diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 541e2a10..cc8711b9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@
 - Floating major tag for the GitHub Action: the release process now force-moves `v0` to each release, so workflows can pin `TypedDevs/bashunit@v0` to track the latest release within a major (#700)
 - `bashunit init` now scaffolds a `.github/workflows/tests.yml` CI workflow using the official action (existing files are left untouched) (#702)
 
+### Changed
+- `install.sh` now verifies the release checksum by default (set `BASHUNIT_VERIFY_CHECKSUM=false` to opt out); it soft-skips with a warning when a checksum asset is unavailable unless verification was explicitly requested (#703)
+
 ## [0.38.0](https://github.com/TypedDevs/bashunit/compare/0.37.0...0.38.0) - 2026-06-07
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/docs/installation.md b/docs/installation.md
index 49bc4531..3d39c8cb 100644
--- a/docs/installation.md
+++ b/docs/installation.md
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ curl -s https://bashunit.typeddevs.com/install.sh | bash
 
 This will create a file inside a lib folder, such as `lib/bashunit`.
 
+::: tip Automatic checksum verification
+`install.sh` verifies the download against the release `checksum` asset by default and
+aborts on a mismatch, so a tampered or corrupted download never lands. Set
+`BASHUNIT_VERIFY_CHECKSUM=false` to opt out (e.g. for old releases published before
+checksum assets existed). The manual check below is only needed when you opt out.
+:::
+
 #### Verify
 
 ```bash-vue
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 76514e43..79dcff30 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -24,10 +24,31 @@ function compute_sha256() {
 # Verify the downloaded 'bashunit' file against the release 'checksum' asset.
 # Arguments: $1 - the bashunit download URL. Exits 1 (and removes the binary)
 # on any failure so a tampered or unverifiable download never looks successful.
+# Handle an inability to verify (missing sha256 tool or checksum asset).
+# Strict (fails) when the user explicitly opted in; a soft warning otherwise,
+# so installing older releases published before checksum assets existed keeps
+# working while a tampered binary (checksum mismatch) is always rejected.
+function cannot_verify() {
+  local reason=$1
+  if [ "${VERIFY_CHECKSUM_EXPLICIT:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+    echo "Error: $reason" >&2
+    rm -f bashunit
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  echo "> Skipping checksum verification: $reason" >&2
+}
+
 function verify_checksum() {
   local url=$1
   local checksum_url="${url%/bashunit}/checksum"
 
+  local actual
+  actual=$(compute_sha256 bashunit)
+  if [ -z "$actual" ]; then
+    cannot_verify "no sha256 tool (shasum/sha256sum) available to verify checksum"
+    return
+  fi
+
   local expected
   if command -v curl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     expected=$(curl -fsSL --retry 3 --retry-delay 2 "$checksum_url" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}')
@@ -36,17 +57,8 @@ function verify_checksum() {
   fi
 
   if [ -z "$expected" ]; then
-    echo "Error: could not download checksum from $checksum_url" >&2
-    rm -f bashunit
-    exit 1
-  fi
-
-  local actual
-  actual=$(compute_sha256 bashunit)
-  if [ -z "$actual" ]; then
-    echo "Error: no sha256 tool (shasum/sha256sum) available to verify checksum" >&2
-    rm -f bashunit
-    exit 1
+    cannot_verify "could not download checksum from $checksum_url"
+    return
   fi
 
   if [ "$actual" != "$expected" ]; then
@@ -57,7 +69,7 @@ function verify_checksum() {
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  echo "> Checksum verified ($actual)"
+  echo "> Checksum verified ($actual)" >&2
 }
 
 function build_and_install_beta() {
@@ -108,7 +120,7 @@ function install() {
     exit 1
   fi
 
-  if [ "${BASHUNIT_VERIFY_CHECKSUM:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+  if [ "$VERIFY_CHECKSUM" = "true" ]; then
     verify_checksum "$url"
   fi
 
@@ -123,6 +135,15 @@ function install() {
 DIR="lib"
 VERSION="latest"
 
+# Checksum verification is on by default. Track whether the user set it
+# explicitly so we can be strict on opt-in and lenient on the default.
+if [ -n "${BASHUNIT_VERIFY_CHECKSUM+x}" ]; then
+  VERIFY_CHECKSUM_EXPLICIT="true"
+else
+  VERIFY_CHECKSUM_EXPLICIT="false"
+fi
+VERIFY_CHECKSUM="${BASHUNIT_VERIFY_CHECKSUM:-true}"
+
 function is_version() {
   regex_match "$1" '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$' || [[ "$1" == "latest" || "$1" == "beta" ]]
 }
diff --git a/tests/acceptance/install_test.sh b/tests/acceptance/install_test.sh
index 1d163ce8..ffa6e8b2 100644
--- a/tests/acceptance/install_test.sh
+++ b/tests/acceptance/install_test.sh
@@ -151,6 +151,27 @@ function test_install_verifies_checksum_when_enabled() {
     "$(./tmp_install/bashunit --version)"
 }
 
+function test_install_verifies_checksum_by_default() {
+  if [[ "$ACTIVE_INTERNET" -eq 1 ]]; then
+    bashunit::skip "no internet connection" && return
+  fi
+  if [[ "$HAS_DOWNLOADER" -eq 0 ]]; then
+    bashunit::skip "curl or wget not installed" && return
+  fi
+  if ! command -v shasum >/dev/null 2>&1 && ! command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    bashunit::skip "no sha256 tool available" && return
+  fi
+
+  local output
+  output="$(./install.sh tmp_install 0.38.0 2>&1)"
+
+  if [ ! -f "./tmp_install/bashunit" ]; then
+    bashunit::skip "transient download failure" && return
+  fi
+  assert_contains "Checksum verified" "$output"
+  assert_file_exists "./tmp_install/bashunit"
+}
+
 function test_install_downloads_the_given_version() {
   if [[ "$ACTIVE_INTERNET" -eq 1 ]]; then
     bashunit::skip "no internet connection" && return