diff --git a/src/cli/cli.ts b/src/cli/cli.ts
index ac38b52..300da20 100644
--- a/src/cli/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/cli.ts
@@ -88,22 +88,33 @@ program
 program
   .command("pack [directory] [output]")
   .description("Pack a directory into an MCPB extension")
-  .action((directory: string = process.cwd(), output?: string) => {
-    void (async () => {
-      try {
-        const success = await packExtension({
-          extensionPath: directory,
-          outputPath: output,
-        });
-        process.exit(success ? 0 : 1);
-      } catch (error) {
-        console.error(
-          `ERROR: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : "Unknown error"}`,
-        );
-        process.exit(1);
-      }
-    })();
-  });
+  .option(
+    "--manifest-version <version>",
+    "Override manifest version in the output bundle",
+  )
+  .action(
+    (
+      directory: string = process.cwd(),
+      output?: string,
+      options?: { manifestVersion?: string },
+    ) => {
+      void (async () => {
+        try {
+          const success = await packExtension({
+            extensionPath: directory,
+            outputPath: output,
+            manifestVersion: options?.manifestVersion,
+          });
+          process.exit(success ? 0 : 1);
+        } catch (error) {
+          console.error(
+            `ERROR: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : "Unknown error"}`,
+          );
+          process.exit(1);
+        }
+      })();
+    },
+  );
 
 // Unpack command
 program
diff --git a/src/cli/pack.ts b/src/cli/pack.ts
index e2411bf..ef3c45a 100644
--- a/src/cli/pack.ts
+++ b/src/cli/pack.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ interface PackOptions {
   extensionPath: string;
   outputPath?: string;
   silent?: boolean;
+  manifestVersion?: string;
 }
 
 function formatFileSize(bytes: number): string {
@@ -50,10 +51,22 @@ export async function packExtension({
   extensionPath,
   outputPath,
   silent,
+  manifestVersion: targetManifestVersion,
 }: PackOptions): Promise<boolean> {
   const resolvedPath = resolve(extensionPath);
   const logger = getLogger({ silent });
 
+  // Validate target manifest version if provided
+  if (
+    targetManifestVersion &&
+    !(targetManifestVersion in MANIFEST_SCHEMAS)
+  ) {
+    logger.error(
+      `ERROR: Invalid manifest version "${targetManifestVersion}". Supported versions: ${Object.keys(MANIFEST_SCHEMAS).join(", ")}`,
+    );
+    return false;
+  }
+
   // Check if directory exists
   if (!existsSync(resolvedPath) || !statSync(resolvedPath).isDirectory()) {
     logger.error(`ERROR: Directory not found: ${extensionPath}`);
@@ -90,10 +103,11 @@ export async function packExtension({
 
   // Read and parse manifest
   let manifest;
+  let finalManifestContent: string;
   try {
     const manifestContent = readFileSync(manifestPath, "utf-8");
     const manifestData = JSON.parse(manifestContent);
-    const manifestVersion = getManifestVersionFromRawData(manifestData);
+    let manifestVersion = getManifestVersionFromRawData(manifestData);
     if (!manifestVersion) {
       logger.error(
         `ERROR: Manifest version mismatch. Expected "${Object.keys(MANIFEST_SCHEMAS).join(" or ")}", found "${manifestVersion}"`,
@@ -104,7 +118,20 @@ export async function packExtension({
       return false;
     }
 
+    // Override manifest version if target version is specified
+    if (targetManifestVersion && targetManifestVersion !== manifestVersion) {
+      logger.log(
+        `Overriding manifest version from ${manifestVersion} to ${targetManifestVersion}`,
+      );
+      manifestData.manifest_version = targetManifestVersion;
+      // Remove legacy dxt_version if present to avoid confusion
+      delete manifestData.dxt_version;
+      manifestVersion =
+        targetManifestVersion as keyof typeof MANIFEST_SCHEMAS;
+    }
+
     manifest = MANIFEST_SCHEMAS[manifestVersion].parse(manifestData);
+    finalManifestContent = JSON.stringify(manifestData, null, 2);
   } catch (error) {
     logger.error("ERROR: Failed to parse manifest.json");
     if (error instanceof Error) {
@@ -135,6 +162,14 @@ export async function packExtension({
       mcpbIgnorePatterns,
     );
 
+    // Override manifest.json with potentially modified content (version override)
+    if (files[manifestPath]) {
+      files[manifestPath] = {
+        ...files[manifestPath],
+        data: Buffer.from(finalManifestContent, "utf-8"),
+      };
+    }
+
     // Print package header
     logger.log(`\n📦  ${manifest.name}@${manifest.version}`);