diff --git a/docker/devenv/Dockerfile b/docker/devenv/Dockerfile
index 64b0ac1dae..24ec6dfd54 100644
--- a/docker/devenv/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/devenv/Dockerfile
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ ENV CLJKONDO_VERSION=2026.04.15 \
     UV_TOOL_DIR=/opt/uv/tools \
     UV_TOOL_BIN_DIR=/opt/utils/bin \
     UV_PYTHON_INSTALL_DIR=/opt/uv/python \
-    SERENA_VERSION=v1.3.0
+    SERENA_VERSION=1.5.0
 
 RUN set -ex; \
     ARCH="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"; \
diff --git a/docker/devenv/docker-compose.yaml b/docker/devenv/docker-compose.yaml
index b69cf550db..6963b18d8a 100644
--- a/docker/devenv/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker/devenv/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@ services:
       - PENPOT_LDAP_ATTRS_FULLNAME=cn
       - PENPOT_LDAP_ATTRS_PHOTO=jpegPhoto
 
+      # agentic devenv
+      # Serena update: set to a commit/tag to update Serena on startup, leave empty to skip update and use the version in the image
+      - SERENA_UPDATE_VERSION=1.5.0
+
     networks:
       default:
         aliases:
diff --git a/docker/devenv/files/start-tmux.sh b/docker/devenv/files/start-tmux.sh
index e9acc165fe..ae61f32c5c 100755
--- a/docker/devenv/files/start-tmux.sh
+++ b/docker/devenv/files/start-tmux.sh
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ if echo "$PENPOT_FLAGS" | grep -q "enable-mcp"; then
 fi
 
 if [ "${SERENA_ENABLED:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+    if [ -n "${SERENA_UPDATE_VERSION}" ]; then
+        # update Serena (use sudo since the initial Serena installation is global; see Dockerfile)
+        sudo -E uv tool install -p 3.13 serena-agent@${SERENA_UPDATE_VERSION} --prerelease=allow
+    fi
     tmux new-window -t penpot:5 -n 'serena'
     tmux select-window -t penpot:5
     tmux send-keys -t penpot "serena start-mcp-server --transport streamable-http --port 14281 --project penpot --context ${SERENA_CONTEXT} --host 0.0.0.0" enter