diff --git a/.github/workflows/sphinxbuild.yml b/.github/workflows/sphinxbuild.yml
index 50aa183ac70..e194b806b81 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/sphinxbuild.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/sphinxbuild.yml
@@ -60,7 +60,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6.0.3
 
       - name: Get stable branches
-        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' || github.base_ref == 'master'
         id: stable_branches
         run: |
           branches=$(git ls-remote --heads origin "heads/stable[0-9][0-9]" \
@@ -68,30 +67,28 @@ jobs:
             | sort -n -r | tr '\n' ' ')
           echo "branches=$branches" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      - name: Setup PHP for version validation
-        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' || github.base_ref == 'master'
+      - name: Setup PHP for version detection
         uses: shivammathur/setup-php@7c071dfe9dc99bdf297fa79cb49ea005b9fcadbc # v2.37.1
 
-      - name: Validate version constants in conf.py
-        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' || github.base_ref == 'master'
+      - name: Detect and export version constants
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         run: |
+          # Detect current highest released stable and lowest supported stable via
+          # GitHub API (same logic as build/build-index.php and generate-top-index.yml).
+          # Exports DOCS_VERSION_STABLE and DOCS_VERSION_START so conf.py always has
+          # accurate values without manual updates to any branch.
           eval $(php build/detect-versions.php ${{ steps.stable_branches.outputs.branches }})
+          echo "DOCS_VERSION_STABLE=$highest_stable" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "DOCS_VERSION_START=$lowest_stable"   >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-          conf_stable=$(grep -m1 '^\s*version_stable\s*=' conf.py | grep -o '[0-9]\+')
-          conf_start=$(grep -m1 '^\s*version_start\s*='  conf.py | grep -o '[0-9]\+')
-
-          err=0
-          if [ "$highest_stable" != "$conf_stable" ]; then
-            echo "::error::version_stable in conf.py ($conf_stable) != highest released stable ($highest_stable). Update conf.py."
-            err=1
-          fi
-          if [ "$lowest_stable" != "$conf_start" ]; then
-            echo "::error::version_start in conf.py ($conf_start) != lowest existing stable branch ($lowest_stable). Update conf.py."
-            err=1
+          # Compute display version: branch number for stableNN builds, dev version for master.
+          branch="${GITHUB_BASE_REF:-${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/}}"
+          if [[ "$branch" =~ ^stable([0-9]+)$ ]]; then
+            echo "DOCS_DISPLAY_VERSION=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          else
+            echo "DOCS_DISPLAY_VERSION=$((highest_stable + 1))" >> $GITHUB_ENV
           fi
-          exit $err
 
