diff --git a/debian/watch b/debian/watch
index e71adb70..f34a05d9 100644
--- a/debian/watch
+++ b/debian/watch
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 version=4
 opts=downloadurlmangle=s/archive\/refs\/tags\/(.*)\.tar\.gz/releases\/download\/$1\/@PACKAGE@-$1\.tar\.xz/,\
     pgpsigurlmangle=s/$/.asc/,\
+    versionmangle=s/-(alpha|beta|rc)/~$1/,\
     dversionmangle=s/\+dfsg1//,repacksuffix=+dfsg1 \
     https://github.com/shadow-maint/@PACKAGE@/tags \
     /shadow-maint/@PACKAGE@/archive/refs/tags/([^v].*)\.tar\.gz