diff --git a/src/bin/julialauncher.rs b/src/bin/julialauncher.rs
index f7d0b5d5..9688707e 100644
--- a/src/bin/julialauncher.rs
+++ b/src/bin/julialauncher.rs
@@ -305,7 +305,17 @@ fn run_app() -> Result<i32> {
         let first_arg = &args[1];
 
         if let Some(stripped) = first_arg.strip_prefix('+') {
-            channel_from_cmd_line = Some(stripped.to_string());
+            channel_from_cmd_line = Some(
+                match stripped {
+                    "a" => "alpha",
+                    "b" => "beta",
+                    "l" => "lts",
+                    "n" => "nightly",
+                    "r" => "release",
+                    strip => strip,
+                }
+                .to_string(),
+            )
         }
     }