diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0d94189718..5aa71a37ee 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -301,7 +301,39 @@ Paperclip is a full control plane, not a wrapper. Before you build any of this y
 Open source. Self-hosted. No Paperclip account required.
 
 ```bash
-npx paperclipai onboard --yes
+curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh
+curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh.sha256
+if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  sha256sum -c install.sh.sha256
+else
+  shasum -a 256 -c install.sh.sha256
+fi
+bash install.sh
+```
+
+The installer ensures Node.js 20 or newer is available, installs a managed
+Paperclip CLI under `~/.paperclip/cli`, and starts interactive onboarding. It
+can also install Paperclip as a background service on supported Linux and
+macOS systems. The checksum detects transfer or publishing mistakes, but it is
+served from the same origin as the script; use a release-tag or commit-pinned
+GitHub copy when you need an independently hosted source.
+
+For a non-interactive managed install:
+
+```bash
+curl -fsSL https://paperclip.ing/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-prompt --no-onboard
+paperclipai onboard --yes
+```
+
+The piped form requires supported Node.js, npm, and npx to already be present.
+If Node.js bootstrap is required, download and review `install.sh` before
+running it so no privileged dependency-install command is accepted through a
+pipe.
+
+To try Paperclip without installing anything permanently:
+
+```bash
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai onboard --yes
 ```
 
 > **Troubleshooting: private npm registry `.npmrc`**
@@ -323,13 +355,16 @@ npx paperclipai onboard --yes
 That quickstart path now defaults to trusted local loopback mode for the fastest first run. To start in authenticated/private mode instead, choose a bind preset explicitly:
 
 ```bash
-npx paperclipai onboard --yes --bind lan
+paperclipai onboard --yes --bind lan
 # or:
-npx paperclipai onboard --yes --bind tailnet
+paperclipai onboard --yes --bind tailnet
 ```
 
 If you already have Paperclip configured, rerunning `onboard` keeps the existing config in place. Use `paperclipai configure` to edit settings.
 
+See [`doc/INSTALLING.md`](doc/INSTALLING.md) for pinned versions, canary and
+git-ref installs, updates, rollback, service management, and uninstalling.
+
 Or manually:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/cli/esbuild.config.mjs b/cli/esbuild.config.mjs
index 99e50ee479..3432ef5bf4 100644
--- a/cli/esbuild.config.mjs
+++ b/cli/esbuild.config.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  */
 
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 import { resolve, dirname } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { bundledCliNpmDependencies } from "../scripts/cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs";
@@ -53,6 +54,17 @@ for (const name of externalWorkspacePackages) {
   externals.add(name);
 }
 
