diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index 9bb2a722..ea5630e2 100755
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -1,17 +1,14 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e
 
-# Use user-space log file
-LOG_FILE="$HOME/lightning_pub/install.log"
-
-mkdir -p "$(dirname "$LOG_FILE")"
-touch $LOG_FILE
-chmod 644 $LOG_FILE
+# --- Use a secure temporary log file during installation ---
+TMP_LOG_FILE=$(mktemp)
 
 log() {
   local message="$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') $1"
   echo -e "$message"
-  echo -e "$(echo $message | sed 's/\\e\[[0-9;]*m//g')" >> $LOG_FILE
+  # Write to the temporary log file.
+  echo -e "$(echo "$message" | sed 's/\\e\[[0-9;]*m//g')" >> "$TMP_LOG_FILE"
 }
 
 SCRIPT_VERSION="0.2.0"
@@ -107,4 +104,13 @@ else
   get_log_info || log_error "Failed to get log info" 1
 
   log "Installation process completed successfully"
+
+  # --- Move temporary log to permanent location ---
+  if [ -d "$HOME/lightning_pub" ]; then
+    mv "$TMP_LOG_FILE" "$HOME/lightning_pub/install.log"
+    chmod 600 "$HOME/lightning_pub/install.log"
+  else
+    # If the installation failed before the dir was created, clean up the temp log.
+    rm -f "$TMP_LOG_FILE"
+  fi
 fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh b/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh
index 5488fbf5..fe2cb990 100755
--- a/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh
+++ b/scripts/install_lightning_pub.sh
@@ -31,57 +31,36 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
   }
   rm $USER_HOME/lightning_pub.tar.gz
 
-  # Check if directory exists and is not empty to determine if it's an upgrade
-  if [ -d "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub" ] && [ "$(ls -A $USER_HOME/lightning_pub)" ]; then
-    log "Checking if Lightning.Pub update is needed..."
+  # Decide flow based on whether a valid previous installation exists.
+  if [ -f "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit" ] || [ -f "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/db.sqlite" ]; then
+    # --- UPGRADE PATH ---
+    log "Existing installation found. Checking for updates..."
     
     # Check if update is needed by comparing commit hashes
-    # Get latest commit hash from GitHub API, logging the response for debugging.
     API_RESPONSE=$(wget -qO- "https://api.github.com/repos/${REPO}/commits/${BRANCH}" 2>&1 | tee /tmp/api_response.log)
-
-    # Parse commit hash from the commit html_url first (most robust, dependency-free)
+    if grep -q '"message"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"API rate limit exceeded"' <<< "$API_RESPONSE"; then
+      log_error "GitHub API rate limit exceeded. Please wait a while before trying again." 1
+    fi
     LATEST_COMMIT=$(echo "$API_RESPONSE" | awk -F'[/"]' '/"html_url": ".*\/commit\// {print $(NF-1); exit}')
-
-    # If parsing failed, check explicitly for a rate-limit message; otherwise abort with full response
     if [ -z "$LATEST_COMMIT" ]; then
-      if grep -q '"message"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"API rate limit exceeded"' <<< "$API_RESPONSE"; then
-        log_error "GitHub API rate limit exceeded. Please wait a while before trying again." 1
-      fi
       log "GitHub API response was not as expected. Full response for debugging:"
       log "$API_RESPONSE"
       log_error "Could not retrieve latest version from GitHub. Upgrade check failed. Aborting." 1
     fi
     
-    # Check if we have a stored commit hash and compare
-    if [ -f "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit" ]; then
-        CURRENT_COMMIT=$(cat "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit" 2>/dev/null | head -c 40)
-        
-        if [ "$CURRENT_COMMIT" = "$LATEST_COMMIT" ]; then
-          log "${SECONDARY_COLOR}Lightning.Pub${RESET_COLOR} is already at the latest commit. No update needed."
-          rm -rf $USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp
-          return 2  # Special exit code to indicate no changes
-        fi
-      fi
+    CURRENT_COMMIT=$(cat "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit" 2>/dev/null | head -c 40)
+    if [ "$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
+      return 2
+    fi
     
     log "Upgrading existing Lightning.Pub installation..."
-    upgrade_status=100  # Use 100 to indicate an upgrade
-  else
-    # If directory exists but is empty, remove it to ensure a clean 'mv'
-    if [ -d "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub" ]; then
-      rm -d "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
-    fi
-    log "Performing fresh Lightning.Pub installation..."
-    upgrade_status=0
-  fi
+    upgrade_status=100
 
-  # Merge if upgrade
-  if [ $upgrade_status -eq 100 ]; then
     log "Backing up user data before upgrade..."
     BACKUP_DIR="$USER_HOME/lightning_pub_backup_$(date +%s)"
     mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
-
-    # Move files and folders to preserve to the backup directory
-    # Use 2>/dev/null to suppress errors if files don't exist
     mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"/*.sqlite "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
     mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"/.env "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
     mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"/logs "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
@@ -94,20 +73,28 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
     mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"/admin.enroll "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
 
     log "Replacing application files..."
-    # Remove the old application directory (user data is now backed up)
     rm -rf "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
-    # Move the new version into place
     mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp" "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
 
     log "Restoring user data..."
-    # Move the backed-up data into the new directory
-    cp -r "$BACKUP_DIR"/* "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/"
-    
-    # Clean up the backup directory
+    if [ -n "$(ls -A "$BACKUP_DIR" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+      cp -r "$BACKUP_DIR"/* "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/"
+    fi
     rm -rf "$BACKUP_DIR"
+
+  elif [ -d "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub" ]; 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
+  
   else
+    # --- FRESH INSTALL PATH ---
+    # This path is only taken if the ~/lightning_pub directory does not exist.
+    log "Performing fresh Lightning.Pub installation..."
+    upgrade_status=0
     mv "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp" "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub"
   fi
+
   rm -rf $USER_HOME/lightning_pub_temp
 
   # Load nvm and npm
@@ -131,9 +118,9 @@ install_lightning_pub() {
   fi
   
   # Store the commit hash for future update checks
-  if [ -n "$LATEST_COMMIT" ]; then
-    echo "$LATEST_COMMIT" > "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit"
-  fi
+  # Note: LATEST_COMMIT will be empty on a fresh install, which is fine.
+  # The file will be created, and the next run will be an upgrade.
+  echo "$LATEST_COMMIT" > "$USER_HOME/lightning_pub/.installed_commit"
   
-  return 0 
+  return $upgrade_status 
 }
\ No newline at end of file