diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/README.md b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/README.md
index ce769d3c87f8..400d227bc864 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/README.md
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/README.md
@@ -290,6 +290,18 @@ The required E2E jobs run on 2 vCPUs (`namespace-profile-sentry-javascript-small
 about 90 seconds, set `"sentryTest": { "runner": "namespace-profile-sentry-javascript" }` to run it and its variants on
 4 vCPUs.
 
+Variants that build against upstream prereleases (for example `canary`, `next` or nightly builds of a framework) go into
+`canaryVariants`. They do not run on PRs, only in the nightly `CI: Canary Tests` workflow (`.github/workflows/canary.yml`),
+so failures caused by an upstream prerelease do not show up on unrelated PRs. Run one locally with
+`pnpm run test:run <app> --variant <label>`. Variants that build against the `latest` release belong in
+`optionalVariants`.
+
+```json
+"sentryTest": {
+  "canaryVariants": [{ "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary", "label": "my-app (canary)" }]
+}
+```
+
 If you add Sentry dependencies to your test application, set the dependency versions to `latest || *` in order
 for it to work with both regular and prerelease versions:
 
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/lib/getTestMatrix.mjs b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/lib/getTestMatrix.mjs
index cec2cb530828..0ec456f391a2 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/lib/getTestMatrix.mjs
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/lib/getTestMatrix.mjs
@@ -6,14 +6,22 @@ import { parseArgs } from 'node:util';
 
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
+const VARIANT_FIELDS = {
+  required: 'variants',
+  optional: 'optionalVariants',
+  canary: 'canaryVariants',
+};
+
 /**
  * Generates a matrix for the GitHub Actions workflow to run the E2E tests.
  * Checks which test applications are affected by the current changes in the PR and then generates a matrix
  * including all test apps that have at least one dependency that was changed in the PR.
  * If no `--base=xxx` is provided, it will output all test applications.
  *
- * If `--optional=true` is set, it will generate a matrix of optional test applications only.
- * Otherwise, these will be skipped.
+ * `--variant` selects which matrix to generate:
+ * - not set: the required test applications and their `variants`
+ * - `optional`: the optional test applications and the `optionalVariants` of all test applications
+ * - `canary`: only the `canaryVariants` of all test applications
  */
 function run() {
   const { values } = parseArgs({
@@ -21,15 +29,19 @@ function run() {
     options: {
       base: { type: 'string' },
       head: { type: 'string' },
-      optional: { type: 'string', default: 'false' },
+      variant: { type: 'string', default: 'required' },
     },
   });
 
-  const { base, head = 'HEAD', optional } = values;
+  const { base, head = 'HEAD', variant } = values;
 
   // For GitHub Action debugging
   // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-  console.error(`Parsed command line arguments: base=${base}, head=${head}, optional=${optional}`);
+  console.error(`Parsed command line arguments: base=${base}, head=${head}, variant=${variant}`);
+
+  if (!Object.hasOwn(VARIANT_FIELDS, variant)) {
+    throw new Error(`Unknown --variant=${variant}, expected one of: ${Object.keys(VARIANT_FIELDS).join(', ')}`);
+  }
 
   const testApplications = discoverTestApplicationDirs();
 
@@ -43,11 +55,10 @@ function run() {
     ? getAffectedTestApplications(testApplications, { base, head })
     : testApplications;
 
-  const optionalMode = optional === 'true';
   const includes = [];
 
   includedTestApplications.forEach(testApp => {
-    addIncludesForTestApp(testApp, includes, { optionalMode });
+    addIncludesForTestApp(testApp, includes, { variant });
   });
 
   // We print this to the output, so the GHA can use it for the matrix
@@ -66,12 +77,12 @@ function discoverTestApplicationDirs() {
     .sort();
 }
 
-function addIncludesForTestApp(testApp, includes, { optionalMode }) {
+function addIncludesForTestApp(testApp, includes, { variant }) {
   const packageJson = getPackageJson(testApp);
 
   const shouldSkip = packageJson.sentryTest?.skip || false;
   const isOptional = packageJson.sentryTest?.optional || false;
-  const variants = (optionalMode ? packageJson.sentryTest?.optionalVariants : packageJson.sentryTest?.variants) || [];
+  const variants = packageJson.sentryTest?.[VARIANT_FIELDS[variant]] || [];
   const runner = packageJson.sentryTest?.runner;
   const baseInclude = { 'test-application': testApp, ...(runner ? { runner } : {}) };
 
