diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 45e0c7a1..80702a48 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,11 @@
   the name must be a single path segment that resolves to a direct child directory, so a
   symlink cannot redirect it, and FunPack cannot delete itself. Node packs register at
   import, so the panel says a restart is needed rather than restarting under you.
+  **Check for updates** fetches each pack's origin and shows how far behind it is, on the
+  row and on its Update button. It is a button rather than part of the listing because it
+  costs a network round trip per pack; the fetches run four at a time, and a pack that
+  cannot be compared says why (detached HEAD, no remote, origin unreachable) instead of
+  quietly reading as up to date.
 
 - **FunPack's loaders take `.gguf` files**, for diffusion models and text encoders alike, and
   a text-encoder list may mix a `.gguf` with `.safetensors` slots (the usual LTX-2.3 shape).
diff --git a/movie_editor/backend/custom_nodes.py b/movie_editor/backend/custom_nodes.py
index a7468cd9..f5c34d7a 100644
--- a/movie_editor/backend/custom_nodes.py
+++ b/movie_editor/backend/custom_nodes.py
@@ -205,3 +205,66 @@ def remove(name: str) -> dict:
     path = node_dir(name)
     shutil.rmtree(path)
     return {"name": name, "removed": True, "path": str(path)}
+
+
+# ── checking for updates ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def _behind_ahead(path: Path) -> dict:
+    """How far one pack is from its upstream, after fetching it.
+
+    Costs a network round trip per pack, which is why it is a button rather than part of
+    the listing: on a tunnelled instance with a dozen packs, doing this on open would make
+    the panel feel broken.
+    """
+    if not (path / ".git").exists():
+        return {"checked": False, "reason": "not a git checkout"}
+    br = _git(path, "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD", timeout=30)
+    branch = (br.stdout or "").strip()
+    if br.returncode != 0 or not branch or branch == "HEAD":
+        return {"checked": False, "reason": "not on a branch (detached HEAD)"}
+    remote = _git(path, "config", "--get", "remote.origin.url", timeout=30)
+    if remote.returncode != 0 or not (remote.stdout or "").strip():
+        return {"checked": False, "reason": "no origin remote"}
+    fetched = _git(path, "fetch", "--quiet", "origin", branch, timeout=180)
+    if fetched.returncode != 0:
+        return {"checked": False,
+                "reason": (fetched.stderr or "could not reach origin").strip()[-200:]}
+    counts = _git(path, "rev-list", "--left-right", "--count",
+                  f"HEAD...origin/{branch}", timeout=60)
+    if counts.returncode != 0:
+        return {"checked": False, "reason": "no upstream branch to compare against"}
+    parts = (counts.stdout or "").split()
+    if len(parts) != 2:
+        return {"checked": False, "reason": "could not compare with origin"}
+    ahead, behind = int(parts[0]), int(parts[1])
+    return {"checked": True, "branch": branch, "ahead": ahead, "behind": behind}
+
+
+def check_updates() -> dict:
+    """Fetch every git pack and report how far behind each one is.
+
+    Fetches run concurrently and bounded: they are network-bound, so serial would be as slow
+    as the sum of them, and unbounded would open a connection per pack at once.
+    """
+    from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
+
+    packs = [n for n in list_nodes()["nodes"]]
+    targets = [p for p in packs if p.get("git")]
+    results: dict[str, dict] = {}
+    if targets:
+        with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=4) as pool:
+            futures = {}
+            for p in targets:
+                try:
+                    futures[pool.submit(_behind_ahead, node_dir(p["name"]))] = p["name"]
+                except CustomNodeError as e:
+                    results[p["name"]] = {"checked": False, "reason": str(e)}
+            for fut, name in futures.items():
+                try:
+                    results[name] = fut.result()
+                except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001 — one bad pack must not sink the sweep
+                    results[name] = {"checked": False, "reason": str(e)[-200:]}
+    for p in packs:
+        if p["name"] not in results:
+            results[p["name"]] = {"checked": False, "reason": "not a git checkout"}
+    return {"checked": results}
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/api.js b/movie_editor/frontend/api.js
index cadfc077..a6a87789 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/api.js
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/api.js
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@
     clearFiles: (group) => j("POST", API(`/files/${encodeURIComponent(group)}/clear`), {}),
     nleLibrary: () => j("GET", API("/library/nle")),
     customNodes: () => j("GET", API("/custom-nodes")),
+    customNodesCheck: () => j("POST", API("/custom-nodes/check"), {}),
     customNodeInstall: (url) => j("POST", API("/custom-nodes/install"), { url }),
     customNodeUpdate: (name) => j("POST", API("/custom-nodes/update"), { name }),
     customNodeRemove: (name) => j("POST", API("/custom-nodes/remove"), { name }),
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/custom_nodes.js b/movie_editor/frontend/custom_nodes.js
index 7db1e057..fcf87d6e 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/custom_nodes.js
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/custom_nodes.js
@@ -16,6 +16,24 @@
   let busy = "";        // name (or "__install__") of whatever is running
   let dirty = false;    // something changed → a restart is needed
   let error = "";
+  // name -> {checked, behind, ahead, reason}. Empty until the user asks: each entry costs a
+  // network round trip, and doing that on open would make the panel feel broken.
+  let checked = {};
+  let checking = false;
+
+  async function checkUpdates() {
+    if (checking || busy) return;
+    checking = true;
+    render();
+    try {
+      checked = (await API.customNodesCheck()).checked || {};
+    } catch (e) {
+      alert("Could not check for updates:\n\n" + (e?.message || e));
+    } finally {
+      checking = false;
+      render();
+    }
+  }
 
