diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/web-dir.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/web-dir.ts
index 2af2a77ce..ac911132e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/web-dir.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/web-dir.ts
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@ const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 const DEFAULT_TERMINAL_PORT = 14800;
 
 /**
- * Check if a TCP port is available by attempting to connect to it on IPv4.
+ * Check if a TCP port is available by attempting to connect to it.
  * A successful connect means something is already listening (port in use).
  * ECONNREFUSED means nothing is listening (port free).
  *
- * Note: Only probes 127.0.0.1 (IPv4). Processes listening exclusively on
- * IPv6 (::1 with IPV6_V6ONLY=1) will not be detected — this is acceptable
- * since the dashboard binds to 0.0.0.0 by default.
+ * Connect-based detection is more reliable than bind-based because it works
+ * regardless of whether the occupying process is bound to 127.0.0.1, ::1,
+ * 0.0.0.0, or :: (IPv6 wildcard).
  */
 export function isPortAvailable(port: number): Promise<boolean> {
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
diff --git a/scripts/try-pr.sh b/scripts/try-pr.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..e7549b2d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/try-pr.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# try-pr.sh — switch the global 'ao' command to a PR worktree for manual testing
+#
+# Usage:
+#   bash scripts/try-pr.sh <session-id>            # CLI/core/plugins only (~15s)
+#   bash scripts/try-pr.sh <session-id> --with-web # also builds + starts dashboard (~60s)
+#   bash scripts/try-pr.sh --restore               # switch back to main
+
+set -e
+
+RED='\033[0;31m'; GREEN='\033[0;32m'; CYAN='\033[0;36m'; BOLD='\033[1m'; RESET='\033[0m'
+
+RESTORE_FILE="$HOME/.ao-try-pr-restore"
+MAIN_REPO="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+
+# ── restore ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if [ "$1" = "--restore" ]; then
+  if [ ! -f "$RESTORE_FILE" ]; then
+    echo -e "${RED}Nothing to restore — no active try-pr session found.${RESET}"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  AO_SHIM=$(which ao)
+  # Restore original shim
+  if [ -f "$RESTORE_FILE.shim" ]; then
+    cp "$RESTORE_FILE.shim" "$AO_SHIM"
+    chmod +x "$AO_SHIM"
+    rm "$RESTORE_FILE.shim"
+  fi
+  rm "$RESTORE_FILE"
+  echo -e "${GREEN}✔ Done. ao now points to main.${RESET}"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# ── parse args ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+SESSION="${1:?Usage: bash scripts/try-pr.sh <session-id> [--with-web]}"
+WITH_WEB=false
+if [ "$2" = "--with-web" ]; then
+  WITH_WEB=true
+fi
+
+WORKTREES_DIR="${AO_WORKTREES_DIR:-$HOME/.worktrees/ao}"
+WORKTREE="$WORKTREES_DIR/$SESSION"
+
+if [ ! -d "$WORKTREE" ]; then
+  echo -e "${RED}Worktree not found: $WORKTREE${RESET}"
+  echo "Available sessions:"
+  ls "$WORKTREES_DIR" 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^/  /' || echo "  (none)"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+BRANCH=$(git -C "$WORKTREE" branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+
+cd "$WORKTREE"
+
+# ── build CLI/core/plugins ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo -e "\n${BOLD}Building $SESSION${RESET} (branch: ${CYAN}$BRANCH${RESET})\n"
+
+pnpm --filter @composio/ao-core \
+     --filter @composio/ao-cli \
+     --filter '@composio/ao-plugin-*' \
+     build
+
+# ── build web if requested ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+if [ "$WITH_WEB" = true ]; then
+  echo -e "\n${BOLD}Building dashboard...${RESET}\n"
+  pnpm --filter @composio/ao-web build
+fi
+
+# ── link ao ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Directly update the pnpm shim to point at the worktree's dist/index.js
+AO_SHIM=$(which ao)
+AO_TARGET="$WORKTREE/packages/cli/dist/index.js"
+
+echo -e "\n${BOLD}Linking ao${RESET} → $AO_TARGET\n"
+
+# Save the original shim so we can restore it
+cp "$AO_SHIM" "$RESTORE_FILE.shim"
+echo "$MAIN_REPO" > "$RESTORE_FILE"
+
+# Rewrite the shim to point at the worktree
+cat > "$AO_SHIM" <<EOF
+#!/bin/sh
+exec node "$AO_TARGET" "\$@"
+EOF
+chmod +x "$AO_SHIM"
+
+echo -e "${GREEN}✔ ao now points to: ${BOLD}$SESSION${RESET}${GREEN} ($BRANCH)${RESET}"
+echo ""
+echo -e "  Test your changes, then restore with:"
+echo -e "  ${CYAN}bash scripts/try-pr.sh --restore${RESET}"
+
+# ── start dashboard if --with-web ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+if [ "$WITH_WEB" = true ]; then
+  # Find a free port starting from 3001 (3000 may be used by the main ao start)
+  PORT=3001
+  while lsof -ti ":$PORT" &>/dev/null; do
+    PORT=$((PORT + 1))
+  done
+
+  # Use the real config so the PR dashboard shows actual sessions
+  REAL_CONFIG="$MAIN_REPO/agent-orchestrator.yaml"
+  if [ ! -f "$REAL_CONFIG" ]; then
+    REAL_CONFIG="${AO_CONFIG_PATH:-}"
+  fi
+
+  echo ""
+  echo -e "  ${BOLD}Starting dashboard on port $PORT...${RESET}"
+  echo -e "  ${CYAN}http://localhost:$PORT${RESET}  (Ctrl+C to stop)\n"
+  cd packages/web && AO_CONFIG_PATH="$REAL_CONFIG" PORT=$PORT pnpm dev
+else
+  # Hint if this PR has web changes but --with-web wasn't passed
+  if git -C "$WORKTREE" diff --name-only "origin/main...HEAD" 2>/dev/null | grep -q "packages/web/"; then
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "  ${CYAN}Tip:${RESET} this PR has dashboard changes. Re-run with:"
+    echo -e "  ${CYAN}bash scripts/try-pr.sh $SESSION --with-web${RESET}"
+  fi
+  echo ""
+fi