diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 91ccbe5a..948fee4d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@openrouter/spawn",
-  "version": "0.16.5",
+  "version": "0.16.6",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "spawn": "cli.js"
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/orchestrate.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/orchestrate.test.ts
index 9af84ffd..6e34e88b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/orchestrate.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/orchestrate.test.ts
@@ -117,8 +117,9 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
     process.env.SPAWN_HOME = testDir;
     // Skip GitHub auth prompts during tests
     process.env.SPAWN_SKIP_GITHUB_AUTH = "1";
-    // Ensure no stale SPAWN_ENABLED_STEPS leaks between tests
+    // Ensure no stale env leaks between tests
     delete process.env.SPAWN_ENABLED_STEPS;
+    delete process.env.SPAWN_BETA;
     stderrSpy = spyOn(process.stderr, "write").mockImplementation(() => true);
     exitSpy = spyOn(process, "exit").mockImplementation((code) => {
       capturedExitCode = isNumber(code) ? code : 0;
@@ -524,7 +525,8 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
 
   // ── Tarball install ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-  it("attempts tarball install before agent.install on non-local clouds", async () => {
+  it("attempts tarball install when --beta=tarball is set on non-local clouds", async () => {
+    process.env.SPAWN_BETA = "tarball";
     const install = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud({
       cloudName: "digitalocean",
@@ -543,7 +545,25 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
+  it("skips tarball install by default (no --beta flag)", async () => {
+    const install = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
+    const cloud = createMockCloud({
+      cloudName: "digitalocean",
+    });
+    const agent = createMockAgent({
+      install,
+    });
+
+    await runOrchestrationSafe(cloud, agent, "testagent");
+
+    expect(mockTryTarballInstall).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(install).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    stderrSpy.mockRestore();
+    exitSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
   it("skips agent.install when tarball succeeds", async () => {
+    process.env.SPAWN_BETA = "tarball";
     mockTryTarballInstall.mockImplementation(() => Promise.resolve(true));
     const install = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud({
@@ -561,7 +581,8 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
-  it("skips tarball install for local cloud", async () => {
+  it("skips tarball install for local cloud even with --beta=tarball", async () => {
+    process.env.SPAWN_BETA = "tarball";
     const install = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud({
       cloudName: "local",
@@ -579,6 +600,7 @@ describe("runOrchestration", () => {
   });
 
   it("skips tarball install when agent has skipTarball set", async () => {
+    process.env.SPAWN_BETA = "tarball";
     const install = mock(() => Promise.resolve());
     const cloud = createMockCloud({
       cloudName: "digitalocean",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/flags.ts b/packages/cli/src/flags.ts
index a445a00f..82d30601 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/flags.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/flags.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ export const KNOWN_FLAGS = new Set([
   "--size",
   "--prune",
   "--json",
+  "--beta",
 ]);
 
 /** Return the first unknown flag in args, or null if all are known/positional */
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
index 7571f2bd..b455bcda 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,23 @@ function extractFlagValue(
   ];
 }
 
+/** Extract all occurrences of a repeatable flag, mutating args in place. */
+function extractAllFlagValues(args: string[], flag: string, usageHint: string): string[] {
+  const values: string[] = [];
+  let idx = args.indexOf(flag);
+  while (idx !== -1) {
+    if (!args[idx + 1] || args[idx + 1].startsWith("-")) {
+      console.error(pc.red(`Error: ${pc.bold(flag)} requires a value`));
+      console.error(`\nUsage: ${pc.cyan(usageHint)}`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+    values.push(args[idx + 1]);
+    args.splice(idx, 2);
+    idx = args.indexOf(flag);
+  }
+  return values;
+}
+
 const HELP_FLAGS = [
   "--help",
   "-h",
@@ -100,6 +117,7 @@ function checkUnknownFlags(args: string[]): void {
     console.error(`    ${pc.cyan("--size, --machine-type")}  Set instance size (e.g. e2-standard-4, s-2vcpu-2gb)`);
     console.error(`    ${pc.cyan("--name")}              Set the spawn/resource name`);
     console.error(`    ${pc.cyan("--reauth")}            Force re-prompting for cloud credentials`);
+    console.error(`    ${pc.cyan("--beta tarball")}      Use pre-built tarball for agent install (repeatable)`);
     console.error(`    ${pc.cyan("--help, -h")}          Show help information`);
     console.error(`    ${pc.cyan("--version, -v")}       Show version`);
     console.error();
@@ -761,6 +779,23 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
     process.env.SPAWN_REAUTH = "1";
   }
 
+  // Extract all --beta <feature> flags (repeatable, opt-in to experimental features)
+  const VALID_BETA_FEATURES = new Set([
+    "tarball",
+  ]);
+  const betaFeatures = extractAllFlagValues(filteredArgs, "--beta", "spawn <agent> <cloud> --beta tarball");
+  for (const flag of betaFeatures) {
+    if (!VALID_BETA_FEATURES.has(flag)) {
+      console.error(pc.red(`Unknown beta feature: ${pc.bold(flag)}`));
+      console.error("\nAvailable beta features:");
+      console.error(`  ${pc.cyan("tarball")}  Use pre-built tarball for agent installation`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  }
+  if (betaFeatures.length > 0) {
+    process.env.SPAWN_BETA = betaFeatures.join(",");
+  }
+
   // Extract --output <format> flag
   const [outputFormat, outputFilteredArgs] = extractFlagValue(
     filteredArgs,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts b/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts
index bf8cd873..2734e967 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/shared/orchestrate.ts
@@ -153,7 +153,8 @@ export async function runOrchestration(
     logInfo("Snapshot boot — skipping agent install");
   } else {
     let installedFromTarball = false;
-    if (cloud.cloudName !== "local" && !agent.skipTarball) {
+    const betaFeatures = new Set((process.env.SPAWN_BETA ?? "").split(",").filter(Boolean));
+    if (cloud.cloudName !== "local" && !agent.skipTarball && betaFeatures.has("tarball")) {
       const tarball = options?.tryTarball ?? tryTarballInstall;
       installedFromTarball = await tarball(cloud.runner, agentName);
     }