diff --git a/src/bin/runtime_inventory.rs b/src/bin/runtime_inventory.rs
index 922397b..8a07096 100644
--- a/src/bin/runtime_inventory.rs
+++ b/src/bin/runtime_inventory.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 //! Matches the TypeScript `clawdie.runtime-version-inventory.v1` schema in
 //! `clawdie-ai/src/colibri-runtime-inventory.ts`.
 
-use std::{collections::BTreeMap, env, fs, process::Command};
+use std::{collections::BTreeMap, env, fs, path::Path, process::Command};
 
 use serde::Serialize;
 
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ fn command_candidates(program: &str) -> Vec<String> {
         candidates.push(format!("{home}/.npm-global/bin/{program}"));
         candidates.push(format!("{home}/.local/bin/{program}"));
     }
+    if let Ok(path) = env::var("PATH") {
+        candidates.extend(path.split(':').map(|dir| format!("{dir}/{program}")));
+    }
     for dir in [
         "/usr/local/sbin",
         "/usr/local/bin",
@@ -48,9 +51,6 @@ fn command_candidates(program: &str) -> Vec<String> {
     ] {
         candidates.push(format!("{dir}/{program}"));
     }
-    if let Ok(path) = env::var("PATH") {
-        candidates.extend(path.split(':').map(|dir| format!("{dir}/{program}")));
-    }
     candidates.push(program.to_string());
     candidates
 }
@@ -64,7 +64,13 @@ fn command_output(program: &str, args: &[&str]) -> Option<String> {
                 .output()
                 .ok()
                 .filter(|output| output.status.success())
-                .and_then(|output| String::from_utf8(output.stdout).ok())
+                .and_then(|output| {
+                    if !output.stdout.is_empty() {
+                        String::from_utf8(output.stdout).ok()
+                    } else {
+                        String::from_utf8(output.stderr).ok()
+                    }
+                })
                 .map(|value| value.trim().to_string())
                 .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
         })
@@ -93,26 +99,61 @@ fn command_exists(program: &str) -> bool {
         .unwrap_or(false)
 }
 
+fn package_json_version(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> Option<String> {
+    let raw = fs::read_to_string(path).ok()?;
+    let parsed = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&raw).ok()?;
+    parsed
+        .get("version")
+        .and_then(|value| value.as_str())
+        .map(|value| value.to_string())
+}
+
+fn pi_package_version_from_bin(candidate: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    let canonical = fs::canonicalize(candidate).ok()?;
+    for dir in canonical.ancestors() {
+        let package_json = dir.join("package.json");
+        if let Some(version) = package_json_version(package_json) {
+            let dir_text = dir.to_string_lossy();
+            if dir_text.contains("pi-coding-agent") {
+                return Some(version);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    None
+}
+
 fn detect_pi_version() -> Option<String> {
+    if let Ok(pi_bin) = env::var("PI_BIN") {
+        if let Some(version) =
+            command_output(&pi_bin, &["--version"]).or_else(|| pi_package_version_from_bin(&pi_bin))
+        {
+            return Some(version);
+        }
+    }
+
     if let Ok(home) = env::var("HOME") {
         let pi_bin = format!("{home}/.npm-global/bin/pi");
-        if let Some(version) = command_output(&pi_bin, &["--version"]) {
+        if let Some(version) =
+            command_output(&pi_bin, &["--version"]).or_else(|| pi_package_version_from_bin(&pi_bin))
+        {
             return Some(version);
         }
 
         let package_json = format!(
             "{home}/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent/package.json"
         );
-        if let Ok(raw) = fs::read_to_string(package_json) {
-            if let Ok(parsed) = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&raw) {
-                if let Some(version) = parsed.get("version").and_then(|value| value.as_str()) {
-                    return Some(version.to_string());
-                }
-            }
+        if let Some(version) = package_json_version(package_json) {
+            return Some(version);
         }
     }
 
-    command_output("pi", &["--version"])
+    if let Some(version) = command_output("pi", &["--version"]) {
+        return Some(version);
+    }
+
+    command_candidates("pi")
+        .into_iter()
+        .find_map(|candidate| pi_package_version_from_bin(&candidate))
 }
 
 fn detect_package_manager() -> Option<String> {