diff --git a/build-release.ps1 b/build-release.ps1
index 4c1e9a5..84c5ba3 100644
--- a/build-release.ps1
+++ b/build-release.ps1
@@ -35,6 +35,20 @@ $distDir = Join-Path $repo 'dist'
 $zipPath = Join-Path $distDir "RemSound-$Tag.zip"
 $staging = Join-Path ([System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) ("remsound-release-" + [guid]::NewGuid().ToString('N'))
 
+# 0z. The -Tag MUST match the csproj <Version>. The in-app updater downloads exactly
+#     "RemSound-<tag>.zip" and compares the running version to the tag; a mismatch (e.g. tag v5.3 but
+#     the binary is still 5.2 because the version bump was forgotten) ships a zip whose contents don't
+#     match its name, which the updater sees as a perpetual "update available". Catch it before any work.
+$csprojText    = Get-Content -LiteralPath $proj -Raw
+$csprojVersion = if ($csprojText -match '<Version>([^<]+)</Version>') { $Matches[1].Trim() } else { '' }
+$tagVersion    = $Tag.TrimStart('v')
+if ($csprojVersion -ne $tagVersion) {
+    Write-Host "RELEASE ABORTED - tag $Tag ($tagVersion) does not match the csproj <Version> ($csprojVersion)." -ForegroundColor Red
+    Write-Host "Bump <Version> in RemSound.App.csproj to $tagVersion (and add the About-box changelog entry), or fix the tag, then re-run." -ForegroundColor Red
+    exit 1
+}
+Write-Host "Version check: tag $Tag matches csproj <Version> $csprojVersion." -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+
 # 0a. SoundForge drops a .sfk peak file next to every .wav it opens. They're byproducts that must
 #     never ship (the build only bundles *.wav, so they wouldn't anyway) - clear them from the
 #     source 'default sounds\' folder so they don't accumulate and clutter the working tree.
diff --git a/deploy-test.ps1 b/deploy-test.ps1
index 3156725..7922987 100644
--- a/deploy-test.ps1
+++ b/deploy-test.ps1
@@ -43,7 +43,13 @@ foreach ($loc in $runLocations) {
     # Binaries: publish\ already has them from the publish above; copy them to the other location(s).
     if (-not $soundOnly -and $loc -ne $publish) {
         Write-Host "Deploying program + binaries -> $loc (preserving user settings/logs) ..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
-        Invoke-Robocopy @($publish, $loc, '/E')   # no /MIR: never delete the user's settings/logs/profiles
+        # /E copies the program + binaries; NO /MIR so we never DELETE the user's data. The /XD
+        # excludes make the copy incapable of OVERWRITING it either: if publish\ ever accumulated a
+        # user-data folder (a stray run from there), it must never land on Ed's real Dropbox profiles/
+        # config/logs. The binary sync only ever carries program files, never user state, both ways.
+        Invoke-Robocopy @($publish, $loc, '/E',
+            '/XD', 'user settings and logs', 'recordings', 'logs', 'profiles', 'config',
+            '/XF', 'global config.json', 'remsound.config.json')
     }
     # THE point of this script: the whole source 'default sounds' folder, force-copied over THIS
     # location's copy, every time. /IS = copy even files robocopy thinks are identical; /IT = copy