diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
index 94f480d..dd908cd 100644
--- a/.gitattributes
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -1 +1,3 @@
-* text=auto eol=lf
\ No newline at end of file
+* text=auto eol=lf
+install/install.sh linguist-detectable=false
+install/install.ps1 linguist-detectable=false
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 44d43fa..1ee42c8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,23 +1,30 @@
 # shell-use
 
-> [!WARNING]
-> **Work in progress.** `shell-use` is still being built out, so commands and behavior may change between releases & installation instructions may not yet work.
-
 `shell-use` is a rust powered cli for controlling, inspecting, testing, and recording shell sessions and terminal apps. It supports all standard terminal actions (send keys, mouse clicks) & user actions (screenshot, record sessions), & testing (matches screenshot, contains text). `shell-use` supports Windows, Linux, & macOS and it supports a wide range of shells (see [Supported shells](#supported-shells)).
 
 ## Install
 
-### homebrew (macOS/linux)
+### install script
+
+macOS / Linux:
 
 ```sh
-brew tap microsoft/shell-use https://github.com/microsoft/shell-use
-brew install shell-use
+curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/shell-use/main/install/install.sh | sh
+```
+
+Windows PowerShell:
+
+```powershell
+irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/shell-use/main/install/install.ps1 | iex
 ```
 
-### winget (windows)
+Use `SHELL_USE_VERSION` to select a specific version or `SHELL_USE_INSTALL_DIR` to select an install location.
+
+### homebrew (macOS/linux)
 
 ```sh
-winget install Microsoft.ShellUse
+brew tap microsoft/shell-use https://github.com/microsoft/shell-use
+brew install shell-use
 ```
 
