diff --git a/scripts/extract_nprofile.sh b/scripts/extract_nprofile.sh
index 95e51869..59e1ff26 100644
--- a/scripts/extract_nprofile.sh
+++ b/scripts/extract_nprofile.sh
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ get_log_info() {
   USER_HOME=$HOME
   USER_NAME=$(whoami)
 
-  LOG_DIR="$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/logs"
-  DATA_DIR="$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/"
+  LOG_DIR="$INSTALL_DIR/logs"
+  DATA_DIR="$INSTALL_DIR/"
   START_TIME=$(date +%s)
   MAX_WAIT_TIME=360  # Maximum wait time in seconds (6 minutes)
   WAIT_INTERVAL=5    # Time to wait between checks in seconds
diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index 84b18b92..775e3b17 100755
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ BRANCH="master"
 
 cleanup() {
     log "Cleaning up temporary files..."
-    rm -rf "$HOME/lightning_pub_tmp" 2>/dev/null || true
+    rm -rf "$TMP_DIR" 2>/dev/null || true
 }
 
 trap cleanup EXIT
@@ -56,15 +56,30 @@ BASE_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/${REPO}/${BRANCH}"
 REPO_URL="https://github.com/${REPO}/tarball/${BRANCH}"
 SCRIPTS_URL="${BASE_URL}/scripts/"
 
-# Create user-space temp directory
-mkdir -p "$HOME/lightning_pub_tmp"
+TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
 
 for module in "${modules[@]}"; do
-  wget -q "${SCRIPTS_URL}${module}.sh" -O "$HOME/lightning_pub_tmp/${module}.sh" || log_error "Failed to download ${module}.sh" 1
-  source "$HOME/lightning_pub_tmp/${module}.sh" || log_error "Failed to source ${module}.sh" 1
+  wget -q "${SCRIPTS_URL}${module}.sh" -O "${TMP_DIR}/${module}.sh" || log_error "Failed to download ${module}.sh" 1
+  source "${TMP_DIR}/${module}.sh" || log_error "Failed to source ${module}.sh" 1
 done
 
 detect_os_arch
+
+# Define installation paths based on user
+if [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then
+  IS_ROOT=true
+  # For root, install under /opt for system-wide access
+  export INSTALL_DIR="/opt/lightning_pub"
+  export UNIT_DIR="/etc/systemd/system"
+  export SYSTEMCTL_CMD="systemctl"
+  log "Running as root: App will be installed in $INSTALL_DIR"
+else
+  IS_ROOT=false
+  export INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/lightning_pub"
+  export UNIT_DIR="$HOME/.config/systemd/user"
+  export SYSTEMCTL_CMD="systemctl --user"
+fi
+
 check_deps
 log "Detected OS: $OS"
 log "Detected ARCH: $ARCH"
diff --git a/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh b/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh
index 963d5fc7..3df75c2e 100755
--- a/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh
+++ b/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
     return 1
   fi
 
+  local EXTRACT_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+
   USER_HOME=$HOME
   USER_NAME=$(whoami)
   
@@ -22,15 +24,15 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
     return 1
   }
   
-  mkdir -p $USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp
-  tar -xzf $USER_HOME/lightning_pub.tar.gz -C $USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp --strip-components=1 > /dev/null 2>&1 || {
+  tar -xzf $USER_HOME/lightning_pub.tar.gz -C "$EXTRACT_DIR" --strip-components=1 > /dev/null 2>&1 || {
     log "${PRIMARY_COLOR}Failed to extract Lightning.Pub.${RESET_COLOR}"
+    rm -rf "$EXTRACT_DIR"
     return 1
   }
   rm $USER_HOME/lightning_pub.tar.gz
 
   # Decide flow based on whether a valid previous installation exists.
-  if [ -f "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit" ] || [ -f "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/db.sqlite" ]; then
+  if [ -f "$INSTALL_DIR/.installed_commit" ] || [ -f "$INSTALL_DIR/db.sqlite" ]; then
     # --- UPGRADE PATH ---
     log "Existing installation found. Checking for updates..."
     
