diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index 3bcc0478..a81f4d46 100755
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -137,6 +137,9 @@ check_existing_installation() {
 
 abort_unverified() {
     echo -e "${RED}✗ Refusing to install an unverified binary.${NC}"
+    if [[ -x "$INSTALL_DIR/strix" || -x "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.exe" ]]; then
+        echo -e "${MUTED}Existing Strix installation left unchanged.${NC}"
+    fi
     echo -e "${RED}Re-run with STRIX_INSTALL_SKIP_VERIFY=1 to override (at your own risk).${NC}"
     exit 1
 }
@@ -271,7 +274,20 @@ download_and_install() {
     print_message info "\n${CYAN}🦉 Installing Strix${NC} ${MUTED}version: ${NC}$specific_version"
     print_message info "${MUTED}Platform: ${NC}$target\n"
 
-    local tmp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+    local tmp_dir
+    tmp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+
+    # Never leave a half-written binary in INSTALL_DIR. Stage to *.new and only
+    # rename into place after a verified archive has been extracted. On any
+    # abort (including verification failure), remove the staging file and the
+    # download temp dir; the current install stays untouched.
+    cleanup_install_temps() {
+        cd / >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        rm -rf "$tmp_dir"
+        rm -f "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.new" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.exe.new"
+    }
+    trap cleanup_install_temps EXIT
+
     cd "$tmp_dir"
 
     echo -e "${MUTED}Downloading...${NC}"
@@ -303,15 +319,17 @@ download_and_install() {
     echo -e "${MUTED}Extracting...${NC}"
     if [ "$os" = "windows" ]; then
         unzip -q "$filename"
-        mv "strix-${specific_version}-${target}.exe" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.exe"
+        mv "strix-${specific_version}-${target}.exe" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.exe.new"
+        mv -f "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.exe.new" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.exe"
     else
         tar -xzf "$filename"
-        mv "strix-${specific_version}-${target}" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix"
-        chmod 755 "$INSTALL_DIR/strix"
+        mv "strix-${specific_version}-${target}" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.new"
+        chmod 755 "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.new"
+        mv -f "$INSTALL_DIR/strix.new" "$INSTALL_DIR/strix"
     fi
 
-    cd - > /dev/null
-    rm -rf "$tmp_dir"
+    trap - EXIT
+    cleanup_install_temps
 
     echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Strix installed to $INSTALL_DIR${NC}"
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_install_script.py b/tests/test_install_script.py
index 2bde6820..eec83ba9 100644
--- a/tests/test_install_script.py
+++ b/tests/test_install_script.py
@@ -77,9 +77,13 @@ while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
 done
 case "$url" in
   */SHA256SUMS)
-    hash=$(sha256sum "$STRIX_TEST_ARCHIVE" | awk '{print $1}')
     name=$(basename "$STRIX_TEST_ARCHIVE")
-    printf '%s  %s\\n' "$hash" "$name" > "$output"
+    if [ -n "${STRIX_TEST_BAD_CHECKSUM:-}" ]; then
+      printf '%s  %s\\n' "0" "$name" > "$output"
+    else
+      hash=$(sha256sum "$STRIX_TEST_ARCHIVE" | awk '{print $1}')
+      printf '%s  %s\\n' "$hash" "$name" > "$output"
+    fi
     ;;
   *.intoto.jsonl)
     printf '{"test":true}\\n' > "$output"
@@ -178,3 +182,36 @@ def test_installer_rejects_unsupported_architecture(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert "Unsupported OS/Arch: linux/riscv64" in result.stdout
     assert not curl_log_path.exists()
     assert not (home_path / ".strix").exists()
+
+
+def test_installer_leaves_existing_install_on_checksum_failure(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    repository_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+    archive_path = _create_release_archive(tmp_path)
+    mock_bin = _create_mock_commands(tmp_path, machine="aarch64")
+    environment, home_path, _curl_log_path = _create_installer_environment(
+        tmp_path,
+        archive_path,
+        mock_bin,
+    )
+    environment["STRIX_TEST_BAD_CHECKSUM"] = "1"
+
+    install_dir = home_path / ".strix" / "bin"
+    install_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    existing = install_dir / "strix"
+    _write_executable(existing, "#!/bin/sh\nprintf 'strix 1.0.0\\n'\n")
+    before = existing.read_bytes()
+
+    result = _run_installer(repository_root, environment)
+
+    assert result.returncode != 0
+    assert "Checksum mismatch" in result.stdout
+    assert "Existing Strix installation left unchanged" in result.stdout
+    assert existing.read_bytes() == before
+    assert not (install_dir / "strix.new").exists()
+    installed_result = subprocess.run(  # noqa: S603
+        [str(existing), "--version"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        check=True,
+    )
+    assert installed_result.stdout.strip() == "strix 1.0.0"