@@ -79,8 +90,9 @@ function addIncludesForTestApp(testApp, includes, { optionalMode }) {
     return;
   }
 
-  // Add the basic test-application itself, if it is in the current mode
-  if (optionalMode === isOptional) {
+  // The test application itself is either required or optional, never canary, and only runs in the matrix of its mode.
+  const appVariant = isOptional ? 'optional' : 'required';
+  if (appVariant === variant) {
     includes.push(baseInclude);
   }
 
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/package.json
index d2ef227b500d..af77f36a6fb6 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/package.json
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@
     "test:validate": "node validate-packed-tarball-setup.mjs",
     "clean": "rimraf tmp node_modules packed && pnpm run clean:test-applications && pnpm run clean:pnpm",
     "ci:build-matrix": "node ./lib/getTestMatrix.mjs",
-    "ci:build-matrix-optional": "node ./lib/getTestMatrix.mjs --optional=true",
+    "ci:build-matrix-optional": "node ./lib/getTestMatrix.mjs --variant=optional",
+    "ci:build-matrix-canary": "node ./lib/getTestMatrix.mjs --variant=canary",
     "ci:copy-to-temp": "node ./ciCopyToTemp.mjs",
     "ci:pnpm-overrides": "node ./ciPnpmOverrides.mjs",
     "clean:test-applications": "rimraf --glob test-applications/**/{node_modules,dist,build,.next,.nuxt,.sveltekit,.react-router,.astro,.output,pnpm-lock.yaml,.last-run.json,test-results,.angular}",
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/run.mjs b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/run.mjs
index d8ed9865b2f8..300b304f2bfa 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/run.mjs
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/run.mjs
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
  * @typedef {{ 'build-command': string; 'assert-command'?: string; label?: string; skip?: boolean; runtime?: string }} SentryTestVariant
  */
 
-/** @typedef {{ sentryTest?: { variants?: SentryTestVariant[]; optionalVariants?: SentryTestVariant[] } }} PackageJson */
+/** @typedef {{ sentryTest?: { variants?: SentryTestVariant[]; optionalVariants?: SentryTestVariant[]; canaryVariants?: SentryTestVariant[] } }} PackageJson */
 
 const DEFAULT_DSN = 'https://username@domain/123';
 const DEFAULT_SENTRY_ORG_SLUG = 'sentry-javascript-sdks';
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ async function getVariantBuildCommand(packageJsonPath, variantLabel, testAppPath
     const allVariants = [
       ...(packageJson.sentryTest?.variants || []),
       ...(packageJson.sentryTest?.optionalVariants || []),
+      ...(packageJson.sentryTest?.canaryVariants || []),
     ];
 