@@ -44,10 +46,10 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
       log_error "Could not retrieve latest version from GitHub. Upgrade check failed. Aborting." 1
     fi
     
-    CURRENT_COMMIT=$(cat "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit" 2>/dev/null | head -c 40)
+    CURRENT_COMMIT=$(cat "$INSTALL_DIR/.installed_commit" 2>/dev/null | head -c 40)
     if [ "$CURRENT_COMMIT" = "$LATEST_COMMIT" ]; then
       log "${SECONDARY_COLOR}Lightning.Pub${RESET_COLOR} is already at the latest commit. No update needed."
-      rm -rf $USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp
+      rm -rf "$EXTRACT_DIR"
       return 2
     fi
     
@@ -56,67 +58,71 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
 
     # Stop the service if running to avoid rug-pull during backup and file replacement
     was_running=false
-    if systemctl --user is-active --quiet lightning_pub 2>/dev/null; then
+    if [ "$SYSTEMCTL_CMD" = "systemctl --user" ] && systemctl --user is-active --quiet lightning_pub 2>/dev/null; then
       log "Stopping Lightning.Pub service before upgrade..."
       systemctl --user stop lightning_pub
       was_running=true
+    elif [ "$SYSTEMCTL_CMD" = "systemctl" ] && systemctl is-active --quiet lightning_pub 2>/dev/null; then
+      log "Stopping Lightning.Pub service before upgrade..."
+      systemctl stop lightning_pub
+      was_running=true
     fi
 
     log "Backing up user data before upgrade..."
     BACKUP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-    mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub" "$BACKUP_DIR"
+    mv "$INSTALL_DIR" "$BACKUP_DIR"
 
     log "Replacing application files..."
     
-    mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp" "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
+    mv "$EXTRACT_DIR" "$INSTALL_DIR"
 
     log "Restoring user data..."
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/*.sqlite "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.env "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp -r "$BACKUP_DIR"/logs "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp -r "$BACKUP_DIR"/metric_cache "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.jwt_secret "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.wallet_secret "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.installed_commit "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/admin.npub "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/app.nprofile "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/admin.connect "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
-    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/admin.enroll "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/*.sqlite "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.env "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp -r "$BACKUP_DIR"/logs "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp -r "$BACKUP_DIR"/metric_cache "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.jwt_secret "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.wallet_secret "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/.installed_commit "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/admin.npub "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/app.nprofile "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/admin.connect "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    cp "$BACKUP_DIR"/admin.enroll "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
 
     # Ensure correct ownership post-restore (fixes potential mismatches)
-    chown -R "$USER_NAME:$USER_NAME" "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chown -R "$USER_NAME:$USER_NAME" "$INSTALL_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
     # Secure DB files (as before)
-    chmod 600 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/db.sqlite" 2>/dev/null || true
-    chmod 600 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/metrics.sqlite" 2>/dev/null || true
-    chmod 600 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.jwt_secret" 2>/dev/null || true
-    chmod 600 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.wallet_secret" 2>/dev/null || true
-    chmod 600 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/admin.connect" 2>/dev/null || true
-    chmod 600 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/admin.enroll" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/db.sqlite" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/metrics.sqlite" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/.jwt_secret" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/.wallet_secret" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/admin.connect" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 600 "$INSTALL_DIR/admin.enroll" 2>/dev/null || true
     # Ensure log/metric dirs are writable (dirs need execute for traversal)
-    chmod 755 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/logs" 2>/dev/null || true
-    chmod 755 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/logs/"*/ 2>/dev/null || true  # Subdirs like apps/
-    chmod 755 "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/metric_cache" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 755 "$INSTALL_DIR/logs" 2>/dev/null || true
+    chmod 755 "$INSTALL_DIR/logs/"*/ 2>/dev/null || true  # Subdirs like apps/
+    chmod 755 "$INSTALL_DIR/metric_cache" 2>/dev/null || true
 