 ### download from releases
diff --git a/install/install.ps1 b/install/install.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a03530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install/install.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
+
+$repository = "microsoft/shell-use"
+$binaryName = "shell-use.exe"
+
+if ($env:OS -ne "Windows_NT") {
+    throw "install.ps1 only supports Windows. Use install.sh on macOS or Linux."
+}
+
+$processorArchitecture = $env:PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432
+if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($processorArchitecture)) {
+    $processorArchitecture = $env:PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE
+}
+
+switch ($processorArchitecture.ToUpperInvariant()) {
+    "AMD64" { $architecture = "x86_64" }
+    "X86_64" { $architecture = "x86_64" }
+    "ARM64" { $architecture = "aarch64" }
+    "AARCH64" { $architecture = "aarch64" }
+    default { throw "Unsupported Windows architecture: $processorArchitecture" }
+}
+
+$target = "$architecture-pc-windows-msvc"
+$asset = "shell-use-$target.zip"
+$version = $env:SHELL_USE_VERSION
+
+if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($version) -or $version -eq "latest") {
+    $releaseUrl = "https://github.com/$repository/releases/latest/download"
+}
+else {
+    if (-not $version.StartsWith("v")) {
+        $version = "v$version"
+    }
+    $releaseUrl = "https://github.com/$repository/releases/download/$version"
+}
+
+$downloadUrl = "$releaseUrl/$asset"
+$token = $env:GITHUB_TOKEN
+if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($token)) {
+    $token = $env:GH_TOKEN
+}
+
+$tempDir = Join-Path ([IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) ("shell-use-" + [Guid]::NewGuid())
+$archivePath = Join-Path $tempDir $asset
+$extractDir = Join-Path $tempDir "extract"
+
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $extractDir -Force | Out-Null
+
+try {
+    $request = @{
+        Uri = $downloadUrl
+        OutFile = $archivePath
+        UseBasicParsing = $true
+    }
+    if (-not [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($token)) {
+        $request.Headers = @{ Authorization = "Bearer $token" }
+    }
+
+    Write-Host "Downloading shell-use for $target..."
+    Invoke-WebRequest @request
+    Expand-Archive -LiteralPath $archivePath -DestinationPath $extractDir -Force
+
+    $files = @(Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $extractDir -File -Recurse)
+    if ($files.Count -ne 1 -or $files[0].Name -ne $binaryName) {
+        throw "Downloaded archive has unexpected contents."
+    }
+
+    $installDir = $env:SHELL_USE_INSTALL_DIR
+    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($installDir)) {
+        if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($env:LOCALAPPDATA)) {
+            throw "LOCALAPPDATA is not set. Set SHELL_USE_INSTALL_DIR to a writable directory."
+        }
+        $installDir = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA "Programs\shell-use\bin"
+    }
+
+    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $installDir -Force | Out-Null
+    $destination = Join-Path $installDir $binaryName
+    $stagedDestination = Join-Path $installDir ".$binaryName.tmp"
+
+    Copy-Item -LiteralPath $files[0].FullName -Destination $stagedDestination -Force
+    Unblock-File -LiteralPath $stagedDestination
+    Move-Item -LiteralPath $stagedDestination -Destination $destination -Force
+
+    Write-Host "Installed shell-use to $destination"
+
+    function Test-PathEntry {
+        param(
+            [string]$PathValue,
+            [string]$Entry
+        )
+
+        if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($PathValue)) {
+            return $false
+        }
+
+        $normalizedEntry = $Entry.TrimEnd("\")
+        foreach ($pathEntry in $PathValue.Split(";")) {
+            if ($pathEntry.Trim().TrimEnd("\") -ieq $normalizedEntry) {
+                return $true
+            }
+        }
+        return $false
+    }
+
+    function Publish-EnvironmentChange {
+        if (-not ("ShellUseInstaller.NativeMethods" -as [Type])) {
+            Add-Type -Namespace ShellUseInstaller -Name NativeMethods -MemberDefinition @'
+[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
+public static extern IntPtr SendMessageTimeout(
+    IntPtr hWnd,
+    uint Msg,
+    UIntPtr wParam,
+    string lParam,
+    uint fuFlags,
+    uint uTimeout,
+    out UIntPtr lpdwResult);
+'@
+        }
+
+        $result = [UIntPtr]::Zero
+        [ShellUseInstaller.NativeMethods]::SendMessageTimeout(
+            [IntPtr]0xffff,
+            0x1a,
+            [UIntPtr]::Zero,
+            "Environment",
+            2,
+            5000,
+            [ref]$result
+        ) | Out-Null
+    }
+
+    function Get-UserPath {
+        $environmentKey = [Microsoft.Win32.Registry]::CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Environment")
+        if ($null -eq $environmentKey) {
+            return $null
+        }
+
+        try {
+            return $environmentKey.GetValue(
+                "Path",
+                $null,
+                [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueOptions]::DoNotExpandEnvironmentNames
+            )
+        }
+        finally {
+            $environmentKey.Dispose()
+        }
+    }
+
+    function Set-UserPath {
+        param([string]$Value)
+
+        $environmentKey = [Microsoft.Win32.Registry]::CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Environment", $true)
+        if ($null -eq $environmentKey) {
+            throw "Could not open the current user's environment registry key."
+        }
+
+        try {
+            $valueKind = [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind]::String
+            if ($Value.Contains("%")) {
+                $valueKind = [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind]::ExpandString
+            }
+            elseif ($null -ne $environmentKey.GetValue("Path")) {
+                $valueKind = $environmentKey.GetValueKind("Path")