   async function refresh() {
     try {
@@ -47,6 +65,9 @@
       const res = await fn();
       reportRequirements(res, what);
       dirty = true;
+      // Whatever this was, its behind-count is now stale. Dropping it beats showing a
+      // number that was true a moment ago.
+      if (key !== "__install__") delete checked[key];
     } catch (e) {
       alert(`${what} failed:\n\n${e?.message || e}`);
     } finally {
@@ -107,12 +128,23 @@
     if (n.is_funpack) bits.push("FunPack itself");
     if (n.git) bits.push(`${n.branch || "?"} · ${n.commit || "?"}`);
     else bits.push("not a git checkout");
+    const chk = checked[n.name];
+    if (chk && chk.checked) {
+      if (chk.behind > 0) bits.push(`${chk.behind} behind`);
+      else if (chk.ahead > 0) bits.push(`${chk.ahead} ahead of origin`);
+      else bits.push("up to date");
+    } else if (chk && chk.reason) {
+      bits.push(`not compared — ${chk.reason}`);
+    }
     left.append(el("div", "cn-sub", bits.join(" — ")));
     r.append(left);
 
     const acts = el("div", "cn-row-acts");
+    if (chk && chk.checked && chk.behind > 0) r.classList.add("behind");
     if (!n.is_funpack) {
-      const up = el("button", "btn ghost tiny", busy === n.name ? "…" : "Update");
+      const label = busy === n.name ? "…"
+        : (chk && chk.checked && chk.behind > 0) ? `Update (${chk.behind})` : "Update";
+      const up = el("button", "btn ghost tiny" + (chk?.behind > 0 ? " primary" : ""), label);
       up.type = "button";
       up.disabled = !!busy || !n.git;
       up.title = n.git ? `git pull in ${n.name}` : "Not a git checkout — nothing to pull";
@@ -142,8 +174,16 @@
     add.disabled = !!busy;
     add.onclick = addDialog;
     bar.append(add);
+    const chkBtn = el("button", "btn ghost tiny", checking ? "Checking…" : "Check for updates");
+    chkBtn.type = "button";
+    chkBtn.disabled = checking || !!busy;
+    chkBtn.title = "Fetch each pack's origin and report how far behind it is";
+    chkBtn.onclick = checkUpdates;
+    bar.append(chkBtn);
     if (busy) bar.append(el("span", "cn-busy", busy === "__install__"
       ? "Cloning and installing…" : `Working on ${busy}…`));
+    else if (checking) bar.append(el("span", "cn-busy",
+      "Fetching each pack — this talks to the network."));
     host.append(bar);
 
     if (dirty) {
@@ -177,6 +217,7 @@
     host = el("div", "cn-mount");
     body.append(host);
     dirty = false;
+    checked = {};
     render();
     refresh();
     return () => { host = null; };
diff --git a/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css b/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css
index 57ab348c..2d90d2ed 100644
--- a/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css
+++ b/movie_editor/frontend/styles.css
@@ -2704,6 +2704,8 @@ body.tour-mode { overflow: hidden; }
 }
 .cn-row.self { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 10%, var(--ink-2));
   border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 30%, var(--line)); }
+/* Behind origin — the one row state worth spotting without reading. */
+.cn-row.behind { border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 55%, var(--line)); }
 .cn-row-text { min-width: 0; }
 .cn-name { font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600; color: var(--text);
   overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
diff --git a/movie_editor/server.py b/movie_editor/server.py
index 25eaba08..8a783cee 100644
--- a/movie_editor/server.py
+++ b/movie_editor/server.py
@@ -2544,6 +2544,11 @@ if web is not None and PromptServer is not None:
         import asyncio
         return web.json_response(await asyncio.to_thread(custom_nodes.list_nodes))
 
