diff --git a/docs/packages-github.md b/docs/packages-github.md
index 9749fd67..289d0117 100644
--- a/docs/packages-github.md
+++ b/docs/packages-github.md
@@ -72,6 +72,10 @@ token in `config.json`.
 | `GOCLAW_PACKAGES_GITHUB_BIN_DIR` | `{runtimeDir}/bin` | Where extracted binaries land |
 | `GOCLAW_PACKAGES_GITHUB_MANIFEST` | `{bin_dir}/../github-packages.json` | Manifest path |
 
+`packages.scratch_dir` in `config.json` is optional. If it is empty or cannot
+be created, updates use `{runtimeDir}/tmp` so bare-metal services do not depend
+on root-owned release directories such as `/opt/goclaw/tmp`.
+
 Token scopes:
 - public-only repos: no scopes required
 - private repos: `repo`
@@ -224,7 +228,8 @@ Check response header `X-RateLimit-Reset` (Unix epoch). Wait or set
 
 #### Scratch dir leftover after crash
 
-Path: `{BinDir}/../tmp/{name}-{tag}-{nanos}/`
+Path: `{runtimeDir}/tmp/{name}-{tag}-{nanos}/` unless
+`packages.scratch_dir` points to another writable directory.
 
 Safe to remove any `{name}-*-*` directory under tmp after ensuring no active
 update is in flight. Phase 2 will add startup GC.
diff --git a/docs/project-changelog.md b/docs/project-changelog.md
index 75f99fe8..bf1a7cde 100644
--- a/docs/project-changelog.md
+++ b/docs/project-changelog.md
@@ -6,6 +6,18 @@ Significant changes, features, and fixes in reverse chronological order.
 
 ## 2026-05-29
 
+### GitHub Releases update scratch dir fallback (issue #94)
+
+- Changed GitHub Releases package updates to prefer `{runtimeDir}/tmp` for
+  scratch extraction and staging, instead of deriving tmp from a release or
+  binary directory.
+- If `packages.scratch_dir` is configured but cannot be created, the update
+  executor now logs a warning and falls back to runtime tmp before failing.
+- Added regression tests for default scratch-dir selection and fallback from an
+  unusable configured scratch path.
+
+---
+
 ### CLI Credentials git preset null-env crash (issue #93)
 
 **Fixes**
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 86d6f0d3..3f405911 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -72,9 +72,8 @@ type Config struct {
 // empty string → default 1h.
 //
 // ScratchDir is the tmp workspace used by the update executor for download
-// + extract + staging before atomic swap. Defaults to "{BinDir}/../tmp" when
-// empty; operators MAY set explicitly to avoid symlink-resolution issues
-// (red-team H6).
+// + extract + staging before atomic swap. Empty or unusable values fall back to
+// "{runtimeDir}/tmp"; operators MAY set an explicit writable path.
 type PackagesConfig struct {
 	GitHubToken     string `json:"github_token,omitempty"`      // Phase 2 stub
 	UpdatesCheckTTL string `json:"updates_check_ttl,omitempty"` // e.g. "1h"
diff --git a/internal/skills/github_update_executor.go b/internal/skills/github_update_executor.go
index 9814cba1..49360eca 100644
--- a/internal/skills/github_update_executor.go
+++ b/internal/skills/github_update_executor.go
@@ -26,15 +26,14 @@ var (
 //   - C3: re-verifies asset via meta SHA256 when present; refuses staged
 //     URL whose host is not in allowedDownloadHosts.
 //   - C4: saveManifest retries up to 3× before declaring desync.
-//   - H6: explicit ScratchDir (no "../tmp" symlink hazard).
+//   - scratch workspace resolves to writable runtime storage before staging.
 //   - L4: file written with 0755 during extraction, not chmod post-rename.
 type GitHubUpdateExecutor struct {
 	Installer  *GitHubInstaller
-	ScratchDir string // explicit; defaults to filepath.Join(BinDir, "..", "tmp") if empty
+	ScratchDir string // optional override; falls back to {runtimeDir}/tmp if unusable
 }
 
-// NewGitHubUpdateExecutor wires the executor. Call SetScratchDir to override
-// the default tmp path.
+// NewGitHubUpdateExecutor wires the executor.
 func NewGitHubUpdateExecutor(installer *GitHubInstaller) *GitHubUpdateExecutor {
 	return &GitHubUpdateExecutor{Installer: installer}
 }
@@ -42,12 +41,51 @@ func NewGitHubUpdateExecutor(installer *GitHubInstaller) *GitHubUpdateExecutor {
 // Source returns "github".
 func (e *GitHubUpdateExecutor) Source() string { return "github" }
 