+if (bundledCliNpmDependencies.has("embedded-postgres")) {
+  const requireFromDb = createRequire(resolve(repoRoot, "packages/db/package.json"));
+  const embeddedPostgresRoot = dirname(requireFromDb.resolve("embedded-postgres"));
+  const embeddedPostgresPackage = JSON.parse(
+    readFileSync(resolve(embeddedPostgresRoot, "..", "package.json"), "utf8"),
+  );
+  for (const name of Object.keys(embeddedPostgresPackage.optionalDependencies ?? {})) {
+    externals.add(name);
+  }
+}
+
 /** @type {import('esbuild').BuildOptions} */
 export default {
   entryPoints: ["src/index.ts"],
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/install-command.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/install-command.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..620504e348
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/install-command.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,376 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import {
+  type CommandRunner,
+  installCommand,
+  installGitPayload,
+  resolveGitHubRef,
+  resolveGitInstallRequest,
+  resolveGitInstallWorkspacePackages,
+  resolveNpmInstallRequest,
+  runCommandWithDiagnostics,
+} from "../commands/install.js";
+import { uninstallCommand } from "../commands/uninstall.js";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceId } from "../config/home.js";
+import {
+  INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION,
+  flipCurrentAtomic,
+  initializeInstallStore,
+  payloadPathFor,
+  readInstallManifest,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+  withInstallStoreLock,
+  writeInstallManifestAtomic,
+} from "../install-store.js";
+import { resolveCliVersion } from "../version.js";
+import { systemdServiceName } from "../services/service-manager.js";
+
+const ORIGINAL_ENV = { ...process.env };
+
+describe("managed install commands", () => {
+  let root: string;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-install-command-"));
+    process.env = {
+      ...ORIGINAL_ENV,
+      HOME: path.join(root, "home"),
+      PAPERCLIP_HOME: path.join(root, "home", ".paperclip"),
+      PATH: "/usr/bin:/bin",
+      SHELL: "/bin/bash",
+    };
+    fs.mkdirSync(process.env.HOME!, { recursive: true });
+    vi.spyOn(console, "log").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+    process.env = { ...ORIGINAL_ENV };
+    fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it("selects stable, canary, and exact-version npm sources", () => {
+    expect(resolveNpmInstallRequest({})).toEqual({ spec: "latest", channel: "latest" });
+    expect(resolveNpmInstallRequest({ canary: true })).toEqual({ spec: "canary", channel: "canary" });
+    expect(resolveNpmInstallRequest({ version: "2026.720.0" })).toEqual({
+      spec: "2026.720.0",
+      channel: "pinned",
+    });
+    expect(() => resolveNpmInstallRequest({ canary: true, version: "1.2.3" })).toThrow();
+    expect(() => resolveNpmInstallRequest({ version: "latest" })).toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it("resolves branch, tag, full SHA, and short SHA refs through GitHub", async () => {
+    const sha = "a".repeat(40);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (_file: string, _args: string[]) => ({ stdout: JSON.stringify({ sha }), stderr: "" }));
+    for (const ref of ["master", "v1.2.3", sha, sha.slice(0, 12)]) {
+      await expect(resolveGitHubRef("paperclipai/paperclip", ref, runCommand)).resolves.toBe(sha);
+    }
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls.map((call) => call[1].at(-1))).toEqual([
+      "https://api.github.com/repos/paperclipai/paperclip/commits/master",
+      "https://api.github.com/repos/paperclipai/paperclip/commits/v1.2.3",
+      `https://api.github.com/repos/paperclipai/paperclip/commits/${sha}`,
+      `https://api.github.com/repos/paperclipai/paperclip/commits/${sha.slice(0, 12)}`,
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("supports fork overrides and classifies SHA refs as pinned", () => {
+    expect(resolveGitInstallRequest({ ref: "feature/test", repo: "HenkDz/paperclip" })).toEqual({ repo: "HenkDz/paperclip", ref: "feature/test", pinned: false });
+    expect(resolveGitInstallRequest({ ref: "abcdef1" })).toEqual({ repo: "paperclipai/paperclip", ref: "abcdef1", pinned: true });
+    expect(() => resolveGitInstallRequest({ repo: "HenkDz/paperclip" })).toThrow("requires --ref");
+  });
+
+  it("requires explicit non-interactive consent before resolving git refs", async () => {
+    const runCommand = vi.fn();
+
+    await expect(installCommand({ ref: "master", repo: "HenkDz/paperclip" }, { runCommand }))
+      .rejects.toThrow("Re-run with --yes");
+
+    expect(runCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("reuses a SHA-keyed git payload without downloading or rebuilding", async () => {
+    const sha = "b".repeat(40);
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const payloadPath = payloadPathFor(paths, "git", sha.slice(0, 12));
+    const packageRoot = path.join(payloadPath, "node_modules", "paperclipai");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.join(packageRoot, "dist"), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(packageRoot, "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ version: "0.3.1" }));
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(packageRoot, "dist", "index.js"), "#!/usr/bin/env node\n");
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (_file: string, _args: string[]) => ({ stdout: "0.3.1\n", stderr: "" }));
+    await expect(installGitPayload("paperclipai/paperclip", sha, runCommand, paths)).resolves.toEqual({ payloadPath, reused: true, version: "0.3.1" });
+    expect(runCommand).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toBe(process.execPath);
+  });
+
+  const createGitCheckoutRunCommand = (sha: string) =>
+    vi.fn(async (file: string, args: string[], _options?: Parameters<CommandRunner>[2]) => {
+      if (file === "curl" && !args.includes("--output")) return { stdout: JSON.stringify({ sha }), stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "curl") { fs.writeFileSync(args[args.indexOf("--output") + 1], "archive"); return { stdout: "", stderr: "" }; }
+      if (file === "tar") {
+        const checkout = args[args.indexOf("-C") + 1];
+        const packages = [
+          { dir: "packages/shared", name: "@paperclipai/shared", packageJson: { name: "@paperclipai/shared", version: "0.3.1" } },
+          { dir: "packages/db", name: "@paperclipai/db", packageJson: { name: "@paperclipai/db", version: "0.3.1", dependencies: { "@paperclipai/shared": "workspace:*" }, bundleDependencies: ["embedded-postgres"] } },
+          { dir: "server", name: "@paperclipai/server", packageJson: { name: "@paperclipai/server", version: "0.3.1", dependencies: { "@paperclipai/db": "workspace:*" } } },
+        ];
+        fs.mkdirSync(path.join(checkout, "cli"), { recursive: true });
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(checkout, "cli", "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ version: "0.3.1" }));
+        fs.mkdirSync(path.join(checkout, "scripts"), { recursive: true });
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(checkout, "scripts", "release-package-manifest.json"), JSON.stringify(packages.map(({ dir, name }) => ({ dir, name }))));
+        for (const workspacePackage of packages) {
+          fs.mkdirSync(path.join(checkout, workspacePackage.dir), { recursive: true });
+          fs.writeFileSync(path.join(checkout, workspacePackage.dir, "package.json"), JSON.stringify(workspacePackage.packageJson));
+        }
+        return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+      }
+      if (file === "corepack") {
+        if (args.includes("pack")) {
+          const destination = args[args.indexOf("--pack-destination") + 1];
+          const packageDir = args[args.indexOf("--dir") + 1];
+          const packageName = packageDir === "server" ? "paperclipai-server" : "paperclipai-shared";
+          fs.writeFileSync(path.join(destination, `${packageName}-0.3.1.tgz`), "package");
+        }
+        return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+      }
+      if (file === "bash") return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "pack") {
+        const packageName = args[1]?.includes("workspace-package-") ? "paperclipai-db" : "paperclipai";
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(args[args.indexOf("--pack-destination") + 1], `${packageName}-0.3.1.tgz`), "package");
+        return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+      }
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "install") { const prefix = args[args.indexOf("--prefix") + 1]; const packageRoot = path.join(prefix, "node_modules", "paperclipai"); fs.mkdirSync(path.join(packageRoot, "dist"), { recursive: true }); fs.writeFileSync(path.join(packageRoot, "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ version: "0.3.1" })); fs.writeFileSync(path.join(packageRoot, "dist", "index.js"), "#!/usr/bin/env node\n"); return { stdout: "", stderr: "" }; }
+      if (file === process.execPath && args[0]?.endsWith("prepare-bundled-package.mjs")) {
+        fs.mkdirSync(args[2], { recursive: true });
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(args[2], "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ name: "@paperclipai/db", version: "0.3.1" }));
+        return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+      }
+      if (file === process.execPath) return { stdout: "0.3.1\n", stderr: "" };
+      throw new Error(`Unexpected command: ${file} ${args.join(" ")}`);
+    });
+
+  it("installs a GitHub branch through codeload and reuses the resolved SHA", async () => {
+    const sha = "c".repeat(40);
+    const runCommand = createGitCheckoutRunCommand(sha);
+    await installCommand({ ref: "master", repo: "HenkDz/paperclip", yes: true }, { runCommand });
+    await installCommand({ ref: "master", repo: "HenkDz/paperclip", yes: true }, { runCommand });
+    const manifest = readInstallManifest(resolveInstallStorePaths());
+    expect(manifest).toMatchObject({ source: "git", repo: "HenkDz/paperclip", ref: "master", sha });
+    expect(manifest?.payloadPath).toContain(path.join("git", sha.slice(0, 12)));
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls.filter(([command, args]) => command === "curl" && args.includes("--output"))).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls.filter(([command, args]) => command === "corepack" && args[1] === "install")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls.filter(([command, args]) => command === "corepack" && args.includes("pack"))).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls.filter(([command, args]) => command === process.execPath && args[0]?.endsWith("prepare-bundled-package.mjs"))).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(runCommand.mock.calls.filter(([command, args]) => command === "npm" && args[0] === "pack")).toHaveLength(2);
+    const installCall = runCommand.mock.calls.find(([command, args]) => command === "npm" && args[0] === "install");
+    expect(installCall?.[1].filter((arg) => arg.endsWith(".tgz"))).toHaveLength(4);
+  });
+
+  it("builds git checkouts with NODE_ENV cleared so ambient production mode keeps devDependencies", async () => {
+    process.env.NODE_ENV = "production";
+    const sha = "d".repeat(40);
+    const runCommand = createGitCheckoutRunCommand(sha);
+    await expect(installGitPayload("paperclipai/paperclip", sha, runCommand, resolveInstallStorePaths())).resolves.toMatchObject({ version: "0.3.1", reused: false });
+    const buildCalls = runCommand.mock.calls.filter(([file, args]) =>
+      file === "bash" ||
+      file === "corepack" ||
+      (file === "npm" && args[0] === "pack") ||
+      (file === process.execPath && args[0]?.endsWith("prepare-bundled-package.mjs")));
+    expect(buildCalls).toHaveLength(9);
+    for (const call of buildCalls) {
+      const env = call[2]?.env;
+      expect(env, `${call[0]} ${call[1].join(" ")} must run with an explicit env`).toBeDefined();
+      expect(env, `${call[0]} ${call[1].join(" ")} must not inherit NODE_ENV`).not.toHaveProperty("NODE_ENV");
+    }
+    const uiPackCall = buildCalls.find(([file, , options]) => file === "corepack" && options?.env?.PAPERCLIP_RELEASE_REUSE_UI_DIST === "1");
+    expect(uiPackCall).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it("resolves the complete server workspace dependency closure in dependency order", () => {
+    const checkout = path.join(root, "checkout");
+    const packages = [
+      { dir: "packages/shared", name: "@paperclipai/shared", dependencies: {} },
+      { dir: "packages/db", name: "@paperclipai/db", dependencies: { "@paperclipai/shared": "workspace:*" } },
+      { dir: "server", name: "@paperclipai/server", dependencies: { "@paperclipai/db": "workspace:*" } },
+    ];
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.join(checkout, "scripts"), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(checkout, "scripts", "release-package-manifest.json"), JSON.stringify(packages.map(({ dir, name }) => ({ dir, name }))));
+    for (const workspacePackage of packages) {
+      fs.mkdirSync(path.join(checkout, workspacePackage.dir), { recursive: true });
+      fs.writeFileSync(path.join(checkout, workspacePackage.dir, "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ name: workspacePackage.name, dependencies: workspacePackage.dependencies }));
+    }
+
+    expect(resolveGitInstallWorkspacePackages(checkout).map(({ name }) => name)).toEqual([
+      "@paperclipai/shared",
+      "@paperclipai/db",
+      "@paperclipai/server",
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("includes child-process stderr in command failures", async () => {
+    await expect(runCommandWithDiagnostics(process.execPath, ["-e", "process.stderr.write('unsupported workspace dependency\\n'); process.exit(1)"]))
+      .rejects.toThrow("unsupported workspace dependency");
+  });
+
+  it("installs through the shim, reports provenance, and uninstalls without deleting user data", async () => {
+    const version = "2026.720.0";
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (file: string, args: string[], _options?: unknown) => {
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "view") return { stdout: JSON.stringify(version), stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "install") {
+        const prefix = args[args.indexOf("--prefix") + 1];
+        const entrypoint = path.join(prefix, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+        fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(entrypoint), { recursive: true });
+        fs.writeFileSync(entrypoint, "#!/usr/bin/env node\n");
+        return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+      }
+      if (file === process.execPath && args.at(-1) === "--version") {
+        return { stdout: `${version}\n`, stderr: "" };
+      }
+      throw new Error(`Unexpected command: ${file} ${args.join(" ")}`);
+    });
+
+    await installCommand({}, { runCommand, now: () => new Date("2026-07-22T18:00:00.000Z") });
+
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+    expect(manifest?.version).toBe(version);
+    expect(manifest?.channel).toBe("latest");
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(manifest!.payloadPath));
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.shimPath)).toBe(true);
+    const installCall = runCommand.mock.calls.find(
+      ([file, args]) => file === "npm" && args[0] === "install",
+    );
+    expect(installCall?.[1]).toContain("--@paperclipai:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org");
+    const installOptions = installCall?.[2] as { env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv } | undefined;
+    expect(installOptions?.env?.npm_config_userconfig).toContain(".npmrc-");
+    const entrypoint = path.join(manifest!.payloadPath, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+    expect(resolveCliVersion(entrypoint)).toContain(`managed npm latest; payload ${manifest!.payloadPath}`);
+
+    const userData = path.join(process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME!, "instances", "default", "keep.txt");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(userData), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(userData, "keep");
+    const uninstallService = vi.fn(async () => {
+      expect(fs.existsSync(paths.shimPath)).toBe(true);
+    });
+    await uninstallCommand({
+      detectServiceManager: vi.fn(async () => ({
+        supported: true as const,
+        manager: {
+          status: vi.fn(async () => ({ installed: true, active: true })),
+          uninstall: uninstallService,
+        } as never,
+      })),
+    });
+
+    expect(uninstallService).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.cliRoot)).toBe(false);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.shimPath)).toBe(false);
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(userData, "utf8")).toBe("keep");
+  });
+
+  it("refuses to remove the shared CLI while another instance service is installed", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const otherUnitPath = path.join(process.env.HOME!, ".config", "systemd", "user", systemdServiceName("team-a"));
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(otherUnitPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(otherUnitPath, "unit");
+
+    await expect(uninstallCommand({
+      detectServiceManager: vi.fn(async () => ({
+        supported: true as const,
+        manager: { status: vi.fn(async () => ({ installed: false, active: false })) } as never,
+      })),
+      platform: "linux",
+      userHomeDir: process.env.HOME!,
+    })).rejects.toThrow("other instance services are installed");
+
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.cliRoot)).toBe(false);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(otherUnitPath)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("preserves the managed install when an existing systemd unit cannot be checked", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(paths.shimPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(paths.shimPath, "managed shim");
+    const unitPath = path.join(
+      process.env.HOME!,
+      ".config",
+      "systemd",
+      "user",
+      systemdServiceName(resolvePaperclipInstanceId()),
+    );
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(unitPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(unitPath, "unit");
+
+    await expect(uninstallCommand({
+      detectServiceManager: vi.fn(async () => ({
+        supported: false as const,
+        reason: "No usable systemd user manager was detected",
+      })),
+      platform: "linux",
+      userHomeDir: process.env.HOME!,
+    })).rejects.toThrow("Cannot verify or remove the background service");
+
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.shimPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(unitPath)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a symlinked installs root before npm writes outside the store", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const outside = path.join(root, "outside");
+    fs.mkdirSync(paths.cliRoot, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(outside);
+    fs.symlinkSync(outside, paths.installsRoot, "dir");
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async () => ({ stdout: JSON.stringify("2026.720.0"), stderr: "" }));
+
+    await expect(installCommand({}, { runCommand })).rejects.toThrow("non-directory install-store path");
+    expect(runCommand).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(fs.readdirSync(outside)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("refuses to uninstall an unverified cli directory", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const unrelatedFile = path.join(paths.cliRoot, "keep.txt");
+    fs.mkdirSync(paths.cliRoot, { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(unrelatedFile, "keep");
+
+    await expect(uninstallCommand()).rejects.toThrow("unverified install store");
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(unrelatedFile, "utf8")).toBe("keep");
+  });
+
+  it("refuses to uninstall while another store mutation holds the lock", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const payloadPath = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "2026.720.0");
+    initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    fs.mkdirSync(payloadPath, { recursive: true });
+    flipCurrentAtomic(payloadPath, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({
+      schemaVersion: INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION,
+      source: "npm",
+      version: "2026.720.0",
+      channel: "latest",
+      payloadPath,
+      installedAt: "2026-07-22T18:00:00.000Z",
+      previous: [],
+    }, paths);
+
+    await withInstallStoreLock(
+      async () => {
+        await expect(uninstallCommand()).rejects.toThrow("already running");
+      },
+      paths,
+    );
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.lockPath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("refuses a symlinked git payload root before downloading", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const outside = path.join(root, "outside-git"); fs.mkdirSync(outside);
+    fs.symlinkSync(outside, path.join(paths.installsRoot, "git"));
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async () => ({ stdout: "", stderr: "" }));
+    await expect(installGitPayload("paperclipai/paperclip", "4".repeat(40), runCommand, paths)).rejects.toThrow("unsafe payload root");
+    expect(runCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/install-store.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/install-store.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..eede05f47d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/install-store.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION,
+  MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER,
+  addManagedPathBlock,
+  buildNextManifest,
+  flipCurrentAtomic,
+  isManagedExecutable,
+  payloadPathFor,
+  pruneInstallPayloads,
+  readInstallManifest,
+  removeManagedPathBlock,
+  removeManagedShim,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+  withInstallStoreLock,
+  writeInstallManifestAtomic,
+  writeManagedShim,
+  type InstallManifest,
+  type InstallRecord,
+} from "../install-store.js";
+
+function record(payloadPath: string, version: string): InstallRecord {
+  return {
+    source: "npm",
+    version,
+    channel: "latest",
+    payloadPath,
+    installedAt: `2026-07-${version.padStart(2, "0")}T00:00:00.000Z`,
+  };
+}
+
+describe("managed install store", () => {
+  let root: string;
+  let paths: ReturnType<typeof resolveInstallStorePaths>;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-install-store-"));
+    paths = resolveInstallStorePaths({
+      homeDir: path.join(root, "home"),
+      paperclipHome: path.join(root, "home", ".paperclip"),
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it("resolves the documented npm and git payload layout", () => {
+    expect(payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "2026.720.0")).toBe(
+      path.join(paths.cliRoot, "installs", "npm", "2026.720.0"),
+    );
+    expect(payloadPathFor(paths, "git", "ab12cd34ef56")).toBe(
+      path.join(paths.cliRoot, "installs", "git", "ab12cd34ef56"),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("writes and reads the manifest atomically with private permissions", () => {
+    const payloadPath = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.2.3");
+    const manifest: InstallManifest = {
+      schemaVersion: INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION,
+      ...record(payloadPath, "1.2.3"),
+      previous: [],
+    };
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic(manifest, paths);
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)).toEqual(manifest);
+    expect(fs.statSync(paths.manifestPath).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o600);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves the old current payload working when interrupted before rename", () => {
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0");
+    const newPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "2.0.0");
+    fs.mkdirSync(oldPayload, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(newPayload, { recursive: true });
+    flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+
+    expect(() =>
+      flipCurrentAtomic(newPayload, paths, {
+        beforeRename: () => {
+          throw new Error("simulated crash");
+        },
+      }),
+    ).toThrow("simulated crash");
+
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(oldPayload));
+    expect(fs.readdirSync(paths.cliRoot).filter((entry) => entry.startsWith(".current-"))).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("retains current plus two previous payloads and prunes older entries", () => {
+    const payloads = ["1", "2", "3", "4"].map((version) => payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", version));
+    for (const payload of payloads) fs.mkdirSync(payload, { recursive: true });
+    const previousManifest: InstallManifest = {
+      schemaVersion: INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION,
+      ...record(payloads[2], "3"),
+      previous: [record(payloads[1], "2"), record(payloads[0], "1")],
+    };
+    const next = buildNextManifest(record(payloads[3], "4"), previousManifest);
+
+    expect(next.previous.map((entry) => entry.version)).toEqual(["3", "2"]);
+    expect(pruneInstallPayloads(next, paths)).toEqual([payloads[0]]);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(payloads[0])).toBe(false);
+    expect(payloads.slice(1).every((payload) => fs.existsSync(payload))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("writes a stable shim with the validated runtime and custom store path", () => {
+    writeManagedShim(paths);
+    const shim = fs.readFileSync(paths.shimPath, "utf8");
+    expect(shim).toContain(process.execPath);
+    expect(shim).toContain(paths.currentPath);
+    expect(shim).not.toContain("PAPERCLIP_HOME");
+    expect(fs.statSync(paths.shimPath).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o755);
+
+    const rcPath = path.join(root, "home", ".bashrc");
+    expect(addManagedPathBlock(rcPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(addManagedPathBlock(rcPath)).toBe(false);
+    fs.chmodSync(rcPath, 0o640);
+    expect(removeManagedPathBlock(rcPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(rcPath, "utf8")).not.toContain("paperclipai managed PATH");
+    expect(fs.statSync(rcPath).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o640);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects marker substrings that are not the exact managed shim format", () => {
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(paths.shimPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(paths.shimPath, `#!/bin/sh\necho '${MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER}'\n`);
+
+    expect(removeManagedShim(paths)).toBe(false);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.shimPath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(() => writeManagedShim(paths)).toThrow("non-managed command");
+  });
+
+  it("serializes install-store mutations with an exclusive lock", async () => {
+    await expect(
+      withInstallStoreLock(
+        () => withInstallStoreLock(async () => undefined, paths),
+        paths,
+      ),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("already running");
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.lockPath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("recovers a lock owned by a process that no longer exists", async () => {
+    const staleToken = "2147483647:stale";
+    await withInstallStoreLock(async () => undefined, paths);
+    fs.writeFileSync(paths.lockPath, `${staleToken}\n`, { mode: 0o600 });
+
+    await expect(withInstallStoreLock(async () => undefined, paths)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    expect(fs.existsSync(paths.lockPath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("reports managed provenance only for the payload selected by current", () => {
+    const manifestPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0");
+    const currentPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "2.0.0");
+    const executable = path.join(manifestPayload, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(executable), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(executable, "");
+    fs.mkdirSync(currentPayload, { recursive: true });
+    flipCurrentAtomic(currentPayload, paths);
+    const manifest: InstallManifest = {
+      schemaVersion: INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION,
+      ...record(manifestPayload, "1.0.0"),
+      previous: [],
+    };
+
+    expect(isManagedExecutable(executable, manifest, paths)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("refuses symlinked payload roots and pre-existing non-managed shims", () => {
+    const outside = path.join(root, "outside");
+    fs.mkdirSync(outside, { recursive: true });
+    fs.mkdirSync(paths.installsRoot, { recursive: true });
+    fs.symlinkSync(outside, path.join(paths.installsRoot, "npm"), "dir");
+    const escapedPayload = path.join(paths.installsRoot, "npm", "1.2.3");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.join(outside, "1.2.3"));
+    expect(() => flipCurrentAtomic(escapedPayload, paths)).toThrow("resolves outside");
+
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(paths.shimPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(paths.shimPath, "#!/bin/sh\necho other-command\n");
+    expect(() => writeManagedShim(paths)).toThrow("non-managed command");
+  });
+
+  it("refuses symlinked rc files, unsafe shim parents, and multiply linked shims", () => {
+    const outsideRc = path.join(root, "outside-rc");
+    fs.writeFileSync(outsideRc, "keep\n");
+    const rcPath = path.join(root, "home", ".bashrc");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(rcPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.symlinkSync(outsideRc, rcPath);
+    expect(() => addManagedPathBlock(rcPath)).toThrow("non-regular shell rc file");
+    expect(() => removeManagedPathBlock(rcPath)).toThrow("non-regular shell rc file");
+    expect(fs.readFileSync(outsideRc, "utf8")).toBe("keep\n");
+
+    fs.rmSync(rcPath);
+    const localDir = path.join(root, "home", ".local");
+    const outsideBin = path.join(root, "outside-bin");
+    fs.mkdirSync(outsideBin);
+    fs.symlinkSync(outsideBin, localDir, "dir");
+    expect(() => writeManagedShim(paths)).toThrow("unsafe shim directory");
+
+    fs.rmSync(localDir);
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(paths.shimPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(paths.shimPath, `# ${MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER}\n`);
+    fs.linkSync(paths.shimPath, path.join(root, "linked-shim"));
+    expect(() => writeManagedShim(paths)).toThrow("multiply linked shim");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/managed-install-check.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/managed-install-check.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..457dbc1c6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/managed-install-check.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { managedInstallChecks } from "../checks/managed-install-check.js";
+import {
+  MANAGED_STORE_MARKER,
+  buildNextManifest,
+  flipCurrentAtomic,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+  writeInstallManifestAtomic,
+  writeManagedShim,
+} from "../install-store.js";
+
+const originalPath = process.env.PATH;
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  process.env.PATH = originalPath;
+});
+
+describe("managed install doctor checks", () => {
+  it("passes for a consistent store, manifest, current link, shim, and PATH", () => {
+    const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-install-doctor-"));
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths({
+      paperclipHome: path.join(root, ".paperclip"),
+      homeDir: root,
+    });
+    const payloadPath = path.join(paths.installsRoot, "npm", "1.2.3");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.join(payloadPath, "dist"), { recursive: true });
+    const manifest = buildNextManifest(
+      {
+        source: "npm",
+        version: "1.2.3",
+        channel: "latest",
+        payloadPath,
+        installedAt: "2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z",
+      },
+      null,
+    );
+    flipCurrentAtomic(payloadPath, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic(manifest, paths);
+    writeManagedShim(paths);
+    process.env.PATH = `${path.dirname(paths.shimPath)}${path.delimiter}${originalPath ?? ""}`;
+
+    expect(managedInstallChecks(paths).every((result) => result.status === "pass")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("fails when managed artifacts exist without a manifest", () => {
+    const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-install-doctor-"));
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths({
+      paperclipHome: path.join(root, ".paperclip"),
+      homeDir: root,
+    });
+    fs.mkdirSync(paths.cliRoot, { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(paths.markerPath, MANAGED_STORE_MARKER);
+
+    expect(managedInstallChecks(paths)).toEqual([
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: "Managed install manifest", status: "fail" }),
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores the shared CLI directory when it only contains update notice state", () => {
+    const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-install-doctor-"));
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths({
+      paperclipHome: path.join(root, ".paperclip"),
+      homeDir: root,
+    });
+    fs.mkdirSync(paths.cliRoot, { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(paths.cliRoot, "update-check.json"), "{}\n");
+
+    expect(managedInstallChecks(paths)).toEqual([
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: "Managed install", status: "pass" }),
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores an empty installs directory left by a harmless lock lifecycle", () => {
+    const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-install-doctor-"));
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths({
+      paperclipHome: path.join(root, ".paperclip"),
+      homeDir: root,
+    });
+    fs.mkdirSync(paths.installsRoot, { recursive: true });
+
+    expect(managedInstallChecks(paths)).toEqual([
+      expect.objectContaining({ name: "Managed install", status: "pass" }),
+    ]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/onboard-service.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/onboard-service.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c4a711f3f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/onboard-service.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { handleOnboardService } from "../onboard-service.js";
+
+function supportedDetection() {
+  return {
+    supported: true as const,
+    manager: {
+      platform: "systemd" as const,
+      instanceId: "default",
+      serviceName: "paperclipai.service",
+      definitionPath: "/tmp/paperclipai.service",
+      renderDefinition: () => "unit",
+      install: vi.fn(async () => ({ changed: true })),
+      uninstall: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+      start: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+      stop: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+      restart: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+      status: vi.fn(async () => ({
+        platform: "systemd" as const,
+        serviceName: "paperclipai.service",
+        installed: true,
+        active: true,
+        enabled: true,
+        pid: 123,
+      })),
+      logs: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+describe("onboard service policy", () => {
+  it("does not install during --yes onboarding without opt-in", async () => {
+    const detection = supportedDetection();
+    const info = vi.fn();
+
+    const installed = await handleOnboardService(
+      { yes: true },
+      { detect: vi.fn(async () => detection), isInteractive: () => false, info },
+    );
+
+    expect(installed).toBe(false);
+    expect(detection.manager.install).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(info).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("--install-service"));
+  });
+
+  it("installs when --yes explicitly opts in", async () => {
+    const detection = supportedDetection();
+
+    const installed = await handleOnboardService(
+      { yes: true, installService: true },
+      { detect: vi.fn(async () => detection), isInteractive: () => false },
+    );
+
+    expect(installed).toBe(true);
+    expect(detection.manager.install).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ startNow: true, startOnLogin: true });
+  });
+
+  it("asks during interactive onboarding", async () => {
+    const detection = supportedDetection();
+    const confirm = vi.fn(async () => true);
+
+    const installed = await handleOnboardService(
+      {},
+      { detect: vi.fn(async () => detection), isInteractive: () => true, confirm },
+    );
+
+    expect(confirm).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(installed).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("silences the hint with --no-install-service", async () => {
+    const info = vi.fn();
+    const detect = vi.fn(async () => supportedDetection());
+
+    const installed = await handleOnboardService(
+      { yes: true, installService: false },
+      { detect, isInteractive: () => false, info },
+    );
+
+    expect(installed).toBe(false);
+    expect(detect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(info).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/service-health-check.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/service-health-check.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d913b2771d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/service-health-check.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { serviceHealthChecks } from "../checks/service-health-check.js";
+import { resolveRestartExpectedVersion, withHotRestartLock } from "../commands/service.js";
+import type { PaperclipConfig } from "../config/schema.js";
+import { buildLocalHealthUrl } from "../utils/health-url.js";
+
+const config = {
+  server: { host: "127.0.0.1", port: 3100 },
+} as PaperclipConfig;
+
+let previousPaperclipHome: string | undefined;
+let previousServiceManaged: string | undefined;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  previousPaperclipHome = process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME;
+  previousServiceManaged = process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED;
+  process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-service-restart-"));
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  if (previousPaperclipHome === undefined) delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME;
+  else process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME = previousPaperclipHome;
+  if (previousServiceManaged === undefined) delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED;
+  else process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED = previousServiceManaged;
+});
+
+function managerFixture(active = true) {
+  const root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-service-doctor-"));
+  const definitionPath = path.join(root, "paperclipai.service");
+  fs.writeFileSync(definitionPath, "unit");
+  return {
+    platform: "systemd" as const,
+    instanceId: "default",
+    serviceName: "paperclipai.service",
+    definitionPath,
+    renderDefinition: () => "unit",
+    install: vi.fn(async () => ({ changed: false })),
+    uninstall: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    start: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    stop: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    restart: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    status: vi.fn(async () => ({
+      platform: "systemd" as const,
+      serviceName: "paperclipai.service",
+      installed: true,
+      active,
+      enabled: true,
+      pid: active ? 123 : null,
+      linger: true,
+    })),
+    logs: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+  };
+}
+
+describe("service health doctor checks", () => {
+  it("skips live service checks during the managed unit's own activation", async () => {
+    process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED = "1";
+    const detect = vi.fn();
+    const probe = vi.fn();
+    await expect(serviceHealthChecks(config, { detect, probe })).resolves.toEqual([]);
+    expect(detect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(probe).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("skips exact version matching unless a restart version is explicit", () => {
+    expect(resolveRestartExpectedVersion(null)).toBeNull();
+    expect(resolveRestartExpectedVersion(undefined)).toBeNull();
+    expect(resolveRestartExpectedVersion("1.2.3")).toBe("1.2.3");
+  });
+
+  it("serializes concurrent restarts for the same instance", async () => {
+    const order: string[] = [];
+    let releaseFirst!: () => void;
+    const firstBlocked = new Promise<void>((resolve) => { releaseFirst = resolve; });
+    const first = withHotRestartLock("default", async () => {
+      order.push("first-start");
+      await firstBlocked;
+      order.push("first-end");
+    }, { pollMs: 5 });
+
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(order).toEqual(["first-start"]));
+    const second = withHotRestartLock("default", async () => {
+      order.push("second-start");
+    }, { pollMs: 5 });
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 20));
+    expect(order).toEqual(["first-start"]);
+
+    releaseFirst();
+    await Promise.all([first, second]);
+    expect(order).toEqual(["first-start", "first-end", "second-start"]);
+  });
+
+  it("reclaims restart locks left by terminated processes", async () => {
+    const lockPath = path.join(process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME!, "instances", "default", "hot-restart.lock");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(lockPath), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(lockPath, "424242:stale-token\n");
+    const callback = vi.fn(async () => "restarted");
+
+    await expect(withHotRestartLock("default", callback, {
+      pollMs: 1,
+      timeoutMs: 20,
+      isProcessAlive: () => false,
+    })).resolves.toBe("restarted");
+
+    expect(callback).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(fs.existsSync(lockPath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("brackets configured IPv6 hosts in health URLs", () => {
+    expect(buildLocalHealthUrl("::1", 3100)).toBe("http://[::1]:3100/api/health");
+    expect(buildLocalHealthUrl("::", 3100)).toBe("http://127.0.0.1:3100/api/health");
+  });
+
+  it("passes for a current, active, healthy service", async () => {
+    const manager = managerFixture();
+    const results = await serviceHealthChecks(config, {
+      detect: vi.fn(async () => ({ supported: true as const, manager })),
+      probe: vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true, version: "1.2.3" })),
+    });
+
+    expect(results.every((result) => result.status === "pass")).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("detects a foreground process on the configured port while the service is inactive", async () => {
+    const manager = managerFixture(false);
+    const results = await serviceHealthChecks(config, {
+      detect: vi.fn(async () => ({ supported: true as const, manager })),
+      probe: vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true, version: "1.2.3" })),
+    });
+
+    expect(results).toContainEqual(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        name: "Service runtime",
+        status: "fail",
+        message: expect.stringContaining("another Paperclip process"),
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/service-manager.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/service-manager.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f64a312552
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/service-manager.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  assertForegroundRunAllowed,
+  detectServiceManager,
+  LaunchdServiceManager,
+  renderLaunchdPlist,
+  renderSystemdUnit,
+  SystemdServiceManager,
+  type CommandRunner,
+  type ServiceManager,
+} from "../services/service-manager.js";
+
+const temporaryDirectories: string[] = [];
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await Promise.all(temporaryDirectories.splice(0).map((directory) => fs.rm(directory, { recursive: true, force: true })));
+  delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED;
+});
+
+async function temporaryDirectory(): Promise<string> {
+  const directory = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-service-test-"));
+  temporaryDirectories.push(directory);
+  return directory;
+}
+
+describe("service definition generation", () => {
+  it("generates a stable systemd notify unit without secrets", () => {
+    const unit = renderSystemdUnit({ instanceId: "team-a", shimPath: "/home/alice/.local/bin/paperclipai", homeDir: "/home/alice/.paperclip" });
+    expect(unit).toContain("Type=notify");
+    expect(unit).toContain("NotifyAccess=all");
+    expect(unit).toContain('ExecStart="/home/alice/.local/bin/paperclipai" run --instance "team-a"');
+    expect(unit).toContain("Restart=always");
+    expect(unit).toContain("TimeoutStopSec=300");
+    expect(unit).not.toContain("API_KEY");
+  });
+
+  it("escapes systemd variable and specifier expansion in configured values", () => {
+    const unit = renderSystemdUnit({
+      instanceId: "team-$USER-%i",
+      shimPath: "/home/$USER/%i/paperclipai",
+      homeDir: "/home/$USER/%i/.paperclip",
+    });
+
+    expect(unit).toContain('ExecStart="/home/$$USER/%%i/paperclipai" run --instance "team-$$USER-%%i"');
+    expect(unit).toContain('Environment="PAPERCLIP_HOME=/home/$$USER/%%i/.paperclip"');
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["instanceId", { instanceId: "team-a\nExecStartPre=/tmp/attack", shimPath: "/home/alice/.local/bin/paperclipai", homeDir: "/home/alice/.paperclip" }],
+    ["shimPath", { instanceId: "team-a", shimPath: "/home/alice/bin/paperclipai\r\nExecStartPre=/tmp/attack", homeDir: "/home/alice/.paperclip" }],
+    ["homeDir", { instanceId: "team-a", shimPath: "/home/alice/.local/bin/paperclipai", homeDir: "/home/alice/.paperclip\nEnvironment=ATTACK=1" }],
+  ])("rejects line breaks in the systemd %s", (_field, input) => {
+    expect(() => renderSystemdUnit(input)).toThrow("Systemd service values must not contain line breaks");
+  });
+
+  it("generates a launchd agent with keepalive and instance logs", () => {
+    const plist = renderLaunchdPlist({ instanceId: "team-a", shimPath: "/Users/alice/.local/bin/paperclipai", homeDir: "/Users/alice/.paperclip", stdoutPath: "/Users/alice/.paperclip/instances/team-a/logs/service.log", stderrPath: "/Users/alice/.paperclip/instances/team-a/logs/service.err.log" });
+    expect(plist).toContain("ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a");
+    expect(plist).toContain("<key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>");
+    expect(plist).toContain("<key>KeepAlive</key><true/>");
+    expect(plist).toContain("service.err.log");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("systemd drift regeneration", () => {
+  it("rewrites a drifted unit and reloads the user manager", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async (command, args) => {
+      calls.push([command, ...args].join(" "));
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    };
+    const manager = new SystemdServiceManager("default", runner, path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(manager.definitionPath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(manager.definitionPath, "stale\n", "utf8");
+
+    const result = await manager.install({ startNow: false, startOnLogin: false });
+
+    expect(result.changed).toBe(true);
+    expect(await fs.readFile(manager.definitionPath, "utf8")).toBe(manager.renderDefinition());
+    expect(calls).toContain("systemctl --user daemon-reload");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the unit installed when stopping an active service fails", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async (command, args) => {
+      if (args.includes("--property=LoadState,ActiveState,UnitFileState,MainPID")) return { stdout: "LoadState=loaded\nActiveState=active\nUnitFileState=enabled\nMainPID=42\n", stderr: "" };
+      if (command === "systemctl" && args.includes("stop")) throw new Error("stop failed");
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    };
+    const manager = new SystemdServiceManager("default", runner, path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(manager.definitionPath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(manager.definitionPath, manager.renderDefinition(), "utf8");
+
+    await expect(manager.uninstall()).rejects.toThrow("stop failed");
+    await expect(fs.access(manager.definitionPath)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("service adapter dispatch", () => {
+  it("selects launchd on macOS", async () => {
+    const detection = await detectServiceManager({ platform: "darwin", instanceId: "default" });
+    expect(detection.supported).toBe(true);
+    if (detection.supported) expect(detection.manager).toBeInstanceOf(LaunchdServiceManager);
+  });
+
+  it("selects systemd only when the user manager is reachable", async () => {
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async () => ({ stdout: "", stderr: "" });
+    const detection = await detectServiceManager({ platform: "linux", instanceId: "default", runner });
+    expect(detection.supported).toBe(true);
+    if (detection.supported) expect(detection.manager).toBeInstanceOf(SystemdServiceManager);
+  });
+
+  it("returns a foreground-run skip on unsupported hosts", async () => {
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async () => { throw new Error("no bus"); };
+    const detection = await detectServiceManager({ platform: "linux", instanceId: "default", runner });
+    expect(detection).toEqual({ supported: false, reason: expect.stringContaining("paperclipai run") });
+  });
+});
+
+describe("launchd lifecycle", () => {
+  it("starts without changing the saved login preference", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async (command, args) => {
+      calls.push([command, ...args].join(" "));
+      if (args[0] === "print-disabled") return { stdout: `\"ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a\" => true`, stderr: "" };
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    };
+    const manager = new LaunchdServiceManager("team-a", runner, path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+
+    await manager.start();
+
+    expect(calls).toContain(`launchctl disable gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a`);
+    expect(calls).not.toContain(`launchctl enable gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a`);
+  });
+
+  it("preserves disabled state when the service name contains regex metacharacters", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    const serviceName = "ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team[qa]+";
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async (command, args) => {
+      calls.push([command, ...args].join(" "));
+      if (args[0] === "print-disabled") return { stdout: `"${serviceName}" => true`, stderr: "" };
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    };
+    const manager = new LaunchdServiceManager("team[qa]+", runner, path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+
+    await manager.start();
+
+    expect(calls).toContain(`launchctl disable gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/${serviceName}`);
+    expect(calls).not.toContain(`launchctl enable gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/${serviceName}`);
+  });
+
+  it("disables login startup and unloads the keepalive job when stopped", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async (command, args) => {
+      calls.push([command, ...args].join(" "));
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    };
+    const manager = new LaunchdServiceManager("team-a", runner, path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+
+    await manager.install({ startNow: false, startOnLogin: false });
+    await manager.stop();
+
+    expect(calls).toContain(`launchctl disable gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a`);
+    expect(calls).toContain(`launchctl bootout gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a`);
+    expect(calls.some((call) => call.includes("launchctl kill"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("disables login startup when uninstalled", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const calls: string[] = [];
+    const runner: CommandRunner = async (command, args) => {
+      calls.push([command, ...args].join(" "));
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    };
+    const manager = new LaunchdServiceManager("team-a", runner, path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+
+    await manager.uninstall();
+
+    expect(calls).toContain(`launchctl disable gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}/ing.paperclip.paperclipai.team-a`);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("single-writer guard", () => {
+  const activeManager = { status: async () => ({ active: true, serviceName: "paperclipai.service" }) } as unknown as ServiceManager;
+  const detector = async () => ({ supported: true as const, manager: activeManager });
+
+  it("refuses a second foreground writer", async () => {
+    await expect(assertForegroundRunAllowed("default", false, detector)).rejects.toThrow("already running");
+  });
+
+  it("allows an explicit force override", async () => {
+    await expect(assertForegroundRunAllowed("default", true, detector)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("allows the supervisor-owned process", async () => {
+    process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED = "1";
+    await expect(assertForegroundRunAllowed("default", false, detector)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it("refuses to replace a symlinked service definition", async () => {
+    const userHome = await temporaryDirectory();
+    const manager = new SystemdServiceManager("default", async () => ({ stdout: "", stderr: "" }), path.join(userHome, ".paperclip"), path.join(userHome, ".local/bin/paperclipai"), userHome);
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(manager.definitionPath), { recursive: true });
+    const target = path.join(userHome, "target.service"); await fs.writeFile(target, "preserve\n"); await fs.symlink(target, manager.definitionPath);
+    await expect(manager.install({ startNow: false, startOnLogin: false })).rejects.toThrow("unsafe service definition");
+    expect(await fs.readFile(target, "utf8")).toBe("preserve\n");
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/update-command.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/update-command.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2b5c68f0c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/update-command.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { flipCurrentAtomic, initializeInstallStore, payloadPathFor, readInstallManifest, resolveInstallStorePaths, writeInstallManifestAtomic, type InstallManifest, type InstallRecord } from "../install-store.js";
+import type { CommandRunner } from "../commands/install.js";
+import { compareVersions, detectInstallMode, resolveUpdateRequest, rollbackManagedInstall, updateCommand } from "../commands/update.js";
+
+let root: string;
+let previousHome: string | undefined;
+let previousPaperclipHome: string | undefined;
+
+function record(payloadPath: string, version: string, channel: "latest" | "canary" | "pinned" = "latest"): InstallRecord {
+  return { source: "npm", version, channel, payloadPath, installedAt: `2026-07-22T00:00:0${version}.000Z` };
+}
+function createPayload(payloadPath: string, version: string): string {
+  const entrypoint = path.join(payloadPath, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(entrypoint), { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(entrypoint, version);
+  return entrypoint;
+}
+beforeEach(() => {
+  root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-update-"));
+  previousHome = process.env.HOME;
+  previousPaperclipHome = process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME;
+  process.env.HOME = path.join(root, "home");
+  process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME = path.join(root, "paperclip");
+});
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+  if (previousHome === undefined) delete process.env.HOME; else process.env.HOME = previousHome;
+  if (previousPaperclipHome === undefined) delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME; else process.env.PAPERCLIP_HOME = previousPaperclipHome;
+  fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  process.exitCode = undefined;
+});
+
+describe("update command", () => {
+  it("orders SemVer prerelease identifiers numerically", () => {
+    expect(compareVersions("1.0.0-canary.10", "1.0.0-canary.2")).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(compareVersions("1.0.0-1", "1.0.0-alpha")).toBeLessThan(0);
+    expect(compareVersions("1.0.0-alpha", "1.0.0-alpha.1")).toBeLessThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("detects managed, global npm, npx, and source modes", () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const payload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0"); const entrypoint = createPayload(payload, "1.0.0");
+    flipCurrentAtomic(payload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(payload, "1.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    expect(detectInstallMode(entrypoint, paths)).toBe("managed");
+    expect(detectInstallMode(path.join(root, "lib", "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js"), paths)).toBe("global-npm");
+    expect(detectInstallMode(path.join(root, ".npm", "_npx", "abc", "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js"), paths)).toBe("npx");
+    const source = path.join(root, "source"); fs.mkdirSync(path.join(source, ".git"), { recursive: true });
+    expect(detectInstallMode(path.join(source, "cli", "src", "index.ts"), paths)).toBe("source");
+  });
+
+  it("resolves channels and keeps pinned installs pinned by default", () => {
+    const manifest = { channel: "pinned", version: "1.2.3" } as InstallManifest;
+    expect(resolveUpdateRequest(manifest, {})).toEqual({ spec: "1.2.3", channel: "pinned", explicit: false });
+    expect(resolveUpdateRequest(manifest, { latest: true })).toEqual({ spec: "latest", channel: "latest", explicit: true });
+    expect(() => resolveUpdateRequest(manifest, { latest: true, canary: true })).toThrow("only one");
+  });
+
+  it("re-resolves a moving git branch and activates the new SHA payload", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const oldSha = "1".repeat(40); const newSha = "2".repeat(40);
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "git", oldSha.slice(0, 12));
+    const executable = createPayload(oldPayload, "0.3.1");
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(oldPayload, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ version: "0.3.1" }));
+    const newPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "git", newSha.slice(0, 12));
+    createPayload(newPayload, "0.3.1");
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(newPayload, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "package.json"), JSON.stringify({ version: "0.3.1" }));
+    flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, source: "git", version: "0.3.1", channel: "pinned", repo: "paperclipai/paperclip", ref: "master", sha: oldSha, payloadPath: oldPayload, installedAt: "2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z", previous: [] }, paths);
+    const backup = vi.fn(async () => undefined);
+    const confirm = vi.fn(async () => true);
+    const restartActiveService = vi.fn(async () => true);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (file: string) => file === "curl" ? { stdout: JSON.stringify({ sha: newSha }), stderr: "" } : { stdout: "0.3.1\n", stderr: "" });
+    await updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand, backup, confirm, restartActiveService, hasInstanceData: () => true, now: () => new Date("2026-07-22T12:00:00Z") });
+    expect(confirm).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining(`commit ${newSha.slice(0, 12)}`));
+    expect(backup).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(restartActiveService).toHaveBeenCalledWith("0.3.1");
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)?.sha).toBe(newSha);
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(newPayload));
+  });
+
+  it("reports SHA git installs as pinned without resolving again", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const sha = "3".repeat(40); const payload = payloadPathFor(paths, "git", sha.slice(0, 12)); const executable = createPayload(payload, "0.3.1");
+    flipCurrentAtomic(payload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, source: "git", version: "0.3.1", channel: "pinned", repo: "paperclipai/paperclip", ref: sha.slice(0, 12), sha, payloadPath: payload, installedAt: "2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z", previous: [] }, paths);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async () => ({ stdout: "", stderr: "" }));
+    await updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand });
+    expect(runCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("requires explicit confirmation before downgrading", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const payload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "2.0.0"); const entrypoint = createPayload(payload, "2.0.0"); flipCurrentAtomic(payload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(payload, "2.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async () => ({ stdout: '"1.0.0"\n', stderr: "" }));
+    await expect(updateCommand({ version: "1.0.0", dryRun: true }, { paths, executablePath: entrypoint, runCommand, confirm: async () => false })).rejects.toThrow("Downgrade cancelled");
+  });
+
+  it("requires explicit confirmation before a global npm downgrade", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const executable = path.join(root, "lib", "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async () => ({ stdout: '"0.2.0"\n', stderr: "" }));
+    await expect(updateCommand({ version: "0.2.0" }, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand, confirm: async () => false })).rejects.toThrow("Downgrade cancelled");
+    expect(runCommand).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("isolates global npm updates from hostile registry configuration", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const executable = path.join(root, "lib", "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+    vi.stubEnv("NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY", "http://attacker-registry.invalid");
+    fs.mkdirSync(process.env.HOME!, { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(process.env.HOME!, ".npmrc"), "registry=http://attacker-registry.invalid\n");
+    const runCommand = vi.fn<CommandRunner>(async (_file, args, commandOptions) => {
+      if (args[0] === "view") return { stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" };
+      expect(args).toContain("--registry=https://registry.npmjs.org");
+      expect(args).toContain("--@paperclipai:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org");
+      expect(commandOptions?.env?.NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY).toBe("https://registry.npmjs.org");
+      expect(commandOptions?.env?.npm_config_registry).toBe("https://registry.npmjs.org");
+      expect(commandOptions?.env?.NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG).toBe(commandOptions?.env?.npm_config_userconfig);
+      expect(fs.readFileSync(commandOptions!.env!.NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG!, "utf8")).toContain("registry=https://registry.npmjs.org");
+      return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+    });
+    await updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand });
+    expect(runCommand).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+
+  it("backs up, installs side-by-side, flips, and rolls back instantly", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0"); const executable = createPayload(oldPayload, "1.0.0"); flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(oldPayload, "1.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    const backup = vi.fn(async () => undefined);
+    const restartActiveService = vi.fn(async () => true);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (file: string, args: string[]) => {
+      if (args[0] === "view") return { stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "install") { const prefix = args[args.indexOf("--prefix") + 1]; createPayload(prefix, "2.0.0"); return { stdout: "", stderr: "" }; }
+      return { stdout: "2.0.0\n", stderr: "" };
+    });
+    await updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand, backup, restartActiveService, hasInstanceData: () => true, now: () => new Date("2026-07-22T12:00:00Z") });
+    expect(backup).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(restartActiveService).toHaveBeenCalledWith("2.0.0");
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)?.version).toBe("2.0.0");
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "2.0.0")));
+    const rolledBack = rollbackManagedInstall(paths);
+    expect(rolledBack.version).toBe("1.0.0");
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(oldPayload));
+  });
+
+  it("explains how to recover when the pre-update database is unreachable", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0"); const executable = createPayload(oldPayload, "1.0.0"); flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(oldPayload, "1.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    const backupError = Object.assign(new Error("connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:54329"), { code: "ECONNREFUSED" });
+    const backup = vi.fn(async () => { throw backupError; });
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async () => ({ stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" }));
+
+    await expect(updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand, backup, hasInstanceData: () => true })).rejects.toThrow(
+      "Start the service with `paperclipai service start` and retry, or skip the backup with `paperclipai update --no-backup`.",
+    );
+    expect(backup).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)?.version).toBe("1.0.0");
+  });
+
+  it("skips the pre-update backup when there is no onboarded instance data", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0"); const executable = createPayload(oldPayload, "1.0.0"); flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(oldPayload, "1.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    const backup = vi.fn(async () => undefined);
+    const log = vi.spyOn(console, "log").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (file: string, args: string[]) => {
+      if (args[0] === "view") return { stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "install") { createPayload(args[args.indexOf("--prefix") + 1], "2.0.0"); return { stdout: "", stderr: "" }; }
+      return { stdout: "2.0.0\n", stderr: "" };
+    });
+
+    await updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand, backup, restartActiveService: async () => false, hasInstanceData: () => false });
+
+    expect(backup).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(log).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining("has not been onboarded and has no data to back up"));
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)?.version).toBe("2.0.0");
+  });
+
+  it("does not inherit a managed pin for global npm updates", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const managedPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.2.3"); createPayload(managedPayload, "1.2.3");
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(managedPayload, "1.2.3"), channel: "pinned", previous: [] }, paths);
+    const executable = path.join(root, "lib", "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (_file: string, args: string[]) => args[0] === "view" ? { stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" } : { stdout: "", stderr: "" });
+    await updateCommand({ dryRun: true }, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand });
+    expect(runCommand).toHaveBeenCalledWith("npm", expect.arrayContaining(["view", "paperclipai@latest"]), expect.anything());
+  });
+
+  it("rolls back the active payload when restart validation fails", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0"); const executable = createPayload(oldPayload, "1.0.0"); flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(oldPayload, "1.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (file: string, args: string[]) => {
+      if (args[0] === "view") return { stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "install") { createPayload(args[args.indexOf("--prefix") + 1], "2.0.0"); return { stdout: "", stderr: "" }; }
+      return { stdout: "2.0.0\n", stderr: "" };
+    });
+    const restartActiveService = vi.fn(async (version: string) => { if (version === "2.0.0") throw new Error("health timeout"); return true; });
+    await expect(updateCommand({}, { paths, executablePath: executable, runCommand, backup: async () => undefined, restartActiveService })).rejects.toThrow("rolled back to 1.0.0");
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)?.version).toBe("1.0.0");
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(oldPayload));
+    expect(restartActiveService).toHaveBeenLastCalledWith("1.0.0");
+  });
+
+  it("surfaces a failure to restart the rolled-back payload", async () => {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); initializeInstallStore(paths);
+    const oldPayload = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", "1.0.0"); const executable = createPayload(oldPayload, "1.0.0"); flipCurrentAtomic(oldPayload, paths);
+    writeInstallManifestAtomic({ schemaVersion: 1, ...record(oldPayload, "1.0.0"), previous: [] }, paths);
+    const runCommand = vi.fn(async (file: string, args: string[]) => {
+      if (args[0] === "view") return { stdout: '"2.0.0"\n', stderr: "" };
+      if (file === "npm" && args[0] === "install") { createPayload(args[args.indexOf("--prefix") + 1], "2.0.0"); return { stdout: "", stderr: "" }; }
+      return { stdout: "2.0.0\n", stderr: "" };
+    });
+    const restartActiveService = vi.fn(async (version: string) => {
+      throw new Error(version === "2.0.0" ? "health timeout" : "rollback restart failed");
+    });
+
+    await expect(updateCommand({}, {
+      paths,
+      executablePath: executable,
+      runCommand,
+      backup: async () => undefined,
+      restartActiveService,
+    })).rejects.toThrow("rolled-back service also failed to restart");
+    expect(readInstallManifest(paths)?.version).toBe("1.0.0");
+    expect(fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath)).toBe(fs.realpathSync(oldPayload));
+    expect(restartActiveService).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(1, "2.0.0");
+    expect(restartActiveService).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(2, "1.0.0");
+  });
+
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/__tests__/update-notice.test.ts b/cli/src/__tests__/update-notice.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9af23edcd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/__tests__/update-notice.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { checkForUpdateNotice, isUpdateNoticeEnabled } from "../update-notice.js";
+let root: string; let previous: string | undefined;
+beforeEach(() => { root = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-notice-")); previous = process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK; delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK; });
+afterEach(() => { if (previous === undefined) delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK; else process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK = previous; fs.rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true }); });
+describe("update notice", () => {
+  it("honors the environment and config kill switches", () => {
+    process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK = "0"; expect(isUpdateNoticeEnabled(path.join(root, "missing.json"))).toBe(false);
+    delete process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK; const config = path.join(root, "config.json"); fs.writeFileSync(config, JSON.stringify({ updates: { checkEnabled: false } })); expect(isUpdateNoticeEnabled(config)).toBe(false);
+  });
+  it("throttles registry checks for 24 hours", async () => {
+    const cachePath = path.join(root, "cache.json"); const fetchImpl = vi.fn(async () => new Response(JSON.stringify({ "dist-tags": { latest: "99.0.0" } }), { status: 200 }));
+    expect(await checkForUpdateNotice({ cachePath, now: 1000, fetchImpl })).toBe("99.0.0");
+    expect(await checkForUpdateNotice({ cachePath, now: 2000, fetchImpl })).toBe("99.0.0");
+    expect(fetchImpl).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/cli/src/checks/index.ts b/cli/src/checks/index.ts
index 7c2cb86163..dd784aafec 100644
--- a/cli/src/checks/index.ts
+++ b/cli/src/checks/index.ts
@@ -16,3 +16,5 @@ export { logCheck } from "./log-check.js";
 export { portCheck } from "./port-check.js";
 export { secretsCheck } from "./secrets-check.js";
 export { storageCheck } from "./storage-check.js";
+export { managedInstallChecks, nodeRuntimeCheck } from "./managed-install-check.js";
+export { serviceHealthChecks } from "./service-health-check.js";
diff --git a/cli/src/checks/managed-install-check.ts b/cli/src/checks/managed-install-check.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..025f1bf33f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/checks/managed-install-check.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import {
+  MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER,
+  readInstallManifest,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+  type InstallStorePaths,
+} from "../install-store.js";
+import type { CheckResult } from "./index.js";
+
+function pathContains(directory: string): boolean {
+  const normalized = path.resolve(directory);
+  return (process.env.PATH ?? "")
+    .split(path.delimiter)
+    .filter(Boolean)
+    .some((entry) => path.resolve(entry) === normalized);
+}
+
+function hasManagedArtifacts(paths: InstallStorePaths): boolean {
+  const persistentArtifacts = [
+    paths.manifestPath,
+    paths.markerPath,
+    paths.currentPath,
+    paths.shimPath,
+  ].some((entry) => fs.existsSync(entry));
+  if (persistentArtifacts) return true;
+  try {
+    return fs.readdirSync(paths.installsRoot).length > 0;
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") return false;
+    return true;
+  }
+}
+
+export function nodeRuntimeCheck(): CheckResult {
+  const major = Number.parseInt(process.versions.node.split(".")[0] ?? "0", 10);
+  return major >= 20
+    ? { name: "Node.js runtime", status: "pass", message: `Node.js ${process.versions.node}` }
+    : {
+        name: "Node.js runtime",
+        status: "fail",
+        message: `Node.js ${process.versions.node} is unsupported`,
+        repairHint: "Install Node.js 20 or newer before installing or running Paperclip",
+      };
+}
+
+export function managedInstallChecks(
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+): CheckResult[] {
+  if (!hasManagedArtifacts(paths)) {
+    return [
+      {
+        name: "Managed install",
+        status: "pass",
+        message: "Not present (optional for npx, global npm, and source-checkout usage)",
+      },
+    ];
+  }
+
+  let manifest;
+  try {
+    manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+  } catch (error) {
+    return [
+      {
+        name: "Managed install manifest",
+        status: "fail",
+        message: error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error),
+        repairHint: "Re-run `paperclipai install` to rebuild the managed install metadata",
+      },
+    ];
+  }
+
+  if (!manifest) {
+    return [
+      {
+        name: "Managed install manifest",
+        status: "fail",
+        message: `Managed install artifacts exist but ${paths.manifestPath} is missing`,
+        repairHint: "Re-run `paperclipai install`",
+      },
+    ];
+  }
+
+  const results: CheckResult[] = [];
+  const payloadPath = path.resolve(manifest.payloadPath);
+  const relativePayload = path.relative(paths.installsRoot, payloadPath);
+  const payloadInStore = Boolean(relativePayload) && !relativePayload.startsWith("..") && !path.isAbsolute(relativePayload);
+  const payloadExists = payloadInStore && fs.existsSync(payloadPath) && fs.statSync(payloadPath).isDirectory();
+  let currentMatches = false;
+  try {
+    currentMatches = fs.lstatSync(paths.currentPath).isSymbolicLink()
+      && fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath) === fs.realpathSync(payloadPath);
+  } catch {
+    currentMatches = false;
+  }
+
+  results.push(
+    payloadExists && currentMatches
+      ? {
+          name: "Managed install store",
+          status: "pass",
+          message: `${manifest.source} ${manifest.version} is active`,
+        }
+      : {
+          name: "Managed install store",
+          status: "fail",
+          message: !payloadExists
+            ? `Manifest payload is missing or outside the install store: ${manifest.payloadPath}`
+            : `Current link does not point to ${manifest.payloadPath}`,
+          repairHint: "Re-run `paperclipai install` or roll back to a retained payload",
+        },
+  );
+
+  let shimValid = false;
+  try {
+    shimValid = fs.readFileSync(paths.shimPath, "utf8").includes(MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER);
+  } catch {
+    shimValid = false;
+  }
+  results.push(
+    shimValid
+      ? { name: "Managed install shim", status: "pass", message: paths.shimPath }
+      : {
+          name: "Managed install shim",
+          status: "fail",
+          message: `Missing or unrecognized shim at ${paths.shimPath}`,
+          repairHint: "Re-run `paperclipai install`",
+        },
+  );
+
+  const shimDirectory = path.dirname(paths.shimPath);
+  results.push(
+    pathContains(shimDirectory)
+      ? { name: "Managed install PATH", status: "pass", message: `${shimDirectory} is on PATH` }
+      : {
+          name: "Managed install PATH",
+          status: "warn",
+          message: `${shimDirectory} is not on PATH`,
+          repairHint: 'Run `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"` and add it to your shell startup file',
+        },
+  );
+
+  const retained = new Set(
+    [manifest, ...manifest.previous].map((record) => path.resolve(record.payloadPath)),
+  );
+  const orphaned: string[] = [];
+  for (const source of ["npm", "git"] as const) {
+    const sourceRoot = path.join(paths.installsRoot, source);
+    if (!fs.existsSync(sourceRoot)) continue;
+    for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(sourceRoot)) {
+      const candidate = path.join(sourceRoot, entry);
+      if (!entry.startsWith(".") && !retained.has(path.resolve(candidate))) orphaned.push(candidate);
+    }
+  }
+  results.push(
+    orphaned.length === 0
+      ? { name: "Managed install retention", status: "pass", message: "No orphaned payloads" }
+      : {
+          name: "Managed install retention",
+          status: "warn",
+          message: `${orphaned.length} orphaned payload${orphaned.length === 1 ? "" : "s"} found`,
+          repairHint: "A successful `paperclipai update` prunes unretained payloads",
+        },
+  );
+
+  return results;
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/checks/service-health-check.ts b/cli/src/checks/service-health-check.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..27f3a3a3ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/checks/service-health-check.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import type { PaperclipConfig } from "../config/schema.js";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceId } from "../config/home.js";
+import { readInstallManifest } from "../install-store.js";
+import {
+  detectServiceManager,
+  type ServiceManagerDetection,
+} from "../services/service-manager.js";
+import { buildLocalHealthUrl } from "../utils/health-url.js";
+import type { CheckResult } from "./index.js";
+
+type HealthResult = { ok: boolean; version: string | null; error?: string };
+type ServiceCheckDependencies = {
+  detect: (instanceId: string) => Promise<ServiceManagerDetection>;
+  probe: (config: PaperclipConfig) => Promise<HealthResult>;
+};
+
+async function probeHealth(config: PaperclipConfig): Promise<HealthResult> {
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(buildLocalHealthUrl(config.server.host, config.server.port), {
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(2_000),
+    });
+    const body = (await response.json()) as {
+      status?: unknown;
+      serverVersion?: unknown;
+      version?: unknown;
+    };
+    const version = typeof body.serverVersion === "string"
+      ? body.serverVersion
+      : typeof body.version === "string"
+        ? body.version
+        : null;
+    return { ok: response.ok && body.status === "ok", version };
+  } catch (error) {
+    return { ok: false, version: null, error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error) };
+  }
+}
+
+export async function serviceHealthChecks(
+  config: PaperclipConfig,
+  dependencies: Partial<ServiceCheckDependencies> = {},
+): Promise<CheckResult[]> {
+  if (process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED === "1") return [];
+
+  const deps: ServiceCheckDependencies = {
+    detect: (instanceId) => detectServiceManager({ instanceId }),
+    probe: probeHealth,
+    ...dependencies,
+  };
+  const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId();
+  const detection = await deps.detect(instanceId);
+  if (!detection.supported) {
+    return [{ name: "Background service", status: "pass", message: detection.reason }];
+  }
+
+  const manager = detection.manager;
+  const status = await manager.status();
+  if (!status.installed) {
+    return [
+      {
+        name: "Background service",
+        status: "pass",
+        message: `Not installed for instance ${instanceId} (optional)`,
+      },
+    ];
+  }
+
+  const results: CheckResult[] = [];
+  let definitionCurrent = false;
+  try {
+    definitionCurrent = (await fs.readFile(manager.definitionPath, "utf8")) === manager.renderDefinition();
+  } catch {
+    definitionCurrent = false;
+  }
+  results.push(
+    definitionCurrent
+      ? { name: "Service definition", status: "pass", message: manager.definitionPath }
+      : {
+          name: "Service definition",
+          status: "fail",
+          message: `Missing or drifted definition at ${manager.definitionPath}`,
+          repairHint: "Run `paperclipai service install` to regenerate the service definition",
+        },
+  );
+
+  const health = await deps.probe(config);
+  results.push(
+    status.active
+      ? { name: "Service runtime", status: "pass", message: `${status.serviceName} is active` }
+      : {
+          name: "Service runtime",
+          status: "fail",
+          message: health.ok
+            ? `${status.serviceName} is inactive but the configured port is serving another Paperclip process`
+            : `${status.serviceName} is ${status.detail ?? "inactive"}`,
+          repairHint: "Run `paperclipai service start`, or stop the conflicting foreground process first",
+        },
+  );
+
+  let expectedVersion: string | null = null;
+  try {
+    expectedVersion = readInstallManifest()?.version ?? null;
+  } catch {}
+  results.push(
+    !health.ok
+      ? {
+          name: "Service health",
+          status: "fail",
+          message: health.error ?? "Health endpoint did not report ok",
+          repairHint: "Inspect `paperclipai service status` and `paperclipai service logs`",
+        }
+      : expectedVersion && health.version !== expectedVersion
+        ? {
+            name: "Service version",
+            status: "fail",
+            message: `Running ${health.version ?? "unknown"}; managed install is ${expectedVersion}`,
+            repairHint: "Run `paperclipai service restart --expected-version " + expectedVersion + "`",
+          }
+        : {
+            name: "Service health",
+            status: "pass",
+            message: `Healthy${health.version ? ` at version ${health.version}` : ""}`,
+          },
+  );
+
+  if (status.enabled && status.linger === false) {
+    results.push({
+      name: "Service linger",
+      status: "warn",
+      message: "Start-on-login is enabled but systemd user lingering is off",
+      repairHint: "Re-run `paperclipai service install --enable-linger` if the service must survive logout",
+    });
+  }
+
+  return results;
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/doctor.ts b/cli/src/commands/doctor.ts
index 3ace070ed3..28ce37e3c6 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/doctor.ts
+++ b/cli/src/commands/doctor.ts
@@ -9,13 +9,17 @@ import {
   deploymentAuthCheck,
   llmCheck,
   logCheck,
+  managedInstallChecks,
+  nodeRuntimeCheck,
   portCheck,
   secretsCheck,
+  serviceHealthChecks,
   storageCheck,
   type CheckResult,
 } from "../checks/index.js";
 import { loadPaperclipEnvFile } from "../config/env.js";
 import { printPaperclipCliBanner } from "../utils/banner.js";
+import { printUpdateNotice } from "../update-notice.js";
 
 const STATUS_ICON = {
   pass: pc.green("✓"),
@@ -28,6 +32,7 @@ export async function doctor(opts: {
   repair?: boolean;
   yes?: boolean;
 }): Promise<{ passed: number; warned: number; failed: number }> {
+  await printUpdateNotice(opts.config);
   printPaperclipCliBanner();
   p.intro(pc.bgCyan(pc.black(" paperclip doctor ")));
 