       - name: Set up Python
         uses: actions/setup-python@a309ff8b426b58ec0e2a45f0f869d46889d02405 # v6.2.0
diff --git a/_shared_assets/static/custom.css b/_shared_assets/static/custom.css
index 59343649db7..e5f57c06c27 100644
--- a/_shared_assets/static/custom.css
+++ b/_shared_assets/static/custom.css
@@ -229,3 +229,44 @@ table.docutils {
 #code-style table.docutils {
 	width: 100%;
 }
+
+/* Version picker lists — 2-column grid, emoji as absolute ::before bullet */
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions {
+	padding-left: 26px;
+}
+
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl.nc-versions-list,
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl.nc-languages-list {
+	display: grid;
+	grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
+	gap: 8px;
+	padding: 6px;
+}
+
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl.nc-versions-list dt,
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl.nc-languages-list dt {
+	grid-column: span 2;
+	position: relative;
+	padding: 0;
+}
+
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl dt::before {
+	position: absolute;
+	left: -22px;
+	height: 18px;
+	width: 18px;
+	font-size: 16px;
+	line-height: 18px;
+}
+
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl.nc-versions-list dt::before {
+	content: "☁️";
+}
+
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dl.nc-languages-list dt::before {
+	content: "🌐";
+}
+
+.rst-versions .rst-other-versions dd a {
+	padding: 0;
+}
diff --git a/admin_manual/_templates/versions.html b/admin_manual/_templates/versions.html
index 5213b763607..9833558216b 100644
--- a/admin_manual/_templates/versions.html
+++ b/admin_manual/_templates/versions.html
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@
       <span class="fa fa-caret-down" aria-hidden="true"></span>
     </button>
     <div id="rst-other-versions-admin" class="rst-other-versions">
-      <dl>
-        <dt>☁️ {{ _('Versions') }}</dt>
+      <dl class="nc-versions-list">
+        <dt>{{ _('Versions') }}</dt>
         {% for slug, url, label in versions|reverse %}
-        <dd style="width: 32%">
+        <dd>
           <a href="{{ url }}"
              {% if current_version == slug %}
              style="color: var(--dark-link-color);"
diff --git a/build/detect-versions.php b/build/detect-versions.php
index 72f07fe0ba7..abda7814afc 100644
--- a/build/detect-versions.php
+++ b/build/detect-versions.php
@@ -101,6 +101,9 @@ function fetch_release_info(int $version): ?array {
  */
 function detect_versions(array $branches): array {
 	rsort($branches, SORT_NUMERIC);
+	// Nextcloud's support policy: a release is supported for 1 year after its initial
+	// release. Versions released more than a year ago are considered out of support
+	// and count as $lowest_stable only if no newer in-support version exists.
 	$oneYearAgo = time() - (365 * 24 * 60 * 60);
 	$released = [];
 	$firstOutOfSupportTime = null;
diff --git a/conf.py b/conf.py
index 6c5a2cb6dc1..eb72f05f05b 100644
--- a/conf.py
+++ b/conf.py
@@ -57,27 +57,15 @@
 html_copy_source = False
 
 # building the versions list
-# CI validates both constants against actual stableNN branches (see sphinxbuild.yml).
-# Update version_start when the lowest stableNN branch is deleted (version goes EoL).
-# Update version_stable when a new NC release ships (highest stableNN branch added).
-version_start = 32		# oldest documented version
-
-						# latest released stable — CHANGING IT MUST RESULT IN A CHANGE OF THE SYMLINK ON THE LIVE SERVER
-version_stable = 34		# mapped to https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/
-import re as _re
-# Detect stable branch version for display purposes.
-# For PRs: GITHUB_BASE_REF is the target branch (e.g. 'stable34').
-# For direct pushes: GITHUB_REF is 'refs/heads/stable34'.
-_base = os.environ.get('GITHUB_BASE_REF', '')
-_ref  = os.environ.get('GITHUB_REF', '')
-_stable_ver = (
-    _re.match(r'^stable(\d+)$', _base)
-    or _re.match(r'^refs/heads/stable(\d+)$', _ref)
-)
-display_version = (
-    release if release != 'latest'                    # PDF/ePub builds (DOCS_RELEASE set)
-    else _stable_ver.group(1) if _stable_ver          # stableNN branches and PRs targeting them
-    else str(version_stable + 1)                      # master
+# In CI: DOCS_VERSION_STABLE and DOCS_VERSION_START are injected by sphinxbuild.yml
+# via detect-versions.php so these values are always current without manual updates.
+# Fallbacks here are used for local builds only.
+version_start  = int(os.environ.get('DOCS_VERSION_START',  32))
+version_stable = int(os.environ.get('DOCS_VERSION_STABLE', 34))  # CHANGING IT MUST RESULT IN A CHANGE OF THE SYMLINK ON THE LIVE SERVER
+# In CI: DOCS_DISPLAY_VERSION is injected by sphinxbuild.yml.
+# Fallback: PDF/ePub builds use release (DOCS_RELEASE); local master builds use version_stable+1.
+display_version = os.environ.get('DOCS_DISPLAY_VERSION') or (
+    release if release != 'latest' else str(version_stable + 1)
 )
 
