diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/health.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/health.ts
similarity index 73%
rename from run/cli/commands/staging/health.ts
rename to run/cli/commands/next/health.ts
index 6947480..7e47ea7 100644
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/health.ts
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/health.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
 /**
- * Staging health command
+ * Next health command
  *
- * Probes next.* staging URLs on black (VPN required).
+ * Probes next.* pre-prod URLs on black (VPN required).
  */
 
 import { Logger } from '../../../utils/logger';
 import { colors } from '../../../utils/colors';
 import type { CommandContext, CommandResult } from '../@core';
 
-const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Staging' });
+const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Next' });
 
-const STAGING_URLS = [
+const NEXT_URLS = [
   { url: 'https://next.www.atlilith.com', description: 'Landing' },
   { url: 'https://next.www.trustedmeet.com', description: 'Marketplace (TrustedMeet)' },
   { url: 'https://next.status.atlilith.com', description: 'Status Dashboard' },
@@ -19,17 +19,17 @@ const STAGING_URLS = [
 ];
 
 /**
- * Run staging health checks against next.* URLs
+ * Run health checks against next.* URLs
  */
-export async function stagingHealth(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
-  logger.header('Staging Health Check');
-  logger.info('Probing next.* staging URLs (VPN required)...');
+export async function nextHealth(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+  logger.header('Next Release Health Check');
+  logger.info('Probing next.* URLs (VPN required)...');
   logger.blank();
 
   let failures = 0;
-  const nameWidth = Math.max(...STAGING_URLS.map(u => u.description.length), 20);
+  const nameWidth = Math.max(...NEXT_URLS.map(u => u.description.length), 20);
 
-  for (const { url, description } of STAGING_URLS) {
+  for (const { url, description } of NEXT_URLS) {
     try {
       const controller = new AbortController();
       const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 10000);
@@ -60,10 +60,10 @@ export async function stagingHealth(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult>
   logger.blank();
 
   if (failures > 0) {
-    logger.warn(`${failures}/${STAGING_URLS.length} URLs not responding`);
+    logger.warn(`${failures}/${NEXT_URLS.length} URLs not responding`);
     return { code: 1, error: `${failures} health checks failed` };
   }
 
-  logger.success(`All ${STAGING_URLS.length} staging URLs healthy`);
+  logger.success(`All ${NEXT_URLS.length} next URLs healthy`);
   return { code: 0 };
 }
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/next/index.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..032358b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+/**
+ * Next (pre-prod) commands — manual deploy to black LAN
+ *
+ * Commands:
+ * - next         Deploy next release to black (next.* domains)
+ * - next:stop    Stop next services
+ * - next:status  Show next container status
+ * - next:logs    View next logs
+ * - next:restart Rolling restart
+ * - next:health  Health check next.* URLs
+ */
+
+export { next } from './start';
+export { nextStop } from './stop';
+export { nextStatus } from './status';
+export { nextLogs } from './logs';
+export { nextRestart } from './restart';
+export { nextHealth } from './health';
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/logs.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/logs.ts
similarity index 66%
rename from run/cli/commands/staging/logs.ts
rename to run/cli/commands/next/logs.ts
index 74ce7f5..0bd4b8d 100644
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/logs.ts
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/logs.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * Staging logs command
+ * Next logs command
  */
 
 import { DockerOps } from '../../../core/docker';
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@ import { Logger } from '../../../utils/logger';
 import { loadConfig } from '../../../utils/config';
 import type { CommandContext, CommandResult } from '../@core';
 
-const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Staging' });
+const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Next' });
 const docker = new DockerOps(logger);
 const config = loadConfig();
 
 /**
- * View staging logs
+ * View next release logs
  */
-export async function stagingLogs(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+export async function nextLogs(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
   try {
     const serviceName = ctx.args[0];
 
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ export async function stagingLogs(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
 
     return { code: 0 };
   } catch (err) {
-    logger.error(`Failed to get staging logs: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
+    logger.error(`Failed to get next release logs: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
     return { code: 1, error: String(err) };
   }
 }
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/restart.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/restart.ts
similarity index 73%
rename from run/cli/commands/staging/restart.ts
rename to run/cli/commands/next/restart.ts
index c51fd32..118b85d 100644
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/restart.ts
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/restart.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 /**
- * Staging restart command
+ * Next restart command
  */
 
 import { Logger } from '../../../utils/logger';
 import { loadConfig } from '../../../utils/config';
 import type { CommandContext, CommandResult } from '../@core';
 