-  elif [ -d "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub" ]; then
+  elif [ -d "$INSTALL_DIR" ]; then
     # --- CONFLICT/UNSAFE PATH ---
     # This handles the case where the directory exists but is not a valid install (e.g., a git clone).
-    log_error "Directory '~/lightning_pub' already exists but does not appear to be a valid installation. For your safety, please manually back up and remove this directory, then run the installer again." 1
+    log_error "Directory '$INSTALL_DIR' already exists but does not appear to be a valid installation. For your safety, please manually back up and remove this directory, then run the installer again." 1
   
   else
     # --- FRESH INSTALL PATH ---
     # This path is only taken if the ~/lightning_pub directory does not exist.
     log "${PRIMARY_COLOR}Installing${RESET_COLOR} ${SECONDARY_COLOR}Lightning.Pub${RESET_COLOR}..."
     upgrade_status=0
-    mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp" "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
+    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$INSTALL_DIR")"
+    mv "$EXTRACT_DIR" "$INSTALL_DIR"
   fi
 
-  rm -rf $USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp
 
   # Load nvm and npm
   export NVM_DIR="${NVM_DIR}"
   [ -s "${NVM_DIR}/nvm.sh" ] && \. "${NVM_DIR}/nvm.sh"
 
-  cd $USER_HOME/lightning_pub
+  cd "$INSTALL_DIR"
 
   log "${PRIMARY_COLOR}Installing${RESET_COLOR} npm dependencies..."
   
@@ -128,16 +134,16 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
     tail -n 20 npm_install.log | while IFS= read -r line; do
       log "  $line"
     done
-    log "${PRIMARY_COLOR}Full log available in $USER_HOME/lightning_pub/npm_install.log${RESET_COLOR}"
+    log "${PRIMARY_COLOR}Full log available in $INSTALL_DIR/npm_install.log${RESET_COLOR}"
 
     log "Restoring previous installation due to upgrade failure..."
-    rm -rf "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
-    mv "$BACKUP_DIR" "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"  # Restore directly
+    rm -rf "$INSTALL_DIR"
+    mv "$BACKUP_DIR" "$INSTALL_DIR"
     log "Backup remnant at $BACKUP_DIR for manual review but may auto-clean on reboot."
 
     if [ "$was_running" = true ]; then
       log "Restarting Lightning.Pub service after restore."
-      systemctl --user start lightning_pub
+      $SYSTEMCTL_CMD start lightning_pub
     fi
 
     return 1
@@ -147,9 +153,9 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
   # Note: LATEST_COMMIT will be empty on a fresh install, which is fine.
   # The file will be created, and the next run will be an upgrade.
   if [ -n "$LATEST_COMMIT" ]; then
-    echo "$LATEST_COMMIT" > "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit"
+    echo "$LATEST_COMMIT" > "$INSTALL_DIR/.installed_commit"
   else
-    touch "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit"
+    touch "$INSTALL_DIR/.installed_commit"
   fi
 
   rm -rf "$BACKUP_DIR"
diff --git a/scripts/start_services.sh b/scripts/start_services.sh
index efccc625..8d25db68 100755
--- a/scripts/start_services.sh
+++ b/scripts/start_services.sh
@@ -7,19 +7,6 @@ start_services() {
   USER_HOME=$HOME
   USER_NAME=$(whoami)
 
-  # Detect if running as root and set mode
-  if [ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ]; then
-    IS_ROOT=true
-    INSTALL_DIR="/opt/lightning_pub"  # System-wide dir for root installs
-    UNIT_DIR="/etc/systemd/system"
-    SYSTEMCTL_CMD="systemctl"
-    log "Running as root: Installing system-wide to $INSTALL_DIR."
-  else
-    IS_ROOT=false
-    INSTALL_DIR="$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
-    UNIT_DIR="$USER_HOME/.config/systemd/user"
-    SYSTEMCTL_CMD="systemctl --user"
-  fi
 
   # Ensure NVM_DIR is set
   if [ -z "$NVM_DIR" ]; then