diff --git a/files/ansible-playbooks/sot-updater-upgradecmd.yml b/files/ansible-playbooks/sot-updater-upgradecmd.yml
index 3270f96..301630c 100644
--- a/files/ansible-playbooks/sot-updater-upgradecmd.yml
+++ b/files/ansible-playbooks/sot-updater-upgradecmd.yml
@@ -79,6 +79,34 @@
           - "{{ (nb_preflight.stderr_lines | default(['<no stderr>'])) }}"
           - "raw stdout (joined): {{ nb_preflight.stdout | default('') | trim }}"
 
+    # --- Debug-only: capture the exact upgrade_cmd line and stop the play ---
+    - name: "NB preflight | Extract exact upgrade_cmd line"
+      when: nb_script.stat.exists
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+        nb_upgrade_line: >-
+          {{
+            (
+              nb_preflight.stdout_lines | default([]) | map('regex_replace','\r','') | map('trim')
+              | select('match', '^NB:\s*upgrade_cmd\s*=')
+              | list | first
+            ) | default('')
+          }}
+
+    - name: "NB preflight | Show captured upgrade_cmd line"
+      when: nb_script.stat.exists
+      delegate_to: localhost
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg:
+          - "upgrade_cmd line (exact): {{ nb_upgrade_line | default('<not found>') }}"
+          - "found? {{ (nb_upgrade_line | length) > 0 }}"
+
+    - name: "NB preflight | STOP here (temporary)"
+      meta: end_play
+
+
+
+
     # --- Parse the OK line robustly (token-based) ---
     - name: "NB preflight | Parse OK line (token)"
       when: nb_script.stat.exists