     const matchingVariant = findMatchingVariant(allVariants, variantLabel);
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-21/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-21/package.json
index 60e53772f091..ce311f876192 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-21/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-21/package.json
@@ -47,10 +47,10 @@
     "typescript": "~6.0.0"
   },
   "sentryTest": {
-    "optionalVariants": [
+    "canaryVariants": [
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
-        "label": "angular (canary)"
+        "label": "angular-21 (canary)"
       }
     ]
   }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-22/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-22/package.json
index a66c7252ef21..7384f9368932 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-22/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/angular-22/package.json
@@ -47,10 +47,10 @@
     "typescript": "~6.0.0"
   },
   "sentryTest": {
-    "optionalVariants": [
+    "canaryVariants": [
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
-        "label": "angular (canary)"
+        "label": "angular-22 (canary)"
       }
     ]
   }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/create-react-app/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/create-react-app/package.json
index 9858e5c45875..f5541c6be21c 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/create-react-app/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/create-react-app/package.json
@@ -39,5 +39,13 @@
       "last 1 firefox version",
       "last 1 safari version"
     ]
+  },
+  "sentryTest": {
+    "canaryVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
+        "label": "create-react-app (canary)"
+      }
+    ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nestjs-12/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nestjs-12/package.json
index 724a30b63c0f..db3903bfd091 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nestjs-12/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nestjs-12/package.json
@@ -42,5 +42,13 @@
     "ts-loader": "^9.4.3",
     "tsconfig-paths": "^4.2.0",
     "typescript": "~5.9.0"
+  },
+  "sentryTest": {
+    "optionalVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-latest",
+        "label": "nestjs-12 (latest)"
+      }
+    ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-14/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-14/package.json
index 9a3aa45dc92b..2704a2f90c0b 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-14/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-14/package.json
@@ -29,14 +29,16 @@
   },
   "sentryTest": {
     "optionalVariants": [
-      {
-        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
-        "label": "nextjs-14 (canary)"
-      },
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-latest",
         "label": "nextjs-14 (latest)"
       }
+    ],
+    "canaryVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
+        "label": "nextjs-14 (canary)"
+      }
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16-standalone/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16-standalone/package.json
index df76d8284b31..4ef0a0350d4b 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16-standalone/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16-standalone/package.json
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
         "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert"
       }
     ],
-    "optionalVariants": [
+    "canaryVariants": [
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
         "label": "nextjs-16-standalone (canary, turbopack)",
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16/package.json
index 75071f25d027..4629e84a780d 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nextjs-16/package.json
@@ -93,16 +93,6 @@
       }
     ],
     "optionalVariants": [
-      {
-        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
-        "label": "nextjs-16 (canary, turbopack)",
-        "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert"
-      },
-      {
-        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary-webpack",
-        "label": "nextjs-16 (canary, webpack)",
-        "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert-webpack"
-      },
       {
         "runtime": "cloudflare",
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-latest:cloudflare",
@@ -126,6 +116,18 @@
         "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert:vinext",
         "label": "nextjs-16 (vinext, bun)"
       }
+    ],
+    "canaryVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
+        "label": "nextjs-16 (canary, turbopack)",
+        "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert"
+      },
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary-webpack",
+        "label": "nextjs-16 (canary, webpack)",
+        "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert-webpack"
+      }
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-3/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-3/package.json
index d1891d751fc7..beb754c4e7c4 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-3/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-3/package.json
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
     "@sentry-internal/test-utils": "file:../../packed/sentry-internal-test-utils-packed.tgz"
   },
   "sentryTest": {
-    "optionalVariants": [
+    "canaryVariants": [
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
         "label": "nuxt-3 (canary)"
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4-static/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4-static/package.json
index 63fd1d8c01e9..8fcd03d53834 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4-static/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4-static/package.json
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
         "label": "nuxt-4-static (tracer provider)"
       }
     ],
-    "optionalVariants": [
+    "canaryVariants": [
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
         "label": "nuxt-4-static (canary)"
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4/package.json
index abfe18e43daa..38b6d60024a3 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/nuxt-4/package.json
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         "label": "nuxt-4 (tunnel-basepath-dev)"
       }
     ],
-    "optionalVariants": [
+    "canaryVariants": [
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
         "label": "nuxt-4 (canary)"
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-create-hash-router/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-create-hash-router/package.json
index a6c572225b97..80481c626bd4 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-create-hash-router/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-create-hash-router/package.json
@@ -45,5 +45,13 @@
     "@playwright/test": "1.64.1",
     "@sentry-internal/test-utils": "file:../../packed/sentry-internal-test-utils-packed.tgz",
     "serve": "14.0.1"
+  },
+  "sentryTest": {
+    "canaryVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
+        "label": "react-create-hash-router (canary)"
+      }
+    ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-router-6/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-router-6/package.json
index eabd1c9498b6..afa0bdf2dda5 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-router-6/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/react-router-6/package.json
@@ -49,6 +49,12 @@
     "npm-run-all2": "^6.2.0"
   },
   "sentryTest": {
-    "runner": "namespace-profile-sentry-javascript"
+    "runner": "namespace-profile-sentry-javascript",
+    "canaryVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
+        "label": "react-router-6 (canary)"
+      }
+    ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/tanstackstart-react/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/tanstackstart-react/package.json
index eb862db2b1e1..69c718ec1dee 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/tanstackstart-react/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/tanstackstart-react/package.json
@@ -79,6 +79,12 @@
         "build-command": "pnpm install",
         "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert:tunnel-basepath-dev"
       }
+    ],
+    "optionalVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-latest",
+        "label": "tanstackstart-react (latest)"
+      }
     ]
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/vue-3/package.json b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/vue-3/package.json
index 60707aed87b5..6048d7d8d9ff 100644
--- a/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/vue-3/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/e2e-tests/test-applications/vue-3/package.json
@@ -56,15 +56,17 @@
       }
     ],
     "optionalVariants": [
-      {
-        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
-        "label": "vue-3 (canary)"
-      },
       {
         "build-command": "pnpm test:build-no-options-api",
         "assert-command": "pnpm test:assert-no-options-api",
         "label": "vue-3 (no Options API)"
       }
+    ],
+    "canaryVariants": [
+      {
+        "build-command": "pnpm test:build-canary",
+        "label": "vue-3 (canary)"
+      }
     ]
   }
 }