diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.spec.ts b/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.spec.ts
index 79b060b0c2..aa97c51e59 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.spec.ts
@@ -380,6 +380,26 @@ describe("UpdateDialog release notes safety", () => {
 });
 
 describe("UpdateDialog aggregate update center", () => {
+  it("hides the tab bar when no updates are available", async () => {
+    await mountDialog(0, {}, undefined, {
+      updateInfo: {
+        current_version: "0.5.60",
+        latest_version: "0.5.60",
+        update_available: false,
+        portable_mode: false,
+        manual_update_only: false,
+        release_name: "",
+        release_url: "",
+        release_notes: "",
+      },
+      updateCheckMessage: "DBX is up to date (0.5.60).",
+    });
+
+    expect(document.body.querySelector('[role="tablist"]')).toBeNull();
+    expect(document.body.querySelector('[data-update-tab="app"]')).toBeNull();
+    expect(document.body.textContent).toContain("DBX is up to date (0.5.60).");
+  });
+
   it("keeps the client restart gated while update all is still updating components", async () => {
     await mountDialog(0, { updateDownloaded: true, downloadProgress: 100 }, undefined, { isUpdatingAll: true });
 
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.vue b/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.vue
index 346c175e00..2e9c12bb2c 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.vue
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/components/layout/UpdateDialog.vue
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ const tabs = computed(() => {
   if (props.jdbcUpdate?.update_available) available.push({ id: "jdbc", label: t("settings.updateJdbc"), count: 1 });
   if (mcpAvailable.value) available.push({ id: "mcp", label: t("settings.updateMcp"), count: 1 });
   if (props.pluginUpdates.length) available.push({ id: "plugins", label: t("settings.updatePlugins"), count: props.pluginUpdates.length });
-  return available.length ? available : [{ id: "app" as const, label: t("settings.updateClient"), count: 0 }];
+  return available;
 });
 const totalUpdateCount = computed(() => tabs.value.reduce((total, tab) => total + tab.count, 0));
 const hasComponentUpdates = computed(() => props.driverUpdates.length > 0 || props.jdbcUpdate?.update_available === true || mcpAvailable.value || props.pluginUpdates.length > 0);
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ watch(
       </DialogHeader>
 
       <div class="flex min-h-0 flex-1 flex-col">
-        <div class="border-b px-4 py-2">
+        <div v-if="tabs.length" class="border-b px-4 py-2">
           <div role="tablist" :aria-label="t('updates.centerTitle')" class="inline-flex h-9 w-full items-center justify-center rounded-md bg-muted p-[3px] text-muted-foreground">
             <button
               v-for="tab in tabs"