@@ -120,6 +125,21 @@ export async function doctor(opts: {
   results.push(portResult);
   printResult(portResult);
 
+  // 10. Runtime and managed install checks
+  const nodeResult = nodeRuntimeCheck();
+  results.push(nodeResult);
+  printResult(nodeResult);
+  for (const result of managedInstallChecks()) {
+    results.push(result);
+    printResult(result);
+  }
+
+  // 11. Background service checks
+  for (const result of await serviceHealthChecks(config)) {
+    results.push(result);
+    printResult(result);
+  }
+
   // Summary
   return printSummary(results);
 }
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/install.ts b/cli/src/commands/install.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1667fe3b3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/commands/install.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,420 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import * as p from "@clack/prompts";
+import pc from "picocolors";
+import {
+  addManagedPathBlock,
+  assertManagedShimWritable,
+  buildNextManifest,
+  flipCurrentAtomic,
+  payloadPathFor,
+  pruneInstallPayloads,
+  readInstallManifest,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+  withInstallStoreLock,
+  writeInstallManifestAtomic,
+  writeManagedShim,
+  type InstallChannel,
+  type InstallRecord,
+} from "../install-store.js";
+
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+export const PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY = "https://registry.npmjs.org";
+const DEFAULT_GITHUB_REPO = "paperclipai/paperclip";
+const EXACT_VERSION_PATTERN = /^\d+\.\d+\.\d+(?:-[0-9A-Za-z.-]+)?$/;
+
+export type InstallOptions = { canary?: boolean; version?: string; ref?: string; repo?: string; yes?: boolean };
+
+export type CommandRunner = (
+  file: string,
+  args: string[],
+  options?: Parameters<typeof execFileAsync>[2],
+) => Promise<{ stdout: string; stderr: string }>;
+
+type ReleasePackageEntry = { dir: string; name: string };
+
+export async function runCommandWithDiagnostics(
+  file: string,
+  args: string[],
+  options?: Parameters<typeof execFileAsync>[2],
+): Promise<{ stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
+  try {
+    return await execFileAsync(file, args, { ...options, encoding: "utf8" });
+  } catch (error) {
+    const stderr = error && typeof error === "object" && "stderr" in error && typeof error.stderr === "string"
+      ? error.stderr.trim()
+      : "";
+    if (!stderr || (error instanceof Error && error.message.includes(stderr))) throw error;
+    throw new Error(`${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}\n${stderr}`, { cause: error });
+  }
+}
+
+export function resolveGitInstallWorkspacePackages(checkoutPath: string): ReleasePackageEntry[] {
+  const manifestPath = path.join(checkoutPath, "scripts", "release-package-manifest.json");
+  const manifest = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(manifestPath, "utf8")) as ReleasePackageEntry[];
+  const packageByName = new Map(manifest.map((entry) => [entry.name, entry]));
+  const visiting = new Set<string>();
+  const visited = new Set<string>();
+  const ordered: ReleasePackageEntry[] = [];
+
+  const visit = (packageName: string): void => {
+    if (visited.has(packageName)) return;
+    if (visiting.has(packageName)) throw new Error(`Circular workspace dependency while staging ${packageName}.`);
+    const entry = packageByName.get(packageName);
+    if (!entry) throw new Error(`Git install cannot stage workspace dependency ${packageName}; it is missing from scripts/release-package-manifest.json.`);
+    visiting.add(packageName);
+    const packageJson = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(checkoutPath, entry.dir, "package.json"), "utf8")) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    for (const section of ["dependencies", "optionalDependencies", "peerDependencies"] as const) {
+      const dependencies = packageJson[section];
+      if (!dependencies || typeof dependencies !== "object") continue;
+      for (const dependencyName of Object.keys(dependencies)) {
+        if (dependencyName.startsWith("@paperclipai/")) visit(dependencyName);
+      }
+    }
+    visiting.delete(packageName);
+    visited.add(packageName);
+    ordered.push(entry);
+  };
+
+  visit("@paperclipai/server");
+  return ordered;
+}
+
+function assertSupportedNodeVersion(): void {
+  const major = Number(process.versions.node.split(".")[0]);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(major) || major < 20) {
+    throw new Error(`Managed installs require Node.js 20 or newer (found ${process.version}).`);
+  }
+}
+
+export function resolveNpmInstallRequest(options: InstallOptions): {
+  spec: string;
+  channel: InstallChannel;
+} {
+  if (options.canary && options.version) throw new Error("Choose either --canary or --version, not both.");
+  if (options.version) {
+    const version = options.version.trim();
+    if (!EXACT_VERSION_PATTERN.test(version)) {
+      throw new Error(`--version requires an exact published version, received '${options.version}'.`);
+    }
+    return { spec: version, channel: "pinned" };
+  }
+  return options.canary ? { spec: "canary", channel: "canary" } : { spec: "latest", channel: "latest" };
+}
+
+function parseResolvedVersion(stdout: string): string {
+  const trimmed = stdout.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) throw new Error("npm returned an empty version response.");
+  try {
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(trimmed) as unknown;
+    if (typeof parsed === "string") return parsed;
+  } catch {
+    if (EXACT_VERSION_PATTERN.test(trimmed)) return trimmed;
+  }
+  throw new Error(`npm returned an unexpected version response: ${trimmed}`);
+}
+
+export async function resolvePublishedVersion(spec: string, runCommand: CommandRunner): Promise<string> {
+  const result = await runCommand(
+    "npm",
+    ["view", `paperclipai@${spec}`, "version", "--json", `--registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}`],
+    { maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024 },
+  );
+  return parseResolvedVersion(result.stdout);
+}
+
+export function resolveGitInstallRequest(options: InstallOptions): { repo: string; ref: string; pinned: boolean } | null {
+  if (!options.ref && !options.repo) return null;
+  if (!options.ref) throw new Error("--repo requires --ref.");
+  if (options.canary || options.version) throw new Error("--ref cannot be combined with --canary or --version.");
+  const repo = (options.repo ?? DEFAULT_GITHUB_REPO).trim();
+  const ref = options.ref.trim();
+  if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9_.-]+\/[A-Za-z0-9_.-]+$/.test(repo)) throw new Error(`--repo must be an owner/name GitHub repository, received '${repo}'.`);
+  if (!ref || ref.startsWith("-") || /[\0\r\n]/.test(ref)) throw new Error(`Invalid GitHub ref '${options.ref}'.`);
+  return { repo, ref, pinned: /^[0-9a-f]{7,40}$/i.test(ref) };
+}
+
+async function runGitHubCurl(
+  args: string[],
+  runCommand: CommandRunner,
+  options?: Parameters<CommandRunner>[2],
+): Promise<{ stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
+  // Anonymous GitHub requests are rate-limited per source IP (CI runners and
+  // corporate NAT exhaust the shared quota); honor an ambient token when present.
+  // The token travels via a curl --config file so it never appears in process args.
+  const token = process.env.GH_TOKEN ?? process.env.GITHUB_TOKEN;
+  if (!token) return runCommand("curl", args, options);
+  const configDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclipai-gh-"));
+  const configFile = path.join(configDir, "headers");
+  try {
+    fs.writeFileSync(configFile, `header = "Authorization: Bearer ${token}"\n`, { mode: 0o600 });
+    return await runCommand("curl", ["--config", configFile, ...args], options);
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(configDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+export async function resolveGitHubRef(repo: string, ref: string, runCommand: CommandRunner): Promise<string> {
+  const result = await runGitHubCurl(["--fail", "--silent", "--show-error", "--location", "--header", "Accept: application/vnd.github+json", "--header", "User-Agent: paperclipai-install", `https://api.github.com/repos/${repo}/commits/${encodeURIComponent(ref)}`], runCommand, { maxBuffer: 4 * 1024 * 1024 });
+  let sha: unknown;
+  try { sha = (JSON.parse(result.stdout) as { sha?: unknown }).sha; } catch { throw new Error(`GitHub returned an invalid response while resolving ${repo}@${ref}.`); }
+  if (typeof sha !== "string" || !/^[0-9a-f]{40}$/i.test(sha)) throw new Error(`GitHub did not return a full commit SHA for ${repo}@${ref}.`);
+  return sha.toLowerCase();
+}
+
+function payloadEntrypoint(payloadPath: string): string {
+  return path.join(payloadPath, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+}
+
+export async function smokePayload(payloadPath: string, expectedVersion: string, runCommand: CommandRunner): Promise<void> {
+  const entrypoint = payloadEntrypoint(payloadPath);
+  if (!fs.existsSync(entrypoint)) throw new Error(`Installed package is missing its CLI entrypoint: ${entrypoint}`);
+  const result = await runCommand(process.execPath, [entrypoint, "--version"], { maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024 });
+  const reportedVersion = result.stdout.trim().split(/\s+/)[0];
+  if (reportedVersion !== expectedVersion) {
+    throw new Error(`Installed CLI smoke check reported ${reportedVersion || "no version"}; expected ${expectedVersion}.`);
+  }
+}
+
+export async function installNpmPayload(
+  version: string,
+  runCommand: CommandRunner,
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+): Promise<{ payloadPath: string; reused: boolean }> {
+  const payloadPath = payloadPathFor(paths, "npm", version);
+  if (fs.existsSync(payloadPath)) {
+    await smokePayload(payloadPath, version, runCommand);
+    return { payloadPath, reused: true };
+  }
+  const sourceRoot = path.dirname(payloadPath);
+  fs.mkdirSync(sourceRoot, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const sourceStat = fs.lstatSync(sourceRoot);
+  if (!sourceStat.isDirectory() || sourceStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to install into unsafe payload root ${sourceRoot}.`);
+  }
+  fs.chmodSync(paths.cliRoot, 0o700);
+  fs.chmodSync(paths.installsRoot, 0o700);
+  fs.chmodSync(sourceRoot, 0o700);
+  const stagingPath = path.join(sourceRoot, `.${version}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
+  const npmUserConfigPath = path.join(sourceRoot, `.npmrc-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
+  fs.rmSync(stagingPath, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  try {
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      npmUserConfigPath,
+      `registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}\n@paperclipai:registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}\n`,
+      { mode: 0o600 },
+    );
+    await runCommand(
+      "npm",
+      [
+        "install",
+        "--prefix",
+        stagingPath,
+        `paperclipai@${version}`,
+        `--registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}`,
+        `--@paperclipai:registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}`,
+        "--no-audit",
+        "--no-fund",
+      ],
+      {
+        cwd: sourceRoot,
+        env: { ...process.env, npm_config_userconfig: npmUserConfigPath },
+        maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024,
+      },
+    );
+    await smokePayload(stagingPath, version, runCommand);
+    fs.renameSync(stagingPath, payloadPath);
+    return { payloadPath, reused: false };
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(stagingPath, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    fs.rmSync(npmUserConfigPath, { force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+function gitBuildEnv(extra: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = {}): NodeJS.ProcessEnv {
+  const env = { ...process.env, ...extra };
+  // Source builds need devDependencies (esbuild, typescript); ambient NODE_ENV=production
+  // makes pnpm/npm omit them, so the checkout build must not inherit it.
+  delete env.NODE_ENV;
+  return env;
+}
+
+export async function installGitPayload(repo: string, sha: string, runCommand: CommandRunner, paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): Promise<{ payloadPath: string; reused: boolean; version: string }> {
+  const identifier = sha.slice(0, 12);
+  const payloadPath = payloadPathFor(paths, "git", identifier);
+  if (fs.existsSync(payloadPath)) {
+    const metadata = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(payloadPath, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "package.json"), "utf8")) as { version: string };
+    await smokePayload(payloadPath, metadata.version, runCommand);
+    return { payloadPath, reused: true, version: metadata.version };
+  }
+  const sourceRoot = path.dirname(payloadPath);
+  fs.mkdirSync(sourceRoot, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const sourceStat = fs.lstatSync(sourceRoot);
+  if (!sourceStat.isDirectory() || sourceStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to install into unsafe payload root ${sourceRoot}.`);
+  }
+  fs.chmodSync(paths.cliRoot, 0o700);
+  fs.chmodSync(paths.installsRoot, 0o700);
+  fs.chmodSync(sourceRoot, 0o700);
+  const stagingRoot = path.join(sourceRoot, `.${identifier}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
+  const checkoutPath = path.join(stagingRoot, "source");
+  const archivePath = path.join(stagingRoot, "source.tar.gz");
+  const stagedPayload = path.join(stagingRoot, "payload");
+  fs.rmSync(stagingRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  fs.mkdirSync(checkoutPath, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  // Workspace build scripts invoke bare `pnpm`; on a machine where pnpm exists only
+  // through corepack, nothing puts it on PATH, so provision a shim into the staging dir.
+  const pnpmShimDir = path.join(stagingRoot, "pnpm-bin");
+  fs.mkdirSync(pnpmShimDir, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const buildEnv = (extra: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = {}) =>
+    gitBuildEnv({ PATH: [pnpmShimDir, process.env.PATH].filter(Boolean).join(path.delimiter), ...extra });
+  try {
+    await runGitHubCurl(["--fail", "--silent", "--show-error", "--location", "--output", archivePath, `https://codeload.github.com/${repo}/tar.gz/${sha}`], runCommand, { maxBuffer: 4 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    await runCommand("tar", ["-xzf", archivePath, "--strip-components=1", "-C", checkoutPath], { maxBuffer: 4 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    await runCommand("corepack", ["enable", "pnpm", "--install-directory", pnpmShimDir], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 4 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    await runCommand("corepack", ["pnpm", "install", "--frozen-lockfile"], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 32 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    await runCommand("bash", ["scripts/build-npm.sh", "--skip-checks", "--skip-typecheck"], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 32 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    await runCommand("corepack", ["pnpm", "-r", "--filter", "@paperclipai/server...", "--if-present", "run", "build"], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 32 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    const metadata = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(checkoutPath, "cli", "package.json"), "utf8")) as { version: string };
+    const workspacePackages = resolveGitInstallWorkspacePackages(checkoutPath);
+    for (const [index, workspacePackage] of workspacePackages.entries()) {
+      const packageDir = path.join(checkoutPath, workspacePackage.dir);
+      const packageJson = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(packageDir, "package.json"), "utf8")) as { bundleDependencies?: string[]; bundledDependencies?: string[] };
+      const bundledDependencies = packageJson.bundleDependencies ?? packageJson.bundledDependencies ?? [];
+      if (bundledDependencies.length > 0) {
+        const stagedPackage = path.join(stagingRoot, `workspace-package-${index}`);
+        await runCommand(process.execPath, [path.join(checkoutPath, "scripts", "prepare-bundled-package.mjs"), packageDir, stagedPackage], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 32 * 1024 * 1024 });
+        await runCommand("npm", ["pack", stagedPackage, "--pack-destination", stagingRoot], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 });
+      } else {
+        await runCommand("corepack", ["pnpm", "--dir", workspacePackage.dir, "pack", "--pack-destination", stagingRoot], { cwd: checkoutPath, env: buildEnv({ PAPERCLIP_RELEASE_REUSE_UI_DIST: "1" }), maxBuffer: 32 * 1024 * 1024 });
+      }
+    }
+    await runCommand("npm", ["pack", "--pack-destination", stagingRoot], { cwd: path.join(checkoutPath, "cli"), env: buildEnv(), maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    const tarballs = fs.readdirSync(stagingRoot).filter((entry) => entry.endsWith(".tgz"));
+    const cliTarball = tarballs.find((entry) => entry === `paperclipai-${metadata.version}.tgz`);
+    const workspaceTarballs = tarballs.filter((entry) => entry !== cliTarball);
+    if (!cliTarball || workspaceTarballs.length !== workspacePackages.length) {
+      throw new Error(`Git install packaging produced ${workspaceTarballs.length} workspace tarballs; expected ${workspacePackages.length}.`);
+    }
+    await runCommand("npm", ["install", "--prefix", stagedPayload, path.join(stagingRoot, cliTarball), ...workspaceTarballs.map((entry) => path.join(stagingRoot, entry)), "--no-audit", "--no-fund"], { cwd: stagingRoot, maxBuffer: 32 * 1024 * 1024 });
+    await smokePayload(stagedPayload, metadata.version, runCommand);
+    fs.renameSync(stagedPayload, payloadPath);
+    return { payloadPath, reused: false, version: metadata.version };
+  } finally { fs.rmSync(stagingRoot, { recursive: true, force: true }); }
+}
+
+function pathContains(directory: string): boolean {
+  const normalized = path.resolve(directory);
+  return (process.env.PATH ?? "").split(path.delimiter).filter(Boolean).some((entry) => path.resolve(entry) === normalized);
+}
+
+function shellRcPath(): string | null {
+  const home = process.env.HOME;
+  if (!home) return null;
+  const shell = path.basename(process.env.SHELL ?? "");
+  if (shell === "bash") return path.join(home, ".bashrc");
+  if (shell === "zsh") return path.join(home, ".zshrc");
+  return null;
+}
+
+async function ensureShimOnPath(options: InstallOptions): Promise<void> {
+  const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+  const binDir = path.dirname(paths.shimPath);
+  if (pathContains(binDir)) return;
+  const manualInstruction = `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"`;
+  const rcPath = shellRcPath();
+  if (!process.stdin.isTTY || !process.stdout.isTTY || !rcPath) {
+    console.log(pc.yellow(`Add Paperclip to PATH for this shell:\n  ${manualInstruction}`));
+    return;
+  }
+  const confirmed = options.yes === true ? true : await p.confirm({ message: `Add ~/.local/bin to PATH in ${rcPath}?`, initialValue: true });
+  if (p.isCancel(confirmed) || !confirmed) {
+    console.log(pc.yellow(`PATH was not changed. Run:\n  ${manualInstruction}`));
+    return;
+  }
+  const changed = addManagedPathBlock(rcPath);
+  console.log(changed ? pc.green(`Updated ${rcPath}.`) : pc.dim(`${rcPath} already contains the PATH block.`));
+}
+
+async function confirmGitInstall(options: InstallOptions, repo: string, ref: string): Promise<void> {
+  const warning = `Installing ${repo}@${ref} executes dependency and build scripts from that repository.`;
+  console.log(pc.yellow(`Warning: ${warning}`));
+  if (options.yes === true) return;
+  if (!process.stdin.isTTY || !process.stdout.isTTY) {
+    throw new Error(`${warning} Re-run with --yes to consent in non-interactive environments.`);
+  }
+  const confirmed = await p.confirm({
+    message: `${warning} Continue?`,
+    initialValue: false,
+  });
+  if (p.isCancel(confirmed) || !confirmed) {
+    throw new Error("Git-ref install cancelled before downloading or executing repository code.");
+  }
+}
+
+export async function installCommand(
+  options: InstallOptions,
+  dependencies: { runCommand?: CommandRunner; now?: () => Date } = {},
+): Promise<void> {
+  assertSupportedNodeVersion();
+  const runCommand = dependencies.runCommand ?? runCommandWithDiagnostics;
+  const gitRequest = resolveGitInstallRequest(options);
+  if (gitRequest) {
+    await confirmGitInstall(options, gitRequest.repo, gitRequest.ref);
+    const sha = await resolveGitHubRef(gitRequest.repo, gitRequest.ref, runCommand);
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const installed = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => {
+      assertManagedShimWritable(paths);
+      const currentManifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+      const payload = await installGitPayload(gitRequest.repo, sha, runCommand, paths);
+      const record: InstallRecord = { source: "git", version: payload.version, channel: "pinned", repo: gitRequest.repo, ref: gitRequest.ref, sha, payloadPath: payload.payloadPath, installedAt: (dependencies.now?.() ?? new Date()).toISOString() };
+      const nextManifest = buildNextManifest(record, currentManifest);
+      const oldTarget = fs.existsSync(paths.currentPath) ? fs.readlinkSync(paths.currentPath) : null;
+      flipCurrentAtomic(payload.payloadPath, paths);
+      try { writeInstallManifestAtomic(nextManifest, paths); } catch (error) { if (oldTarget) flipCurrentAtomic(path.resolve(paths.cliRoot, oldTarget), paths); else fs.rmSync(paths.currentPath, { force: true }); throw error; }
+      writeManagedShim(paths); pruneInstallPayloads(nextManifest, paths); return payload;
+    }, paths);
+    await ensureShimOnPath(options);
+    console.log(pc.green(`${installed.reused ? "Activated cached" : "Installed"} paperclipai git payload ${sha.slice(0, 12)}.`));
+    return;
+  }
+  const request = resolveNpmInstallRequest(options);
+  console.log(`Resolving paperclipai@${request.spec} from ${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}...`);
+  const version = await resolvePublishedVersion(request.spec, runCommand);
+  console.log(`Installing paperclipai@${version}...`);
+
+  const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+  const installed = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => {
+    assertManagedShimWritable(paths);
+    const currentManifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+    const payload = await installNpmPayload(version, runCommand, paths);
+    const record: InstallRecord = {
+      source: "npm",
+      version,
+      channel: request.channel,
+      payloadPath: payload.payloadPath,
+      installedAt: (dependencies.now?.() ?? new Date()).toISOString(),
+    };
+    const nextManifest = buildNextManifest(record, currentManifest);
+    const oldTarget = fs.existsSync(paths.currentPath) ? fs.readlinkSync(paths.currentPath) : null;
+    flipCurrentAtomic(payload.payloadPath, paths);
+    try {
+      writeInstallManifestAtomic(nextManifest, paths);
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (oldTarget) flipCurrentAtomic(path.resolve(paths.cliRoot, oldTarget), paths);
+      else fs.rmSync(paths.currentPath, { force: true });
+      throw error;
+    }
+    writeManagedShim(paths);
+    pruneInstallPayloads(nextManifest, paths);
+    return payload;
+  }, paths);
+  await ensureShimOnPath(options);
+
+  console.log(pc.green(`${installed.reused ? "Activated cached" : "Installed"} paperclipai ${version} (${request.channel}).`));
+  console.log(pc.dim(`Payload: ${installed.payloadPath}`));
+  console.log(`Run ${pc.cyan("paperclipai --version")} to verify the managed install.`);
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/onboard.ts b/cli/src/commands/onboard.ts
index 62158e05bb..3024360dda 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/onboard.ts
+++ b/cli/src/commands/onboard.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ import {
   trackInstallStarted,
   trackInstallCompleted,
 } from "../telemetry.js";
+import { handleOnboardService } from "../onboard-service.js";
+import { readInstallManifest, isManagedExecutable } from "../install-store.js";
 
 type SetupMode = "quickstart" | "advanced";
 
@@ -52,6 +54,7 @@ type OnboardOptions = {
   yes?: boolean;
   invokedByRun?: boolean;
   bind?: BindMode;
+  installService?: boolean;
 };
 
 type OnboardDefaults = Pick<PaperclipConfig, "database" | "logging" | "server" | "auth" | "storage" | "secrets">;
@@ -322,6 +325,21 @@ function canCreateBootstrapInviteImmediately(config: Pick<PaperclipConfig, "data
   return config.server.deploymentMode === "authenticated" && config.database.mode !== "embedded-postgres";
 }
 
+export function isEphemeralNpxExecution(entrypoint = process.argv[1]): boolean {
+  if (!entrypoint) return false;
+  const normalized = entrypoint.replaceAll("\\", "/");
+  return normalized.includes("/_npx/") || normalized.includes("/npm/_npx/");
+}
+
+function printManagedInstallHint(): void {
+  const manifest = readInstallManifest();
+  if (manifest && isManagedExecutable(process.argv[1], manifest)) return;
+  if (!isEphemeralNpxExecution()) return;
+  p.log.info(
+    `This npx run is temporary. Use ${pc.cyan("paperclipai install")} for atomic updates, rollback, and service support.`,
+  );
+}
+
 export async function onboard(opts: OnboardOptions): Promise<void> {
   if (opts.bind && !["loopback", "lan", "tailnet"].includes(opts.bind)) {
     throw new Error(`Unsupported bind preset for onboard: ${opts.bind}. Use loopback, lan, or tailnet.`);
@@ -400,7 +418,10 @@ export async function onboard(opts: OnboardOptions): Promise<void> {
       "Next commands",
     );
 
-    let shouldRunNow = opts.run === true || opts.yes === true;
+    printManagedInstallHint();
+    const serviceInstalled = await handleOnboardService(opts);
+
+    let shouldRunNow = !serviceInstalled && (opts.run === true || opts.yes === true);
     if (!shouldRunNow && !opts.invokedByRun && process.stdin.isTTY && process.stdout.isTTY) {
       const answer = await p.confirm({
         message: "Start Paperclip now?",
@@ -655,12 +676,16 @@ export async function onboard(opts: OnboardOptions): Promise<void> {
     "Next commands",
   );
 
+  printManagedInstallHint();
+
   if (canCreateBootstrapInviteImmediately({ database, server })) {
     p.log.step("Generating bootstrap CEO invite");
     await bootstrapCeoInvite({ config: configPath });
   }
 