+            }
+
+            $environmentKey.SetValue("Path", $Value, $valueKind)
+        }
+        finally {
+            $environmentKey.Dispose()
+        }
+
+        Publish-EnvironmentChange
+    }
+
+    if (-not (Test-PathEntry -PathValue $env:Path -Entry $installDir)) {
+        $env:Path = "$installDir;$env:Path"
+    }
+
+    $skipPathUpdate = $env:SHELL_USE_NO_MODIFY_PATH -match "^(1|true|yes)$"
+    if (-not $skipPathUpdate) {
+        $userPath = Get-UserPath
+        if (-not (Test-PathEntry -PathValue $userPath -Entry $installDir)) {
+            if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($userPath)) {
+                $newUserPath = $installDir
+            }
+            else {
+                $newUserPath = "$installDir;$userPath"
+            }
+            Set-UserPath -Value $newUserPath
+            Write-Host "Added $installDir to PATH. Restart your shell."
+        }
+    }
+    elseif (-not (Test-PathEntry -PathValue (Get-UserPath) -Entry $installDir)) {
+        Write-Host "Add $installDir to PATH."
+    }
+}
+finally {
+    Remove-Item -LiteralPath $tempDir -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+}
diff --git a/install/install.sh b/install/install.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..708e6ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -eu
+
+REPOSITORY="microsoft/shell-use"
+BINARY_NAME="shell-use"
+
+fail() {
+  echo "Error: $*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+command -v uname >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "uname is required."
+command -v tar >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "tar is required."
+
+case "$(uname -s)" in
+  Darwin) OS="apple-darwin" ;;
+  Linux) OS="unknown-linux-musl" ;;
+  MINGW*|MSYS*|CYGWIN*)
+    fail "Use install.ps1 to install shell-use on Windows."
+    ;;
+  *) fail "Unsupported operating system: $(uname -s)" ;;
+esac
+
+case "$(uname -m)" in
+  x86_64|amd64) ARCH="x86_64" ;;
+  arm64|aarch64) ARCH="aarch64" ;;
+  *) fail "Unsupported architecture: $(uname -m)" ;;
+esac
+
+TARGET="${ARCH}-${OS}"
+ASSET="${BINARY_NAME}-${TARGET}.tar.gz"
+VERSION="${SHELL_USE_VERSION:-latest}"
+
+if [ -z "$VERSION" ] || [ "$VERSION" = "latest" ]; then
+  RELEASE_URL="https://github.com/${REPOSITORY}/releases/latest/download"
+else
+  case "$VERSION" in
+    v*) ;;
+    *) VERSION="v${VERSION}" ;;
+  esac
+  RELEASE_URL="https://github.com/${REPOSITORY}/releases/download/${VERSION}"
+fi
+
+DOWNLOAD_URL="${RELEASE_URL}/${ASSET}"
+TOKEN="${GITHUB_TOKEN:-${GH_TOKEN:-}}"
+TMP_DIR="$(mktemp -d 2>/dev/null || mktemp -d -t shell-use)"
+ARCHIVE_PATH="${TMP_DIR}/${ASSET}"
+EXTRACT_DIR="${TMP_DIR}/extract"
+
+cleanup() {
+  rm -rf -- "$TMP_DIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT HUP INT TERM
+
+download() {
+  url="$1"
+  destination="$2"
+
+  if command -v curl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if [ -n "$TOKEN" ]; then
+      curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -fsSL \
+        -H "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
+        "$url" -o "$destination"
+    else
+      curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -fsSL "$url" -o "$destination"
+    fi
+  elif command -v wget >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if [ -n "$TOKEN" ]; then
+      wget -q --header="Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
+        -O "$destination" "$url"
+    else
+      wget -q -O "$destination" "$url"
+    fi
+  else
+    fail "curl or wget is required."
+  fi
+}
+
+echo "Downloading shell-use for ${TARGET}..."
+download "$DOWNLOAD_URL" "$ARCHIVE_PATH" ||
+  fail "Could not download ${DOWNLOAD_URL}"
+
+ARCHIVE_CONTENTS="$(tar -tzf "$ARCHIVE_PATH")" ||
+  fail "Downloaded archive is invalid."
+case "$ARCHIVE_CONTENTS" in
+  "$BINARY_NAME"|"./$BINARY_NAME") ;;
+  *) fail "Downloaded archive has unexpected contents." ;;
+esac
+
+mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_DIR"
+tar -xzf "$ARCHIVE_PATH" -C "$EXTRACT_DIR"
+
+if [ -n "${SHELL_USE_INSTALL_DIR:-}" ]; then
+  INSTALL_DIR="$SHELL_USE_INSTALL_DIR"
+elif [ -n "${PREFIX:-}" ]; then
+  INSTALL_DIR="${PREFIX}/bin"
+elif [ "$(id -u 2>/dev/null || echo 1)" -eq 0 ]; then
+  INSTALL_DIR="/usr/local/bin"
+else
+  : "${HOME:?HOME is required when installing without root privileges.}"
+  INSTALL_DIR="${HOME}/.local/bin"
+fi
+
+mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR" ||
+  fail "Could not create ${INSTALL_DIR}. Set SHELL_USE_INSTALL_DIR to a writable directory."
+
+DESTINATION="${INSTALL_DIR}/${BINARY_NAME}"
+STAGED_DESTINATION="${INSTALL_DIR}/.${BINARY_NAME}.tmp.$$"
+cp "${EXTRACT_DIR}/${BINARY_NAME}" "$STAGED_DESTINATION"
+chmod 755 "$STAGED_DESTINATION"
+mv -f "$STAGED_DESTINATION" "$DESTINATION"
+
+echo "Installed shell-use to ${DESTINATION}"
+
+case ":${PATH:-}:" in
+  *":${INSTALL_DIR}:"*) exit 0 ;;
+esac
+
+CURRENT_SHELL="$(basename "${SHELL:-/bin/sh}")"
+case "$CURRENT_SHELL" in
+  zsh)
+    RC_FILE="${ZDOTDIR:-$HOME}/.zprofile"
+    PATH_LINE="export PATH=\"${INSTALL_DIR}:\$PATH\""
+    ;;
+  bash)
+    if [ -f "$HOME/.bash_profile" ]; then
+      RC_FILE="$HOME/.bash_profile"
+    elif [ -f "$HOME/.bash_login" ]; then
+      RC_FILE="$HOME/.bash_login"
+    else
+      RC_FILE="$HOME/.profile"
+    fi
+    PATH_LINE="export PATH=\"${INSTALL_DIR}:\$PATH\""
+    ;;
+  fish)
+    RC_FILE="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/fish/conf.d/shell-use.fish"
+    PATH_LINE="fish_add_path \"${INSTALL_DIR}\""
+    ;;
+  *)
+    RC_FILE="$HOME/.profile"
+    PATH_LINE="export PATH=\"${INSTALL_DIR}:\$PATH\""
+    ;;
+esac
+
+case "${SHELL_USE_NO_MODIFY_PATH:-}" in
+  1|true|TRUE|yes|YES)
+    echo "Add ${INSTALL_DIR} to PATH."
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+esac
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$RC_FILE")"
+if ! grep -Fqx "$PATH_LINE" "$RC_FILE" 2>/dev/null; then
+  printf "\n%s\n" "$PATH_LINE" >>"$RC_FILE"
+  echo "Added ${INSTALL_DIR} to PATH. Restart your shell."
+fi