diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 0b6ab7b..7390ee2 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ echo "[ok] Built: $(ls -lh "$BINARY" | awk '{print $5}')"
 mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR"
 cp "$BINARY" "$INSTALL_DIR/$BINARY_NAME"
 chmod +x "$INSTALL_DIR/$BINARY_NAME"
-echo "[ok] Installed to $INSTALL_DIR/$BINARY_NAME"
+BINARY_PATH="$INSTALL_DIR/$BINARY_NAME"
+echo "[ok] Installed to $BINARY_PATH"
 
 # Verify it's on PATH
 if ! command -v "$BINARY_NAME" &>/dev/null; then
@@ -66,33 +67,50 @@ if ! command -v "$BINARY_NAME" &>/dev/null; then
   echo "  Add to your shell config:  export PATH=\"$INSTALL_DIR:\$PATH\""
 fi
 
+# Smoke test — verify the binary actually runs
+if "$BINARY_PATH" --test --color=never >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "[ok] Binary smoke test passed"
+else
+  echo "[warn] Binary smoke test failed (exit $?). It may still work inside Claude Code."
+  echo "  Debug: $BINARY_PATH --test --dump-state=json"
+fi
+
 # ── Configure Claude Code settings.json ──────────────────────────────
 echo ""
 mkdir -p "$CLAUDE_DIR"
 
-BINARY_PATH="$INSTALL_DIR/$BINARY_NAME"
-
 # The binary runs in a non-TTY context, so force color on.
 STATUSLINE_CMD="$BINARY_PATH --color=always"
 
 if [[ -f "$SETTINGS" ]]; then
-  # Update existing settings.json
+  # Update existing settings.json, preserving all other keys
   CURRENT_CMD=$(jq -r '.statusLine.command // empty' "$SETTINGS" 2>/dev/null || true)
   if [[ -n "$CURRENT_CMD" ]]; then
-    echo "[info] Current statusLine command: $CURRENT_CMD"
+    echo "[info] Previous statusLine command: $CURRENT_CMD"
   fi
 
-  # Write updated settings
   TMP="$SETTINGS.tmp.$$"
-  jq --arg cmd "$STATUSLINE_CMD" '.statusLine = {"type": "command", "command": $cmd, "padding": 0}' "$SETTINGS" > "$TMP"
-  mv "$TMP" "$SETTINGS"
-  echo "[ok] Updated statusLine in $SETTINGS"
+  if jq --arg cmd "$STATUSLINE_CMD" '.statusLine = {"type": "command", "command": $cmd, "padding": 0}' "$SETTINGS" > "$TMP" 2>/dev/null; then
+    mv "$TMP" "$SETTINGS"
+    echo "[ok] Updated statusLine in $SETTINGS"
+  else
+    rm -f "$TMP"
+    echo "[warn] Failed to update $SETTINGS (invalid JSON?). Creating backup and writing fresh."
+    cp "$SETTINGS" "$SETTINGS.bak"
+    jq -n --arg cmd "$STATUSLINE_CMD" '{"statusLine": {"type": "command", "command": $cmd, "padding": 0}}' > "$SETTINGS"
+    echo "[ok] Wrote fresh $SETTINGS (backup: $SETTINGS.bak)"
+  fi
 else
   # Create minimal settings.json
   jq -n --arg cmd "$STATUSLINE_CMD" '{"statusLine": {"type": "command", "command": $cmd, "padding": 0}}' > "$SETTINGS"
   echo "[ok] Created $SETTINGS"
 fi
 
+# Show what was written so the user can verify
+echo ""
+echo "  statusLine config:"
+jq '.statusLine' "$SETTINGS" 2>/dev/null || echo "  (could not read settings)"
+
 # ── Symlink config ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
 CONFIG_SRC="$SCRIPT_DIR/statusline.json"
 CONFIG_DST="$CLAUDE_DIR/statusline.json"
@@ -123,7 +141,8 @@ fi
 
 # ── Done ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 echo ""
-echo "Done. Restart Claude Code to see the status line."
+echo "Done. RESTART Claude Code (exit and reopen) to see the status line."
 echo ""
-echo "Quick test:  $BINARY_NAME --test --color=always"
-echo "Debug:       $BINARY_NAME --test --dump-state=json"
+echo "Verify:      $BINARY_PATH --test --color=always"
+echo "Debug:       $BINARY_PATH --test --dump-state=json"
+echo "Settings:    cat $SETTINGS | jq .statusLine"