-  let shouldRunNow = opts.run === true || opts.yes === true;
+  const serviceInstalled = await handleOnboardService(opts);
+
+  let shouldRunNow = !serviceInstalled && (opts.run === true || opts.yes === true);
   if (!shouldRunNow && !opts.invokedByRun && process.stdin.isTTY && process.stdout.isTTY) {
     const answer = await p.confirm({
       message: "Start Paperclip now?",
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/run.ts b/cli/src/commands/run.ts
index 9bc9655b44..41b02491b6 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/run.ts
+++ b/cli/src/commands/run.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ import {
   resolvePaperclipHomeDir,
   resolvePaperclipInstanceId,
 } from "../config/home.js";
+import { assertForegroundRunAllowed } from "../services/service-manager.js";
+import { printUpdateNotice } from "../update-notice.js";
 
 interface RunOptions {
   config?: string;
@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@ interface RunOptions {
   repair?: boolean;
   yes?: boolean;
   bind?: "loopback" | "lan" | "tailnet";
+  force?: boolean;
 }
 
 interface StartedServer {
@@ -35,6 +38,7 @@ interface StartedServer {
 export async function runCommand(opts: RunOptions): Promise<void> {
   const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId(opts.instance);
   process.env.PAPERCLIP_INSTANCE_ID = instanceId;
+  await assertForegroundRunAllowed(instanceId, opts.force);
 
   const homeDir = resolvePaperclipHomeDir();
   fs.mkdirSync(homeDir, { recursive: true });
@@ -45,6 +49,7 @@ export async function runCommand(opts: RunOptions): Promise<void> {
   const configPath = resolveConfigPath(opts.config);
   process.env.PAPERCLIP_CONFIG = configPath;
   loadPaperclipEnvFile(configPath);
+  await printUpdateNotice(configPath);
 
   p.intro(pc.bgCyan(pc.black(" paperclipai run ")));
   p.log.message(pc.dim(`Home: ${paths.homeDir}`));
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/service.ts b/cli/src/commands/service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8e8a689dc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/commands/service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import * as p from "@clack/prompts";
+import type { Command } from "commander";
+import { readConfig, resolveConfigPath } from "../config/store.js";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceId, resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot } from "../config/home.js";
+import { detectServiceManager, type ServiceManager, type ServiceStatus } from "../services/service-manager.js";
+import { buildLocalHealthUrl } from "../utils/health-url.js";
+
+type CommonOptions = { instance?: string; json?: boolean };
+type HealthResult = { ok: boolean; serverVersion: string | null; error?: string };
+
+function output(value: unknown, json: boolean | undefined): void {
+  if (json) console.log(JSON.stringify(value, null, 2));
+  else if (typeof value === "string") console.log(value);
+  else console.log(JSON.stringify(value, null, 2));
+}
+
+async function resolveManager(opts: CommonOptions): Promise<ServiceManager | null> {
+  const detection = await detectServiceManager({ instanceId: opts.instance });
+  if (detection.supported) return detection.manager;
+  output({ supported: false, message: detection.reason }, opts.json);
+  return null;
+}
+
+function healthUrl(instanceId: string): string {
+  process.env.PAPERCLIP_INSTANCE_ID = instanceId;
+  const config = readConfig(resolveConfigPath());
+  return buildLocalHealthUrl(config?.server.host, config?.server.port ?? 3100);
+}
+
+async function probeHealth(instanceId: string): Promise<HealthResult> {
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(healthUrl(instanceId), { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(2_000) });
+    const body = await response.json() as { status?: unknown; serverVersion?: unknown; version?: unknown };
+    return { ok: response.ok && body.status === "ok", serverVersion: typeof body.serverVersion === "string" ? body.serverVersion : typeof body.version === "string" ? body.version : null };
+  } catch (error) {
+    return { ok: false, serverVersion: null, error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error) };
+  }
+}
+
+async function waitForHealth(instanceId: string, expectedVersion: string | null, timeoutMs = 60_000): Promise<HealthResult> {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs;
+  let last: HealthResult = { ok: false, serverVersion: null };
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    last = await probeHealth(instanceId);
+    if (last.ok && (!expectedVersion || last.serverVersion === expectedVersion)) return last;
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 500));
+  }
+  throw new Error(`Paperclip service did not become healthy${expectedVersion ? ` at version ${expectedVersion}` : ""}: ${last.error ?? `reported ${last.serverVersion ?? "no version"}`}`);
+}
+
+export function resolveRestartExpectedVersion(expectedVersion: string | null | undefined): string | null {
+  return expectedVersion ?? null;
+}
+
+export async function withHotRestartLock<T>(
+  instanceId: string,
+  callback: () => Promise<T>,
+  options: { timeoutMs?: number; pollMs?: number; isProcessAlive?: (pid: number) => boolean } = {},
+): Promise<T> {
+  const instanceRoot = resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot(instanceId);
+  const lockPath = path.join(instanceRoot, "hot-restart.lock");
+  const token = `${process.pid}:${Date.now()}:${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`;
+  const deadline = Date.now() + (options.timeoutMs ?? 120_000);
+  const pollMs = options.pollMs ?? 100;
+  const isProcessAlive = options.isProcessAlive ?? ((pid: number) => {
+    try {
+      process.kill(pid, 0);
+      return true;
+    } catch (error) {
+      return (error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ESRCH";
+    }
+  });
+  await fs.mkdir(instanceRoot, { recursive: true });
+
+  while (true) {
+    try {
+      await fs.writeFile(lockPath, `${token}\n`, { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600, flag: "wx" });
+      break;
+    } catch (error) {
+      if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "EEXIST") throw error;
+      try {
+        const existingToken = (await fs.readFile(lockPath, "utf8")).trim();
+        const ownerPid = Number.parseInt(existingToken.split(":", 1)[0] ?? "", 10);
+        if (Number.isInteger(ownerPid) && ownerPid > 0 && !isProcessAlive(ownerPid)) {
+          if ((await fs.readFile(lockPath, "utf8")).trim() === existingToken) {
+            await fs.rm(lockPath, { force: true });
+            continue;
+          }
+        }
+      } catch (readError) {
+        if ((readError as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") continue;
+        throw readError;
+      }
+      if (Date.now() >= deadline) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Another restart for instance ${instanceId} is still running. ` +
+          `If no restart process is active, remove the stale lock at ${lockPath} and retry.`,
+        );
+      }
+      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, pollMs));
+    }
+  }
+
+  try {
+    return await callback();
+  } finally {
+    try {
+      if ((await fs.readFile(lockPath, "utf8")).trim() === token) {
+        await fs.rm(lockPath, { force: true });
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+async function writeHotRestartIntent(status: ServiceStatus, instanceId: string, drainRequired: boolean): Promise<{ requestedAt: string }> {
+  if (!status.pid) throw new Error(`Cannot restart ${status.serviceName}: supervisor did not report a server pid.`);
+  const health = await probeHealth(instanceId);
+  const instanceRoot = resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot(instanceId);
+  const requestedAt = new Date().toISOString();
+  await fs.mkdir(instanceRoot, { recursive: true });
+  await fs.rm(path.join(instanceRoot, "hot-restart-report.json"), { force: true });
+  await fs.writeFile(path.join(instanceRoot, "hot-restart-intent.json"), `${JSON.stringify({
+    version: 1,
+    requestedAt,
+    previousServerPid: status.pid,
+    previousServerVersion: health.serverVersion,
+    drainRequired,
+    requestedByRunId: process.env.PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID?.trim() || null,
+  }, null, 2)}\n`, "utf8");
+  return { requestedAt };
+}
+
+async function waitForRestartReport(instanceId: string, requestedAt: string, timeoutMs = 10_000): Promise<unknown | null> {
+  const reportPath = path.join(resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot(instanceId), "hot-restart-report.json");
+  const deadline = Date.now() + timeoutMs;
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    try {
+      const report = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(reportPath, "utf8")) as { requestedAt?: unknown };
+      if (report.requestedAt === requestedAt) return report;
+    } catch (error) {
+      if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+    }
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 250));
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+export async function restartManagedService(input: { instanceId?: string; expectedVersion?: string | null; waitForDrain?: boolean } = {}): Promise<{ status: ServiceStatus; health: HealthResult; report: unknown | null }> {
+  const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId(input.instanceId);
+  return withHotRestartLock(instanceId, async () => {
+    const detection = await detectServiceManager({ instanceId });
+    if (!detection.supported) throw new Error(detection.reason);
+    const before = await detection.manager.status();
+    const intent = await writeHotRestartIntent(before, instanceId, input.waitForDrain ?? false);
+    await detection.manager.restart();
+    const health = await waitForHealth(instanceId, resolveRestartExpectedVersion(input.expectedVersion));
+    return { status: await detection.manager.status(), health, report: await waitForRestartReport(instanceId, intent.requestedAt) };
+  });
+}
+
+export function registerServiceCommands(program: Command): void {
+  const service = program.command("service").description("Manage Paperclip as a background service");
+  const common = (command: Command) => command.option("-i, --instance <id>", "Local instance id (default: default)").option("--json", "Print machine-readable JSON", false);
+
+  common(service.command("install").description("Install and register the background service"))
+    .option("--no-start-now", "Install without starting now")
+    .option("--no-start-on-login", "Install without enabling start on login")
+    .option("--enable-linger", "Allow systemd startup without an active login session", false)
+    .action(async (opts) => {
+      const manager = await resolveManager(opts); if (!manager) return;
+      const result = await manager.install({ startNow: opts.startNow, startOnLogin: opts.startOnLogin });
+      let lingerEnabled = false;
+      if (manager.enableLinger) {
+        let consent = opts.enableLinger === true;
+        if (!consent && process.stdin.isTTY && process.stdout.isTTY) {
+          consent = await p.confirm({ message: "Allow Paperclip to run without an active login session? This runs 'loginctl enable-linger' for your user and may request system authorization.", initialValue: false }) === true;
+        }
+        if (consent) { await manager.enableLinger(); lingerEnabled = true; }
+      }
+      output({ installed: true, changed: result.changed, platform: manager.platform, serviceName: manager.serviceName, definitionPath: manager.definitionPath, lingerEnabled }, opts.json);
+    });
+
+  common(service.command("uninstall").description("Stop, disable, and remove the background service")).action(async (opts) => {
+    const manager = await resolveManager(opts); if (!manager) return;
+    await manager.uninstall();
+    const status = await manager.status();
+    if (status.installed || status.active) throw new Error(`${manager.serviceName} is still loaded after uninstall.`);
+    output({ uninstalled: true, serviceName: manager.serviceName }, opts.json);
+  });
+
+  for (const verb of ["start", "stop"] as const) {
+    common(service.command(verb).description(`${verb === "start" ? "Start" : "Stop"} the background service`)).action(async (opts) => {
+      const manager = await resolveManager(opts); if (!manager) return;
+      await manager[verb]();
+      output(await manager.status(), opts.json);
+    });
+  }
+
+  common(service.command("restart").description("Hot-restart the service while preserving active agent runs"))
+    .option("--wait", "Wait for active runs to drain instead of adopting them", false)
+    .option("--expected-version <version>", "Require the restarted server to report this version")
+    .action(async (opts) => output(await restartManagedService({ instanceId: opts.instance, expectedVersion: opts.expectedVersion, waitForDrain: opts.wait }), opts.json));
+
+  common(service.command("status").description("Show supervisor and health status")).action(async (opts) => {
+    const manager = await resolveManager(opts); if (!manager) return;
+    const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId(opts.instance);
+    output({ ...await manager.status(), health: await probeHealth(instanceId) }, opts.json);
+  });
+
+  common(service.command("logs").description("Show service logs"))
+    .option("-f, --follow", "Follow new log output", false)
+    .option("-n, --lines <count>", "Number of recent lines", "100")
+    .action(async (opts) => {
+      const manager = await resolveManager(opts); if (!manager) return;
+      const lines = Number.parseInt(opts.lines, 10);
+      if (!Number.isInteger(lines) || lines < 1) throw new Error("--lines must be a positive integer.");
+      await manager.logs(opts.follow, lines);
+    });
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/uninstall.ts b/cli/src/commands/uninstall.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2125df33aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/commands/uninstall.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import pc from "picocolors";
+import {
+  assertManagedInstallStore,
+  removeManagedPathBlock,
+  removeManagedShim,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+  withInstallStoreLock,
+} from "../install-store.js";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceId } from "../config/home.js";
+import { detectServiceManager, launchdServiceName, systemdServiceName } from "../services/service-manager.js";
+
+type UninstallDependencies = {
+  detectServiceManager: typeof detectServiceManager;
+  platform: NodeJS.Platform;
+  userHomeDir: string;
+};
+
+function otherServiceDefinitions(platform: NodeJS.Platform, userHomeDir: string, instanceId: string): string[] {
+  const directory = platform === "linux"
+    ? path.join(userHomeDir, ".config", "systemd", "user")
+    : platform === "darwin"
+      ? path.join(userHomeDir, "Library", "LaunchAgents")
+      : null;
+  if (!directory || !fs.existsSync(directory)) return [];
+  const currentName = platform === "linux"
+    ? systemdServiceName(instanceId)
+    : `${launchdServiceName(instanceId)}.plist`;
+  const pattern = platform === "linux"
+    ? /^paperclipai(?:-.+)?\.service$/
+    : /^ing\.paperclip\.paperclipai(?:\..+)?\.plist$/;
+  return fs.readdirSync(directory)
+    .filter((name) => name !== currentName && pattern.test(name))
+    .map((name) => path.join(directory, name));
+}
+
+export async function uninstallCommand(
+  dependencies: Partial<UninstallDependencies> = {},
+): Promise<void> {
+  const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId();
+  const detect = dependencies.detectServiceManager ?? detectServiceManager;
+  const platform = dependencies.platform ?? process.platform;
+  const userHomeDir = dependencies.userHomeDir ?? os.homedir();
+  const detection = await detect({ instanceId, platform });
+  const otherDefinitions = otherServiceDefinitions(platform, userHomeDir, instanceId);
+  if (otherDefinitions.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(`Cannot remove the shared managed CLI while other instance services are installed: ${otherDefinitions.join(", ")}. Uninstall those services first.`);
+  }
+  if (!detection.supported && platform === "linux") {
+    const definitionPath = path.join(
+      userHomeDir,
+      ".config",
+      "systemd",
+      "user",
+      systemdServiceName(instanceId),
+    );
+    if (fs.existsSync(definitionPath)) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Cannot verify or remove the background service: ${detection.reason}. Retry when the service manager is available.`,
+      );
+    }
+  }
+  if (detection.supported) {
+    const status = await detection.manager.status();
+    if (status.installed || status.active) await detection.manager.uninstall();
+  }
+
+  const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+  const hadStore = fs.existsSync(paths.cliRoot);
+  if (hadStore) assertManagedInstallStore(paths);
+  const shimRemoved = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => {
+    if (hadStore) assertManagedInstallStore(paths);
+    const removed = removeManagedShim(paths);
+
+    const home = process.env.HOME;
+    for (const rcFile of home ? [path.join(home, ".bashrc"), path.join(home, ".zshrc")] : []) {
+      removeManagedPathBlock(rcFile);
+    }
+    fs.rmSync(paths.cliRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    return removed;
+  }, paths, { initialize: !hadStore });
+
+  if (!shimRemoved) {
+    console.log(pc.yellow(`Left ${paths.shimPath} unchanged because it is not a Paperclip-managed shim.`));
+  }
+  console.log(pc.green("Removed the managed Paperclip CLI install."));
+  console.log(pc.dim(`User data was left untouched under ${paths.paperclipHome}.`));
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/update.ts b/cli/src/commands/update.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4c76fa3bd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/commands/update.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import * as p from "@clack/prompts";
+import pc from "picocolors";
+import { buildNextManifest, flipCurrentAtomic, isManagedExecutable, pruneInstallPayloads, readInstallManifest, resolveInstallStorePaths, withInstallStoreLock, writeInstallManifestAtomic, type InstallChannel, type InstallManifest, type InstallRecord, type InstallStorePaths } from "../install-store.js";
+import { dbBackupCommand } from "./db-backup.js";
+import { installGitPayload, installNpmPayload, PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY, resolveGitHubRef, resolvePublishedVersion, type CommandRunner } from "./install.js";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceId, resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot } from "../config/home.js";
+import { resolveConfigPath } from "../config/store.js";
+import { detectServiceManager } from "../services/service-manager.js";
+import { restartManagedService } from "./service.js";
+import { packageVersion } from "../version.js";
+
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+export type InstallMode = "managed" | "global-npm" | "npx" | "source" | "unknown";
+export type UpdateOptions = { canary?: boolean; latest?: boolean; version?: string; rollback?: boolean; check?: boolean; dryRun?: boolean; json?: boolean; yes?: boolean; backup?: boolean };
+type Dependencies = { executablePath: string; runCommand: CommandRunner; backup: () => Promise<void>; confirm: (message: string) => Promise<boolean>; now: () => Date; paths: InstallStorePaths; restartActiveService: (expectedVersion: string) => Promise<boolean>; hasInstanceData: () => boolean };
+
+const DATABASE_UNREACHABLE_CODES = new Set(["ECONNREFUSED", "EHOSTUNREACH", "ENETUNREACH", "ETIMEDOUT"]);
+
+function hasPaperclipInstanceData(): boolean {
+  return Boolean(process.env.DATABASE_URL?.trim())
+    || fs.existsSync(resolveConfigPath())
+    || fs.existsSync(resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot());
+}
+
+function isDatabaseUnreachableError(error: unknown): boolean {
+  const pending = [error];
+  const seen = new Set<unknown>();
+  while (pending.length > 0) {
+    const current = pending.pop();
+    if (current === null || current === undefined || seen.has(current)) continue;
+    seen.add(current);
+    if (typeof current === "string") {
+      if (/\b(?:ECONNREFUSED|EHOSTUNREACH|ENETUNREACH|ETIMEDOUT)\b|connection refused/i.test(current)) return true;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (typeof current !== "object") continue;
+    const record = current as Record<string, unknown>;
+    if (typeof record.code === "string" && DATABASE_UNREACHABLE_CODES.has(record.code)) return true;
+    if (typeof record.message === "string" && /\b(?:ECONNREFUSED|EHOSTUNREACH|ENETUNREACH|ETIMEDOUT)\b|connection refused/i.test(record.message)) return true;
+    if (record.cause !== undefined) pending.push(record.cause);
+    if (Array.isArray(record.errors)) pending.push(...record.errors);
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+async function runPreUpdateBackup(options: UpdateOptions, backup: () => Promise<void>, hasInstanceData = hasPaperclipInstanceData): Promise<void> {
+  if (!hasInstanceData()) {
+    const message = "Skipping the pre-update backup because this Paperclip instance has not been onboarded and has no data to back up.";
+    if (options.json) console.error(message); else console.log(pc.yellow(message));
+    return;
+  }
+  try {
+    await backup();
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (isDatabaseUnreachableError(error)) {
+      throw new Error(
+        "The Paperclip database is not running or reachable, so the pre-update backup cannot be taken. Start the service with `paperclipai service start` and retry, or skip the backup with `paperclipai update --no-backup`.",
+        { cause: error },
+      );
+    }
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
+async function restartActiveManagedService(expectedVersion: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId();
+  const detection = await detectServiceManager({ instanceId });
+  if (!detection.supported || !(await detection.manager.status()).active) return false;
+  await restartManagedService({ instanceId, expectedVersion });
+  return true;
+}
+
+export function detectInstallMode(executablePath = process.argv[1] ?? "", paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): InstallMode {
+  const resolved = path.resolve(executablePath || ".");
+  const manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+  if (manifest && isManagedExecutable(resolved, manifest, paths)) return "managed";
+  const normalized = resolved.split(path.sep).join("/");
+  if (normalized.includes("/.npm/_npx/") || normalized.includes("/node_modules/.cache/npx/")) return "npx";
+  if (normalized.includes("/node_modules/paperclipai/")) return "global-npm";
+  let cursor = path.dirname(resolved);
+  while (cursor !== path.dirname(cursor)) {
+    if (fs.existsSync(path.join(cursor, ".git"))) return "source";
+    cursor = path.dirname(cursor);
+  }
+  return "unknown";
+}
+
+export function compareVersions(left: string, right: string): number {
+  const parse = (value: string) => { const [core, prerelease = ""] = value.replace(/^v/, "").split("-", 2); return { numbers: core.split(".").map((part) => Number(part) || 0), prerelease }; };
+  const a = parse(left); const b = parse(right);
+  for (let index = 0; index < Math.max(a.numbers.length, b.numbers.length); index += 1) { const delta = (a.numbers[index] ?? 0) - (b.numbers[index] ?? 0); if (delta !== 0) return Math.sign(delta); }
+  if (a.prerelease === b.prerelease) return 0;
+  if (!a.prerelease) return 1;
+  if (!b.prerelease) return -1;
+  const aParts = a.prerelease.split(".");
+  const bParts = b.prerelease.split(".");
+  for (let index = 0; index < Math.max(aParts.length, bParts.length); index += 1) {
+    const leftPart = aParts[index];
+    const rightPart = bParts[index];
+    if (leftPart === undefined) return -1;
+    if (rightPart === undefined) return 1;
+    if (leftPart === rightPart) continue;
+    const leftNumeric = /^\d+$/.test(leftPart);
+    const rightNumeric = /^\d+$/.test(rightPart);
+    if (leftNumeric && rightNumeric) return Math.sign(Number(leftPart) - Number(rightPart));
+    if (leftNumeric !== rightNumeric) return leftNumeric ? -1 : 1;
+    return leftPart < rightPart ? -1 : 1;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+export function resolveUpdateRequest(manifest: InstallManifest | null, options: Pick<UpdateOptions, "canary" | "latest" | "version">): { spec: string; channel: InstallChannel; explicit: boolean } {
+  const selected = Number(Boolean(options.canary)) + Number(Boolean(options.latest)) + Number(Boolean(options.version));
+  if (selected > 1) throw new Error("Choose only one of --latest, --canary, or --version.");
+  if (options.version) return { spec: options.version.trim(), channel: "pinned", explicit: true };
+  if (options.canary) return { spec: "canary", channel: "canary", explicit: true };
+  if (options.latest) return { spec: "latest", channel: "latest", explicit: true };
+  if (manifest?.channel === "pinned") return { spec: manifest.version, channel: "pinned", explicit: false };
+  const channel = manifest?.channel === "canary" ? "canary" : "latest";
+  return { spec: channel, channel, explicit: false };
+}
+
+export function rollbackManagedInstall(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): InstallManifest {
+  const manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+  if (!manifest) throw new Error("No managed install was found to roll back.");
+  const target = manifest.previous[0];
+  if (!target) throw new Error("No previous managed payload is available for rollback.");
+  if (!fs.existsSync(target.payloadPath)) throw new Error(`Previous payload is missing: ${target.payloadPath}`);
+  const current: InstallRecord = { source: manifest.source, version: manifest.version, channel: manifest.channel, payloadPath: manifest.payloadPath, repo: manifest.repo, ref: manifest.ref, sha: manifest.sha, installedAt: manifest.installedAt };
+  const next: InstallManifest = { schemaVersion: manifest.schemaVersion, ...target, previous: [current, ...manifest.previous.slice(1)].slice(0, 2) };
+  const oldTarget = fs.readlinkSync(paths.currentPath);
+  flipCurrentAtomic(target.payloadPath, paths);
+  try { writeInstallManifestAtomic(next, paths); } catch (error) { flipCurrentAtomic(path.resolve(paths.cliRoot, oldTarget), paths); throw error; }
+  return next;
+}
+
+async function defaultConfirm(message: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  if (!process.stdin.isTTY || !process.stdout.isTTY) return false;
+  const answer = await p.confirm({ message, initialValue: false });
+  return !p.isCancel(answer) && answer === true;
+}
+function emit(options: UpdateOptions, value: Record<string, unknown>, message: string): void { if (options.json) console.log(JSON.stringify(value, null, 2)); else console.log(message); }
+
+async function rollbackAfterServiceValidationFailure(
+  paths: InstallStorePaths,
+  restartActiveService: (expectedVersion: string) => Promise<boolean>,
+  validationError: unknown,
+  payloadLabel: string,
+): Promise<never> {
+  const rolledBack = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => rollbackManagedInstall(paths), paths);
+  try {
+    await restartActiveService(rolledBack.version);
+  } catch (restartError) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `${payloadLabel} failed service validation and was rolled back to ${rolledBack.version}, but the rolled-back service also failed to restart.`,
+      { cause: new AggregateError([validationError, restartError]) },
+    );
+  }
+  throw new Error(`${payloadLabel} failed service validation and was rolled back to ${rolledBack.version}.`, { cause: validationError });
+}
+
+export async function updateCommand(options: UpdateOptions, overrides: Partial<Dependencies> = {}): Promise<void> {
+  const paths = overrides.paths ?? resolveInstallStorePaths();
+  const executablePath = overrides.executablePath ?? process.argv[1] ?? "";
+  const runCommand = overrides.runCommand ?? execFileAsync;
+  const mode = detectInstallMode(executablePath, paths);
+  const manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+  if (options.rollback) {
+    if (mode !== "managed") throw new Error("--rollback is only available for managed installs.");
+    if (options.dryRun) { emit(options, { mode, action: "rollback", dryRun: true, target: manifest?.previous[0]?.version ?? null }, `Would roll back to ${manifest?.previous[0]?.version ?? "the previous payload"}.`); return; }
+    const next = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => rollbackManagedInstall(paths), paths);
+    const restarted = await (overrides.restartActiveService ?? restartActiveManagedService)(next.version);
+    emit(options, { mode, action: "rollback", version: next.version, restarted }, pc.green(`Rolled back to paperclipai ${next.version}${restarted ? " and restarted the active service" : ""}. Database migrations are not reversed; restore the pre-update backup if needed.`));
+    return;
+  }
+  if (mode === "npx") { emit(options, { mode, action: "install" }, "This is an ephemeral npx install. Run `paperclipai install`, then use `paperclipai update` from the managed shim."); return; }
+  if (mode === "source" || mode === "unknown") { emit(options, { mode, action: "manual" }, "This appears to be a source checkout. Update it with `git pull` followed by `pnpm install`; Paperclip will not mutate the repository."); return; }
+  const request = resolveUpdateRequest(mode === "managed" ? manifest : null, options);
+  if (mode === "managed" && manifest?.source === "git") {
+    if (!manifest.repo || !manifest.ref || !manifest.sha) throw new Error("Managed git install metadata is incomplete.");
+    if (/^[0-9a-f]{7,40}$/i.test(manifest.ref)) { emit(options, { mode, source: "git", pinned: true, sha: manifest.sha }, `Git install is pinned at ${manifest.sha.slice(0, 12)}.`); return; }
+    const targetSha = await resolveGitHubRef(manifest.repo, manifest.ref, runCommand);
+    if (targetSha === manifest.sha) { emit(options, { mode, source: "git", changed: false, sha: targetSha, ref: manifest.ref }, `${manifest.repo}@${manifest.ref} is already at ${targetSha.slice(0, 12)}.`); return; }
+    if (options.check || options.dryRun) { emit(options, { mode, source: "git", changed: true, currentSha: manifest.sha, targetSha, ref: manifest.ref, dryRun: Boolean(options.dryRun) }, `Git update available: ${manifest.sha.slice(0, 12)} → ${targetSha.slice(0, 12)}.`); if (options.check) process.exitCode = 10; return; }
+    if (options.yes !== true) {
+      const confirmed = await (overrides.confirm ?? defaultConfirm)(`Update from ${manifest.repo}@${manifest.ref} and execute build scripts from commit ${targetSha.slice(0, 12)}?`);
+      if (!confirmed) throw new Error("Git update cancelled. Re-run with --yes to confirm executing build scripts from the updated commit.");
+    }
+    if (options.backup !== false) await runPreUpdateBackup(options, overrides.backup ?? (() => dbBackupCommand({})), overrides.hasInstanceData);
+    const installed = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => {
+      const payload = await installGitPayload(manifest.repo!, targetSha, runCommand, paths);
+      const record: InstallRecord = { source: "git", version: payload.version, channel: "pinned", repo: manifest.repo, ref: manifest.ref, sha: targetSha, payloadPath: payload.payloadPath, installedAt: (overrides.now?.() ?? new Date()).toISOString() };
+      const next = buildNextManifest(record, manifest); const oldTarget = fs.readlinkSync(paths.currentPath); flipCurrentAtomic(payload.payloadPath, paths);
+      try { writeInstallManifestAtomic(next, paths); } catch (error) { flipCurrentAtomic(path.resolve(paths.cliRoot, oldTarget), paths); throw error; }
+      pruneInstallPayloads(next, paths); return payload;
+    }, paths);
+    let restarted: boolean;
+    try {
+      restarted = await (overrides.restartActiveService ?? restartActiveManagedService)(installed.version);
+    } catch (error) {
+      return rollbackAfterServiceValidationFailure(
+        paths,
+        overrides.restartActiveService ?? restartActiveManagedService,
+        error,
+        "Updated git payload",
+      );
+    }
+    emit(options, { mode, source: "git", changed: true, currentSha: manifest.sha, targetSha, reused: installed.reused, restarted }, pc.yellow(`Updated unreleased git payload ${manifest.sha.slice(0, 12)} → ${targetSha.slice(0, 12)} from ${manifest.repo}@${manifest.ref}${restarted ? " and restarted the active service" : ""}.`));
+    return;
+  }
+  const targetVersion = await resolvePublishedVersion(request.spec, runCommand);
+  const currentVersion = manifest?.version ?? (mode === "global-npm" ? packageVersion : undefined);
+  const comparison = currentVersion ? compareVersions(targetVersion, currentVersion) : 1;
+  if (options.check) { emit(options, { mode, currentVersion: currentVersion ?? null, targetVersion, updateAvailable: comparison > 0, downgrade: comparison < 0, channel: request.channel }, comparison > 0 ? `Update available: ${targetVersion}` : comparison < 0 ? `Target ${targetVersion} is older than ${currentVersion}.` : `paperclipai ${targetVersion} is current.`); if (comparison > 0) process.exitCode = 10; return; }
+  if (mode === "global-npm") {
+    if (comparison < 0 && options.yes !== true) { const confirmed = await (overrides.confirm ?? defaultConfirm)(`Downgrade paperclipai from ${currentVersion} to ${targetVersion}?`); if (!confirmed) throw new Error("Downgrade cancelled. Re-run with --yes to confirm explicitly."); }
+    const args = ["install", "-g", `paperclipai@${targetVersion}`, `--registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}`, `--@paperclipai:registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}`]; console.log(`Running: npm ${args.join(" ")}`);
+    if (!options.dryRun) {
+      const npmConfigDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "paperclip-npm-"));
+      const npmUserConfigPath = path.join(npmConfigDir, "npmrc");
+      try {
+        fs.writeFileSync(npmUserConfigPath, `registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}\n@paperclipai:registry=${PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY}\n`, { mode: 0o600 });
+        await runCommand("npm", args, {
+          env: {
+            ...process.env,
+            npm_config_registry: PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY,
+            NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY: PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY,
+            npm_config_userconfig: npmUserConfigPath,
+            NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG: npmUserConfigPath,
+          },
+          maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024,
+        });
+      } finally {
+        fs.rmSync(npmConfigDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      }
+    }
+    emit(options, { mode, action: "update", targetVersion, dryRun: Boolean(options.dryRun), command: ["npm", ...args] }, options.dryRun ? "Dry run complete." : pc.green(`Updated global npm install to ${targetVersion}.`)); return;
+  }
+  if (!manifest) throw new Error("Managed install metadata is missing.");
+  if (comparison === 0) { emit(options, { mode, currentVersion, targetVersion, changed: false }, `paperclipai ${targetVersion} is already active.`); return; }
+  if (comparison < 0 && options.yes !== true) { const confirmed = await (overrides.confirm ?? defaultConfirm)(`Downgrade paperclipai from ${currentVersion} to ${targetVersion}?`); if (!confirmed) throw new Error("Downgrade cancelled. Re-run with --yes to confirm explicitly."); }
+  if (options.dryRun) { emit(options, { mode, currentVersion, targetVersion, action: comparison < 0 ? "downgrade" : "update", backup: options.backup !== false, dryRun: true }, `Would ${comparison < 0 ? "downgrade" : "update"} paperclipai ${currentVersion} → ${targetVersion}${options.backup === false ? " without a backup" : " after a database backup"}.`); return; }
+  if (options.backup !== false) await runPreUpdateBackup(options, overrides.backup ?? (() => dbBackupCommand({})), overrides.hasInstanceData);
+  const installed = await withInstallStoreLock(async () => {
+    const payload = await installNpmPayload(targetVersion, runCommand, paths);
+    const record: InstallRecord = { source: "npm", version: targetVersion, channel: request.channel, payloadPath: payload.payloadPath, installedAt: (overrides.now?.() ?? new Date()).toISOString() };
+    const next = buildNextManifest(record, manifest); const oldTarget = fs.readlinkSync(paths.currentPath); flipCurrentAtomic(payload.payloadPath, paths);
+    try { writeInstallManifestAtomic(next, paths); } catch (error) { flipCurrentAtomic(path.resolve(paths.cliRoot, oldTarget), paths); throw error; }
+    pruneInstallPayloads(next, paths); return payload;
+  }, paths);
+  let restarted: boolean;
+  try {
+    restarted = await (overrides.restartActiveService ?? restartActiveManagedService)(targetVersion);
+  } catch (error) {
+    return rollbackAfterServiceValidationFailure(
+      paths,
+      overrides.restartActiveService ?? restartActiveManagedService,
+      error,
+      "Updated payload",
+    );
+  }
+  emit(options, { mode, currentVersion, targetVersion, changed: true, reused: installed.reused, restarted }, pc.green(`Updated paperclipai ${currentVersion} → ${targetVersion}${restarted ? " and restarted the active service" : ""}. Run \`paperclipai update --rollback\` for an instant payload rollback.`));
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/index.ts b/cli/src/index.ts
index c53454636e..fd8d1ee4f7 100644
--- a/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -42,16 +42,52 @@ import { registerAdapterCommands } from "./commands/client/adapter.js";
 import { registerAssetCommands } from "./commands/client/asset.js";
 import { registerSkillCommands } from "./commands/client/skill.js";
 import { cliVersion } from "./version.js";
+import { installCommand } from "./commands/install.js";
+import { uninstallCommand } from "./commands/uninstall.js";
+import { updateCommand } from "./commands/update.js";
+import { registerServiceCommands } from "./commands/service.js";
 
 const program = new Command();
 const DATA_DIR_OPTION_HELP =
   "Paperclip data directory root (isolates state from ~/.paperclip)";
 
+program.enablePositionalOptions();
+
 program
   .name("paperclipai")
   .description("Paperclip CLI — setup, diagnose, and configure your instance")
   .version(cliVersion);
 
+program
+  .command("install")
+  .description("Install Paperclip into a managed per-user CLI store")
+  .option("--canary", "Install the npm canary channel")
+  .option("--version <version>", "Install an exact published npm version")
+  .option("--ref <ref>", "Install a GitHub branch, tag, or commit SHA")
+  .option("--repo <owner/name>", "Override the GitHub repository used with --ref")
+  .option("-y, --yes", "Consent to git-ref code execution and supported shell PATH updates without prompting")
+  .action(installCommand);
+
+program
+  .command("uninstall")
+  .description("Remove the managed CLI install while preserving user data")
+  .action(uninstallCommand);
+
+program
+  .command("update")
+  .alias("upgrade")
+  .description("Check, update, or roll back the Paperclip CLI")
+  .option("--latest", "Switch to the latest stable channel")
+  .option("--canary", "Switch to the canary channel")
+  .option("--version <version>", "Install an exact published version")
+  .option("--rollback", "Flip back to the retained previous managed payload")
+  .option("--check", "Check for an available update without applying it")
+  .option("--dry-run", "Print the action without changing anything")
+  .option("--json", "Print machine-readable output")
+  .option("-y, --yes", "Confirm an explicit downgrade")
+  .option("--no-backup", "Skip the pre-update database backup")
+  .action(updateCommand);
+
 program.hook("preAction", (_thisCommand, actionCommand) => {
   const options = actionCommand.optsWithGlobals() as DataDirOptionLike;
   const optionNames = new Set(actionCommand.options.map((option) => option.attributeName()));
@@ -70,6 +106,8 @@ program
   .option("-d, --data-dir <path>", DATA_DIR_OPTION_HELP)
   .option("--bind <mode>", "Quickstart reachability preset (loopback, lan, tailnet)")
   .option("-y, --yes", "Accept quickstart defaults (trusted local loopback unless --bind is set) and start immediately", false)
+  .option("--install-service", "Install and start the background service after onboarding")
+  .option("--no-install-service", "Do not install or suggest the background service")
   .option("--run", "Start Paperclip immediately after saving config", false)
   .action(onboard);
 