 # Also search for "TODO ON RELEASE" in the rst files
@@ -100,17 +88,16 @@ def generateVersionsDocs(current_docs):
 
 	# If viewing an unsupported (older than version_start) branch, prepend it so it
 	# appears last after the template's |reverse — e.g. "26 (unsupported)" at the bottom.
-	if _stable_ver:
-		branch_ver = int(_stable_ver.group(1))
-		if branch_ver < version_start:
-			url = 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/%s/%s' % (str(branch_ver), current_docs)
-			versions_doc.append((branch_ver, url, '%s (unsupported)' % branch_ver))
+	if display_version.isdigit() and int(display_version) < version_start:
+		branch_ver = int(display_version)
+		url = 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/%s/%s' % (display_version, current_docs)
+		versions_doc.append((branch_ver, url, '%s (unsupported)' % branch_ver))
 
 	for v in range(version_start, version_stable):
 		url = 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/%s/%s' % (str(v), current_docs)
-		versions_doc.append((v, url, str(v)))
-	versions_doc.append(('stable', 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/%s' % current_docs, '%s (stable)' % version_stable))
-	versions_doc.append(('latest', 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/%s' % current_docs, '%s (latest)' % str(version_stable + 1)))
+		versions_doc.append((v, url, '%s (stable)' % v))
+	versions_doc.append(('stable', 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/%s' % current_docs, '%s (latest)' % version_stable))
+	versions_doc.append(('latest', 'https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/%s' % current_docs, '%s (upcoming)' % str(version_stable + 1)))
 	return versions_doc
 
 if version.isdigit():
@@ -119,7 +106,7 @@ def generateVersionsDocs(current_docs):
 	github_branch = 'master'
 
 html_context = {
-	'current_version': int(_stable_ver.group(1)) if _stable_ver else version,
+	'current_version': int(display_version) if display_version.isdigit() else version,
 	'display_version': display_version,
 	'READTHEDOCS': True,
 
diff --git a/developer_manual/_templates/versions.html b/developer_manual/_templates/versions.html
index b3b93c4b1d7..c7fec448f8d 100644
--- a/developer_manual/_templates/versions.html
+++ b/developer_manual/_templates/versions.html
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@
       <span class="fa fa-caret-down" aria-hidden="true"></span>
     </button>
     <div id="rst-other-versions-dev" class="rst-other-versions">
-      <dl>
-        <dt>☁️ {{ _('Versions') }}</dt>
+      <dl class="nc-versions-list">
+        <dt>{{ _('Versions') }}</dt>
         {% for slug, url, label in versions|reverse %}
-        <dd style="width: 32%">
+        <dd>
           <a href="{{ url }}"
              {% if current_version == slug %}
              style="color: var(--dark-link-color);"
diff --git a/user_manual/_templates/versions.html b/user_manual/_templates/versions.html
index 3dfa727502e..10588268ad3 100644
--- a/user_manual/_templates/versions.html
+++ b/user_manual/_templates/versions.html
@@ -72,10 +72,10 @@
       <span class="fa fa-caret-down" aria-hidden="true"></span>
     </button>
     <div id="rst-other-versions-user" class="rst-other-versions">
-      <dl>
-        <dt>🌐 {{ _('Languages') }}</dt>
+      <dl class="nc-languages-list">
+        <dt>{{ _('Languages') }}</dt>
         {% for lang in sorted_languages %}
-          <dd style="width: 32%; vertical-align: top;">
+          <dd>
             <a href="/server/latest/user_manual/{{ lang.code }}/"
                {% if lang.code == language %}
                style="color: var(--dark-link-color);"
@@ -88,10 +88,10 @@
       </dl>
     </div>
     <div class="rst-other-versions">
-      <dl>
-        <dt>☁️ {{ _('Versions') }}</dt>
+      <dl class="nc-versions-list">
+        <dt>{{ _('Versions') }}</dt>
         {% for slug, url, label in versions|reverse %}
-          <dd style="width: 32%">
+          <dd>
             <a href="{{ url }}"
                {% if current_version == slug %}
                style="color: var(--dark-link-color);"