diff --git a/cmd/package/package.go b/cmd/package/package.go
index fa2c7af43a..8d1308aade 100644
--- a/cmd/package/package.go
+++ b/cmd/package/package.go
@@ -94,6 +94,10 @@ func main() {
 			}
 		}
 
+		// TODO take these from flags
+		opt.OrbitChannel = "stable"
+		opt.OsqueryChannel = "stable"
+
 		switch c.String("type") {
 		case "pkg":
 			return packaging.BuildPkg(opt)
diff --git a/pkg/packaging/deb.go b/pkg/packaging/deb.go
index 98825b9260..9b7692282b 100644
--- a/pkg/packaging/deb.go
+++ b/pkg/packaging/deb.go
@@ -40,12 +40,13 @@ func BuildDeb(opt Options) error {
 	updateOpt := update.DefaultOptions
 	updateOpt.Platform = "linux"
 	updateOpt.RootDirectory = orbitRoot
+	updateOpt.OrbitChannel = opt.OrbitChannel
+	updateOpt.OsqueryChannel = opt.OsqueryChannel
 
 	// TODO these should be configurable
 	updateOpt.ServerURL = "https://tuf.fleetctl.com"
-	osqueryChannel, orbitChannel := "stable", "stable"
 
-	if err := initializeUpdates(updateOpt, osqueryChannel, orbitChannel); err != nil {
+	if err := initializeUpdates(updateOpt); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "initialize updates")
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/packaging/macos.go b/pkg/packaging/macos.go
index 26ffb6f215..bc4a4c9dae 100644
--- a/pkg/packaging/macos.go
+++ b/pkg/packaging/macos.go
@@ -43,12 +43,13 @@ func BuildPkg(opt Options) error {
 	updateOpt := update.DefaultOptions
 	updateOpt.Platform = "macos"
 	updateOpt.RootDirectory = orbitRoot
+	updateOpt.OrbitChannel = opt.OrbitChannel
+	updateOpt.OsqueryChannel = opt.OsqueryChannel
 
 	// TODO these should be configurable
 	updateOpt.ServerURL = "https://tuf.fleetctl.com"
-	osqueryChannel, orbitChannel := "stable", "stable"
 
-	if err := initializeUpdates(updateOpt, osqueryChannel, orbitChannel); err != nil {
+	if err := initializeUpdates(updateOpt); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "initialize updates")
 	}
 
@@ -76,13 +77,15 @@ func BuildPkg(opt Options) error {
 			return errors.Wrap(err, "write fleet certificate")
 		}
 	}
-	if err := copyFile(
-		"./orbit",
-		filepath.Join(orbitRoot, "bin", "orbit", "macos", "current", "orbit"),
-		0755,
-	); err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "write orbit")
-	}
+
+	// TODO gate behind a flag and allow copying a local orbit
+	// if err := copyFile(
+	// 	"./orbit",
+	// 	filepath.Join(orbitRoot, "bin", "orbit", "macos", "current", "orbit"),
+	// 	0755,
+	// ); err != nil {
+	// 	return errors.Wrap(err, "write orbit")
+	// }
 
 	// Build package
 	if err := xarBom(opt, tmpDir); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/packaging/macos_templates.go b/pkg/packaging/macos_templates.go
index 8ecdea473c..361eeabf1a 100644
--- a/pkg/packaging/macos_templates.go
+++ b/pkg/packaging/macos_templates.go
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ var macosDistributionTemplate = template.Must(template.New("").Option("missingke
 var macosPostinstallTemplate = template.Must(template.New("").Option("missingkey=error").Parse(
 	`#!/bin/bash
 
-ln -sf /var/lib/orbit/orbit /usr/local/bin/orbit
+ln -sf /var/lib/orbit/bin/orbit/macos/{{.OrbitChannel}}/orbit /var/lib/orbit/bin/orbit/orbit
+ln -sf /var/lib/orbit/bin/orbit/orbit /usr/local/bin/orbit
 
 {{ if .StartService -}}
 launchctl stop com.fleetdm.orbit
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ var macosLaunchdTemplate = template.Must(template.New("").Option("missingkey=err
     <string>com.fleetdm.orbit</string>
     <key>ProgramArguments</key>
     <array>
-       <string>/var/lib/orbit/bin/orbit/macos/current/orbit</string>
+       <string>/var/lib/orbit/bin/orbit/orbit</string>
     </array>
     <key>StandardOutPath</key>
     <string>/var/log/orbit/orbit.stdout.log</string>
diff --git a/pkg/packaging/packaging.go b/pkg/packaging/packaging.go
index 7d75bf643d..3b59a03dca 100644
--- a/pkg/packaging/packaging.go
+++ b/pkg/packaging/packaging.go
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ type Options struct {
 	Notarize bool
 	// FleetCertificate is a path to a server certificate to include in the package.
 	FleetCertificate string
+	// OrbitChannel is the update channel to use for Orbit.
+	OrbitChannel string
+	// OsqueryChannel is the update channel to use for Osquery.
+	OsqueryChannel string
 }
 
 func copyFile(srcPath, dstPath string, perm os.FileMode) error {
@@ -60,7 +64,7 @@ func copyFile(srcPath, dstPath string, perm os.FileMode) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func initializeUpdates(updateOpt update.Options, osqueryChannel, orbitChannel string) error {
+func initializeUpdates(updateOpt update.Options) error {
 	localStore, err := filestore.New(filepath.Join(updateOpt.RootDirectory, "tuf-metadata.json"))
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create local metadata store")
@@ -74,13 +78,13 @@ func initializeUpdates(updateOpt update.Options, osqueryChannel, orbitChannel st
 	if err := updater.UpdateMetadata(); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to update metadata")
 	}
-	osquerydPath, err := updater.Get("osqueryd", osqueryChannel)
+	osquerydPath, err := updater.Get("osqueryd", updateOpt.OsqueryChannel)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get osqueryd")
 	}
 	log.Debug().Str("path", osquerydPath).Msg("got osqueryd")
 
-	orbitPath, err := updater.Get("orbit", orbitChannel)
+	orbitPath, err := updater.Get("orbit", updateOpt.OrbitChannel)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to get orbit")
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/update/update.go b/pkg/update/update.go
index 2fd31de1e2..9ee33d5716 100644
--- a/pkg/update/update.go
+++ b/pkg/update/update.go
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ type Options struct {
 	// Platform is the target of the platform to update for. In the default
 	// options this is the current platform.
 	Platform string
+	// OrbitChannel is the update channel to use for Orbit.
+	OrbitChannel string
+	// OsqueryChannel is the update channel to use for Osquery.
+	OsqueryChannel string
 }
 
 var (
@@ -58,6 +62,8 @@ var (
 		InsecureTransport: false,
 		Platform:          constant.PlatformName,
 		RootKeys:          defaultRootKeys,
+		OrbitChannel:      "stable",
+		OsqueryChannel:    "stable",
 	}
 )