diff --git a/packages/devtools-onboard/README.md b/packages/devtools-onboard/README.md
index a3c0eec878..3b105ecb08 100644
--- a/packages/devtools-onboard/README.md
+++ b/packages/devtools-onboard/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 The entry point of [Nuxt DevTools](https://devtools.nuxt.com). It is a tiny Nuxt module that Nuxt 5 ships instead of depending on `@nuxt/devtools` directly:
 
-- when `@nuxt/devtools` is installed in your project, it loads it;
+- when Nuxt DevTools is installed in your project, it loads it: `@nuxt/devtools` v3 or v4, or a [nightly release](https://devtools.nuxt.com/guide/getting-started#nightly-release-channel) aliased as `@nuxt/devtools` or installed as `@nuxt/devtools-nightly` (which wins when both are present);
 - when it is not, `nuxt dev` shows a floating button (built on [`@devframes/hub-ui-onboard`](https://devfra.me/guide/hub-ui-onboard)) that installs it with your package manager and restarts the dev server, so the real DevTools dock takes its place.
 
 Nothing is injected outside `nuxt dev`.
diff --git a/packages/devtools-onboard/package.json b/packages/devtools-onboard/package.json
index 720403492d..6adf5b9bf8 100644
--- a/packages/devtools-onboard/package.json
+++ b/packages/devtools-onboard/package.json
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     "prepack": "turbo run build --filter=."
   },
   "peerDependencies": {
-    "@nuxt/devtools": "workspace:^",
+    "@nuxt/devtools": "*",
     "@nuxt/kit": "^4.0.0-0 || ^5.0.0-0"
   },
   "peerDependenciesMeta": {
diff --git a/packages/devtools-onboard/src/module.ts b/packages/devtools-onboard/src/module.ts
index 2a44284b45..9dbea61cec 100644
--- a/packages/devtools-onboard/src/module.ts
+++ b/packages/devtools-onboard/src/module.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,17 @@ import { defineNuxtModule, installModule, tryResolveModule } from '@nuxt/kit'
 import { readPackageJSON } from 'pkg-types'
 
 const DEVTOOLS = '@nuxt/devtools'
+const DEVTOOLS_NIGHTLY = `${DEVTOOLS}-nightly`
 
 /** The names Nuxt itself recognizes as DevTools in `modules` (see `loadNuxt` in nuxt core). */
-const DEVTOOLS_MODULES = new Set([DEVTOOLS, `${DEVTOOLS}-nightly`, `${DEVTOOLS}-edge`])
+const DEVTOOLS_MODULES = new Set([DEVTOOLS, DEVTOOLS_NIGHTLY, `${DEVTOOLS}-edge`])
+
+/**
+ * The packages loaded when installed, any major. A nightly under its own name
+ * is always a deliberate opt-in, while `@nuxt/devtools` may come along with
+ * another dependency, so the nightly wins.
+ */
+const DEVTOOLS_PACKAGES = [DEVTOOLS_NIGHTLY, DEVTOOLS]
 
 function listsDevtools(modules: NuxtOptions['modules']): boolean {
   return modules.some((entry) => {
@@ -19,7 +27,9 @@ function listsDevtools(modules: NuxtOptions['modules']): boolean {
 /**
  * The spec the button installs. Versions are released in lockstep, so a caret
  * on our own version pins the matching DevTools; a nightly build carries an
- * `npm:@nuxt/devtools-nightly@…` alias in its peer range instead.
+ * `npm:@nuxt/devtools-nightly@…` alias in its peer range instead. Otherwise
+ * the peer range is `*`: it must not conflict with an installed v3 or nightly,
+ * and npm only matches prereleases against `*`.
  */
 async function devtoolsSpec(): Promise<string> {
   const { version, peerDependencies } = await readPackageJSON(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
@@ -38,9 +48,11 @@ export default defineNuxtModule({
     if (listsDevtools(nuxt.options.modules))
       return
 
-    const installed = await tryResolveModule(DEVTOOLS, nuxt.options.modulesDir)
-    if (installed)
-      return installModule(installed)
+    for (const name of DEVTOOLS_PACKAGES) {
+      const installed = await tryResolveModule(name, nuxt.options.modulesDir)
+      if (installed)
+        return installModule(installed)
+    }
     if (!nuxt.options.dev)
       return
 
diff --git a/packages/devtools-onboard/test/module.test.ts b/packages/devtools-onboard/test/module.test.ts
index 2e55cbb9fe..6af9920549 100644
--- a/packages/devtools-onboard/test/module.test.ts
+++ b/packages/devtools-onboard/test/module.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { Nuxt, NuxtConfig } from '@nuxt/schema'
 import type { IncomingMessage, ServerResponse } from 'node:http'
-import { mkdtemp, rm } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
 import { createServer } from 'node:http'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
@@ -15,14 +15,24 @@ afterEach(async () => {
   await Promise.all(cleanups.splice(0).map(fn => fn()))
 })
 
+/** A stand-in DevTools package whose module records its name in `appConfig`. */
+async function installStandIn(rootDir: string, name: string) {
+  const dir = join(rootDir, 'node_modules', name)
+  await mkdir(dir, { recursive: true })
+  await writeFile(join(dir, 'package.json'), JSON.stringify({ name, type: 'module', exports: './module.mjs' }))
+  await writeFile(join(dir, 'module.mjs'), `export default (_, nuxt) => { nuxt.options.appConfig.loadedDevtools = ${JSON.stringify(name)} }`)
+}
+
 /**
  * Nuxt core pushes the bare `@nuxt/devtools` name into `_modules`; aliasing
  * it to this module reproduces what Nuxt 5 does with `@nuxt/devtools-onboard`.
  * `withoutDevtools` drops every `node_modules` Nuxt can resolve from, which is
- * the situation of a Nuxt that no longer depends on `@nuxt/devtools` itself.
+ * the situation of a Nuxt that no longer depends on `@nuxt/devtools` itself;
+ * `installed` then puts stand-in packages back into the project.
  */
-async function bootNuxt(overrides: NuxtConfig, { withoutDevtools = false } = {}): Promise<Nuxt> {
+async function bootNuxt(overrides: NuxtConfig, { withoutDevtools = false, installed = [] }: { withoutDevtools?: boolean, installed?: string[] } = {}): Promise<Nuxt> {
   const rootDir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'devtools-onboard-'))
+  await Promise.all(installed.map(name => installStandIn(rootDir, name)))
   const nuxt = await loadNuxt({
     cwd: rootDir,
     ready: false,
@@ -80,6 +90,12 @@ describe('@nuxt/devtools-onboard', () => {
     expect(onboardScripts(nuxt)).toHaveLength(0)
   }, 60_000)
 
+  it('loads @nuxt/devtools-nightly installed under its own name, over @nuxt/devtools', async () => {
+    const nuxt = await bootNuxt({ dev: true }, { withoutDevtools: true, installed: ['@nuxt/devtools', '@nuxt/devtools-nightly'] })
+    expect(nuxt.options.appConfig.loadedDevtools).toBe('@nuxt/devtools-nightly')
+    expect(onboardScripts(nuxt)).toHaveLength(0)
+  }, 60_000)
+
   it('offers to install @nuxt/devtools when it is missing', async () => {
     const nuxt = await bootNuxt({ dev: true }, { withoutDevtools: true })
     expect(nuxt.options._requiredModules['@nuxt/devtools']).toBeUndefined()