@@ -130,9 +168,11 @@ const run = program
   .option("--bind <mode>", "On first run, use onboarding reachability preset (loopback, lan, tailnet)")
   .option("--repair", "Attempt automatic repairs during doctor", true)
   .option("--no-repair", "Disable automatic repairs during doctor")
+  .option("--force", "Run even when the same instance is active under the service manager")
   .action(runCommand);
 
 registerRunCommands(run);
+registerServiceCommands(program);
 
 const heartbeat = program.command("heartbeat").description("Heartbeat utilities");
 
diff --git a/cli/src/install-store.ts b/cli/src/install-store.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a89e867dc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/install-store.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,483 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { resolvePaperclipHomeDir } from "./config/home.js";
+
+export const INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION = 1;
+export const MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER = "paperclipai managed install shim v1";
+export const MANAGED_STORE_MARKER = "paperclipai managed install store v1\n";
+export const PATH_BLOCK_START = "# >>> paperclipai managed PATH >>>";
+export const PATH_BLOCK_END = "# <<< paperclipai managed PATH <<<";
+
+export type InstallSource = "npm" | "git";
+export type InstallChannel = "latest" | "canary" | "pinned";
+
+export type InstallRecord = {
+  source: InstallSource;
+  version: string;
+  channel: InstallChannel;
+  payloadPath: string;
+  repo?: string;
+  ref?: string;
+  sha?: string;
+  installedAt: string;
+};
+
+export type InstallManifest = InstallRecord & {
+  schemaVersion: typeof INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION;
+  previous: InstallRecord[];
+};
+
+export type InstallStorePaths = {
+  paperclipHome: string;
+  cliRoot: string;
+  installsRoot: string;
+  manifestPath: string;
+  markerPath: string;
+  lockPath: string;
+  currentPath: string;
+  shimPath: string;
+};
+
+function ensurePrivateDirectory(directoryPath: string): void {
+  fs.mkdirSync(directoryPath, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const stat = fs.lstatSync(directoryPath);
+  if (!stat.isDirectory() || stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to use non-directory install-store path ${directoryPath}.`);
+  }
+  fs.chmodSync(directoryPath, 0o700);
+}
+
+function assertOwnedByCurrentUser(stat: fs.Stats, targetPath: string): void {
+  const getuid = process.getuid;
+  if (typeof getuid === "function" && stat.uid !== getuid()) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to modify path not owned by the current user: ${targetPath}.`);
+  }
+}
+
+function writeFileAtomic(filePath: string, contents: string, mode: number): void {
+  const temporaryPath = path.join(
+    path.dirname(filePath),
+    `.${path.basename(filePath)}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`,
+  );
+  try {
+    fs.writeFileSync(temporaryPath, contents, { mode, flag: "wx" });
+    fs.renameSync(temporaryPath, filePath);
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(temporaryPath, { force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+export function resolveInstallStorePaths(options: {
+  paperclipHome?: string;
+  homeDir?: string;
+} = {}): InstallStorePaths {
+  const paperclipHome = path.resolve(options.paperclipHome ?? resolvePaperclipHomeDir());
+  const homeDir = path.resolve(options.homeDir ?? process.env.HOME ?? path.dirname(paperclipHome));
+  const cliRoot = path.join(paperclipHome, "cli");
+  return {
+    paperclipHome,
+    cliRoot,
+    installsRoot: path.join(cliRoot, "installs"),
+    manifestPath: path.join(cliRoot, "install.json"),
+    markerPath: path.join(cliRoot, ".managed-install"),
+    lockPath: path.join(cliRoot, ".install.lock"),
+    currentPath: path.join(cliRoot, "current"),
+    shimPath: path.join(homeDir, ".local", "bin", "paperclipai"),
+  };
+}
+
+export function initializeInstallStore(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): void {
+  ensurePrivateDirectory(paths.cliRoot);
+  ensurePrivateDirectory(paths.installsRoot);
+  try {
+    const markerStat = fs.lstatSync(paths.markerPath);
+    if (!markerStat.isFile() || markerStat.isSymbolicLink() || markerStat.nlink > 1) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to use unsafe install-store marker ${paths.markerPath}.`);
+    }
+    assertOwnedByCurrentUser(markerStat, paths.markerPath);
+    if (fs.readFileSync(paths.markerPath, "utf8") !== MANAGED_STORE_MARKER) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to use unrecognized install store ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+    try {
+      fs.writeFileSync(paths.markerPath, MANAGED_STORE_MARKER, { mode: 0o600, flag: "wx" });
+    } catch (writeError) {
+      if (
+        (writeError as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "EEXIST" ||
+        fs.readFileSync(paths.markerPath, "utf8") !== MANAGED_STORE_MARKER
+      ) {
+        throw writeError;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export function assertManagedInstallStore(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): InstallManifest {
+  const cliStat = fs.lstatSync(paths.cliRoot);
+  if (!cliStat.isDirectory() || cliStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to remove unsafe install-store path ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+  }
+  assertOwnedByCurrentUser(cliStat, paths.cliRoot);
+  let markerStat: fs.Stats;
+  try {
+    markerStat = fs.lstatSync(paths.markerPath);
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to remove unverified install store ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+    }
+    throw error;
+  }
+  if (!markerStat.isFile() || markerStat.isSymbolicLink() || markerStat.nlink > 1) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to remove unverified install store ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+  }
+  assertOwnedByCurrentUser(markerStat, paths.markerPath);
+  if (fs.readFileSync(paths.markerPath, "utf8") !== MANAGED_STORE_MARKER) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to remove unverified install store ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+  }
+  const manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+  if (!manifest) throw new Error(`Refusing to remove install store without a manifest at ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+  const relativePayload = path.relative(paths.installsRoot, path.resolve(manifest.payloadPath));
+  if (!relativePayload || relativePayload.startsWith("..") || path.isAbsolute(relativePayload)) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to remove install store with an invalid manifest at ${paths.cliRoot}.`);
+  }
+  return manifest;
+}
+
+export async function withInstallStoreLock<T>(
+  callback: () => Promise<T>,
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+  options: { initialize?: boolean } = {},
+): Promise<T> {
+  if (options.initialize !== false) initializeInstallStore(paths);
+  const token = `${process.pid}:${Date.now()}:${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`;
+  const processIsAlive = (pid: number): boolean => {
+    try {
+      process.kill(pid, 0);
+      return true;
+    } catch (error) {
+      return (error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "EPERM";
+    }
+  };
+  const acquire = (): void => {
+    const temporaryPath = `${paths.lockPath}.${token}.tmp`;
+    try {
+      fs.writeFileSync(temporaryPath, `${token}\n`, { mode: 0o600, flag: "wx" });
+      try {
+        fs.linkSync(temporaryPath, paths.lockPath);
+        return;
+      } catch (error) {
+        if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "EEXIST") throw error;
+      }
+      const owner = fs.readFileSync(paths.lockPath, "utf8").trim();
+      const ownerPid = Number.parseInt(owner.split(":", 1)[0] ?? "", 10);
+      if (Number.isInteger(ownerPid) && ownerPid > 0 && !processIsAlive(ownerPid)) {
+        fs.rmSync(paths.lockPath);
+        fs.rmSync(temporaryPath, { force: true });
+        acquire();
+        return;
+      }
+      const ownerLabel = Number.isInteger(ownerPid) && ownerPid > 0 ? ` (pid ${ownerPid})` : "";
+      throw new Error(
+        `Another managed install is already running${ownerLabel}. ` +
+        `If no install process is active, remove the stale lock at ${paths.lockPath} and retry.`,
+      );
+    } finally {
+      fs.rmSync(temporaryPath, { force: true });
+    }
+  };
+
+  acquire();
+  try {
+    return await callback();
+  } finally {
+    try {
+      if (fs.readFileSync(paths.lockPath, "utf8").trim() === token) {
+        fs.rmSync(paths.lockPath, { force: true });
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export function payloadPathFor(
+  paths: InstallStorePaths,
+  source: InstallSource,
+  identifier: string,
+): string {
+  if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9._-]+$/.test(identifier)) {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid install payload identifier '${identifier}'.`);
+  }
+  return path.join(paths.installsRoot, source, identifier);
+}
+
+export function readInstallManifest(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): InstallManifest | null {
+  try {
+    const value = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(paths.manifestPath, "utf8")) as InstallManifest;
+    if (
+      value.schemaVersion !== INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION ||
+      (value.source !== "npm" && value.source !== "git") ||
+      !Array.isArray(value.previous) ||
+      typeof value.payloadPath !== "string"
+    ) {
+      throw new Error("unsupported manifest shape");
+    }
+    return value;
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") return null;
+    throw new Error(`Could not read managed install manifest at ${paths.manifestPath}: ${String(error)}`);
+  }
+}
+
+export function writeInstallManifestAtomic(
+  manifest: InstallManifest,
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+): void {
+  ensurePrivateDirectory(paths.cliRoot);
+  const temporaryPath = `${paths.manifestPath}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`;
+  try {
+    fs.writeFileSync(temporaryPath, `${JSON.stringify(manifest, null, 2)}\n`, { mode: 0o600 });
+    fs.renameSync(temporaryPath, paths.manifestPath);
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(temporaryPath, { force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+function assertPayloadPath(payloadPath: string, paths: InstallStorePaths): void {
+  const relative = path.relative(paths.installsRoot, path.resolve(payloadPath));
+  if (!relative || relative.startsWith("..") || path.isAbsolute(relative)) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to activate payload outside ${paths.installsRoot}.`);
+  }
+  const stat = fs.lstatSync(payloadPath);
+  if (!stat.isDirectory() || stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to activate non-directory payload ${payloadPath}.`);
+  }
+  const installsRealPath = fs.realpathSync(paths.installsRoot);
+  const payloadRealPath = fs.realpathSync(payloadPath);
+  if (!payloadRealPath.startsWith(`${installsRealPath}${path.sep}`)) {
+    throw new Error(`Refusing to activate payload that resolves outside ${paths.installsRoot}.`);
+  }
+}
+
+export function flipCurrentAtomic(
+  payloadPath: string,
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+  hooks: { beforeRename?: () => void } = {},
+): void {
+  assertPayloadPath(payloadPath, paths);
+  ensurePrivateDirectory(paths.cliRoot);
+  try {
+    const currentStat = fs.lstatSync(paths.currentPath);
+    if (!currentStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to replace non-symlink ${paths.currentPath}.`);
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+  }
+
+  const temporaryLink = path.join(
+    paths.cliRoot,
+    `.current-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`,
+  );
+  const relativeTarget = path.relative(paths.cliRoot, payloadPath);
+  try {
+    fs.symlinkSync(relativeTarget, temporaryLink, "dir");
+    hooks.beforeRename?.();
+    fs.renameSync(temporaryLink, paths.currentPath);
+  } finally {
+    fs.rmSync(temporaryLink, { force: true });
+  }
+}
+
+export function buildNextManifest(
+  record: InstallRecord,
+  current: InstallManifest | null,
+): InstallManifest {
+  const candidates: InstallRecord[] = current
+    ? [
+        {
+          source: current.source,
+          version: current.version,
+          channel: current.channel,
+          payloadPath: current.payloadPath,
+          repo: current.repo,
+          ref: current.ref,
+          sha: current.sha,
+          installedAt: current.installedAt,
+        },
+        ...current.previous,
+      ]
+    : [];
+  const previous = candidates
+    .filter((candidate) => path.resolve(candidate.payloadPath) !== path.resolve(record.payloadPath))
+    .filter(
+      (candidate, index, all) =>
+        all.findIndex((other) => path.resolve(other.payloadPath) === path.resolve(candidate.payloadPath)) ===
+        index,
+    )
+    .slice(0, 2);
+
+  return { schemaVersion: INSTALL_MANIFEST_VERSION, ...record, previous };
+}
+
+export function pruneInstallPayloads(
+  manifest: InstallManifest,
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+): string[] {
+  const retained = new Set(
+    [manifest, ...manifest.previous].map((record) => path.resolve(record.payloadPath)),
+  );
+  const removed: string[] = [];
+  for (const source of ["npm", "git"] as const) {
+    const sourceRoot = path.join(paths.installsRoot, source);
+    if (!fs.existsSync(sourceRoot)) continue;
+    const sourceStat = fs.lstatSync(sourceRoot);
+    if (!sourceStat.isDirectory() || sourceStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to prune unsafe install-store path ${sourceRoot}.`);
+    }
+    for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(sourceRoot)) {
+      if (entry.startsWith(".")) continue;
+      const candidate = path.join(sourceRoot, entry);
+      if (!retained.has(path.resolve(candidate))) {
+        fs.rmSync(candidate, { recursive: true, force: true });
+        removed.push(candidate);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return removed;
+}
+
+export function assertManagedShimWritable(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): void {
+  const homeDir = path.dirname(path.dirname(path.dirname(paths.shimPath)));
+  for (const directoryPath of [homeDir, path.join(homeDir, ".local"), path.dirname(paths.shimPath)]) {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(directoryPath)) continue;
+    const directoryStat = fs.lstatSync(directoryPath);
+    if (!directoryStat.isDirectory() || directoryStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to use unsafe shim directory ${directoryPath}.`);
+    }
+    assertOwnedByCurrentUser(directoryStat, directoryPath);
+  }
+  try {
+    const stat = fs.lstatSync(paths.shimPath);
+    if (!stat.isFile() || stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to replace non-regular shim ${paths.shimPath}.`);
+    }
+    assertOwnedByCurrentUser(stat, paths.shimPath);
+    if (stat.nlink > 1) throw new Error(`Refusing to replace multiply linked shim ${paths.shimPath}.`);
+    const existing = fs.readFileSync(paths.shimPath, "utf8");
+    if (!isManagedShimContents(existing)) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to replace existing non-managed command ${paths.shimPath}.`);
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+  }
+}
+
+function shellQuote(value: string): string {
+  return `'${value.replace(/'/g, `'"'"'`)}'`;
+}
+
+function isManagedShimContents(contents: string): boolean {
+  const lines = contents.split("\n");
+  return (
+    lines.length === 5 &&
+    lines[0] === "#!/bin/sh" &&
+    lines[1] === `# ${MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER}` &&
+    lines[2] === "set -eu" &&
+    /^exec '(?:[^']|'"'"')+' '(?:[^']|'"'"')+' "\$@"$/.test(lines[3]) &&
+    lines[4] === ""
+  );
+}
+
+export function writeManagedShim(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): void {
+  assertManagedShimWritable(paths);
+  const homeDir = path.dirname(path.dirname(path.dirname(paths.shimPath)));
+  const localDir = path.dirname(path.dirname(paths.shimPath));
+  fs.mkdirSync(homeDir, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  fs.mkdirSync(localDir, { recursive: true, mode: 0o755 });
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(paths.shimPath), { recursive: true, mode: 0o755 });
+  assertManagedShimWritable(paths);
+  const entrypoint = path.join(paths.currentPath, "node_modules", "paperclipai", "dist", "index.js");
+  const contents = `#!/bin/sh\n# ${MANAGED_SHIM_MARKER}\nset -eu\nexec ${shellQuote(process.execPath)} ${shellQuote(entrypoint)} "\$@"\n`;
+  writeFileAtomic(paths.shimPath, contents, 0o755);
+}
+
+export function removeManagedShim(paths = resolveInstallStorePaths()): boolean {
+  try {
+    const contents = fs.readFileSync(paths.shimPath, "utf8");
+    if (!isManagedShimContents(contents)) return false;
+    fs.rmSync(paths.shimPath, { force: true });
+    return true;
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") return true;
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
+export function managedPathBlock(): string {
+  return `${PATH_BLOCK_START}\nexport PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"\n${PATH_BLOCK_END}`;
+}
+
+export function addManagedPathBlock(rcPath: string): boolean {
+  let existing = "";
+  let mode = 0o600;
+  try {
+    const stat = fs.lstatSync(rcPath);
+    if (!stat.isFile() || stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to modify non-regular shell rc file ${rcPath}.`);
+    }
+    assertOwnedByCurrentUser(stat, rcPath);
+    mode = stat.mode & 0o777;
+    existing = fs.readFileSync(rcPath, "utf8");
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+  }
+  if (existing.includes(PATH_BLOCK_START)) return false;
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(rcPath), { recursive: true });
+  const prefix = existing.length > 0 && !existing.endsWith("\n") ? "\n" : "";
+  writeFileAtomic(rcPath, `${existing}${prefix}${managedPathBlock()}\n`, mode);
+  return true;
+}
+
+export function removeManagedPathBlock(rcPath: string): boolean {
+  let existing: string;
+  let mode: number;
+  try {
+    const stat = fs.lstatSync(rcPath);
+    if (!stat.isFile() || stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      throw new Error(`Refusing to modify non-regular shell rc file ${rcPath}.`);
+    }
+    assertOwnedByCurrentUser(stat, rcPath);
+    mode = stat.mode & 0o777;
+    existing = fs.readFileSync(rcPath, "utf8");
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") return false;
+    throw error;
+  }
+  const escapedStart = PATH_BLOCK_START.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+  const escapedEnd = PATH_BLOCK_END.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+  const next = existing.replace(new RegExp(`(?:^|\\n)${escapedStart}\\n[\\s\\S]*?${escapedEnd}\\n?`), "\n");
+  if (next === existing) return false;
+  writeFileAtomic(rcPath, next.replace(/^\n/, ""), mode);
+  return true;
+}
+
+export function isManagedExecutable(
+  executablePath: string | undefined,
+  manifest: InstallManifest,
+  paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(),
+): boolean {
+  if (!executablePath) return false;
+  try {
+    const executableRealPath = fs.realpathSync(executablePath);
+    const payloadRealPath = fs.realpathSync(manifest.payloadPath);
+    const currentRealPath = fs.realpathSync(paths.currentPath);
+    return (
+      currentRealPath === payloadRealPath &&
+      executableRealPath.startsWith(`${payloadRealPath}${path.sep}`)
+    );
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/onboard-service.ts b/cli/src/onboard-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..50cc8e052f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/onboard-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import * as p from "@clack/prompts";
+import pc from "picocolors";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceId } from "./config/home.js";
+import {
+  detectServiceManager,
+  type ServiceManagerDetection,
+} from "./services/service-manager.js";
+
+export type OnboardServiceOptions = {
+  yes?: boolean;
+  installService?: boolean;
+};
+
+type OnboardServiceDependencies = {
+  detect: (instanceId: string) => Promise<ServiceManagerDetection>;
+  confirm: () => Promise<boolean>;
+  confirmLinger: () => Promise<boolean>;
+  isInteractive: () => boolean;
+  info: (message: string) => void;
+  success: (message: string) => void;
+  warn: (message: string) => void;
+};
+
+const defaultDependencies: OnboardServiceDependencies = {
+  detect: (instanceId) => detectServiceManager({ instanceId }),
+  confirm: async () => {
+    const answer = await p.confirm({
+      message: "Install Paperclip as a background service?",
+      initialValue: true,
+    });
+    return !p.isCancel(answer) && answer === true;
+  },
+  confirmLinger: async () => {
+    const answer = await p.confirm({
+      message: "Allow Paperclip to keep running after logout? This may request system authorization.",
+      initialValue: false,
+    });
+    return !p.isCancel(answer) && answer === true;
+  },
+  isInteractive: () => process.stdin.isTTY === true && process.stdout.isTTY === true,
+  info: (message) => p.log.message(pc.dim(message)),
+  success: (message) => p.log.success(message),
+  warn: (message) => p.log.warn(message),
+};
+
+export async function handleOnboardService(
+  options: OnboardServiceOptions,
+  dependencies: Partial<OnboardServiceDependencies> = {},
+): Promise<boolean> {
+  const deps = { ...defaultDependencies, ...dependencies };
+  if (options.installService === false) return false;
+
+  const explicitlyRequested = options.installService === true;
+  const canPrompt = options.yes !== true && deps.isInteractive();
+  if (!explicitlyRequested && !canPrompt) {
+    deps.info(
+      "Background service not installed. Use `paperclipai onboard --install-service` or `paperclipai service install` to opt in.",
+    );
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId();
+  const detection = await deps.detect(instanceId);
+  if (!detection.supported) {
+    if (explicitlyRequested) deps.warn(detection.reason);
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  if (!explicitlyRequested && !(await deps.confirm())) return false;
+
+  await detection.manager.install({ startNow: true, startOnLogin: true });
+  if (!explicitlyRequested && detection.manager.enableLinger && await deps.confirmLinger()) {
+    await detection.manager.enableLinger();
+  }
+  deps.success(`Installed and started ${detection.manager.serviceName}.`);
+  return true;
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/services/service-manager.ts b/cli/src/services/service-manager.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f284afa59b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/services/service-manager.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import { resolvePaperclipHomeDir, resolvePaperclipInstanceId } from "../config/home.js";
+
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+
+export type ServicePlatform = "systemd" | "launchd";
+export type ServiceStatus = {
+  platform: ServicePlatform;
+  serviceName: string;
+  installed: boolean;
+  active: boolean;
+  enabled: boolean;
+  pid: number | null;
+  detail?: string;
+  linger?: boolean | null;
+};
+export type ServiceInstallOptions = { startNow: boolean; startOnLogin: boolean };
+
+export interface ServiceManager {
+  readonly platform: ServicePlatform;
+  readonly instanceId: string;
+  readonly serviceName: string;
+  readonly definitionPath: string;
+  renderDefinition(): string;
+  install(options: ServiceInstallOptions): Promise<{ changed: boolean }>;
+  uninstall(): Promise<void>;
+  start(): Promise<void>;
+  stop(): Promise<void>;
+  restart(): Promise<void>;
+  status(): Promise<ServiceStatus>;
+  logs(follow: boolean, lines: number): Promise<void>;
+  enableLinger?(): Promise<void>;
+}
+
+export type CommandResult = { stdout: string; stderr: string };
+export type CommandRunner = (command: string, args: string[], options?: { inherit?: boolean }) => Promise<CommandResult>;
+
+export const defaultCommandRunner: CommandRunner = async (command, args, options) => {
+  if (options?.inherit) {
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+      const child = execFile(command, args, { windowsHide: true }, (error) => error ? reject(error) : resolve());
+      child.stdout?.pipe(process.stdout);
+      child.stderr?.pipe(process.stderr);
+    });
+    return { stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+  }
+  const result = await execFileAsync(command, args, { encoding: "utf8", windowsHide: true });
+  return { stdout: result.stdout, stderr: result.stderr };
+};
+
+function escapeSystemd(value: string): string {
+  if (/\r|\n/.test(value)) {
+    throw new Error("Systemd service values must not contain line breaks");
+  }
+  return value
+    .replaceAll("\\", "\\\\")
+    .replaceAll('"', '\\"')
+    .replaceAll("$", () => "$$")
+    .replaceAll("%", "%%");
+}
+
+function escapeXml(value: string): string {
+  return value.replaceAll("&", "&amp;").replaceAll("<", "&lt;").replaceAll(">", "&gt;").replaceAll('"', "&quot;").replaceAll("'", "&apos;");
+}
+
+function escapeRegExp(value: string): string {
+  return value.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+}
+
+export function resolveServiceShimPath(homeDir = os.homedir()): string {
+  return process.env.PAPERCLIP_SHIM_PATH?.trim() || path.join(homeDir, ".local", "bin", "paperclipai");
+}
+
+export function systemdServiceName(instanceId: string): string {
+  return instanceId === "default" ? "paperclipai.service" : `paperclipai-${instanceId}.service`;
+}
+
+export function launchdServiceName(instanceId: string): string {
+  return instanceId === "default" ? "ing.paperclip.paperclipai" : `ing.paperclip.paperclipai.${instanceId}`;
+}
+
+export function renderSystemdUnit(input: { instanceId: string; shimPath: string; homeDir: string }): string {
+  return `[Unit]
+Description=Paperclip AI (${escapeSystemd(input.instanceId)})
+After=network.target
+StartLimitIntervalSec=60
+StartLimitBurst=5
+
+[Service]
+Type=notify
+NotifyAccess=all
+ExecStart="${escapeSystemd(input.shimPath)}" run --instance "${escapeSystemd(input.instanceId)}"
+Environment="PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED=1"
+Environment="PAPERCLIP_INSTANCE_ID=${escapeSystemd(input.instanceId)}"
+Environment="PAPERCLIP_HOME=${escapeSystemd(input.homeDir)}"
+WorkingDirectory=%h
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=5
+TimeoutStopSec=300
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
+`;
+}
+
+export function renderLaunchdPlist(input: { instanceId: string; shimPath: string; homeDir: string; stdoutPath: string; stderrPath: string }): string {
+  const label = launchdServiceName(input.instanceId);
+  return `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+<dict>
+  <key>Label</key><string>${escapeXml(label)}</string>
+  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
+  <array>
+    <string>${escapeXml(input.shimPath)}</string><string>run</string><string>--instance</string><string>${escapeXml(input.instanceId)}</string>
+  </array>
+  <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
+  <dict>
+    <key>PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED</key><string>1</string>
+    <key>PAPERCLIP_INSTANCE_ID</key><string>${escapeXml(input.instanceId)}</string>
+    <key>PAPERCLIP_HOME</key><string>${escapeXml(input.homeDir)}</string>
+  </dict>
+  <key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
+  <key>KeepAlive</key><true/>
+  <key>ThrottleInterval</key><integer>5</integer>
+  <key>ExitTimeOut</key><integer>300</integer>
+  <key>StandardOutPath</key><string>${escapeXml(input.stdoutPath)}</string>
+  <key>StandardErrorPath</key><string>${escapeXml(input.stderrPath)}</string>
+</dict>
+</plist>
+`;
+}
+
+async function writeIfChanged(filePath: string, contents: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  const directoryPath = path.dirname(filePath);
+  await fs.mkdir(directoryPath, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const directoryStat = await fs.lstat(directoryPath);
+  if (!directoryStat.isDirectory() || directoryStat.isSymbolicLink()) throw new Error(`Refusing to write service definition through unsafe directory ${directoryPath}.`);
+  const currentUid = process.getuid?.();
+  if (currentUid !== undefined && directoryStat.uid !== currentUid) throw new Error(`Refusing to write service definition in directory not owned by the current user: ${directoryPath}.`);
+  try {
+    const stat = await fs.lstat(filePath);
+    if (!stat.isFile() || stat.isSymbolicLink() || stat.nlink > 1) throw new Error(`Refusing to replace unsafe service definition ${filePath}.`);
+    if (currentUid !== undefined && stat.uid !== currentUid) throw new Error(`Refusing to replace service definition not owned by the current user: ${filePath}.`);
+    if (await fs.readFile(filePath, "utf8") === contents) return false;
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "ENOENT") throw error;
+  }
+  const temporaryPath = path.join(directoryPath, `.${path.basename(filePath)}.tmp-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}`);
+  try {
+    await fs.writeFile(temporaryPath, contents, { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o644, flag: "wx" });
+    await fs.rename(temporaryPath, filePath);
+  } finally {
+    await fs.rm(temporaryPath, { force: true });
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
+export class SystemdServiceManager implements ServiceManager {
+  readonly platform = "systemd" as const;
+  readonly serviceName: string;
+  readonly definitionPath: string;
+
+  constructor(readonly instanceId: string, private readonly runner: CommandRunner = defaultCommandRunner, private readonly homeDir = resolvePaperclipHomeDir(), private readonly shimPath = resolveServiceShimPath(), userHomeDir = os.homedir()) {
+    this.serviceName = systemdServiceName(instanceId);
+    this.definitionPath = path.join(userHomeDir, ".config", "systemd", "user", this.serviceName);
+  }
+
+  renderDefinition(): string {
+    return renderSystemdUnit({ instanceId: this.instanceId, shimPath: this.shimPath, homeDir: this.homeDir });
+  }
+
+  private async ensureCurrent(): Promise<boolean> {
+    const changed = await writeIfChanged(this.definitionPath, this.renderDefinition());
+    if (changed) await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "daemon-reload"]);
+    return changed;
+  }
+
+  async install(options: ServiceInstallOptions): Promise<{ changed: boolean }> {
+    const changed = await this.ensureCurrent();
+    if (options.startOnLogin) await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "enable", this.serviceName]);
+    else await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "disable", this.serviceName]).catch(() => undefined);
+    if (options.startNow) await this.start();
+    return { changed };
+  }
+
+  async uninstall(): Promise<void> {
+    const status = await this.status();
+    if (status.active) await this.stop();
+    await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "disable", this.serviceName]).catch(() => undefined);
+    await fs.rm(this.definitionPath, { force: true });
+    await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "daemon-reload"]);
+    await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "reset-failed", this.serviceName]).catch(() => undefined);
+  }
+
+  async start(): Promise<void> { await this.ensureCurrent(); await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "start", this.serviceName]); }
+  async stop(): Promise<void> { await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "stop", this.serviceName]); }
+  async restart(): Promise<void> { await this.ensureCurrent(); await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "restart", this.serviceName]); }
+
+  async status(): Promise<ServiceStatus> {
+    let output: string;
+    try {
+      output = (await this.runner("systemctl", ["--user", "show", this.serviceName, "--property=LoadState,ActiveState,UnitFileState,MainPID"])).stdout;
+    } catch {
+      return { platform: this.platform, serviceName: this.serviceName, installed: false, active: false, enabled: false, pid: null, linger: await this.lingerStatus() };
+    }
+    const values = Object.fromEntries(output.trim().split(/\r?\n/).map((line) => line.split(/=(.*)/s).slice(0, 2)));
+    const pid = Number(values.MainPID);
+    return { platform: this.platform, serviceName: this.serviceName, installed: values.LoadState === "loaded", active: values.ActiveState === "active", enabled: values.UnitFileState === "enabled", pid: Number.isInteger(pid) && pid > 0 ? pid : null, detail: values.ActiveState, linger: await this.lingerStatus() };
+  }
+
+  private async lingerStatus(): Promise<boolean | null> {
+    try {
+      const result = await this.runner("loginctl", ["show-user", String(process.getuid?.() ?? os.userInfo().username), "--property=Linger", "--value"]);
+      return result.stdout.trim() === "yes";
+    } catch { return null; }
+  }
+
+  async enableLinger(): Promise<void> { await this.runner("loginctl", ["enable-linger", os.userInfo().username]); }
+  async logs(follow: boolean, lines: number): Promise<void> { await this.runner("journalctl", ["--user", "--unit", this.serviceName, "--lines", String(lines), ...(follow ? ["--follow"] : [])], { inherit: true }); }
+}
+
+export class LaunchdServiceManager implements ServiceManager {
+  readonly platform = "launchd" as const;
+  readonly serviceName: string;
+  readonly definitionPath: string;
+  private readonly domain = `gui/${process.getuid?.() ?? 0}`;
+  private readonly stdoutPath: string;
+  private readonly stderrPath: string;
+
+  constructor(readonly instanceId: string, private readonly runner: CommandRunner = defaultCommandRunner, private readonly homeDir = resolvePaperclipHomeDir(), private readonly shimPath = resolveServiceShimPath(), userHomeDir = os.homedir()) {
+    this.serviceName = launchdServiceName(instanceId);
+    this.definitionPath = path.join(userHomeDir, "Library", "LaunchAgents", `${this.serviceName}.plist`);
+    const logDir = path.join(homeDir, "instances", instanceId, "logs");
+    this.stdoutPath = path.join(logDir, "service.log");
+    this.stderrPath = path.join(logDir, "service.err.log");
+  }
+
+  renderDefinition(): string { return renderLaunchdPlist({ instanceId: this.instanceId, shimPath: this.shimPath, homeDir: this.homeDir, stdoutPath: this.stdoutPath, stderrPath: this.stderrPath }); }
+
+  async install(options: ServiceInstallOptions): Promise<{ changed: boolean }> {
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(this.stdoutPath), { recursive: true });
+    const changed = await writeIfChanged(this.definitionPath, this.renderDefinition());
+    if (changed) await this.runner("launchctl", ["bootout", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]).catch(() => undefined);
+    await this.runner("launchctl", [options.startOnLogin ? "enable" : "disable", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]);
+    if (options.startOnLogin || options.startNow) {
+      await this.runner("launchctl", ["bootstrap", this.domain, this.definitionPath]).catch(async () => this.runner("launchctl", ["kickstart", "-k", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]));
+    }
+    if (!options.startNow) await this.stop().catch(() => undefined);
+    return { changed };
+  }
+
+  async uninstall(): Promise<void> {
+    await this.runner("launchctl", ["bootout", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]).catch(() => undefined);
+    await this.runner("launchctl", ["disable", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]).catch(() => undefined);
+    await fs.rm(this.definitionPath, { force: true });
+  }
+  async start(): Promise<void> { await this.install({ startNow: true, startOnLogin: await this.isEnabled() }); }
+  async stop(): Promise<void> { await this.runner("launchctl", ["bootout", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]); }
+  async restart(): Promise<void> { await writeIfChanged(this.definitionPath, this.renderDefinition()); await this.runner("launchctl", ["kickstart", "-k", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]); }
+
+  async status(): Promise<ServiceStatus> {
+    try {
+      const result = await this.runner("launchctl", ["print", `${this.domain}/${this.serviceName}`]);
+      const pidMatch = result.stdout.match(/\bpid\s*=\s*(\d+)/);
+      const pid = pidMatch ? Number(pidMatch[1]) : null;
+      return { platform: this.platform, serviceName: this.serviceName, installed: true, active: Boolean(pid), enabled: await this.isEnabled(), pid, detail: pid ? "running" : "loaded" };
+    } catch {
+      let installed = true;
+      try { await fs.access(this.definitionPath); } catch { installed = false; }
+      return { platform: this.platform, serviceName: this.serviceName, installed, active: false, enabled: installed && await this.isEnabled(), pid: null };
+    }
+  }
+
+  private async isEnabled(): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      const result = await this.runner("launchctl", ["print-disabled", this.domain]);
+      return !new RegExp(`"${escapeRegExp(this.serviceName)}"\\s*=>\\s*true`).test(result.stdout);
+    } catch { return true; }
+  }
+
+  async logs(follow: boolean, lines: number): Promise<void> { await this.runner("tail", ["-n", String(lines), ...(follow ? ["-F"] : []), this.stdoutPath, this.stderrPath], { inherit: true }); }
+}
+
+export type ServiceManagerDetection = { supported: true; manager: ServiceManager } | { supported: false; reason: string };
+
+export async function detectServiceManager(input: { instanceId?: string; platform?: NodeJS.Platform; runner?: CommandRunner } = {}): Promise<ServiceManagerDetection> {
+  const instanceId = resolvePaperclipInstanceId(input.instanceId);
+  const platform = input.platform ?? process.platform;
+  const runner = input.runner ?? defaultCommandRunner;
+  if (platform === "darwin") return { supported: true, manager: new LaunchdServiceManager(instanceId, runner) };
+  if (platform !== "linux") return { supported: false, reason: `Service management is not supported on ${platform}. Use paperclipai run instead.` };
+  try {
+    await runner("systemctl", ["--user", "show-environment"]);
+    return { supported: true, manager: new SystemdServiceManager(instanceId, runner) };
+  } catch {
+    return { supported: false, reason: "No usable systemd user manager was detected (common in containers and WSL1). Use paperclipai run instead." };
+  }
+}
+
+export async function assertForegroundRunAllowed(instanceId: string, force = false, detector: typeof detectServiceManager = detectServiceManager): Promise<void> {
+  if (force || process.env.PAPERCLIP_SERVICE_MANAGED === "1") return;
+  const detection = await detector({ instanceId });
+  if (!detection.supported) return;
+  const status = await detection.manager.status();
+  if (status.active) throw new Error(`Paperclip instance '${instanceId}' is already running as ${status.serviceName}. Use 'paperclipai service status --instance ${instanceId}' or pass --force to bypass this safety check.`);
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/update-notice.ts b/cli/src/update-notice.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..01b90f4f7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/update-notice.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { packageVersion } from "./version.js";
+import { compareVersions } from "./commands/update.js";
+import { readInstallManifest, resolveInstallStorePaths } from "./install-store.js";
+import { resolveConfigPath } from "./config/store.js";
+const NOTICE_INTERVAL_MS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+export function isUpdateNoticeEnabled(configPath?: string): boolean {
+  if (process.env.PAPERCLIP_UPDATE_CHECK === "0") return false;
+  try { const raw = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(resolveConfigPath(configPath), "utf8")) as { updates?: { checkEnabled?: boolean } }; return raw.updates?.checkEnabled !== false; } catch { return true; }
+}
+export async function checkForUpdateNotice(options: { configPath?: string; now?: number; fetchImpl?: typeof fetch; cachePath?: string } = {}): Promise<string | null> {
+  if (!isUpdateNoticeEnabled(options.configPath)) return null;
+  const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths(); const cachePath = options.cachePath ?? path.join(paths.cliRoot, "update-check.json"); const now = options.now ?? Date.now();
+  try { const cache = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(cachePath, "utf8")) as { checkedAt?: number; latest?: string }; if (cache.checkedAt && now - cache.checkedAt < NOTICE_INTERVAL_MS) return cache.latest && compareVersions(cache.latest, packageVersion) > 0 ? cache.latest : null; } catch {}
+  const tag = readInstallManifest(paths)?.channel === "canary" ? "canary" : "latest";
+  try { const response = await (options.fetchImpl ?? fetch)("https://registry.npmjs.org/paperclipai", { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(2500) }); if (!response.ok) return null; const body = await response.json() as { ["dist-tags"]?: Record<string, string> }; const latest = body["dist-tags"]?.[tag]; fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(cachePath), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 }); fs.writeFileSync(cachePath, JSON.stringify({ checkedAt: now, latest: latest ?? null }) + "\n", { mode: 0o600 }); return latest && compareVersions(latest, packageVersion) > 0 ? latest : null; } catch { return null; }
+}
+export async function printUpdateNotice(configPath?: string): Promise<void> { const latest = await checkForUpdateNotice({ configPath }); if (latest) console.log(`Update available: ${latest} — run \`paperclipai update\``); }
diff --git a/cli/src/utils/health-url.ts b/cli/src/utils/health-url.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..12f20312ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/src/utils/health-url.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+export function buildLocalHealthUrl(host: string | undefined, port: number): string {
+  const configuredHost = host?.trim();
+  const reachableHost = !configuredHost || configuredHost === "0.0.0.0" || configuredHost === "::"
+    ? "127.0.0.1"
+    : configuredHost;
+  const urlHost = reachableHost.includes(":") && !reachableHost.startsWith("[")
+    ? `[${reachableHost}]`
+    : reachableHost;
+  return `http://${urlHost}:${port}/api/health`;
+}
diff --git a/cli/src/version.ts b/cli/src/version.ts
index 7b94c8b35d..8f3632f44c 100644
--- a/cli/src/version.ts
+++ b/cli/src/version.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+import {
+  isManagedExecutable,
+  readInstallManifest,
+  resolveInstallStorePaths,
+} from "./install-store.js";
 
 type PackageJson = {
   version?: string;
@@ -7,4 +12,21 @@ type PackageJson = {
 const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 const pkg = require("../package.json") as PackageJson;
 
