diff --git a/system/blueprints/config/system.yaml b/system/blueprints/config/system.yaml
index 3eef8fc61..67c77362d 100644
--- a/system/blueprints/config/system.yaml
+++ b/system/blueprints/config/system.yaml
@@ -1614,6 +1614,14 @@ form:
               validate:
                 type: bool
 
+            updates.staging_root:
+              type: text
+              label: PLUGIN_ADMIN.SAFE_UPGRADE_STAGING
+              help: PLUGIN_ADMIN.SAFE_UPGRADE_STAGING_HELP
+              placeholder: '/absolute/path/to/grav-upgrades'
+              validate:
+                type: string
+
             http_section:
               type: section
               title: PLUGIN_ADMIN.HTTP_SECTION
@@ -1929,4 +1937,3 @@ form:
 #            pages.type:
 #              type: hidden
 
-
diff --git a/system/config/system.yaml b/system/config/system.yaml
index 87b6d4c1c..50cbcd28f 100644
--- a/system/config/system.yaml
+++ b/system/config/system.yaml
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ gpm:
 
 updates:
   safe_upgrade: true                             # Enable guarded staging+rollback pipeline for Grav self-updates
+  staging_root: ''                               # Optional absolute path for staging backups (default: <grav parent>/grav-upgrades)
 
 http:
   method: auto                                   # Either 'curl', 'fopen' or 'auto'. 'auto' will try fopen first and if not available cURL
diff --git a/system/languages/en.yaml b/system/languages/en.yaml
index 3b34a93db..973199ff3 100644
--- a/system/languages/en.yaml
+++ b/system/languages/en.yaml
@@ -124,3 +124,5 @@ PLUGIN_ADMIN:
     UPDATES_SECTION: Updates
     SAFE_UPGRADE: Safe self-upgrade
     SAFE_UPGRADE_HELP: When enabled, Grav core updates use staged installation with automatic rollback support.
+    SAFE_UPGRADE_STAGING: Staging directory
+    SAFE_UPGRADE_STAGING_HELP: Optional absolute path for storing upgrade backups. Leave empty to use the default inside the parent directory.
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Upgrade/SafeUpgradeService.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Upgrade/SafeUpgradeService.php
index 9346ce23a..026a9d07f 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Upgrade/SafeUpgradeService.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Upgrade/SafeUpgradeService.php
@@ -76,10 +76,12 @@ class SafeUpgradeService
         $this->rootPath = rtrim($root, DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR);
         $this->parentDir = $options['parent_dir'] ?? dirname($this->rootPath);
         $defaultStaging = $options['staging_root'] ?? ($this->parentDir . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'grav-upgrades');
-        try {
-            Folder::create($defaultStaging);
-        } catch (\RuntimeException $e) {
-            throw new RuntimeException(sprintf('Unable to create staging directory at %s. Adjust permissions or configure system.updates.staging_root.', $defaultStaging));
+        if (!$this->ensureWritable($defaultStaging)) {
+            $fallback = getenv('HOME') ? getenv('HOME') . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'grav-upgrades' : sys_get_temp_dir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'grav-upgrades';
+            if (!$this->ensureWritable($fallback)) {
+                throw new RuntimeException(sprintf('Unable to create staging directory at %s or fallback %s. Adjust permissions or configure system.updates.staging_root.', $defaultStaging, $fallback));
+            }
+            $defaultStaging = $fallback;
         }
         $this->stagingRoot = realpath($defaultStaging) ?: $defaultStaging;
         $this->manifestStore = $options['manifest_store'] ?? ($this->rootPath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'user' . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'data' . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'upgrades');
@@ -501,6 +503,27 @@ class SafeUpgradeService
         file_put_contents($target, json_encode($manifest, JSON_PRETTY_PRINT));
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Ensure directory exists and is writable.
+     *
+     * @param string $path
+     * @return bool
+     */
+    private function ensureWritable(string $path): bool
+    {
+        try {
+            Folder::create($path);
+        } catch (\RuntimeException $e) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (!is_writable($path)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
     /**
      * @param string|null $id
      * @return array|null