/m;
+
+  it('should add alias when none exists', () => {
+    const canonical = `alias claude-mem='bun "$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/worker-service.cjs"'`;
+    const shellContent = '# some existing config\nexport PATH="/usr/bin:$PATH"\n';
+
+    const match = shellContent.match(ALIAS_RE);
+    expect(match).toBeNull();
+
+    // Simulates the append path
+    const updated = shellContent.trimEnd() + '\n' + canonical + '\n';
+    expect(updated).toContain(canonical);
+  });
+
+  it('should not modify config when alias is already canonical', () => {
+    const canonical = `alias claude-mem='bun "$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/worker-service.cjs"'`;
+    const shellContent = `# config\n${canonical}\nexport FOO=bar\n`;
+
+    const match = shellContent.match(ALIAS_RE);
+    expect(match).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(match![0]).toBe(canonical);
+  });
+
+  it('should replace a stale version-pinned alias with the canonical one', () => {
+    const canonical = `alias claude-mem='bun "$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/thedotmack/plugin/scripts/worker-service.cjs"'`;
+    const staleAlias = `alias claude-mem='bun "/Users/someone/.claude/plugins/cache/thedotmack/claude-mem/10.5.2/scripts/worker-service.cjs"'`;
+    const shellContent = `# config\n${staleAlias}\nexport FOO=bar\n`;
+
+    const match = shellContent.match(ALIAS_RE);
+    expect(match).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(match![0]).not.toBe(canonical);
+
+    const updated = shellContent.replace(ALIAS_RE, canonical);
+    expect(updated).toContain(canonical);
+    expect(updated).not.toContain('10.5.2');
+    expect(updated).toContain('export FOO=bar'); // other content preserved
+  });
+
+  it('should not match commented-out alias lines', () => {
+    const commentedAlias = `# alias claude-mem='bun "/old/path/worker-service.cjs"'`;
+    const shellContent = `# config\n${commentedAlias}\nexport FOO=bar\n`;
+
+    const match = shellContent.match(ALIAS_RE);
+    expect(match).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
 /**
  * Tests for checkBinaryPlatformCompatibility() (#1547).
  *