-export const cliVersion = pkg.version ?? "0.0.0";
+export const packageVersion = pkg.version ?? "0.0.0";
+
+export function resolveCliVersion(executablePath = process.argv[1]): string {
+  try {
+    const paths = resolveInstallStorePaths();
+    const manifest = readInstallManifest(paths);
+    if (!manifest || !isManagedExecutable(executablePath, manifest, paths)) return packageVersion;
+    const provenance =
+      manifest.source === "git"
+        ? `managed git ${manifest.ref ?? manifest.sha ?? "unknown"}`
+        : `managed npm ${manifest.channel}`;
+    return `${packageVersion} (${provenance}; payload ${manifest.payloadPath})`;
+  } catch {
+    return packageVersion;
+  }
+}
+
+export const cliVersion = resolveCliVersion();
diff --git a/doc/CLI.md b/doc/CLI.md
index 392b3a440c..5b36f79958 100644
--- a/doc/CLI.md
+++ b/doc/CLI.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 Paperclip CLI now supports both:
 
+- installation and lifecycle management (`install`, `uninstall`, `update`, `upgrade`, `service`)
 - instance setup/diagnostics (`onboard`, `doctor`, `configure`, `env`, `allowed-hostname`, `env-lab`)
 - control-plane client operations (issues, approvals, agents, activity, dashboard)
 
@@ -13,7 +14,26 @@ Use repo script in development:
 pnpm paperclipai --help
 ```
 
-First-time local bootstrap + run:
+Recommended installation and interactive onboarding:
+
+```sh
+curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh
+curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh.sha256
+if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  sha256sum -c install.sh.sha256
+else
+  shasum -a 256 -c install.sh.sha256
+fi
+bash install.sh
+```
+
+The checksum detects transfer or publishing mistakes but is served from the
+same origin as the installer. Use a release-tag or commit-pinned GitHub copy
+when you need an independently hosted source. Piped installs require supported
+Node.js, npm, and npx to already be installed; download the script first before
+allowing it to bootstrap Node.js with privileged package-manager commands.
+
+First-time local bootstrap from a source checkout:
 
 ```sh
 pnpm paperclipai run
@@ -25,6 +45,60 @@ Choose local instance:
 pnpm paperclipai run --instance dev
 ```
 
+## Install, Update, And Uninstall
+
+Managed installs keep CLI payloads under `~/.paperclip/cli`, expose a stable
+`~/.local/bin/paperclipai` shim, switch versions atomically, and retain two
+previous payloads for rollback.
+
+```sh
+paperclipai install
+paperclipai install --canary
+paperclipai install --version <version>
+paperclipai install --ref <branch|tag|sha> [--repo owner/repo]
+paperclipai update
+paperclipai update --latest|--canary|--version <version>
+paperclipai update --rollback
+paperclipai upgrade
+paperclipai uninstall
+```
+
+`upgrade` aliases `update`. `uninstall` removes managed code and the shim but
+preserves instance data under `~/.paperclip/instances/`. See
+`doc/INSTALLING.md` for installation methods, security notes, PATH setup, and
+the complete update and rollback behavior.
+
+## Onboarding And Service Management
+
+Interactive onboarding offers to install a background service on supported
+platforms. `--yes` never installs it implicitly; automation must opt in.
+
+```sh
+paperclipai onboard
+paperclipai onboard --yes
+paperclipai onboard --yes --install-service
+paperclipai onboard --yes --no-install-service
+```
+
+Service lifecycle commands remain under the `service` namespace:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai service install [--no-start-now] [--no-start-on-login]
+paperclipai service uninstall
+paperclipai service start
+paperclipai service stop
+paperclipai service restart [--wait]
+paperclipai service status [--json]
+paperclipai service logs [-f]
+```
+
+Every service verb supports `--instance <id>` and `--json`. Linux and WSL2 use
+a systemd user unit when available; macOS uses a LaunchAgent. Unsupported
+environments receive foreground `paperclipai run` guidance.
+
+`paperclipai doctor` includes managed-install and service-health diagnostics in
+addition to configuration, storage, database, logging, and port checks.
+
 ## Deployment Modes
 
 Mode taxonomy and design intent are documented in `doc/DEPLOYMENT-MODES.md`.
diff --git a/doc/INSTALLING.md b/doc/INSTALLING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60db823616
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/INSTALLING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,256 @@
+# Installing Paperclip
+
+Paperclip supports a managed installation, an ephemeral `npx` tryout, a
+traditional global npm installation, and development from a source checkout.
+The managed installation is recommended because it provides atomic updates,
+rollback, git-ref installs, and a stable entrypoint for the background service.
+
+## Recommended Install
+
+On macOS, Linux, or WSL2:
+
+```sh
+curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh
+curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh.sha256
+if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  sha256sum -c install.sh.sha256
+else
+  shasum -a 256 -c install.sh.sha256
+fi
+bash install.sh
+```
+
+The bootstrap script:
+
+1. verifies that the platform is supported;
+2. ensures Node.js 20 or newer is available;
+3. delegates installation to `paperclipai install`;
+4. starts interactive onboarding when stdin and stdout are terminals.
+
+The script prints and confirms any command that requires elevated privileges.
+Third-party Node.js bootstrap scripts are pinned and SHA-256 verified before
+execution; the installer stops if a published script changes unexpectedly.
+The `paperclip.ing` checksum detects transfer or publishing mistakes, but it is
+served from the same origin as the script and is not an independent
+authenticity proof. For an independently hosted source, download a release-tag
+or commit-pinned copy from GitHub, review it, and run that local file.
+
+Use `--no-prompt` for automation and `--no-onboard` to stop after installing.
+The piped form only proceeds when supported Node.js, npm, and npx are already
+installed; if Node.js bootstrap is required, download the script first so the
+privileged commands are inspectable before execution:
+
+```sh
+curl -fsSL https://paperclip.ing/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-prompt --no-onboard
+paperclipai onboard --yes
+```
+
+If the vanity installer endpoint is unavailable, fetch the same
+release-controlled source from GitHub raw content:
+
+```sh
+raw_base=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/paperclipai/paperclip
+curl -fsSL "$raw_base/master/scripts/install.sh" | bash
+```
+
+For audits or incident response, pin the raw URL to a release tag or commit SHA
+instead of `master` and download it first. That immutable GitHub URL provides a
+separate delivery path from `paperclip.ing`; do not treat a checksum served by
+the same origin as the artifact as an independent trust anchor.
+
+Each installer flag also has a `PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_*` environment-variable
+equivalent. This helps where passing arguments through a pipe is awkward.
+
+## Managed Install Layout
+
+Managed code is separate from instance data:
+
+```text
+~/.paperclip/cli/
+├── install.json
+├── current -> installs/npm/2026.720.0
+└── installs/
+    ├── npm/<version>/
+    └── git/<sha12>/
+
+~/.local/bin/paperclipai
+```
+
+The `paperclipai` shim remains stable while `current` switches atomically
+between complete payloads. Paperclip keeps the two previous managed payloads
+for rollback. Configuration, databases, uploads, logs, secrets, and workspaces
+remain under `~/.paperclip/instances/` and are not stored inside CLI payloads.
+
+If `~/.local/bin` is not on `PATH`, the installer offers to update the relevant
+shell startup file when running interactively. Non-interactive installs print
+the exact `export PATH` command instead of editing shell files silently.
+
+## Install Sources
+
+Install the current stable release:
+
+```sh
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install
+```
+
+Install canary or pin an exact published version:
+
+```sh
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install --canary
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install --version 2026.720.0
+```
+
+Install a branch, tag, or commit from GitHub:
+
+```sh
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install --ref master
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install --ref v2026.720.0
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install --ref <commit-sha>
+```
+
+Use a fork by adding `--repo owner/repository`:
+
+```sh
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install \
+  --repo your-org/paperclip \
+  --ref your-branch
+```
+
+Git-ref installs resolve the requested ref to an exact commit before building.
+Review and trust the repository and ref: installing a git ref executes that
+revision's package installation and release build scripts on your machine.
+
+## Onboarding And The Service
+
+Run onboarding after a non-interactive installation:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai onboard
+```
+
+Interactive onboarding asks whether Paperclip should run as a background
+service when the platform supports one. Automated onboarding deliberately does
+not install a service unless explicitly requested:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai onboard --yes                    # configure only; no service install
+paperclipai onboard --yes --install-service  # explicit automation opt-in
+paperclipai onboard --yes --no-install-service
+```
+
+Service commands are namespaced:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai service install
+paperclipai service status
+paperclipai service start
+paperclipai service stop
+paperclipai service restart
+paperclipai service logs -f
+paperclipai service uninstall
+```
+
+Paperclip uses a systemd user service on Linux and WSL2 systems with user
+systemd, and a LaunchAgent on macOS. Containers, WSL1, and systems without a
+supported user service manager receive foreground `paperclipai run` guidance
+instead of a hard failure.
+
+The service uses the stable managed-install shim, restarts after crashes, and
+can start on login. On Linux, service installation may offer to enable user
+lingering so it can continue without an active login session. The command
+explains and confirms that system-level action before running it.
+
+Use one server process per instance. `paperclipai run` refuses to start when
+the same instance is already supervised; stop the service first or use
+`--force` only when you intentionally accept the single-writer risk.
+
+## Update And Rollback
+
+Update according to the source and channel recorded in the install manifest:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai update
+```
+
+Select a different release source explicitly:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai update --latest
+paperclipai update --canary
+paperclipai update --version 2026.720.0
+```
+
+Managed updates create a database backup before switching payloads, verify the
+new CLI, atomically flip `current`, and restart an installed service. A failed
+install or verification leaves the previous payload active.
+
+If the service is stopped, start it with `paperclipai service start` before
+updating so Paperclip can take the safety backup. Use
+`paperclipai update --no-backup` only when you intentionally accept updating
+without that rollback safeguard. A never-onboarded instance with no config or
+instance data skips the backup automatically because there is nothing to save.
+
+Roll back to the previous retained payload:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai update --rollback
+```
+
+The `upgrade` command is an alias for `update`. Exact versions and commit SHAs
+are pinned; provide a new target when you want them to move.
+
+## Other Installation Methods
+
+Ephemeral tryout with no managed install:
+
+```sh
+npx --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai onboard --yes
+```
+
+Traditional global npm install:
+
+```sh
+npm install --global --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai
+paperclipai onboard
+```
+
+Source checkout for development:
+
+```sh
+git clone https://github.com/paperclipai/paperclip.git
+cd paperclip
+pnpm install
+pnpm dev
+```
+
+The managed `paperclipai update` command can update managed and global npm
+installs. For source checkouts it reports the appropriate git workflow instead
+of modifying the checkout automatically.
+
+## Diagnose An Installation
+
+Run:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai doctor
+paperclipai service status
+```
+
+`doctor` checks the managed install store, manifest, `current` link, shim,
+`PATH`, Node.js version, and service state. Service diagnostics cover unit-file
+presence and drift, running state, configured port ownership, and the running
+server version.
+
+## Uninstall
+
+Remove the background service and managed CLI payloads:
+
+```sh
+paperclipai service uninstall
+paperclipai uninstall
+```
+
+`paperclipai uninstall` removes the managed shim, manifest, and CLI payloads.
+It deliberately preserves `~/.paperclip/instances/`, including configuration,
+databases, uploads, logs, secrets, backups, and workspaces. Back up and remove
+that data separately only when you intend to delete the Paperclip instance.
diff --git a/doc/RELEASE-AUTOMATION-SETUP.md b/doc/RELEASE-AUTOMATION-SETUP.md
index d6e08b9f1a..d21975c106 100644
--- a/doc/RELEASE-AUTOMATION-SETUP.md
+++ b/doc/RELEASE-AUTOMATION-SETUP.md
@@ -232,9 +232,13 @@ After setup:
 Install-path check:
 
