diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 3637e0f..a8937e5 100644
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -48,10 +48,17 @@ fi
 # other insta on PATH shadowing ours? (shells use the first hit)
 first_hit="$(command -v insta 2>/dev/null || true)"
 if [ -n "$first_hit" ] && [ "$first_hit" != "$INSTALL_DIR/$BIN" ]; then
-  echo "! another insta is first on your PATH: $first_hit"
-  case "$first_hit" in
-    */node_modules/*|*npm*|*/.nvm/*) echo "!   (npm-installed — update it with: npm update -g insta, or remove it to use the binary)" ;;
-  esac
+  # Not a conflict if the first hit is just the symlink WE created into an on-PATH dir
+  # (see the linking step below) — it resolves straight back to our binary. Warn only for a
+  # genuinely different insta (e.g. an npm-installed one) that would actually shadow ours.
+  if [ -L "$first_hit" ] && [ "$(readlink "$first_hit" 2>/dev/null)" = "$INSTALL_DIR/$BIN" ]; then
+    : # our own symlink → the binary; nothing to warn about
+  else
+    echo "! another insta is first on your PATH: $first_hit"
+    case "$first_hit" in
+      */node_modules/*|*npm*|*/.nvm/*) echo "!   (npm-installed — update it with: npm update -g insta, or remove it to use the binary)" ;;
+    esac
+  fi
 fi
 
 # ---- detect platform ----
@@ -168,7 +175,10 @@ fi
 
 # ---- next steps (the 3-command wow: real infra, then a full isolated clone of it) ----
 echo
-echo "Get started:"
-echo "  insta login --oauth github        # cloud — or run insta-oss locally and skip this"
-echo "  insta project create demo && insta deploy . --port 3000"
-echo "  insta branch create preview       # clones db + storage + app into an isolated env"
+echo "Next steps:"
+echo "  insta login --oauth github     # connect to the cloud (or run insta-oss locally to skip)"
+echo "  insta project create demo      # postgres + storage + compute, provisioned in one shot"
+echo "  insta deploy . --port 3000     # ship your app and get a live URL"
+echo "  insta branch create preview    # clone db + storage + app into an isolated env"
+echo
+echo "Your coding agents now know InstaCloud — you can just ask them to do the above."
diff --git a/src/commands/setup.ts b/src/commands/setup.ts
index 6ab3c31..b1a08fb 100644
--- a/src/commands/setup.ts
+++ b/src/commands/setup.ts
@@ -73,12 +73,15 @@ export function summarizeInstall(output: string): string {
 
 export type Runner = (cmd: string, args: string[]) => Promise<{ ok: boolean; output?: string }>
 
-// Capture stdout+stderr silently (don't stream) so we can print our own clean summary. We keep
-// the child's stdin inherited in case the tool ever needs a TTY, but with -y it shouldn't.
+// Capture stdout+stderr silently (don't stream) so we can print our own clean summary.
+// stdin is 'ignore', NOT 'inherit': under the canonical `curl … | sh` install, stdin is the
+// piped install script itself — a child that inherits it (npx/skills reads for keypresses even
+// with -y) consumes the rest of the script, so the shell never runs the trailing "Get started"
+// guidance. Ignoring stdin keeps the installer's own output intact. (-y means no prompt anyway.)
 const defaultRunner: Runner = (cmd, args) =>
   new Promise((resolve) => {
     const env = { ...process.env, AI_AGENT: process.env.AI_AGENT || 'insta', FORCE_COLOR: '0' }
-    const p = spawn(cmd, args, { stdio: ['inherit', 'pipe', 'pipe'], env })
+    const p = spawn(cmd, args, { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'], env })
     let output = ''
     const grab = (chunk: Buffer) => { output += chunk.toString() }
     p.stdout?.on('data', grab)
@@ -95,7 +98,7 @@ export async function setupAgent(opts: { yes?: boolean }, run: Runner = defaultR
   if (!opts.yes && !process.stdout.isTTY) {
     info('non-interactive shell — assuming -y')
   }
-  info('setting up coding-agent skills … (~20s)')
+  info('setting up coding-agent skills …')
   const res = await run('npx', SETUP_ARGS)
   if (!res.ok) {
     info('  skill install failed — install manually with:')