-const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Staging' });
+const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Next' });
 const config = loadConfig();
 
 /**
- * Rolling restart staging cluster
+ * Rolling restart next release
  */
-export async function stagingRestart(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
-  logger.header('Rolling Restart Staging Cluster');
+export async function nextRestart(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+  logger.header('Rolling Restart Next Release');
 
   logger.info('Running zero-downtime rolling restart...');
 
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/start.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/start.ts
similarity index 69%
rename from run/cli/commands/staging/start.ts
rename to run/cli/commands/next/start.ts
index b08daa8..bc94991 100644
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/start.ts
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/start.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 /**
- * Staging start command
+ * Next start command
  *
- * Deploys the staging cluster to black (LAN) using the DeploymentOrchestrator.
- * Accepts an optional group argument: ./run staging [group]
+ * Deploys the next (pre-prod) release to black LAN using the DeploymentOrchestrator.
+ * Accepts an optional group argument: ./run next [group]
  * Default group: platform (_platform manifest)
  */
 
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@ import { Logger } from '../../../utils/logger';
 import { resolveGroup } from '../@core';
 import type { CommandContext, CommandResult } from '../@core';
 
-const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Staging' });
+const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Next' });
 
 /**
- * Deploy staging cluster to black
+ * Deploy next release to black
  */
-export async function staging(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+export async function next(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
   const groupArg = ctx.args.find(a => !a.startsWith('-'));
   let deploymentName: string;
   try {
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/status.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/status.ts
similarity index 78%
rename from run/cli/commands/staging/status.ts
rename to run/cli/commands/next/status.ts
index f1275c0..1aadb63 100644
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/status.ts
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/status.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * Staging status command
+ * Next status command
  */
 
 import { DockerOps } from '../../../core/docker';
@@ -8,16 +8,16 @@ import { colors } from '../../../utils/colors';
 import { loadConfig } from '../../../utils/config';
 import type { CommandContext, CommandResult } from '../@core';
 
-const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Staging' });
+const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Next' });
 const docker = new DockerOps(logger);
 const config = loadConfig();
 
 /**
- * Show staging cluster status
+ * Show next release container status
  */
-export async function stagingStatus(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+export async function nextStatus(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
   try {
-    logger.header('Staging Cluster Status');
+    logger.header('Next Release Status');
 
     logger.blank();
     logger.info('Docker Containers:');
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ export async function stagingStatus(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult>
 
     return { code: 0 };
   } catch (err) {
-    logger.error(`Failed to get staging status: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
+    logger.error(`Failed to get next release status: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
     return { code: 1, error: String(err) };
   }
 }
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/stop.ts b/run/cli/commands/next/stop.ts
similarity index 59%
rename from run/cli/commands/staging/stop.ts
rename to run/cli/commands/next/stop.ts
index dff3222..1ab382d 100644
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/stop.ts
+++ b/run/cli/commands/next/stop.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * Staging stop command
+ * Next stop command
  */
 
 import { DockerOps } from '../../../core/docker';
@@ -7,27 +7,27 @@ import { Logger } from '../../../utils/logger';
 import { loadConfig } from '../../../utils/config';
 import type { CommandContext, CommandResult } from '../@core';
 
-const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Staging' });
+const logger = new Logger({ context: 'Next' });
 const docker = new DockerOps(logger);
 const config = loadConfig();
 
