diff --git a/docs/changelog/+no-spec-variant-names.bugfix.rst b/docs/changelog/+no-spec-variant-names.bugfix.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..790a415
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changelog/+no-spec-variant-names.bugfix.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+List free-threaded and debug builds on ``PATH``, such as ``python3.13t``, ``python3.13d`` and ``python3.13-dbg``, when
+``iter_interpreters()`` runs with no spec, as it already did for uv's ``+freethreaded`` and ``+debug`` installs.
diff --git a/docs/explanation.rst b/docs/explanation.rst
index 2307281..14ab839 100644
--- a/docs/explanation.rst
+++ b/docs/explanation.rst
@@ -180,9 +180,10 @@ PATH unless the spec names another implementation explicitly (``pypy3.12``, ``gr
 compatibility with tools that have always read "no implementation in the spec" as "give me CPython."
 :func:`~python_discovery.iter_interpreters` with no spec broadens the search to every name in
 :data:`~python_discovery.KNOWN_IMPLEMENTATIONS` -- otherwise an "all interpreters" call would silently miss every
-PyPy and GraalPy on the system. When you pass a spec to :func:`~python_discovery.iter_interpreters`, it falls back
-to the same narrow regex as :func:`~python_discovery.get_interpreter`, so behavior is consistent across the two
-APIs whenever a spec is given.
+PyPy and GraalPy on the system. It also matches the free-threaded and debug names (``python3.13t``, ``python3.13d``,
+``python3.13-dbg``), so PATH lists those builds just as uv's ``+freethreaded`` and ``+debug`` installs are listed.
+When you pass a spec to :func:`~python_discovery.iter_interpreters`, it falls back to the same narrow regex as
+:func:`~python_discovery.get_interpreter`, so behavior is consistent across the two APIs whenever a spec is given.
 
 **Deduplication.** :func:`~python_discovery.get_interpreter` deduplicates per call so it does not interrogate the
 same binary twice while searching, and stops as soon as a match is found. :func:`~python_discovery.iter_interpreters`
diff --git a/src/python_discovery/_py_spec.py b/src/python_discovery/_py_spec.py
index 8e79c94..f38c129 100644
--- a/src/python_discovery/_py_spec.py
+++ b/src/python_discovery/_py_spec.py
@@ -197,7 +197,9 @@ def generate_re(self, *, windows: bool, all_implementations: bool = False) -> re
 
         :param windows: if ``True``, require a ``.exe`` suffix.
         :param all_implementations: when ``True`` and the spec does not constrain the implementation, match every
-            filename in :data:`KNOWN_IMPLEMENTATIONS` instead of only ``python``. Used by enumeration APIs.
+            filename in :data:`KNOWN_IMPLEMENTATIONS` instead of only ``python``. A free-threaded or debug build the
+            spec leaves open also matches its marked name, such as ``python3.13t`` or ``python3.13-dbg``. Used by
+            enumeration APIs.
         """
         version = r"{}(\.{}(\.{})?)?".format(
             *(r"\d+" if v is None else v for v in (self.major, self.minor, self.micro)),
@@ -208,8 +210,9 @@ def generate_re(self, *, windows: bool, all_implementations: bool = False) -> re
             impl = "|".join(re.escape(i) for i in KNOWN_IMPLEMENTATIONS)
         else:
             impl = "python"
-        mod = "t?" if self.free_threaded else ""
-        dbg = "(?:d|-dbg|-debug)?" if self.debug else ""
+        # An unconstrained single lookup must not depend on directory order to choose a variant.
+        mod = "t?" if self.free_threaded or (all_implementations and self.free_threaded is None) else ""
+        dbg = "(?:d|-dbg|-debug)?" if self.debug or (all_implementations and self.debug is None) else ""
         suffix = r"\.exe" if windows else ""
         version_conditional = "?" if windows or self.major is None else ""
         return re.compile(
diff --git a/tests/test_iter_interpreters.py b/tests/test_iter_interpreters.py
index 2ce5fb4..f81b2ec 100644
--- a/tests/test_iter_interpreters.py
+++ b/tests/test_iter_interpreters.py
@@ -121,6 +121,29 @@ def test_iter_interpreters_no_key_includes_running_interpreter(session_cache: Di
     assert any(os.path.realpath(info.executable) == real_self for info in results)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.usefixtures("uv_dir")
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "name",
+    [
+        pytest.param("python3.99t", id="free-threaded"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99d", id="debug-abi"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99-dbg", id="debug-debian"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_iter_interpreters_no_key_probes_variant_builds_on_path(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, mocker: MockerFixture, name: str
+) -> None:
+    exe = tmp_path / "bin" / f"{name}{'.exe' if IS_WIN else ''}"
+    exe.parent.mkdir()
+    exe.touch()
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PATH", str(exe.parent))
+    from_exe = mocker.patch("python_discovery._discovery.PathPythonInfo.from_exe", return_value=None)
+
+    list(iter_interpreters())
+
+    assert str(exe) in [call.args[0] for call in from_exe.call_args_list]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("uv_dir")
 def test_iter_interpreters_dedups_symlinks(
     tmp_path: Path,
diff --git a/tests/test_py_spec_extra.py b/tests/test_py_spec_extra.py
index 571639a..3adc020 100644
--- a/tests/test_py_spec_extra.py
+++ b/tests/test_py_spec_extra.py
@@ -95,6 +95,52 @@ def test_generate_re_with_debug(name: str) -> None:
     assert pat.fullmatch(name) is not None
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "name",
+    [
+        pytest.param("python3.99t", id="free-threaded"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99d", id="debug-abi"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99-dbg", id="debug-short"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99-debug", id="debug-long"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99td", id="free-threaded-debug-abi"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99t-dbg", id="free-threaded-debug-short"),
+    ],
+)
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("windows", [pytest.param(False, id="posix"), pytest.param(True, id="windows")])
+def test_generate_re_all_implementations_matches_variant_names(name: str, windows: bool) -> None:
+    spec = PythonSpec("", None, None, None, None, None, None)
+    pat = spec.generate_re(windows=windows, all_implementations=True)
+    assert pat.fullmatch(f"{name}.exe" if windows else name) is not None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "name",
+    [
+        pytest.param("python3.99t", id="free-threaded"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99d", id="debug-abi"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99-dbg", id="debug-debian"),
+    ],
+)
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("key", [pytest.param("python", id="name"), pytest.param("3.99", id="version")])
+def test_generate_re_single_lookup_skips_variant_names(key: str, name: str) -> None:
+    pat = PythonSpec.from_string_spec(key).generate_re(windows=False)
+    assert pat.fullmatch(name) is None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "name",
+    [
+        pytest.param("python3.99t", id="free-threaded"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99d", id="debug-abi"),
+        pytest.param("python3.99-dbg", id="debug-debian"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_generate_re_all_implementations_keeps_ruled_out_variants_out(name: str) -> None:
+    spec = PythonSpec("", None, 3, 99, None, None, None, free_threaded=False, debug=False)
+    pat = spec.generate_re(windows=False, all_implementations=True)
+    assert pat.fullmatch(name) is None
+
+
 def test_single_digit_version() -> None:
     spec = PythonSpec.from_string_spec("python3")
     assert spec.major == 3