-// scratchDir returns the resolved scratch directory.
-func (e *GitHubUpdateExecutor) scratchDir() string {
-	if e.ScratchDir != "" {
-		return e.ScratchDir
+// scratchDirCandidates returns scratch parents in preference order.
+func (e *GitHubUpdateExecutor) scratchDirCandidates() []string {
+	candidates := make([]string, 0, 3)
+	add := func(path string) {
+		path = strings.TrimSpace(path)
+		if path == "" {
+			return
+		}
+		cleaned := filepath.Clean(path)
+		for _, existing := range candidates {
+			if existing == cleaned {
+				return
+			}
+		}
+		candidates = append(candidates, cleaned)
 	}
-	return filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(e.Installer.Config.BinDir), "tmp")
+
+	add(e.ScratchDir)
+	add(filepath.Join(packageRuntimeDir(), "tmp"))
+	if e.Installer != nil && e.Installer.Config != nil && e.Installer.Config.BinDir != "" {
+		add(filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(e.Installer.Config.BinDir), "tmp"))
+	}
+	return candidates
+}
+
+func (e *GitHubUpdateExecutor) createScratchDir(name, target string) (string, error) {
+	suffix := fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s-%d", name, sanitizeTag(target), time.Now().UnixNano())
+	var errs []error
+	for idx, base := range e.scratchDirCandidates() {
+		scratch := filepath.Join(base, suffix)
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(scratch, 0o755); err != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", scratch, err))
+			continue
+		}
+		if idx > 0 {
+			slog.Warn("github.update: scratch dir fallback selected",
+				"scratch", scratch,
+				"previous_error", errs[0])
+		}
+		return scratch, nil
+	}
+	if len(errs) == 0 {
+		return "", errors.New("create scratch dir: no scratch directory candidates")
+	}
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("create scratch dir: %w", errors.Join(errs...))
 }
 
 // Update applies the target version. The caller holds PackageLocker for
@@ -130,10 +168,9 @@ func (e *GitHubUpdateExecutor) Update(ctx context.Context, name, toVersion strin
 	}
 
 	// Prepare scratch dir — isolated per-update.
-	scratch := filepath.Join(e.scratchDir(),
-		fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s-%d", name, sanitizeTag(target), time.Now().UnixNano()))
-	if err := os.MkdirAll(scratch, 0o755); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("create scratch dir: %w", err)
+	scratch, err := e.createScratchDir(name, target)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
 	defer os.RemoveAll(scratch)
 
diff --git a/internal/skills/github_update_executor_test.go b/internal/skills/github_update_executor_test.go
index c3a38a6d..d4cf08d0 100644
--- a/internal/skills/github_update_executor_test.go
+++ b/internal/skills/github_update_executor_test.go
@@ -246,6 +246,61 @@ func TestGitHubUpdateExecutor_NotInstalled(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestGitHubUpdateExecutor_DefaultScratchDirUsesRuntimeDir(t *testing.T) {
+	runtimeDir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("RUNTIME_DIR", runtimeDir)
+
+	cfg := &GitHubPackagesConfig{
+		BinDir:       filepath.Join(string(filepath.Separator), "opt", "goclaw", "bin"),
+		ManifestPath: filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "manifest.json"),
+	}
+	inst := NewGitHubInstaller(NewGitHubClient(""), cfg)
+
+	exec := NewGitHubUpdateExecutor(inst)
+	candidates := exec.scratchDirCandidates()
+	if len(candidates) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("scratchDirCandidates returned no candidates")
+	}
+
+	want := filepath.Join(runtimeDir, "tmp")
+	if candidates[0] != want {
+		t.Fatalf("primary scratch dir = %q, want runtime tmp %q", candidates[0], want)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGitHubUpdateExecutor_CreateScratchDirFallsBackFromBadConfiguredDir(t *testing.T) {
+	runtimeDir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("RUNTIME_DIR", runtimeDir)
+
+	cfg := &GitHubPackagesConfig{
+		BinDir:       filepath.Join(runtimeDir, "bin"),
+		ManifestPath: filepath.Join(runtimeDir, "github-packages.json"),
+	}
+	inst := NewGitHubInstaller(NewGitHubClient(""), cfg)
+
+	blockedPath := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "not-a-directory")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(blockedPath, []byte("blocked"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	exec := NewGitHubUpdateExecutor(inst)
+	exec.ScratchDir = blockedPath
+
+	scratch, err := exec.createScratchDir("goclaw", "v0.8.0-beta.2")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("createScratchDir should fall back from bad configured dir: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(scratch)
+
+	wantPrefix := filepath.Join(runtimeDir, "tmp") + string(filepath.Separator)
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(scratch, wantPrefix) {
+		t.Fatalf("scratch dir = %q, want prefix %q", scratch, wantPrefix)
+	}
+	if fi, statErr := os.Stat(scratch); statErr != nil || !fi.IsDir() {
+		t.Fatalf("scratch dir not created: info=%v err=%v", fi, statErr)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestGitHubUpdateExecutor_MetaAssertions_NilSafe(t *testing.T) {
 	// Red-team C6: nil-safe map assertions must never panic.
 	cases := []map[string]any{