+    @routes.post(UI_PREFIX + "/api/custom-nodes/check")
+    async def _custom_nodes_check(_req):
+        import asyncio
+        return web.json_response(await asyncio.to_thread(custom_nodes.check_updates))
+
     @routes.post(UI_PREFIX + "/api/custom-nodes/install")
     async def _custom_nodes_install(req):
         import asyncio
diff --git a/movie_editor/tests/test_custom_nodes.py b/movie_editor/tests/test_custom_nodes.py
index cc97bd65..0343f15b 100644
--- a/movie_editor/tests/test_custom_nodes.py
+++ b/movie_editor/tests/test_custom_nodes.py
@@ -188,3 +188,94 @@ def test_listing_skips_dotfiles_and_disabled_packs(root, monkeypatch):
     names = [n["name"] for n in cn.list_nodes()["nodes"]]
     assert "__pycache__" not in names and ".git" not in names
     assert "Old.disabled" not in names
+
+
+# ── check for updates ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# A network round trip per pack, which is why it is a button. Every failure mode has to
+# produce a reason rather than an absent answer, or a pack silently reads as "fine".
+
+def test_behind_ahead_parses_the_counts(root, monkeypatch):
+    (root / "SomePack" / ".git").mkdir()
+
+    def fake_git(cwd, *args, **kw):
+        if args[0] == "rev-parse":
+            return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="main\n", stderr="")
+        if args[0] == "config":
+            return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="https://x/y\n", stderr="")
+        if args[0] == "fetch":
+            return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="", stderr="")
+        return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="2\t7\n", stderr="")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_git", fake_git)
+    out = cn._behind_ahead(root / "SomePack")
+    assert out == {"checked": True, "branch": "main", "ahead": 2, "behind": 7}
+
+
+def test_a_detached_head_says_so(root, monkeypatch):
+    (root / "SomePack" / ".git").mkdir()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_git", lambda cwd, *a, **k: types.SimpleNamespace(
+        returncode=0, stdout="HEAD\n", stderr=""))
+    out = cn._behind_ahead(root / "SomePack")
+    assert out["checked"] is False and "detached" in out["reason"]
+
+
+def test_an_unreachable_origin_says_so(root, monkeypatch):
+    (root / "SomePack" / ".git").mkdir()
+
+    def fake_git(cwd, *args, **kw):
+        if args[0] == "rev-parse":
+            return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="main\n", stderr="")
+        if args[0] == "config":
+            return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="https://x/y\n", stderr="")
+        return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=128, stdout="",
+                                     stderr="fatal: could not read from remote")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_git", fake_git)
+    out = cn._behind_ahead(root / "SomePack")
+    assert out["checked"] is False and "remote" in out["reason"]
+
+
+def test_a_pack_with_no_remote_is_not_compared(root, monkeypatch):
+    (root / "SomePack" / ".git").mkdir()
+
+    def fake_git(cwd, *args, **kw):
+        if args[0] == "rev-parse":
+            return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="main\n", stderr="")
+        return types.SimpleNamespace(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_git", fake_git)
+    assert cn._behind_ahead(root / "SomePack")["reason"] == "no origin remote"
+
+
+def test_a_non_git_pack_is_reported_not_omitted(root):
+    out = cn._behind_ahead(root / "SomePack")
+    assert out == {"checked": False, "reason": "not a git checkout"}
+
+
+def test_every_pack_appears_in_the_result(root, monkeypatch):
+    """Including the ones that could not be checked — an absent entry would read as
+    'nothing to say', which is not the same as 'could not tell'."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_git_info", lambda p: {
+        "git": p.name == "ComfyUI-GGUF", "branch": "main", "commit": "abc", "remote": "x"})
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_behind_ahead",
+                        lambda p: {"checked": True, "branch": "main", "ahead": 0, "behind": 3})
+    got = cn.check_updates()["checked"]
+    assert set(got) == {"ComfyUI-FunPack", "ComfyUI-GGUF", "SomePack"}
+    assert got["ComfyUI-GGUF"]["behind"] == 3
+    assert got["SomePack"]["checked"] is False
+
+
+def test_one_failing_pack_does_not_sink_the_sweep(root, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_git_info", lambda p: {
+        "git": True, "branch": "main", "commit": "abc", "remote": "x"})
+
+    def flaky(path):
+        if path.name == "SomePack":
+            raise RuntimeError("git exploded")
+        return {"checked": True, "branch": "main", "ahead": 0, "behind": 1}
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(cn, "_behind_ahead", flaky)
+    got = cn.check_updates()["checked"]
+    assert got["SomePack"]["checked"] is False
+    assert "exploded" in got["SomePack"]["reason"]
+    assert got["ComfyUI-GGUF"]["behind"] == 1