diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
index fbd63786..b54776c0 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Fixed `pi update` reinstalling npm packages that are already at the latest published version by checking the installed package version before running `npm install <pkg>@latest` ([#3000](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3000))
 - Fixed built-in tool wrapping to use the same extension-runner context path as extension tools, so built-in tools receive execution context and `read` can warn when the current model does not support images ([#3429](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3429))
 - Fixed threaded `/resume` session relationships and current-session detection to canonicalize symlinked session paths during selector comparisons, so shared session directories no longer break parent-child matching or active-session delete protection ([#3364](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3364))
 - Fixed `/session`, Sessions docs, and CLI help to consistently document that session reuse supports both file paths and session IDs, and that `/session` shows the current session ID ([#3390](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono/issues/3390))
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/package-manager.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/package-manager.ts
index 51a78461..4de0c335 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/core/package-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/core/package-manager.ts
@@ -1001,6 +1001,20 @@ export class DefaultPackageManager implements PackageManager {
 		const parsed = this.parseSource(source);
 		if (parsed.type === "npm") {
 			if (parsed.pinned) return;
+
+			const installedPath = this.getNpmInstallPath(parsed, scope);
+			const installedVersion = existsSync(installedPath) ? this.getInstalledNpmVersion(installedPath) : undefined;
+			if (installedVersion) {
+				try {
+					const latestVersion = await this.getLatestNpmVersion(parsed.name);
+					if (latestVersion === installedVersion) {
+						return;
+					}
+				} catch {
+					// Preserve existing update behavior when version lookup fails.
+				}
+			}
+
 			await this.withProgress("update", source, `Updating ${source}...`, async () => {
 				await this.installNpm(
 					{
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/package-manager.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/package-manager.test.ts
index 907d8f4f..ffd639fd 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/package-manager.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/package-manager.test.ts
@@ -1455,13 +1455,22 @@ export default function(api) { api.registerTool({ name: "test", description: "te
 	});
 
 	describe("offline mode and network timeouts", () => {
-		it("should update project npm packages using @latest", async () => {
+		it("should update project npm packages using @latest when newer version is available", async () => {
+			const installedPath = join(tempDir, ".pi", "npm", "node_modules", "example");
+			mkdirSync(installedPath, { recursive: true });
+			writeFileSync(join(installedPath, "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ name: "example", version: "1.0.0" }));
 			settingsManager.setProjectPackages(["npm:example"]);
 
+			const runCommandCaptureSpy = vi.spyOn(packageManager as any, "runCommandCapture").mockResolvedValue('"1.2.3"');
 			const runCommandSpy = vi.spyOn(packageManager as any, "runCommand").mockResolvedValue(undefined);
 
 			await packageManager.update("npm:example");
 
+			expect(runCommandCaptureSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+				"npm",
+				["view", "example", "version", "--json"],
+				expect.objectContaining({ cwd: tempDir, timeoutMs: expect.any(Number) }),
+			);
 			expect(runCommandSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
 				"npm",
 				["install", "example@latest", "--prefix", join(tempDir, ".pi", "npm")],
@@ -1469,6 +1478,25 @@ export default function(api) { api.registerTool({ name: "test", description: "te
 			);
 		});
 
+		it("should skip project npm update when installed version matches latest", async () => {
+			const installedPath = join(tempDir, ".pi", "npm", "node_modules", "example");
+			mkdirSync(installedPath, { recursive: true });
+			writeFileSync(join(installedPath, "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ name: "example", version: "1.2.3" }));
+			settingsManager.setProjectPackages(["npm:example"]);
+
+			const runCommandCaptureSpy = vi.spyOn(packageManager as any, "runCommandCapture").mockResolvedValue('"1.2.3"');
+			const runCommandSpy = vi.spyOn(packageManager as any, "runCommand").mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+
+			await packageManager.update("npm:example");
+
+			expect(runCommandCaptureSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+				"npm",
+				["view", "example", "version", "--json"],
+				expect.objectContaining({ cwd: tempDir, timeoutMs: expect.any(Number) }),
+			);
+			expect(runCommandSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+		});
+
 		it("should suggest npm source prefixes for update lookups", async () => {
 			settingsManager.setProjectPackages(["npm:example"]);