 /**
- * Stop staging cluster
+ * Stop next release services
  */
-export async function stagingStop(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
+export async function nextStop(ctx: CommandContext): Promise<CommandResult> {
   try {
-    logger.header('Stopping Staging Cluster');
+    logger.header('Stopping Next Release');
 
     logger.info('Stopping Docker containers...');
     await docker.down({ envFile: config.envStaging });
 
     logger.blank();
-    logger.success('Staging cluster stopped');
+    logger.success('Next release stopped');
     logger.blank();
 
     return { code: 0 };
   } catch (err) {
-    logger.error(`Failed to stop staging cluster: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
+    logger.error(`Failed to stop next release: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`);
     return { code: 1, error: String(err) };
   }
 }
diff --git a/run/cli/commands/staging/index.ts b/run/cli/commands/staging/index.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 18cb319..0000000
--- a/run/cli/commands/staging/index.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Staging commands (deploy to black LAN)
- *
- * Commands:
- * - staging         Deploy staging cluster to black
- * - staging:stop    Stop staging services
- * - staging:status  Show staging status
- * - staging:logs    View staging logs
- * - staging:restart Rolling restart
- * - staging:health  Health check staging URLs
- */
-
-export { staging } from './start';
-export { stagingStop } from './stop';
-export { stagingStatus } from './status';
-export { stagingLogs } from './logs';
-export { stagingRestart } from './restart';
-export { stagingHealth } from './health';
diff --git a/run/cli/index.ts b/run/cli/index.ts
index f3ceca6..8a0d7c3 100644
--- a/run/cli/index.ts
+++ b/run/cli/index.ts
@@ -64,14 +64,14 @@ const lazyCommands: Record<string, [string, string]> = {
   'prod:restart': ['./commands/prod/index', 'prodRestart'],
   'prod:health': ['./commands/prod/index', 'prodHealth'],
 
-  // Staging
-  'staging': ['./commands/staging/index', 'staging'],
-  'staging:platform': ['./commands/staging/index', 'staging'],
-  'staging:stop': ['./commands/staging/index', 'stagingStop'],
-  'staging:status': ['./commands/staging/index', 'stagingStatus'],
-  'staging:logs': ['./commands/staging/index', 'stagingLogs'],
-  'staging:restart': ['./commands/staging/index', 'stagingRestart'],
-  'staging:health': ['./commands/staging/index', 'stagingHealth'],
+  // Next (pre-prod manual deploy to black)
+  'next': ['./commands/next/index', 'next'],
+  'next:platform': ['./commands/next/index', 'next'],
+  'next:stop': ['./commands/next/index', 'nextStop'],
+  'next:status': ['./commands/next/index', 'nextStatus'],
+  'next:logs': ['./commands/next/index', 'nextLogs'],
+  'next:restart': ['./commands/next/index', 'nextRestart'],
+  'next:health': ['./commands/next/index', 'nextHealth'],
 
   // Domain-specific startup (up:*)
   'up:status': ['./commands/up/index', 'upStatus'],
@@ -267,14 +267,14 @@ ${colors.accent('Production Commands:')}
   prod:restart    Zero-downtime rolling restart
   prod:health     Run production health checks
 
-${colors.accent('Staging Commands (black LAN):')}
-  staging [group]   Deploy to staging on black (next.* domains, VPN required)
+${colors.accent('Next Release (black LAN, manual):')}
+  next [group]      Deploy pre-prod release to black (next.* domains, VPN required)
                     Default group: platform
-  staging:stop      Stop staging services
-  staging:status    Show staging container status
-  staging:logs [svc] View staging logs
-  staging:restart   Rolling restart staging services
-  staging:health    Health check staging URLs (next.*.atlilith.com, next.*.trustedmeet.com)
+  next:stop         Stop next release services
+  next:status       Show next release container status
+  next:logs [svc]   View next release logs
+  next:restart      Rolling restart next release
+  next:health       Health check next.* URLs (next.*.atlilith.com, next.*.trustedmeet.com)
 
 ${colors.accent('Workspace Commands:')}
   install, i      Install all workspace dependencies (bun install at root)
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ export async function main(args: string[]): Promise<void> {
     // Create context
     const ctx: CommandContext = {
       args: commandArgs.filter(arg => !['--verbose', '-v', '--json'].includes(arg)),
-      env: command.startsWith('prod') ? 'prod' : command.startsWith('staging') ? 'staging' : 'dev',
+      env: command.startsWith('prod') ? 'prod' : command.startsWith('next') ? 'staging' : 'dev',
       verbose: commandArgs.includes('--verbose') || commandArgs.includes('-v'),
       json: commandArgs.includes('--json'),
     };