diff --git a/orbit/changes/14380-rpm-graceful-upgrade b/orbit/changes/14380-rpm-graceful-upgrade
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..97e82c95e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/orbit/changes/14380-rpm-graceful-upgrade
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+* Add a conditional check in the %postun script to prevent file deletion during RPM upgrade. The check ensures that files and directories are only removed during a full uninstall ( equals 0), safeguarding necessary files from unintended deletion during an upgrade.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go b/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go
index 0ec882353..0e425790c 100644
--- a/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go
+++ b/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go
@@ -364,7 +364,11 @@ pkill fleet-desktop || true
 func writePostRemove(opt Options, path string) error {
 	if err := ioutil.WriteFile(path, []byte(`#!/bin/sh
 
-rm -rf /var/lib/orbit /var/log/orbit /usr/local/bin/orbit /etc/default/orbit /usr/lib/systemd/system/orbit.service /opt/orbit
+# For RPM during uninstall, $1 is 0
+# For Debian during remove, $1 is "remove"
+if [ "$1" = 0 ] || [ "$1" = "remove" ]; then
+	rm -rf /var/lib/orbit /var/log/orbit /usr/local/bin/orbit /etc/default/orbit /usr/lib/systemd/system/orbit.service /opt/orbit
+fi
 `), constant.DefaultFileMode); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("write file: %w", err)
 	}