 ```bash
-npx paperclipai@canary onboard
+npm install --prefix "$(mktemp -d)" paperclipai@canary --no-audit --no-fund
 ```
 
+The release script runs this clean-prefix install after publishing every workspace
+package dependency-first and publishing `paperclipai` last. A package that is not
+yet registry-visible stops the train before the channel entrypoint can advance.
+
 ## 12. Verify the Stable Workflow
 
 After at least one good canary exists:
diff --git a/doc/RELEASING.md b/doc/RELEASING.md
index 3ece1fbad0..da4143dfae 100644
--- a/doc/RELEASING.md
+++ b/doc/RELEASING.md
@@ -62,8 +62,11 @@ It:
 
 - verifies the pushed commit
 - computes the canary version for the current UTC date
-- publishes under npm dist-tag `canary`
+- publishes workspace packages dependency-first under npm dist-tag `canary`
+- waits for each package version to become registry-visible before continuing
+- publishes the user-facing `paperclipai` package last, so `paperclipai@canary` does not advance before the full package set exists
 - verifies that `canary` resolves to the just-published version and that published internal dependencies exist on npm
+- installs `paperclipai@canary` into a clean temporary prefix as the final npm gate
 - fails by default if npm leaves `latest` pointing at a canary; use `--allow-canary-latest` only when that state is intentional
 - creates a git tag `canary/vYYYY.MDD.P-canary.N`
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index fd98a50098..38a3abc023 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
     "check:token-gates": "node scripts/check-token-gates.mjs",
     "check:no-git-push": "node scripts/check-no-git-push.mjs",
     "test:check-no-git-push": "node --test scripts/check-no-git-push.test.mjs",
+    "test:install-sh-docker": "./scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh",
     "test:hermes-gateway-smoke": "node --test scripts/smoke/hermes-gateway-smoke.test.mjs",
     "docs:dev": "cd docs && npx mintlify dev",
     "smoke:hermes-gateway-join": "./scripts/smoke/hermes-gateway-join.sh",
diff --git a/packages/db/package.json b/packages/db/package.json
index 35a05e5d64..59abf3b89f 100644
--- a/packages/db/package.json
+++ b/packages/db/package.json
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@
   "files": [
     "dist"
   ],
+  "bundleDependencies": [
+    "embedded-postgres"
+  ],
   "scripts": {
     "check:migrations": "tsx src/check-migration-numbering.ts && tsx src/check-migration-safety.ts",
     "build": "pnpm run check:migrations && tsc && cp -r src/migrations dist/migrations",
diff --git a/packages/db/src/embedded-postgres-native.test.ts b/packages/db/src/embedded-postgres-native.test.ts
index 7335f2c649..049b121217 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/embedded-postgres-native.test.ts
+++ b/packages/db/src/embedded-postgres-native.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
+import childProcess from "node:child_process";
 import fs from "node:fs";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { ensureLinuxSharedLibraryAliases } from "./embedded-postgres-native.js";
+import { ensureLinuxSharedLibraryAliases, prepareEmbeddedPostgresNativeRuntime } from "./embedded-postgres-native.js";
+
+const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);
 
 describe("embedded Postgres native runtime", () => {
   const tempDirs: string[] = [];
@@ -40,4 +44,19 @@ describe("embedded Postgres native runtime", () => {
     expect(second).toEqual([]);
     expect(fs.readlinkSync(path.join(tempDir, "libicuuc.so.60"))).toBe("libicuuc.so.60.2");
   });
+
+  it("keeps the child process API untouched while preparing the runtime", async () => {
+    const originalSpawn = childProcess.spawn;
+
+    await prepareEmbeddedPostgresNativeRuntime();
+
+    expect(childProcess.spawn).toBe(originalSpawn);
+  });
+
+  it("uses the dependency-scoped portable locale patch", () => {
+    const source = fs.readFileSync(require.resolve("embedded-postgres"), "utf8");
+
+    expect(source).toContain("const LC_MESSAGES_LOCALE = 'C';");
+    expect(source).toContain("globalThis.process.env");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/config-schema.ts b/packages/shared/src/config-schema.ts
index efa1bdee1d..229abd1a02 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/config-schema.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/config-schema.ts
@@ -103,6 +103,10 @@ export const telemetryConfigSchema = z.object({
   enabled: z.boolean().default(true),
 }).default({});
 
+export const updatesConfigSchema = z.object({
+  checkEnabled: z.boolean().default(true),
+}).default({});
+
 export const paperclipConfigSchema = z
   .object({
     $meta: configMetaSchema,
@@ -111,6 +115,7 @@ export const paperclipConfigSchema = z
     logging: loggingConfigSchema,
     server: serverConfigSchema,
     telemetry: telemetryConfigSchema,
+    updates: updatesConfigSchema.optional(),
     auth: authConfigSchema.default({
       baseUrlMode: "auto",
       disableSignUp: false,
@@ -195,5 +200,6 @@ export type SecretsConfig = z.infer<typeof secretsConfigSchema>;
 export type SecretsLocalEncryptedConfig = z.infer<typeof secretsLocalEncryptedConfigSchema>;
 export type AuthConfig = z.infer<typeof authConfigSchema>;
 export type TelemetryConfig = z.infer<typeof telemetryConfigSchema>;
+export type UpdatesConfig = z.infer<typeof updatesConfigSchema>;
 export type ConfigMeta = z.infer<typeof configMetaSchema>;
 export type DatabaseBackupConfig = z.infer<typeof databaseBackupConfigSchema>;
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/types/issue.ts b/packages/shared/src/types/issue.ts
index be4bd771d9..44867a219f 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/types/issue.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/types/issue.ts
@@ -400,6 +400,7 @@ export interface IssueBlockerAttention {
   coveredBlockerCount: number;
   stalledBlockerCount: number;
   attentionBlockerCount: number;
+  pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds?: string[];
   sampleBlockerIdentifier: string | null;
   sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier: string | null;
 }
diff --git a/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs b/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs
index d5ef5b817d..227c77695b 100644
--- a/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/acpx-patch-packaging.test.mjs
@@ -16,14 +16,21 @@ import test from "node:test";
 
 import cliEsbuildConfig from "../cli/esbuild.config.mjs";
 import { bundledCliNpmDependencies } from "./cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs";
-import { materializePublishManifest } from "./prepare-bundled-package.mjs";
+import {
+  createBundledInstallManifest,
+  materializePublishManifest,
+} from "./prepare-bundled-package.mjs";
 
 const rootPackage = JSON.parse(await readFile(new URL("../package.json", import.meta.url), "utf8"));
 const adapterUtilsPackage = JSON.parse(
   await readFile(new URL("../packages/adapter-utils/package.json", import.meta.url), "utf8"),
 );
+const dbPackage = JSON.parse(
+  await readFile(new URL("../packages/db/package.json", import.meta.url), "utf8"),
+);
 const releaseScript = await readFile(new URL("./release.sh", import.meta.url), "utf8");
 const releaseLib = await readFile(new URL("./release-lib.sh", import.meta.url), "utf8");
+const buildNpmScript = await readFile(new URL("./build-npm.sh", import.meta.url), "utf8");
 
 test("published packages preserve the patched ACPX runtime", () => {
   assert.equal(
@@ -36,6 +43,16 @@ test("published packages preserve the patched ACPX runtime", () => {
   assert.equal(cliEsbuildConfig.external.includes("acpx"), false);
 });
 
+test("published packages preserve the patched embedded-postgres runtime", () => {
+  assert.equal(
+    rootPackage.pnpm.patchedDependencies["embedded-postgres@18.1.0-beta.16"],
+    "patches/embedded-postgres@18.1.0-beta.16.patch",
+  );
+  assert.deepEqual(dbPackage.bundleDependencies, ["embedded-postgres"]);
+  assert.equal(bundledCliNpmDependencies.has("embedded-postgres"), true);
+  assert.equal(cliEsbuildConfig.external.includes("embedded-postgres"), false);
+});
+
 test("bundled package staging materializes publishConfig entrypoints", () => {
   const staged = materializePublishManifest(adapterUtilsPackage);
 
@@ -45,6 +62,41 @@ test("bundled package staging materializes publishConfig entrypoints", () => {
   assert.deepEqual(staged.exports, adapterUtilsPackage.publishConfig.exports);
 });
 
+test("bundled package staging materializes workspace dependency versions", () => {
+  const staged = materializePublishManifest({
+    name: "@paperclipai/example",
+    version: "2026.723.0",
+    dependencies: { exact: "workspace:*", caret: "workspace:^", tilde: "workspace:~" },
+  });
+
+  assert.deepEqual(staged.dependencies, {
+    exact: "2026.723.0",
+    caret: "^2026.723.0",
+    tilde: "~2026.723.0",
+  });
+});
+
+test("bundled package staging installs only dependencies included in the tarball", () => {
+  const installManifest = createBundledInstallManifest(
+    {
+      name: "@paperclipai/db",
+      version: "2026.723.0-canary.8",
+      dependencies: {
+        "@paperclipai/shared": "2026.723.0-canary.8",
+        "drizzle-orm": "^0.45.2",
+        "embedded-postgres": "^18.1.0-beta.16",
+      },
+      bundleDependencies: ["embedded-postgres"],
+    },
+    ["embedded-postgres"],
+  );
+
+  assert.deepEqual(installManifest.dependencies, {
+    "embedded-postgres": "^18.1.0-beta.16",
+  });
+  assert.deepEqual(installManifest.bundleDependencies, ["embedded-postgres"]);
+});
+
 test("bundled package staging rebuilds npm dependencies and applies the acpx patch", (t) => {
   const fixtureDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "paperclip-bundled-stage-"));
   const sourceDir = join(fixtureDir, "source");
@@ -52,6 +104,8 @@ test("bundled package staging rebuilds npm dependencies and applies the acpx pat
   const binDir = join(fixtureDir, "bin");
   const callLog = join(fixtureDir, "calls.log");
   mkdirSync(sourceDir);
+  mkdirSync(join(sourceDir, "dist"));
+  writeFileSync(join(sourceDir, "dist", "index.js"), "export {};\n");
   mkdirSync(destinationDir);
   mkdirSync(binDir);
   writeFileSync(join(sourceDir, "package.json"), JSON.stringify(adapterUtilsPackage));
@@ -136,3 +190,8 @@ test("bundled package dry runs preview without querying published versions", ()
   assert.match(releaseLib, /run_bundled_npm_publish publish --tag "\$dist_tag"/);
   assert.doesNotMatch(releaseLib, /run_bundled_npm_publish publish "\.\/\$tarball"/);
 });
+
+test("npm builds use corepack instead of requiring a global pnpm", () => {
+  assert.match(buildNpmScript, /corepack pnpm -r typecheck/);
+  assert.doesNotMatch(buildNpmScript, /^\s*pnpm -r typecheck/m);
+});
diff --git a/scripts/build-npm.sh b/scripts/build-npm.sh
index 00b8acc223..74d801fdfe 100755
--- a/scripts/build-npm.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-npm.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ fi
 if [ "$skip_typecheck" = false ]; then
   echo "  [2/6] Type-checking..."
   cd "$REPO_ROOT"
-  pnpm -r typecheck
+  corepack pnpm -r typecheck
 else
   echo "  [2/6] Skipping type-check (--skip-typecheck)"
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/clean-install-git.sh b/scripts/clean-install-git.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..0cc193eca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/clean-install-git.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+PC_TEST_ROOT="${PC_TEST_ROOT:-$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/paperclip-clean-install-git.XXXXXX")}"
+PC_HOME="${PC_HOME:-$PC_TEST_ROOT/home}"
+PC_CACHE="${PC_CACHE:-$PC_TEST_ROOT/npm-cache}"
+KEEP_TEMP="${KEEP_TEMP:-0}"
+
+cleanup() {
+  if [ "$KEEP_TEMP" != "1" ]; then
+    rm -rf "$PC_TEST_ROOT"
+  fi
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+mkdir -p "$PC_HOME" "$PC_CACHE"
+
+echo "REPO_ROOT: $REPO_ROOT"
+echo "PC_TEST_ROOT: $PC_TEST_ROOT"
+echo "PC_HOME: $PC_HOME"
+
+env \
+  HOME="$PC_HOME" \
+  PAPERCLIP_HOME="$PC_HOME/.paperclip" \
+  npm_config_cache="$PC_CACHE" \
+  npm_config_userconfig="$PC_HOME/.npmrc" \
+  PATH="$PC_HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" \
+  pnpm --dir "$REPO_ROOT" paperclipai install --yes
+
+test -x "$PC_HOME/.local/bin/paperclipai"
+test -L "$PC_HOME/.paperclip/cli/current"
+test -f "$PC_HOME/.paperclip/cli/install.json"
+
+env HOME="$PC_HOME" PAPERCLIP_HOME="$PC_HOME/.paperclip" PATH="$PC_HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" paperclipai --version
+env HOME="$PC_HOME" PAPERCLIP_HOME="$PC_HOME/.paperclip" PATH="$PC_HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" paperclipai doctor \
+  --config "$PC_TEST_ROOT/missing-config.json" >/dev/null || true
+
+env \
+  HOME="$PC_HOME" \
+  PAPERCLIP_HOME="$PC_HOME/.paperclip" \
+  PATH="$PC_HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" \
+  pnpm --dir "$REPO_ROOT" paperclipai uninstall
+
+test ! -e "$PC_HOME/.paperclip/cli"
+test ! -e "$PC_HOME/.local/bin/paperclipai"
diff --git a/scripts/clean-install-npm.sh b/scripts/clean-install-npm.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..73fa082c53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/clean-install-npm.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+PC_INSTALL_DRIVER="${PC_INSTALL_DRIVER:-source}"
+
+PC_TEST_ROOT="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/paperclip-clean-install.XXXXXX")"
+PC_HOME="$PC_TEST_ROOT/home"
+PC_CACHE="$PC_TEST_ROOT/npm-cache"
+mkdir -p "$PC_HOME" "$PC_CACHE"
+trap 'rm -rf "$PC_TEST_ROOT"' EXIT
+
+export HOME="$PC_HOME"
+export PAPERCLIP_HOME="$PC_HOME/.paperclip"
+export npm_config_cache="$PC_CACHE"
+export npm_config_userconfig="$PC_HOME/.npmrc"
+export PATH="$PC_HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
+
+if [ "$PC_INSTALL_DRIVER" = "published" ]; then
+  (cd "$PC_TEST_ROOT" && npx --yes --registry https://registry.npmjs.org paperclipai install)
+else
+  (cd "$REPO_ROOT" && pnpm paperclipai install --yes)
+fi
+
+test -x "$PC_HOME/.local/bin/paperclipai"
+test -L "$PAPERCLIP_HOME/cli/current"
+test -f "$PAPERCLIP_HOME/cli/install.json"
+paperclipai --version
+
+mkdir -p "$PAPERCLIP_HOME/instances/default"
+touch "$PAPERCLIP_HOME/instances/default/user-data-marker"
+(cd "$REPO_ROOT" && pnpm paperclipai uninstall)
+
+test ! -e "$PAPERCLIP_HOME/cli"
+test ! -e "$PC_HOME/.local/bin/paperclipai"
+test -f "$PAPERCLIP_HOME/instances/default/user-data-marker"
diff --git a/scripts/cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs b/scripts/cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs
index 49826a140c..9edbb24aca 100644
--- a/scripts/cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs
+++ b/scripts/cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 export const bundledCliNpmDependencies = new Set([
   "acpx",
+  "embedded-postgres",
 ]);
diff --git a/scripts/e2e-install-lifecycle.sh b/scripts/e2e-install-lifecycle.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..7e1719cc99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/e2e-install-lifecycle.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,230 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# End-to-end proof of the paperclipai managed install lifecycle on a CLEAN machine.
+#
+# Exercises the real user journey against real GitHub + real npm:
+#   bootstrap build -> install (npm latest) -> install --ref (build-from-source)
+#   -> update --check -> update --rollback -> reinstall (payload reuse)
+#   -> bad-ref failure hygiene -> service lifecycle -> uninstall (data preserved)
+#
+# Machine requirements: bash, curl, tar, node >= 20 (with corepack), npm.
+# The machine's $HOME must not already contain a managed install.
+#
+# Env knobs:
+#   E2E_REPO          GitHub repo to install from (default: paperclipai/paperclip)
+#   E2E_REF           branch/tag/sha to install   (default: master)
+#   E2E_SKIP_NPM=1      skip the npm-channel install step (canary is tested separately;
+#                       the npm leg uses the latest channel)
+#   E2E_SKIP_SERVICE=1  skip the service lifecycle step
+#   E2E_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_SECS  how long to wait for the service to go active (default 300)
+set -uo pipefail
+
+E2E_REPO="${E2E_REPO:-paperclipai/paperclip}"
+E2E_REF="${E2E_REF:-master}"
+E2E_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_SECS="${E2E_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_SECS:-300}"
+
+# A clean environment: no inherited Paperclip or build-mode state.
+for var in $(env | grep -o '^PAPERCLIP_[A-Z_]*' || true); do unset "$var"; done
+unset NODE_ENV npm_config_prefix 2>/dev/null || true
+export COREPACK_ENABLE_DOWNLOAD_PROMPT=0
+export CI="${CI:-1}"
+
+SHIM="$HOME/.local/bin/paperclipai"
+STORE="$HOME/.paperclip/cli"
+RESULTS=()
+FAILED=0
+
+note()  { printf '\n\033[1;34m== %s ==\033[0m\n' "$*"; }
+pass()  { RESULTS+=("PASS  $1"); printf '\033[1;32mPASS\033[0m %s\n' "$1"; }
+fail_() { RESULTS+=("FAIL  $1"); printf '\033[1;31mFAIL\033[0m %s\n' "$1"; FAILED=1; }
+skip_() { RESULTS+=("SKIP  $1${2:+ — $2}"); printf '\033[1;33mSKIP\033[0m %s%s\n' "$1" "${2:+ — $2}"; }
+
+shim() { "$SHIM" "$@"; }
+current_target() { readlink "$STORE/current" 2>/dev/null || echo "<missing>"; }
+
+note "0. Preflight — this machine"
+uname -a
+node --version && npm --version && curl --version | head -1
+command -v corepack >/dev/null || npm install -g corepack
+[ -e "$SHIM" ] && { echo "shim already exists at $SHIM — not a clean machine"; exit 2; }
+[ -d "$STORE" ] && { echo "store already exists at $STORE — not a clean machine"; exit 2; }
+echo "repo=$E2E_REPO ref=$E2E_REF home=$HOME"
+
+note "1. Bootstrap: build the new CLI from the GitHub tarball of $E2E_REF"
+# Nothing published on npm has the install/update/service commands yet, so the
+# bootstrap simulates what `npx paperclipai@<channel> install` will run post-release:
+# the same CLI code, built from the exact ref under test.
+BOOT="$HOME/e2e-bootstrap"
+mkdir -p "$BOOT"
+if curl --fail --silent --show-error --location \
+    "https://codeload.github.com/$E2E_REPO/tar.gz/$E2E_REF" \
+    | tar -xz --strip-components=1 -C "$BOOT"; then
+  pass "1a bootstrap tarball downloaded from codeload"
+else
+  fail_ "1a bootstrap tarball download"; exit 1
+fi
+cd "$BOOT"
+if corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile > "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-install.log" 2>&1; then
+  pass "1b bootstrap pnpm install"
+else
+  tail -40 "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-install.log"; fail_ "1b bootstrap pnpm install"; exit 1
+fi
+if bash scripts/build-npm.sh --skip-checks --skip-typecheck > "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-build.log" 2>&1; then
+  pass "1c bootstrap build-npm.sh"
+else
+  tail -40 "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-build.log"; fail_ "1c bootstrap build-npm.sh"; exit 1
+fi
+# The in-checkout dist resolves externals against the publishable package.json,
+# so run the bootstrap exactly the way npm users get it: pack + install the tarball.
+TARBALL="$(cd "$BOOT/cli" && npm pack --silent 2>/dev/null | tail -1)"
+mkdir -p "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-cli"
+if (cd "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-cli" && npm install --no-fund --no-audit "$BOOT/cli/$TARBALL" > "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-npm.log" 2>&1); then
+  pass "1d bootstrap CLI packed + npm-installed ($TARBALL)"
+else
+  tail -40 "$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-npm.log"; fail_ "1d bootstrap CLI npm install"; exit 1
+fi
+BOOTSTRAP_CLI="$HOME/e2e-bootstrap-cli/node_modules/paperclipai/dist/index.js"
+node "$BOOTSTRAP_CLI" --version >/dev/null || { fail_ "1e bootstrap CLI smoke"; exit 1; }
+cd "$HOME"
+
+if [ "${E2E_SKIP_NPM:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+  note "2. install (published npm latest channel; proves the npm install mechanism)"
+  if node "$BOOTSTRAP_CLI" install --yes; then
+    pass "2a install (latest) exits 0"
+  else
+    fail_ "2a install (latest) exits 0"
+  fi
+  [ -x "$SHIM" ] && pass "2b shim created at ~/.local/bin/paperclipai" || fail_ "2b shim created"
+  case "$(current_target)" in
+    *"installs/npm/"*) pass "2c current -> installs/npm/<version> ($(basename "$(current_target)"))" ;;
+    *) fail_ "2c current -> installs/npm/<version> (got: $(current_target))" ;;
+  esac
+  [ -f "$STORE/install.json" ] && pass "2d install.json manifest present" || fail_ "2d install.json manifest present"
+  NPM_VERSION="$("$SHIM" --version 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  [ -n "$NPM_VERSION" ] && pass "2e shim runs: paperclipai --version = $NPM_VERSION" || fail_ "2e shim runs paperclipai --version"
+else
+  skip_ "2 install (npm latest)" "E2E_SKIP_NPM=1"
+fi
+
+note "3. install --ref $E2E_REF (real build-from-GitHub-source into the managed store)"
+if node "$BOOTSTRAP_CLI" install --repo "$E2E_REPO" --ref "$E2E_REF" --yes; then
+  pass "3a install --ref exits 0"
+else
+  fail_ "3a install --ref exits 0"
+fi
+case "$(current_target)" in
+  *"installs/git/"*) pass "3b current -> installs/git/<sha> ($(basename "$(current_target)"))" ;;
+  *) fail_ "3b current -> installs/git/<sha> (got: $(current_target))" ;;
+esac
+GIT_VERSION="$("$SHIM" --version 2>/dev/null || true)"
+[ -n "$GIT_VERSION" ] && pass "3c shim runs git payload: --version = $GIT_VERSION" || fail_ "3c shim runs git payload"
+[ -x "$SHIM" ] && pass "3d shim still in place" || fail_ "3d shim still in place"
+
+note "4. update --check from the managed shim"
+shim update --check --json; CHECK_EXIT=$?
+if [ "$CHECK_EXIT" -eq 0 ] || [ "$CHECK_EXIT" -eq 10 ]; then
+  pass "4a update --check exits $CHECK_EXIT (0=current, 10=update available)"
+else
+  fail_ "4a update --check exit code (got $CHECK_EXIT)"
+fi
+
+if [ "${E2E_SKIP_NPM:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+  note "5. update --rollback (git payload -> previous npm payload)"
+  if shim update --rollback; then
+    pass "5a update --rollback exits 0"
+  else
+    fail_ "5a update --rollback exits 0"
+  fi
+  case "$(current_target)" in
+    *"installs/npm/"*) pass "5b rollback restored npm payload ($(basename "$(current_target)"))" ;;
+    *) fail_ "5b rollback restored npm payload (got: $(current_target))" ;;
+  esac
+  ROLLED_VERSION="$("$SHIM" --version 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  [ "$ROLLED_VERSION" = "$NPM_VERSION" ] \
+    && pass "5c version after rollback matches npm payload ($ROLLED_VERSION)" \
+    || fail_ "5c version after rollback ($ROLLED_VERSION != $NPM_VERSION)"
+
+  note "6. reinstall the git ref (payload retained -> reused, no rebuild)"
+  REINSTALL_START=$(date +%s)
+  if node "$BOOTSTRAP_CLI" install --repo "$E2E_REPO" --ref "$E2E_REF" --yes; then
+    REINSTALL_SECS=$(( $(date +%s) - REINSTALL_START ))
+    pass "6a reinstall exits 0 (${REINSTALL_SECS}s — reused payload should be fast)"
+  else
+    fail_ "6a reinstall exits 0"
+  fi
+  case "$(current_target)" in
+    *"installs/git/"*) pass "6b back on git payload" ;;
+    *) fail_ "6b back on git payload (got: $(current_target))" ;;
+  esac
+else
+  skip_ "5-6 rollback/reinstall" "E2E_SKIP_NPM=1"
+fi
+
+note "7. failure hygiene: install --ref <nonexistent> must fail cleanly"
+BEFORE_DIRS="$(ls "$STORE/installs/git" 2>/dev/null | sort)"
+if node "$BOOTSTRAP_CLI" install --ref e2e-definitely-not-a-ref-xyz --yes 2>&1; then
+  fail_ "7a bad ref rejected (command unexpectedly succeeded)"
+else
+  pass "7a bad ref rejected with nonzero exit"
+fi
+AFTER_DIRS="$(ls "$STORE/installs/git" 2>/dev/null | sort)"
+[ "$BEFORE_DIRS" = "$AFTER_DIRS" ] && pass "7b no partial install dir left behind" || fail_ "7b no partial install dir left behind"
+"$SHIM" --version >/dev/null 2>&1 && pass "7c existing install still healthy" || fail_ "7c existing install still healthy"
+
+if [ "${E2E_SKIP_SERVICE:-0}" = "1" ]; then
+  skip_ "8 service lifecycle" "E2E_SKIP_SERVICE=1"
+else
+  if [ "$(uname -s)" = "Linux" ] && [ ! -S "/run/user/$(id -u)/bus" ]; then
+    skip_ "8 service lifecycle" "no systemd user bus at /run/user/$(id -u)/bus"
+  else
+    note "8. service lifecycle ($(uname -s): systemd/launchd)"
+    # Real quickstart path: onboard with defaults, then install + start the service.
+    if shim onboard --yes --install-service; then
+      pass "8a onboard --yes --install-service exits 0"
+    else
+      fail_ "8a onboard --yes --install-service exits 0"
+    fi
+    DEADLINE=$(( $(date +%s) + E2E_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_SECS ))
+    ACTIVE=0
+    while [ "$(date +%s)" -lt "$DEADLINE" ]; do
+      STATUS_JSON="$(shim service status --json 2>/dev/null || true)"
+      if echo "$STATUS_JSON" | grep -q '"active"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*true'; then ACTIVE=1; break; fi
+      sleep 5
+    done
+    if [ "$ACTIVE" = "1" ]; then
+      pass "8b service reached active within ${E2E_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_SECS}s"
+    else
+      echo "last status: ${STATUS_JSON:-<none>}"
+      shim service logs -n 60 || true
+      fail_ "8b service reached active"
+    fi
+    shim service logs -n 20 >/dev/null 2>&1 && pass "8c service logs readable" || fail_ "8c service logs readable"
+    if shim service stop; then pass "8d service stop exits 0"; else fail_ "8d service stop exits 0"; fi
+    if shim service uninstall; then pass "8e service uninstall exits 0"; else fail_ "8e service uninstall exits 0"; fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+note "9. installer script guardrails (from the bootstrap checkout)"
+# Capture first: under pipefail, install.sh's expected exit 1 would fail the pipeline.
+GUARD_OUT="$(bash "$BOOT/scripts/install.sh" --ref deadbeef 2>&1 || true)"
+if echo "$GUARD_OUT" | grep -qi "not supported"; then
+  pass "9a install.sh rejects --ref with guidance to npx path"
+else
+  echo "$GUARD_OUT" | tail -3
+  fail_ "9a install.sh rejects --ref"
+fi
+
+note "10. uninstall preserves user data"
+mkdir -p "$HOME/.paperclip" && touch "$HOME/.paperclip/e2e-user-data-marker"
+if shim uninstall; then
+  pass "10a uninstall exits 0"
+else
+  fail_ "10a uninstall exits 0"
+fi
+[ ! -e "$SHIM" ] && pass "10b shim removed" || fail_ "10b shim removed"
+[ ! -d "$STORE" ] && pass "10c managed store removed" || fail_ "10c managed store removed"
+[ -f "$HOME/.paperclip/e2e-user-data-marker" ] && pass "10d user data under ~/.paperclip preserved" || fail_ "10d user data preserved"
+
+note "RESULTS ($E2E_REPO@$E2E_REF on $(uname -sm))"
+printf '%s\n' "${RESULTS[@]}"
+if [ "$FAILED" = "1" ]; then echo; echo "OVERALL: FAIL"; exit 1; fi
+echo; echo "OVERALL: PASS"
diff --git a/scripts/generate-npm-package-json.mjs b/scripts/generate-npm-package-json.mjs
index 4c589379ee..310d6e1277 100644
--- a/scripts/generate-npm-package-json.mjs
+++ b/scripts/generate-npm-package-json.mjs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
  */
 
 import { existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 import { resolve, dirname } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { bundledCliNpmDependencies } from "./cli-bundled-npm-dependencies.mjs";
@@ -75,6 +76,15 @@ for (const pkgPath of workspacePaths) {
   }
 }
 
+if (bundledCliNpmDependencies.has("embedded-postgres")) {
+  const requireFromDb = createRequire(resolve(repoRoot, "packages/db/package.json"));
+  const embeddedPostgresRoot = dirname(requireFromDb.resolve("embedded-postgres"));
+  const embeddedPostgresPackage = JSON.parse(
+    readFileSync(resolve(embeddedPostgresRoot, "..", "package.json"), "utf8"),
+  );
+  Object.assign(allOptionalDeps, embeddedPostgresPackage.optionalDependencies ?? {});
+}
+
 // Sort alphabetically
 const sortedDeps = Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(allDeps).sort(([a], [b]) => a.localeCompare(b)));
 const sortedOptDeps = Object.fromEntries(
diff --git a/scripts/install-sh-fixtures/npx b/scripts/install-sh-fixtures/npx
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..0d59c77292
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install-sh-fixtures/npx
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+: "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG:?PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG is required}"
+node --version >"${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG}.node"
+{
+  printf 'NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY=%s\n' "${NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY:-}"
+  printf 'npm_config_registry=%s\n' "${npm_config_registry:-}"
+  printf 'NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG=%s\n' "${NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG:-}"
+  printf 'npm_config_userconfig=%s\n' "${npm_config_userconfig:-}"
+  if [ -n "${NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG:-}" ] && [ -f "$NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG" ]; then
+    sed 's/^/npmrc:/' "$NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG"
+  fi
+  printf '%s\n' "$@"
+} >>"$PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG"
diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..572f2f73c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,407 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+MIN_NODE_MAJOR=20
+DEFAULT_NODE_MAJOR=22
+PAPERCLIP_PACKAGE="paperclipai"
+PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY="https://registry.npmjs.org"
+HOMEBREW_INSTALL_COMMIT="99e13e96cbbdc1ac1ac09c0a40b450bf219ef3aa"
+HOMEBREW_INSTALL_SHA256="99287f194a8b3c9e6b0203a11a5fa54518be57209343e6bb954dec4635796d9d"
+NODESOURCE_DISTRIBUTIONS_COMMIT="9b431d8ae0f10df272598585855c6eca6c0e1bd2"
+NODESOURCE_DEB_SHA256="575583bbac2fccc0b5edd0dbc03e222d9f9dc8d724da996d22754d6411104fd1"
+NODESOURCE_RPM_SHA256="b0ed2b9b66002e7ee802e8777cf3a92b25f1ecc0129812dc6f59a43a536810cc"
+
+CANARY=0
+VERSION=""
+REF=""
+REPO=""
+NO_ONBOARD=0
+NO_PROMPT=0
+INSTALL_SERVICE=0
+DRY_RUN=0
+VERBOSE=0
+TEMP_DIR=""
+PIPED_INSTALL=0
+
+if [ -z "${BASH_SOURCE[0]:-}" ] || [ ! -f "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" ]; then
+  PIPED_INSTALL=1
+fi
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<'EOF'
+Install Paperclip on macOS, Linux, or WSL2.
+
+Usage:
+  curl -fsSLO https://paperclip.ing/install.sh
+  bash install.sh [options]
+  curl -fsSL https://paperclip.ing/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-prompt [options]
+
+Options:
+  --canary                 Install the canary channel
+  --version <version>      Install an exact published version
+  --no-onboard             Do not start onboarding after installation
+  --no-prompt              Run non-interactively
+  --install-service        Install the per-user Paperclip service
+  --dry-run                Print the install plan without changing files
+  --verbose                Enable verbose installer output
+  -h, --help               Show this help
+
+Every option also has a PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_* environment equivalent, for example
+PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_VERSION=2026.722.0 and PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_PROMPT=1.
+
+To install from a git branch, tag, or commit, use the Paperclip CLI directly:
+npx paperclipai install --ref <ref>
+EOF
+}
+
+log() {
+  printf '[paperclip] %s\n' "$*"
+}
+
+fail() {
+  printf '[paperclip] error: %s\n' "$*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+parse_bool() {
+  local name="$1"
+  local value="${2:-}"
+
+  # ${value,,} requires bash 4; macOS ships bash 3.2, so lowercase portably.
+  value="$(printf '%s' "$value" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+  case "$value" in
+    ""|0|false|no|off) printf '0' ;;
+    1|true|yes|on) printf '1' ;;
+    *) fail "$name must be one of: 1, 0, true, false, yes, no, on, off" ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+require_value() {
+  local option="$1"
+  local value="${2:-}"
+  [ -n "$value" ] || fail "$option requires a value"
+}
+
+cleanup() {
+  if [ -n "$TEMP_DIR" ] && [ -d "$TEMP_DIR" ]; then
+    rm -rf "$TEMP_DIR"
+  fi
+}
+
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+CANARY="$(parse_bool PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_CANARY "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_CANARY:-}")"
+VERSION="${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_VERSION:-}"
+REF="${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_REF:-}"
+REPO="${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_REPO:-}"
+NO_ONBOARD="$(parse_bool PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_ONBOARD "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_ONBOARD:-}")"
+NO_PROMPT="$(parse_bool PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_PROMPT "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_PROMPT:-}")"
+INSTALL_SERVICE="$(parse_bool PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_INSTALL_SERVICE "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_INSTALL_SERVICE:-}")"
+DRY_RUN="$(parse_bool PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_DRY_RUN "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_DRY_RUN:-}")"
+VERBOSE="$(parse_bool PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_VERBOSE "${PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_VERBOSE:-}")"
+
+while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --canary)
+      CANARY=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --version)
+      require_value "$1" "${2:-}"
+      VERSION="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --ref)
+      require_value "$1" "${2:-}"
+      REF="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --repo)
+      require_value "$1" "${2:-}"
+      REPO="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --no-onboard)
+      NO_ONBOARD=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --no-prompt)
+      NO_PROMPT=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --install-service)
+      INSTALL_SERVICE=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --dry-run)
+      DRY_RUN=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --verbose)
+      VERBOSE=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      usage
+      exit 0
+      ;;
+    --)
+      shift
+      break
+      ;;
+    *)
+      fail "unknown option: $1"
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+[ "$#" -eq 0 ] || fail "unexpected argument: $1"
+
+if [ "$CANARY" = "1" ] && [ -n "$VERSION" ]; then
+  fail "--canary and --version cannot be used together"
+fi
+
+if [ -n "$REF" ] || [ -n "$REPO" ]; then
+  fail "git-ref installs are not supported by install.sh; run 'npx paperclipai install --ref <ref>' instead"
+fi
+
+if { [ ! -t 0 ] || [ ! -t 1 ]; } && [ "$NO_PROMPT" != "1" ]; then
+  fail "non-interactive installation requires explicit --no-prompt; download the script first for interactive review"
+fi
+
+if [ "$VERBOSE" = "1" ]; then
+  set -x
+fi
+
+OS="$(uname -s 2>/dev/null || true)"
+ARCH="$(uname -m 2>/dev/null || true)"
+
+case "$OS" in
+  Darwin) OS_NAME="macos" ;;
+  Linux) OS_NAME="linux" ;;
+  *) fail "unsupported operating system: ${OS:-unknown}. Use macOS, Linux, or WSL2." ;;
+esac
+
+case "$ARCH" in
+  x86_64|amd64) ARCH_NAME="x64" ;;
+  arm64|aarch64) ARCH_NAME="arm64" ;;
+  *) fail "unsupported architecture: ${ARCH:-unknown}. Supported architectures: x64, arm64." ;;
+esac
+
+log "Detected $OS_NAME/$ARCH_NAME"
+
+node_major() {
+  local version
+  version="$(node --version 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  version="${version#v}"
+  printf '%s' "${version%%.*}"
+}
+
+has_supported_node() {
+  local major
+  command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 1
+  major="$(node_major)"
+  [[ "$major" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || return 1
+  [ "$major" -ge "$MIN_NODE_MAJOR" ] || return 1
+  command -v npm >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 1
+  command -v npx >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 1
+}
+
+print_command() {
+  printf '[paperclip] +'
+  printf ' %q' "$@"
+  printf '\n'
+}
+
+confirm_command() {
+  print_command "$@"
+  if [ "$NO_PROMPT" = "1" ]; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local answer
+  printf '[paperclip] Run this command? [y/N] ' >/dev/tty
+  IFS= read -r answer </dev/tty || answer=""
+  case "$answer" in
+    y|Y|yes|YES|Yes) ;;
+    *) fail "installation cancelled" ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+run_command() {
+  confirm_command "$@"
+  "$@"
+}
+
+run_privileged() {
+  if [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then
+    run_command "$@"
+    return
+  fi
+
+  command -v sudo >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "sudo is required to install Node.js with the system package manager"
+  run_command sudo "$@"
+}
+
+ensure_temp_dir() {
+  if [ -z "$TEMP_DIR" ]; then
+    TEMP_DIR="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/paperclip-install.XXXXXX")"
+  fi
+}
+
+download_checked_script() {
+  local url="$1"
+  local destination="$2"
+  local expected_sha256="$3"
+  local actual_sha256
+
+  command -v curl >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "curl is required to bootstrap Node.js"
+  curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -fsSL "$url" -o "$destination"
+  [ -s "$destination" ] || fail "downloaded script is empty: $url"
+  if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    actual_sha256="$(sha256sum "$destination" | awk '{print $1}')"
+  elif command -v shasum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    actual_sha256="$(shasum -a 256 "$destination" | awk '{print $1}')"
+  else
+    fail "sha256sum or shasum is required to verify downloaded scripts"
+  fi
+  [ "$actual_sha256" = "$expected_sha256" ] || fail "checksum mismatch for downloaded script: $url"
+  [ "$(head -c 2 "$destination")" = '#!' ] || fail "downloaded file is not an executable script: $url"
+  bash -n "$destination" || fail "downloaded script failed syntax validation: $url"
+}
+
+check_version_manager() {
+  if [ -n "${NVM_DIR:-}" ] || [ -d "${HOME:-}/.nvm" ]; then
+    fail "nvm was detected. Run 'nvm install ${DEFAULT_NODE_MAJOR}' and retry this installer."
+  fi
+  if command -v asdf >/dev/null 2>&1 || [ -d "${HOME:-}/.asdf" ]; then
+    fail "asdf was detected. Run 'asdf install nodejs ${DEFAULT_NODE_MAJOR}' and retry this installer."
+  fi
+}
+
+install_node_macos() {
+  if ! command -v brew >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    ensure_temp_dir
+    local brew_installer="$TEMP_DIR/homebrew-install.sh"
+    log "Homebrew is required to install Node.js"
+    download_checked_script "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/$HOMEBREW_INSTALL_COMMIT/install.sh" "$brew_installer" "$HOMEBREW_INSTALL_SHA256"
+    if [ "$NO_PROMPT" = "1" ]; then
+      run_command env NONINTERACTIVE=1 /bin/bash "$brew_installer"
+    else
+      run_command /bin/bash "$brew_installer"
+    fi
+
+    if [ -x /opt/homebrew/bin/brew ]; then
+      eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
+    elif [ -x /usr/local/bin/brew ]; then
+      eval "$(/usr/local/bin/brew shellenv)"
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  command -v brew >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "Homebrew installation completed but 'brew' is not available on PATH"
+  run_command brew install node
+}
+
+install_node_apt() {
+  ensure_temp_dir
+  local nodesource_installer="$TEMP_DIR/nodesource-setup.sh"
+  run_privileged env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get update
+  run_privileged env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl
+  download_checked_script "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nodesource/distributions/$NODESOURCE_DISTRIBUTIONS_COMMIT/scripts/deb/setup_${DEFAULT_NODE_MAJOR}.x" "$nodesource_installer" "$NODESOURCE_DEB_SHA256"
+  run_privileged env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive bash "$nodesource_installer"
+  run_privileged env DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y nodejs
+}
+
+install_node_dnf() {
+  ensure_temp_dir
+  local nodesource_installer="$TEMP_DIR/nodesource-setup.sh"
+  run_privileged dnf install -y ca-certificates curl
+  download_checked_script "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nodesource/distributions/$NODESOURCE_DISTRIBUTIONS_COMMIT/scripts/rpm/setup_${DEFAULT_NODE_MAJOR}.x" "$nodesource_installer" "$NODESOURCE_RPM_SHA256"
+  run_privileged bash "$nodesource_installer"
+  run_privileged dnf install -y nodejs
+}
+
+install_node_linux() {
+  if command -v apt-get >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    install_node_apt
+  elif command -v dnf >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    install_node_dnf
+  elif command -v pacman >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    run_privileged pacman -Sy --noconfirm --needed nodejs npm
+  elif command -v apk >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    run_privileged apk add --no-cache nodejs npm
+  else
+    fail "no supported Node.js package manager found. Supported: apt, dnf, pacman, apk."
+  fi
+}
+
+if has_supported_node; then
+  log "Using Node.js $(node --version)"
+else
+  if command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    log "Node.js $(node --version 2>/dev/null || printf unknown) is too old; Node.js >= $MIN_NODE_MAJOR is required"
+  else
+    log "Node.js was not found"
+  fi
+  if [ "$PIPED_INSTALL" = "1" ]; then
+    fail "Node.js bootstrap is disabled for piped installs; download install.sh, review it, and run 'bash install.sh --no-prompt'"
+  fi
+  check_version_manager
+  log "Installing Node.js $DEFAULT_NODE_MAJOR"
+  if [ "$OS_NAME" = "macos" ]; then
+    install_node_macos
+  else
+    install_node_linux
+  fi
+  has_supported_node || fail "Node.js installation finished, but Node.js >= $MIN_NODE_MAJOR with npm/npx is not available"
+  log "Installed Node.js $(node --version)"
+fi
+
+PACKAGE_SPEC="$PAPERCLIP_PACKAGE@latest"
+if [ "$CANARY" = "1" ]; then
+  PACKAGE_SPEC="$PAPERCLIP_PACKAGE@canary"
+elif [ -n "$VERSION" ]; then
+  PACKAGE_SPEC="$PAPERCLIP_PACKAGE@$VERSION"
+fi
+
+INSTALL_ARGS=(install)
+[ "$CANARY" = "1" ] && INSTALL_ARGS+=(--canary)
+[ -n "$VERSION" ] && INSTALL_ARGS+=(--version "$VERSION")
+[ "$NO_PROMPT" = "1" ] && INSTALL_ARGS+=(--yes)
+ensure_temp_dir
+NPM_USERCONFIG="$TEMP_DIR/npmrc"
+printf 'registry=%s\n@paperclipai:registry=%s\n' "$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" "$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" >"$NPM_USERCONFIG"
+chmod 600 "$NPM_USERCONFIG"
+NPM_ENV=(env "NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY=$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" "npm_config_registry=$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" "NPM_CONFIG_USERCONFIG=$NPM_USERCONFIG" "npm_config_userconfig=$NPM_USERCONFIG")
+INSTALL_COMMAND=("${NPM_ENV[@]}" npx --yes "--registry=$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" "$PACKAGE_SPEC" "${INSTALL_ARGS[@]}")
+
+log "Delegating to the Paperclip CLI"
+if [ "$DRY_RUN" = "1" ]; then
+  print_command "${INSTALL_COMMAND[@]}"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+print_command "${INSTALL_COMMAND[@]}"
+"${INSTALL_COMMAND[@]}"
+
+if [ "$INSTALL_SERVICE" = "1" ]; then
+  log "Installing the Paperclip service"
+  print_command "${NPM_ENV[@]}" npx --yes "--registry=$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" "$PACKAGE_SPEC" service install
+  "${NPM_ENV[@]}" npx --yes "--registry=$PUBLIC_NPM_REGISTRY" "$PACKAGE_SPEC" service install
+fi
+
+if [ "$NO_ONBOARD" = "0" ] && [ -t 0 ] && [ -t 1 ]; then
+  if command -v paperclipai >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    exec paperclipai onboard
+  elif [ -x "${HOME:-}/.local/bin/paperclipai" ]; then
+    exec "${HOME}/.local/bin/paperclipai" onboard
+  else
+    fail "Paperclip was installed, but 'paperclipai' is not available on PATH. Open a new shell and run 'paperclipai onboard'."
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ "$NO_ONBOARD" = "0" ]; then
+  log "Installation complete. Next: paperclipai onboard"
+else
+  log "Installation complete."
+fi
diff --git a/scripts/prepare-bundled-package.mjs b/scripts/prepare-bundled-package.mjs
index 27dbf643c3..90aac8b68f 100644
--- a/scripts/prepare-bundled-package.mjs
+++ b/scripts/prepare-bundled-package.mjs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
 import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
-import { readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { cpSync, existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { resolve } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 
@@ -15,10 +15,37 @@ export function materializePublishManifest(pkg) {
     if (publishConfig[key] !== undefined) publishManifest[key] = publishConfig[key];
   }
 
+  for (const section of ["dependencies", "optionalDependencies", "peerDependencies"]) {
+    if (!publishManifest[section]) continue;
+    publishManifest[section] = Object.fromEntries(
+      Object.entries(publishManifest[section]).map(([name, specifier]) => {
+        if (typeof specifier !== "string" || !specifier.startsWith("workspace:")) return [name, specifier];
+        const range = specifier.slice("workspace:".length);
+        const prefix = range === "^" || range === "~" ? range : "";
+        return [name, `${prefix}${pkg.version}`];
+      }),
+    );
+  }
+
   delete publishManifest.publishConfig;
   return publishManifest;
 }
 
+export function createBundledInstallManifest(publishManifest, bundledDependencies) {
+  const bundledDependencyNames = new Set(bundledDependencies);
+  const installManifest = structuredClone(publishManifest);
+
+  for (const section of ["dependencies", "optionalDependencies", "peerDependencies"]) {
+    if (!installManifest[section]) continue;
+    installManifest[section] = Object.fromEntries(
+      Object.entries(installManifest[section]).filter(([name]) => bundledDependencyNames.has(name)),
+    );
+    if (Object.keys(installManifest[section]).length === 0) delete installManifest[section];
+  }
+
+  return installManifest;
+}
+
 function patchedDependencyPackageName(specifier) {
   const versionSeparator = specifier.lastIndexOf("@");
   return versionSeparator > 0 ? specifier.slice(0, versionSeparator) : specifier;
@@ -53,25 +80,27 @@ export function prepareBundledPackage(sourceDir, destinationDir) {
     throw new Error(`${sourcePackage.name} does not declare bundled dependencies`);
   }
 
-  execFileSync(
-    "pnpm",
-    ["--filter", sourcePackage.name, "deploy", "--prod", resolve(destinationDir)],
-    { cwd: repoRoot, stdio: "inherit" },
-  );
+  rmSync(destinationDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  mkdirSync(destinationDir, { recursive: true });
+  for (const entry of sourcePackage.files ?? []) {
+    cpSync(resolve(sourceDir, entry), resolve(destinationDir, entry), { recursive: true });
+  }
+  for (const entry of ["README.md", "LICENSE", "LICENSE.md"]) {
+    const sourcePath = resolve(sourceDir, entry);
+    if (existsSync(sourcePath)) cpSync(sourcePath, resolve(destinationDir, entry));
+  }
 
   const deployedPackagePath = resolve(destinationDir, "package.json");
-  const deployedPackage = JSON.parse(readFileSync(deployedPackagePath, "utf8"));
-  writeFileSync(
-    deployedPackagePath,
-    `${JSON.stringify(materializePublishManifest(deployedPackage), null, 2)}\n`,
-  );
+  const publishManifest = materializePublishManifest(sourcePackage);
+  const installManifest = createBundledInstallManifest(publishManifest, bundledDependencies);
+  writeFileSync(deployedPackagePath, `${JSON.stringify(installManifest, null, 2)}\n`);
 
-  rmSync(resolve(destinationDir, "node_modules"), { recursive: true, force: true });
   execFileSync(
     "npm",
     ["install", "--omit=dev", "--ignore-scripts", "--no-audit", "--no-fund"],
     { cwd: destinationDir, stdio: "inherit" },
   );
+  writeFileSync(deployedPackagePath, `${JSON.stringify(publishManifest, null, 2)}\n`);
   applyBundledDependencyPatches(destinationDir, bundledDependencies);
 
   if (
@@ -82,6 +111,30 @@ export function prepareBundledPackage(sourceDir, destinationDir) {
   ) {
     throw new Error("staged acpx runtime is missing the repository patch");
   }
+
+  if (bundledDependencies.includes("embedded-postgres")) {
+    const embeddedPostgresSource = readFileSync(
+      resolve(destinationDir, "node_modules/embedded-postgres/dist/index.js"),
+      "utf8",
+    );
+    if (
+      !embeddedPostgresSource.includes("const LC_MESSAGES_LOCALE = 'C';") ||
+      !embeddedPostgresSource.includes("globalThis.process.env")
+    ) {
+      throw new Error("staged embedded-postgres runtime is missing the repository patch");
+    }
+
+    const embeddedPostgresPackage = JSON.parse(
+      readFileSync(resolve(destinationDir, "node_modules/embedded-postgres/package.json"), "utf8"),
+    );
+    const stagedPackage = JSON.parse(readFileSync(deployedPackagePath, "utf8"));
+    stagedPackage.optionalDependencies = {
+      ...(stagedPackage.optionalDependencies ?? {}),
+      ...(embeddedPostgresPackage.optionalDependencies ?? {}),
+    };
+    writeFileSync(deployedPackagePath, `${JSON.stringify(stagedPackage, null, 2)}\n`);
+    rmSync(resolve(destinationDir, "node_modules/@embedded-postgres"), { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
 }
 
 if (process.argv[1] === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)) {
diff --git a/scripts/release-lib.sh b/scripts/release-lib.sh
index a0e2852d75..67c35919f0 100644
--- a/scripts/release-lib.sh
+++ b/scripts/release-lib.sh
@@ -385,6 +385,43 @@ publish_package_to_npm() {
   return 1
 }
 
+publish_package_to_npm_and_wait() {
+  local dist_tag="$1"
+  local package_name="$2"
+  local package_version="$3"
+  local publish_tool="${4:-pnpm}"
+  local attempts="${5:-12}"
+  local delay_seconds="${6:-5}"
+
+  publish_package_to_npm "$dist_tag" "$package_name" "$package_version" "$publish_tool" || return 1
+
+  if wait_for_npm_package_version "$package_name" "$package_version" "$attempts" "$delay_seconds"; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  release_warn "npm accepted ${package_name}@${package_version}, but the version did not become registry-visible."
+  return 1
+}
+
+verify_npm_installable() {
+  local package_spec="$1"
+  local expected_version="$2"
+  local install_dir
+  local installed_version
+
+  install_dir="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/paperclip-release-install.XXXXXX")"
+
+  if ! npm install --prefix "$install_dir" "$package_spec" --no-audit --no-fund; then
+    rm -rf "$install_dir"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  installed_version="$(node -e "console.log(require(process.argv[1]).version)" "$install_dir/node_modules/paperclipai/package.json")"
+  rm -rf "$install_dir"
+
+  [ "$installed_version" = "$expected_version" ]
+}
+
 wait_for_release_registry_state() {
   local attempts="${1:-12}"
   local delay_seconds="${2:-5}"
diff --git a/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs b/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs
index e33974c8c1..eb6a6efde0 100644
--- a/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release-lib.test.mjs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ function runPublishHelper({
   distTag = "canary",
   callerPipefail = true,
   publishTool = "pnpm",
+  waitForRegistry = false,
 }) {
   const fixtureDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "paperclip-release-lib-"));
   const binDir = join(fixtureDir, "bin");
@@ -129,7 +130,11 @@ exec npm "$@"
   const script = `
 ${shellOptions}
 source "${repoRoot}/scripts/release-lib.sh"
-publish_package_to_npm ${distTag} @paperclipai/example 1.2.3 ${publishTool}
+${
+  waitForRegistry
+    ? `publish_package_to_npm_and_wait ${distTag} @paperclipai/example 1.2.3 ${publishTool} 1 0`
+    : `publish_package_to_npm ${distTag} @paperclipai/example 1.2.3 ${publishTool}`
+}
 `;
 
   let status = 0;
@@ -239,3 +244,23 @@ test("publish_package_to_npm does not retry stable publishes without provenance"
   assert.match(result.calls, /^npm view @paperclipai\/example@1\.2\.3 version$/m);
   assert.doesNotMatch(result.calls, /--provenance=false/);
 });
+
+test("publish_package_to_npm_and_wait confirms registry visibility before returning", () => {
+  const result = runPublishHelper({
+    pnpmMode: "success",
+    npmVersionExists: true,
+    waitForRegistry: true,
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(result.status, 0);
+  assert.match(result.calls, /^pnpm publish --no-git-checks --tag canary --access public$/m);
+  assert.match(result.calls, /^npm view @paperclipai\/example@1\.2\.3 version$/m);
+});
+
+test("publish_package_to_npm_and_wait blocks the release when registry visibility lags", () => {
+  const result = runPublishHelper({ pnpmMode: "success", waitForRegistry: true });
+
+  assert.notEqual(result.status, 0);
+  assert.match(result.calls, /^npm view @paperclipai\/example@1\.2\.3 version$/m);
+  assert.match(result.output, /did not become registry-visible/);
+});
diff --git a/scripts/release-package-map.mjs b/scripts/release-package-map.mjs
index 12ed0124fa..bf41cd9c22 100644
--- a/scripts/release-package-map.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release-package-map.mjs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const repoRoot = resolve(__dirname, "..");
 const manifestPath = join(repoRoot, "scripts", "release-package-manifest.json");
 const roots = ["packages", "server", "ui", "cli"];
+const CHANNEL_ENTRYPOINT_PACKAGE = "paperclipai";
 
 function readJson(filePath) {
   return JSON.parse(readFileSync(filePath, "utf8"));
@@ -211,7 +212,22 @@ function sortTopologically(packages) {
 }
 
 function getReleasePackages() {
-  return sortTopologically(buildReleasePackagePlan().filter((pkg) => pkg.publishFromCi));
+  const ordered = sortTopologically(buildReleasePackagePlan().filter((pkg) => pkg.publishFromCi));
+  const entrypoint = ordered.find((pkg) => pkg.name === CHANNEL_ENTRYPOINT_PACKAGE);
+
+  if (!entrypoint) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `release package graph is missing channel entrypoint ${CHANNEL_ENTRYPOINT_PACKAGE}`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  // npm trusted publishing can authenticate `npm publish`, but not a later
+  // `npm dist-tag add`. Publish the user-facing CLI last so its channel tag
+  // cannot advance until every other release package has been accepted by npm.
+  return [
+    ...ordered.filter((pkg) => pkg.name !== CHANNEL_ENTRYPOINT_PACKAGE),
+    entrypoint,
+  ];
 }
 
 function replaceWorkspaceDeps(deps, version) {
diff --git a/scripts/release-package-map.test.mjs b/scripts/release-package-map.test.mjs
index 577186057b..e323f6c94d 100644
--- a/scripts/release-package-map.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/release-package-map.test.mjs
@@ -24,6 +24,33 @@ test("release package list only contains CI-enrolled packages", () => {
   assert.ok(enabledPackages.every((pkg) => pkg.publishFromCi === true));
 });
 
+test("release package list publishes the installable channel entrypoint last", () => {
+  const enabledPackages = getReleasePackages();
+
+  assert.equal(enabledPackages.at(-1)?.name, "paperclipai");
+  assert.ok(enabledPackages.slice(0, -1).some((pkg) => pkg.name === "@paperclipai/server"));
+});
+
+test("release package list keeps runtime workspace dependencies ahead of consumers", () => {
+  const enabledPackages = getReleasePackages();
+  const publishIndexByName = new Map(enabledPackages.map((pkg, index) => [pkg.name, index]));
+
+  for (const pkg of enabledPackages) {
+    for (const section of ["dependencies", "optionalDependencies", "peerDependencies"]) {
+      for (const [dependencyName, spec] of Object.entries(pkg.pkg[section] ?? {})) {
+        if (typeof spec !== "string" || !spec.startsWith("workspace:")) continue;
+        const dependencyIndex = publishIndexByName.get(dependencyName);
+        if (dependencyIndex === undefined) continue;
+
+        assert.ok(
+          dependencyIndex < publishIndexByName.get(pkg.name),
+          `${dependencyName} must publish before ${pkg.name}`,
+        );
+      }
+    }
+  }
+});
+
 test("Hermes release surface publishes the unified built-in package and keeps gateway as a shim", () => {
   const packages = buildReleasePackagePlan();
   const hermes = packages.find((pkg) => pkg.name === "@paperclipai/hermes-paperclip-adapter");
diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index cbdc39d50b..8e42505af1 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -250,6 +250,9 @@ if [ "$VERSION_IN_CLI_PACKAGE" != "$TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION" ]; then
   release_fail "versioning drift detected. Expected $TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION but found $VERSION_IN_CLI_PACKAGE."
 fi
 
+VERIFY_ATTEMPTS="${NPM_PUBLISH_VERIFY_ATTEMPTS:-12}"
+VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS="${NPM_PUBLISH_VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS:-5}"
+
 release_info ""
 if [ "$dry_run" = true ]; then
   release_info "==> Step 5/7: Previewing publish payloads (--dry-run)..."
@@ -281,12 +284,24 @@ else
       node "$REPO_ROOT/scripts/prepare-bundled-package.mjs" "$REPO_ROOT/$pkg_dir" "$publish_dir"
       cd "$publish_dir"
     fi
-    publish_package_to_npm "$DIST_TAG" "$pkg_name" "$pkg_version" "$publish_tool"
+    if ! publish_package_to_npm_and_wait \
+      "$DIST_TAG" \
+      "$pkg_name" \
+      "$pkg_version" \
+      "$publish_tool" \
+      "$VERIFY_ATTEMPTS" \
+      "$VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS"; then
+      if [ "$publish_tool" = "npm" ]; then
+        rm -rf "$publish_dir"
+      fi
+      release_fail "stopping release: npm did not publish and expose ${pkg_name}@${pkg_version}"
+    fi
     if [ "$publish_tool" = "npm" ]; then
       rm -rf "$publish_dir"
     fi
+    release_info "    ✓ Published version is registry-visible"
   done <<< "$VERSIONED_PACKAGE_INFO"
-  release_info "  ✓ Published all packages under dist-tag $DIST_TAG"
+  release_info "  ✓ Published the full package set under dist-tag $DIST_TAG"
 fi
 
 release_info ""
@@ -294,29 +309,9 @@ if [ "$dry_run" = true ]; then
   release_info "==> Step 6/7: Skipping npm verification in dry-run mode..."
 else
   release_info "==> Step 6/7: Confirming npm package availability and dist-tag integrity..."
-  VERIFY_ATTEMPTS="${NPM_PUBLISH_VERIFY_ATTEMPTS:-12}"
-  VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS="${NPM_PUBLISH_VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS:-5}"
   REGISTRY_STATE_VERIFY_ATTEMPTS="${NPM_REGISTRY_STATE_VERIFY_ATTEMPTS:-12}"
   REGISTRY_STATE_VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS="${NPM_REGISTRY_STATE_VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS:-5}"
-  MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES=""
-
-  while IFS=$'\t' read -r _pkg_dir pkg_name pkg_version; do
-    [ -z "$pkg_name" ] && continue
-    release_info "  Checking $pkg_name@$pkg_version"
-    if wait_for_npm_package_version "$pkg_name" "$pkg_version" "$VERIFY_ATTEMPTS" "$VERIFY_DELAY_SECONDS"; then
-      release_info "    ✓ Found on npm"
-      continue
-    fi
-
-    if [ -n "$MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES" ]; then
-      MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES="${MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES}, "
-    fi
-    MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES="${MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES}${pkg_name}@${pkg_version}"
-  done <<< "$VERSIONED_PACKAGE_INFO"
-
-  [ -z "$MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES" ] || release_fail "publish completed but npm never exposed: $MISSING_PUBLISHED_PACKAGES"
-
-  release_info "  ✓ Verified all versioned packages are available on npm"
+  release_info "  ✓ Every version was registry-visible before the next package publish"
 
   verify_args=(
     --channel "$channel"
@@ -342,6 +337,12 @@ else
 
     release_fail "publish completed, but npm dist-tags or registry metadata never converged for ${TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION}"
   fi
+
+  release_info "  Installing paperclipai@$DIST_TAG into a clean prefix..."
+  if ! verify_npm_installable "paperclipai@$DIST_TAG" "$TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION"; then
+    release_fail "paperclipai@$DIST_TAG did not install cleanly at expected version ${TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION}"
+  fi
+  release_info "    ✓ Clean-prefix install resolved ${TARGET_PUBLISH_VERSION}"
 fi
 
 release_info ""
diff --git a/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh b/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..741c138cf9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+RESULTS_DIR="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/paperclip-install-sh.XXXXXX")"
+KEEP_RESULTS="${KEEP_RESULTS:-0}"
+
+cleanup() {
+  if [ "$KEEP_RESULTS" = "1" ]; then
+    printf 'Kept installer test results at %s\n' "$RESULTS_DIR"
+    return
+  fi
+  rm -rf "$RESULTS_DIR"
+}
+
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+command -v docker >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+  echo "docker is required" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+run_shellcheck() {
+  docker run --rm \
+    -v "$REPO_ROOT:/work:ro" \
+    -w /work \
+    koalaman/shellcheck:stable \
+    scripts/install.sh scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh scripts/install-sh-fixtures/npx
+}
+
+run_with_node() {
+  local name="$1"
+  shift
+  docker run --rm \
+    -v "$REPO_ROOT/scripts:/paperclip-scripts:ro" \
+    -v "$RESULTS_DIR:/results" \
+    -e "PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG=/results/$name.args" \
+    -e PATH="/paperclip-scripts/install-sh-fixtures:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin" \
+    node:22-bookworm-slim \
+    "$@"
+}
+
+assert_line() {
+  local file="$1"
+  local expected="$2"
+  grep -Fx -- "$expected" "$file" >/dev/null || {
+    printf 'Expected %q in %s\n' "$expected" "$file" >&2
+    cat "$file" >&2
+    exit 1
+  }
+}
+
+assert_no_line() {
+  local file="$1"
+  local unexpected="$2"
+  if grep -Fx -- "$unexpected" "$file" >/dev/null; then
+    printf 'Did not expect %q in %s\n' "$unexpected" "$file" >&2
+    cat "$file" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+echo "==> shellcheck"
+run_shellcheck
+
+echo "==> existing Node"
+run_with_node with-node bash /paperclip-scripts/install.sh --no-prompt --no-onboard
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "paperclipai@latest"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "install"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "--yes"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "--registry=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "npm_config_registry=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/with-node.args" "npmrc:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+
+echo "==> hostile npm config isolation"
+mkdir -p "$RESULTS_DIR/hostile-home"
+printf 'registry=http://attacker-registry.invalid\n' >"$RESULTS_DIR/hostile-home/.npmrc"
+docker run --rm \
+  -v "$REPO_ROOT/scripts:/paperclip-scripts:ro" \
+  -v "$RESULTS_DIR:/results" \
+  -e HOME=/results/hostile-home \
+  -e NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY=http://attacker-registry.invalid \
+  -e npm_config_registry=http://attacker-registry.invalid \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG=/results/hostile.args \
+  -e PATH="/paperclip-scripts/install-sh-fixtures:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin" \
+  node:22-bookworm-slim \
+  bash /paperclip-scripts/install.sh --no-prompt --no-onboard
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/hostile.args" "--registry=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/hostile.args" "NPM_CONFIG_REGISTRY=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/hostile.args" "npm_config_registry=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/hostile.args" "npmrc:registry=https://registry.npmjs.org"
+
+echo "==> --ref master"
+if run_with_node ref-master bash /paperclip-scripts/install.sh --ref master --no-onboard; then
+  echo "Expected --ref to fail until git-ref installation support is integrated" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+[ ! -e "$RESULTS_DIR/ref-master.args" ] || {
+  echo "Expected --ref failure before invoking npx" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+echo "==> piped mode requires explicit consent"
+if run_with_node piped-rejected bash -c 'cat /paperclip-scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-onboard'; then
+  echo "Expected piped install without --no-prompt to fail" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "==> piped --no-prompt"
+run_with_node piped bash -c 'cat /paperclip-scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-prompt --no-onboard'
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/piped.args" "--yes"
+
+echo "==> piped mode refuses privileged Node bootstrap"
+if docker run --rm \
+  -v "$REPO_ROOT/scripts:/paperclip-scripts:ro" \
+  -e PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin" \
+  ubuntu:24.04 \
+  bash -c 'cat /paperclip-scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-prompt --no-onboard' \
+  >"$RESULTS_DIR/piped-no-node.out" 2>&1; then
+  echo "Expected piped install without Node.js to fail before privileged bootstrap" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/piped-no-node.out" "[paperclip] error: Node.js bootstrap is disabled for piped installs; download install.sh, review it, and run 'bash install.sh --no-prompt'"
+
+echo "==> dry run"
+run_with_node dry-run bash /paperclip-scripts/install.sh --no-prompt --dry-run --no-onboard
+[ ! -e "$RESULTS_DIR/dry-run.args" ] || {
+  echo "Expected --dry-run to avoid invoking npx" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+echo "==> environment twins"
+docker run --rm \
+  -v "$REPO_ROOT/scripts:/paperclip-scripts:ro" \
+  -v "$RESULTS_DIR:/results" \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG=/results/env.args \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_VERSION=2026.722.0 \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_INSTALL_SERVICE=1 \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_ONBOARD=1 \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_NO_PROMPT=1 \
+  -e PATH="/paperclip-scripts/install-sh-fixtures:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin" \
+  node:22-bookworm-slim \
+  bash /paperclip-scripts/install.sh
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/env.args" "paperclipai@2026.722.0"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/env.args" "--version"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/env.args" "2026.722.0"
+assert_no_line "$RESULTS_DIR/env.args" "--repo"
+assert_no_line "$RESULTS_DIR/env.args" "--install-service"
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/env.args" "service"
+
+echo "==> no Node, apt bootstrap"
+docker run --rm \
+  -v "$REPO_ROOT/scripts:/paperclip-scripts:ro" \
+  -v "$RESULTS_DIR:/results" \
+  -e PAPERCLIP_INSTALL_TEST_LOG=/results/no-node.args \
+  -e PATH="/paperclip-scripts/install-sh-fixtures:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin" \
+  ubuntu:24.04 \
+  bash -c 'apt-get update >/dev/null && apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl >/dev/null && bash /paperclip-scripts/install.sh --no-prompt --no-onboard'
+assert_line "$RESULTS_DIR/no-node.args" "paperclipai@latest"
+node_version="$(cat "$RESULTS_DIR/no-node.args.node")"
+node_major="${node_version#v}"
+node_major="${node_major%%.*}"
+[ "$node_major" -ge 20 ] || {
+  printf 'Expected Node >= 20, got %s\n' "$node_version" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+echo "Installer Docker checks passed."
diff --git a/server/src/__tests__/issues-service.test.ts b/server/src/__tests__/issues-service.test.ts
index 532828082f..ffa2879e34 100644
--- a/server/src/__tests__/issues-service.test.ts
+++ b/server/src/__tests__/issues-service.test.ts
@@ -3475,6 +3475,7 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
         id: blockerId,
         companyId,
         projectId,
+        identifier: "PAP-15043",
         title: "Predecessor",
         status: "done",
         priority: "medium",
@@ -3484,6 +3485,7 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
         id: dependentId,
         companyId,
         projectId,
+        identifier: "PAP-15046",
         title: "Dependent",
         status: "blocked",
         priority: "medium",
@@ -3493,6 +3495,7 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
         id: foreignIssueId,
         companyId,
         projectId,
+        identifier: "PAP-15125",
         title: "Foreign in-flight issue",
         status: "in_progress",
         priority: "medium",
@@ -3861,6 +3864,7 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
       executionWorkspaceId,
       blockerId,
       dependentId,
+      foreignIssueId,
       assigneeAgentId,
     } = await seedSharedWorkspaceDependency();
 
@@ -3892,13 +3896,36 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
       startedAt: new Date("2026-05-23T22:05:00.000Z"),
     });
     expect(await svc.listWakeableBlockedDependents(blockerId)).toEqual([]);
+    const pendingDependent = (await svc.list(companyId, { status: "blocked" }))
+      .find((issue) => issue.id === dependentId);
+    expect(pendingDependent?.blockerAttention).toMatchObject({
+      state: "needs_attention",
+      unresolvedBlockerCount: 1,
+      attentionBlockerCount: 1,
+      pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds: [blockerId],
+      sampleBlockerIdentifier: "PAP-15043",
+    });
+    await expect(
+      svc.checkout(dependentId, assigneeAgentId, ["blocked"], null),
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      status: 422,
+      details: {
+        unresolvedBlockerIssueIds: [blockerId],
+        unresolvedBlockers: [{
+          issueId: blockerId,
+          identifier: "PAP-15043",
+          title: "Predecessor",
+          reason: "pending_finalize",
+        }],
+      },
+    });
 
-    // Once a workspace_finalize succeeded row lands AFTER the failed one,
-    // the gate opens and the dependent is wakeable.
+    // A later successful finalize on the same workspace, even when attributed
+    // to another issue, proves the shared branch is coherent past the failure.
     await db.insert(workspaceOperations).values({
       companyId,
       executionWorkspaceId,
-      issueId: blockerId,
+      issueId: foreignIssueId,
       phase: "workspace_finalize",
       status: "succeeded",
       startedAt: new Date("2026-05-23T22:10:00.000Z"),
@@ -4081,7 +4108,7 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
     const blockerId = randomUUID();
     const blockedId = randomUUID();
     await db.insert(issues).values([
-      { id: blockerId, companyId, title: "Blocker", status: "todo", priority: "medium" },
+      { id: blockerId, companyId, identifier: "PAP-1", title: "Blocker", status: "todo", priority: "medium" },
       {
         id: blockedId,
         companyId,
@@ -4099,7 +4126,18 @@ describeEmbeddedPostgres("issueService blockers and dependency wake readiness",
 
     await expect(
       svc.checkout(blockedId, assigneeAgentId, ["todo", "blocked"], null),
-    ).rejects.toMatchObject({ status: 422 });
+    ).rejects.toMatchObject({
+      status: 422,
+      details: {
+        unresolvedBlockerIssueIds: [blockerId],
+        unresolvedBlockers: [{
+          issueId: blockerId,
+          identifier: "PAP-1",
+          title: "Blocker",
+          reason: "not_done",
+        }],
+      },
+    });
   });
 
   it("wakes parents only when all direct children are terminal", async () => {
diff --git a/server/src/index.ts b/server/src/index.ts
index 80523982a9..66705852ef 100644
--- a/server/src/index.ts
+++ b/server/src/index.ts
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ import { maybePersistWorktreeRuntimePorts } from "./worktree-config.js";
 import { initTelemetry, getTelemetryClient } from "./telemetry.js";
 import { conflict } from "./errors.js";
 import { coordinateHeartbeatSchedulerShutdown } from "./shutdown.js";
+import { systemdNotify } from "./services/systemd-notify.js";
 import { flushInFlightRunLogMirrors } from "./services/run-log-store.js";
 import type {
   InstanceDatabaseBackupRunResult,
@@ -1234,6 +1235,9 @@ export async function startServer(): Promise<StartedServer> {
     server.listen(listenPort, config.host, () => {
       server.off("error", onError);
       logger.info(`Server listening on ${config.host}:${listenPort}`);
+      void systemdNotify(["--ready", `--status=Listening on ${config.host}:${listenPort}`]).then((notified) => {
+        if (notified) logger.info("Notified systemd that Paperclip is ready");
+      });
       if (process.env.PAPERCLIP_OPEN_ON_LISTEN === "true") {
         const openHost = config.host === "0.0.0.0" || config.host === "::" ? "127.0.0.1" : config.host;
         const url = `http://${openHost}:${listenPort}`;
@@ -1287,6 +1291,7 @@ export async function startServer(): Promise<StartedServer> {
   
   {
     const shutdown = async (signal: "SIGINT" | "SIGTERM") => {
+      await systemdNotify(["--stopping", `--status=Stopping after ${signal}`]);
       heartbeatSchedulerStopped = true;
       if (heartbeatSchedulerInterval) {
         clearInterval(heartbeatSchedulerInterval);
diff --git a/server/src/services/hot-restart.ts b/server/src/services/hot-restart.ts
index 7c0a4596ce..25b7f4647f 100644
--- a/server/src/services/hot-restart.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/hot-restart.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
-import { resolvePaperclipHomeDir } from "../home-paths.js";
+import { resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot } from "../home-paths.js";
 
 export const HOT_RESTART_INTENT_FILENAME = "hot-restart-intent.json";
 export const HOT_RESTART_REPORT_FILENAME = "hot-restart-report.json";
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ export type HotRestartReport = {
 };
 
 function resolveHotRestartPath(filename: string, homeDir?: string) {
-  return path.join(resolvePaperclipHomeDir(homeDir), filename);
+  return path.join(resolvePaperclipInstanceRoot({ homeDir }), filename);
 }
 
 export function resolveHotRestartIntentPath(homeDir?: string) {
diff --git a/server/src/services/issues.ts b/server/src/services/issues.ts
index 721d15deee..760dda43ff 100644
--- a/server/src/services/issues.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/issues.ts
@@ -1023,14 +1023,20 @@ async function listPendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds(
       and(
         eq(workspaceOperations.companyId, companyId),
         inArray(workspaceOperations.executionWorkspaceId, executionWorkspaceIds),
-        or(inArray(workspaceOperations.issueId, blockerIssueIds), isNull(workspaceOperations.issueId)),
       ),
     );
 
   const latestAttributedByBlockerWorkspace = new Map<string, { phase: string; status: string; startedAt: Date }>();
   const latestUnattributedByWorkspace = new Map<string, { phase: string; status: string; startedAt: Date }>();
+  const latestSuccessfulFinalizeByWorkspace = new Map<string, Date>();
   for (const row of rows) {
     if (!row.executionWorkspaceId) continue;
+    if (row.phase === "workspace_finalize" && row.status === "succeeded") {
+      const current = latestSuccessfulFinalizeByWorkspace.get(row.executionWorkspaceId);
+      if (!current || row.startedAt > current) {
+        latestSuccessfulFinalizeByWorkspace.set(row.executionWorkspaceId, row.startedAt);
+      }
+    }
     if (row.issueId) {
       const key = `${row.issueId}:${row.executionWorkspaceId}`;
       if (!blockerWorkspaceKeys.has(key)) continue;
@@ -1060,6 +1066,8 @@ async function listPendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds(
       ?? latestUnattributedByWorkspace.get(pair.executionWorkspaceId);
     if (!latest) continue; // no ops recorded -> nothing to finalize for this blocker
     if (latest.phase === "workspace_finalize" && latest.status === "succeeded") continue;
+    const laterSuccessfulFinalize = latestSuccessfulFinalizeByWorkspace.get(pair.executionWorkspaceId);
+    if (laterSuccessfulFinalize && laterSuccessfulFinalize > latest.startedAt) continue;
     pending.add(pair.blockerIssueId);
   }
 
@@ -1224,6 +1232,34 @@ async function listIssueDependencyReadinessMap(
   return readinessMap;
 }
 
+async function listUnresolvedBlockerDetails(
+  dbOrTx: Pick<Db, "select">,
+  companyId: string,
+  unresolvedBlockerIssueIds: string[],
+  pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds: string[] = [],
+) {
+  if (unresolvedBlockerIssueIds.length === 0) return [];
+  const pendingFinalizeIds = new Set(pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds);
+  const rows = await dbOrTx
+    .select({
+      issueId: issues.id,
+      identifier: issues.identifier,
+      title: issues.title,
+    })
+    .from(issues)
+    .where(and(eq(issues.companyId, companyId), inArray(issues.id, unresolvedBlockerIssueIds)));
+  const rowsById = new Map(rows.map((row) => [row.issueId, row]));
+  return unresolvedBlockerIssueIds.map((issueId) => {
+    const row = rowsById.get(issueId);
+    return {
+      issueId,
+      identifier: row?.identifier ?? null,
+      title: row?.title ?? null,
+      reason: pendingFinalizeIds.has(issueId) ? "pending_finalize" as const : "not_done" as const,
+    };
+  });
+}
+
 async function listUnresolvedBlockerIssueIds(
   dbOrTx: Pick<Db, "select">,
   companyId: string,
@@ -1931,6 +1967,7 @@ function createIssueBlockerAttention(input: Partial<IssueBlockerAttention> = {})
     coveredBlockerCount: input.coveredBlockerCount ?? 0,
     stalledBlockerCount: input.stalledBlockerCount ?? 0,
     attentionBlockerCount: input.attentionBlockerCount ?? 0,
+    pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds: input.pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds ?? [],
     sampleBlockerIdentifier: input.sampleBlockerIdentifier ?? null,
     sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier: input.sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier ?? null,
   };
@@ -2186,10 +2223,17 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
 
   let frontier = roots.map((root) => root.id);
   let truncated = false;
+  const pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds = new Set<string>();
   for (let depth = 0; frontier.length > 0 && depth < BLOCKER_ATTENTION_MAX_DEPTH; depth += 1) {
     const nextFrontier = new Set<string>();
 
     for (const chunk of chunkList([...new Set(frontier)], ISSUE_LIST_RELATED_QUERY_CHUNK_SIZE)) {
+      const readinessByIssueId = await listIssueDependencyReadinessMap(dbOrTx, companyId, chunk);
+      for (const readiness of readinessByIssueId.values()) {
+        for (const blockerIssueId of readiness.pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds) {
+          pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds.add(blockerIssueId);
+        }
+      }
       const explicitBlockerRowsPromise: Promise<IssueBlockerAttentionQueryRow[]> = dbOrTx
         .select({
           issueId: issueRelations.relatedIssueId,
@@ -2212,7 +2256,6 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
             eq(issueRelations.type, "blocks"),
             inArray(issueRelations.relatedIssueId, chunk),
             eq(issues.companyId, companyId),
-            ne(issues.status, "done"),
           ),
         );
       const childRowsPromise: Promise<IssueBlockerAttentionQueryRow[]> = dbOrTx
@@ -2242,8 +2285,11 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
         childRowsPromise,
       ]);
 
+      const unresolvedExplicitBlockerRows = explicitBlockerRows.filter(
+        (row) => row.status !== "done" || pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds.has(row.blockerIssueId),
+      );
       appendBlockerAttentionEdges(edgesByIssueId, [
-        ...explicitBlockerRows
+        ...unresolvedExplicitBlockerRows
           .filter((row): row is IssueBlockerAttentionQueryRow & { issueId: string } => row.issueId !== null)
           .map((row) => ({ issueId: row.issueId, blockerIssueId: row.blockerIssueId })),
         ...childRows
@@ -2251,7 +2297,7 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
           .map((row) => ({ issueId: row.issueId, blockerIssueId: row.blockerIssueId })),
       ]);
 
-      for (const row of [...explicitBlockerRows, ...childRows]) {
+      for (const row of [...unresolvedExplicitBlockerRows, ...childRows]) {
         if (!row.issueId || nodesById.has(row.blockerIssueId)) continue;
         nodesById.set(row.blockerIssueId, {
           id: row.blockerIssueId,
@@ -2423,7 +2469,7 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
       return { covered: false, stalled: false, sampleBlockerIdentifier: nodeId, sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier: null };
     }
     const nodeSample = blockerSampleIdentifier(node);
-    if (node.status === "done") {
+    if (node.status === "done" && !pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds.has(node.id)) {
       return { covered: true, stalled: false, sampleBlockerIdentifier: nodeSample, sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier: null };
     }
     if (explicitWaitingIssueIds.has(node.id)) {
@@ -2449,7 +2495,10 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
       return { covered: false, stalled: false, sampleBlockerIdentifier: nodeSample, sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier: null };
     }
 
-    const downstream = (edgesByIssueId.get(node.id) ?? []).filter((edge) => nodesById.get(edge.blockerIssueId)?.status !== "done");
+    const downstream = (edgesByIssueId.get(node.id) ?? []).filter((edge) => {
+      const blocker = nodesById.get(edge.blockerIssueId);
+      return blocker?.status !== "done" || pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds.has(edge.blockerIssueId);
+    });
     if (downstream.length > 0) {
       const nextSeen = new Set(seen);
       nextSeen.add(nodeId);
@@ -2493,7 +2542,10 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
   };
 
   for (const root of roots) {
-    const topLevelEdges = (edgesByIssueId.get(root.id) ?? []).filter((edge) => nodesById.get(edge.blockerIssueId)?.status !== "done");
+    const topLevelEdges = (edgesByIssueId.get(root.id) ?? []).filter((edge) => {
+      const blocker = nodesById.get(edge.blockerIssueId);
+      return blocker?.status !== "done" || pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds.has(edge.blockerIssueId);
+    });
     if (topLevelEdges.length === 0) {
       attentionMap.set(root.id, createIssueBlockerAttention({
         state: "needs_attention",
@@ -2539,6 +2591,9 @@ async function listIssueBlockerAttentionMap(
       coveredBlockerCount,
       stalledBlockerCount,
       attentionBlockerCount,
+      pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds: topLevelEdges
+        .map((edge) => edge.blockerIssueId)
+        .filter((blockerIssueId) => pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds.has(blockerIssueId)),
       sampleBlockerIdentifier: sampleEntry?.result.sampleBlockerIdentifier ?? blockerSampleIdentifier(sampleNode),
       sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier:
         stalledEntry?.result.sampleStalledBlockerIdentifier ?? sampleStalledFromChain ?? null,
@@ -6904,13 +6959,23 @@ export function issueService(db: Db) {
         throw unprocessable("in_progress issues require an assignee");
       }
       if (patch.status === "in_progress") {
+        const dependencyReadiness = blockedByIssueIds === undefined
+          ? (await listIssueDependencyReadinessMap(dbOrTx, existing.companyId, [id])).get(id)
+          : null;
         const unresolvedBlockerIssueIds = blockedByIssueIds !== undefined
           ? await listUnresolvedBlockerIssueIds(dbOrTx, existing.companyId, blockedByIssueIds)
-          : (
-              await listIssueDependencyReadinessMap(dbOrTx, existing.companyId, [id])
-            ).get(id)?.unresolvedBlockerIssueIds ?? [];
+          : dependencyReadiness?.unresolvedBlockerIssueIds ?? [];
         if (unresolvedBlockerIssueIds.length > 0) {
-          throw unprocessable("Issue is blocked by unresolved blockers", { unresolvedBlockerIssueIds });
+          const unresolvedBlockers = await listUnresolvedBlockerDetails(
+            dbOrTx,
+            existing.companyId,
+            unresolvedBlockerIssueIds,
+            dependencyReadiness?.pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds,
+          );
+          throw unprocessable("Issue is blocked by unresolved blockers", {
+            unresolvedBlockerIssueIds,
+            unresolvedBlockers,
+          });
         }
       }
       const shouldValidateNextAssignee =
@@ -7235,9 +7300,19 @@ export function issueService(db: Db) {
       await clearCheckoutRunIfTerminal(id);
 
       const dependencyReadiness = await listIssueDependencyReadinessMap(db, issueCompany.companyId, [id]);
-      const unresolvedBlockerIssueIds = dependencyReadiness.get(id)?.unresolvedBlockerIssueIds ?? [];
+      const readiness = dependencyReadiness.get(id);
+      const unresolvedBlockerIssueIds = readiness?.unresolvedBlockerIssueIds ?? [];
       if (unresolvedBlockerIssueIds.length > 0) {
-        throw unprocessable("Issue is blocked by unresolved blockers", { unresolvedBlockerIssueIds });
+        const unresolvedBlockers = await listUnresolvedBlockerDetails(
+          db,
+          issueCompany.companyId,
+          unresolvedBlockerIssueIds,
+          readiness?.pendingFinalizeBlockerIssueIds,
+        );
+        throw unprocessable("Issue is blocked by unresolved blockers", {
+          unresolvedBlockerIssueIds,
+          unresolvedBlockers,
+        });
       }
 
       const sameRunAssigneeCondition = checkoutRunId
diff --git a/server/src/services/systemd-notify.ts b/server/src/services/systemd-notify.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..793cbd62b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/services/systemd-notify.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
+
+export async function systemdNotify(args: string[]): Promise<boolean> {
+  if (!process.env.NOTIFY_SOCKET?.trim()) return false;
+  return await new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
+    execFile("systemd-notify", args, { windowsHide: true }, (error) => resolve(!error));
+  });
+}