diff --git a/.github/workflows/binaries.yml b/.github/workflows/binaries.yml
index 9ef5f77..c2314bb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/binaries.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/binaries.yml
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-20.04, windows-latest, macos-latest]
+        os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
         include:
-          - os: ubuntu-20.04
+          - os: ubuntu-latest
             artifact_name: voxvera-linux
             asset_name: voxvera-linux
           - os: windows-latest
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build .deb (Linux)
         if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
         run: |
+          mkdir -p voxvera/resources/bin
+          cp dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }} voxvera/resources/bin/voxvera-linux-x86_64
           chmod +x packaging/build_deb.sh
           ./packaging/build_deb.sh dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }}
 
@@ -72,19 +74,23 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p voxvera/resources/bin
           cp dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }} voxvera/resources/bin/voxvera-linux-x86_64
           chmod +x packaging/build_appimage.sh
-          ./packaging/build_appimage.sh
+          ./packaging/build_appimage.sh dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }}
 
       - name: Build Flatpak (Linux)
         if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
         run: |
+          mkdir -p voxvera/resources/bin
+          cp dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }} voxvera/resources/bin/voxvera-linux-x86_64
           sudo apt-get update
           sudo apt-get install -y flatpak flatpak-builder
           chmod +x packaging/build_flatpak.sh
-          ./packaging/build_flatpak.sh || echo "Flatpak build failed"
+          ./packaging/build_flatpak.sh dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }} || echo "Flatpak build failed"
 
       - name: Build .dmg (macOS)
         if: matrix.os == 'macos-latest'
         run: |
+          mkdir -p voxvera/resources/bin
+          cp dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }} voxvera/resources/bin/voxvera-macos-x86_64
           chmod +x packaging/build_dmg.sh
           ./packaging/build_dmg.sh dist/${{ matrix.artifact_name }}
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 1c0f737..fc3f6d5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-          pip install flake8 pytest
-          pip install -e .
+          pip install flake8
+          pip install -e ".[test]"
       - name: Lint
         run: flake8 voxvera tests --exclude=voxvera/vendor --ignore=E501,W503,W293,E402,E306,E704,E261,F841,E302,F401,E401,F541
       - name: Test
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
index cade543..52976ee 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
           sudo apt-get install -y tor
-          pip install ".[e2e]"
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e ".[e2e]"
       - name: Run end-to-end tests
         run: ci/test-e2e.sh
       - name: Upload logs
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 8a5f1fa..fdc926a 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -115,47 +115,67 @@ download_binary() {
 }
 
 # Install VoxVera (Always use --force to ensure fresh installation)
+if command_exists curl; then
+  msg "Attempting to download latest VoxVera binary..."
+  # Get the latest release tag
+  latest=$(curl -fsSLI -o /dev/null -w '%{url_effective}' https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/latest | grep -oE '[^/]+$')
+  
+  install_dir="$HOME/.local/bin"
+  mkdir -p "$install_dir"
+  dest="$install_dir/voxvera"
+  OS="$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+  case "$OS" in
+    linux*)  BINARY="voxvera-linux" ;;
+    darwin*) BINARY="voxvera-macos" ;;
+    *)       BINARY="voxvera-linux" ;;
+  esac
+  
+  # Try to download architecture-specific binary first (x86_64)
+  ARCH=$(uname -m)
+  if [ "$ARCH" == "x86_64" ]; then
+    url="https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/download/${latest}/${BINARY}-x86_64"
+    if curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$dest"; then
+      chmod +x "$dest"
+      msg "VoxVera binary (${ARCH}) installed to $dest"
+      [[ ":$PATH:" != *":$HOME/.local/bin:"* ]] && warn "Add \$HOME/.local/bin to your PATH."
+      exit 0
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  # Fallback to generic binary
+  url="https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/download/${latest}/${BINARY}"
+  if curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$dest"; then
+    chmod +x "$dest"
+    msg "VoxVera binary installed to $dest"
+    [[ ":$PATH:" != *":$HOME/.local/bin:"* ]] && warn "Add \$HOME/.local/bin to your PATH."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+fi
+
 if command_exists pipx; then
-  msg "Installing/Re-installing VoxVera via pipx..."
+  msg "Falling back to pipx installation (this may take a few minutes)..."
   if pipx install --force 'voxvera@git+https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera.git@main'; then
     pipx ensurepath --force
     msg "\nVoxVera installed/updated successfully via pipx."
     msg "IMPORTANT: Please restart your terminal or run 'source ~/.bashrc' (or your shell config) to use 'voxvera'."
     exit 0
   fi
-  warn "pipx install failed, trying binary fallback..."
+  warn "pipx install failed, trying pip fallback..."
 fi
 
-install_dir="$HOME/.local/bin"
-mkdir -p "$install_dir"
-OS="$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
-case "$OS" in
-  linux*)  BINARY="voxvera-linux" ;;
-  darwin*) BINARY="voxvera-macos" ;;
-  *)       BINARY="voxvera-linux" ;;
-esac
-
-url="https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/latest/download/${BINARY}"
-dest="$install_dir/voxvera"
-msg "Downloading VoxVera binary from $url..."
-if download_binary "$url" "$dest"; then
-  msg "VoxVera binary downloaded to $dest"
-  [[ ":$PATH:" != *":$HOME/.local/bin:"* ]] && warn "Add \$HOME/.local/bin to your PATH."
+# Fallback to pip
+msg "Installing/Updating VoxVera via pip..."
+PIP_OPTS="--user --upgrade"
+if [ -f /etc/debian_version ]; then
+   DEB_VER=$(cat /etc/debian_version | cut -d. -f1)
+   if [[ "$DEB_VER" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && [ "$DEB_VER" -ge 12 ]; then
+     PIP_OPTS="$PIP_OPTS --break-system-packages"
+   fi
+fi
+if pip install $PIP_OPTS 'voxvera@git+https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera.git@main'; then
+  msg "VoxVera installed via pip."
 else
-  warn "Binary download failed. Attempting pip install as last resort..."
-  # Use --break-system-packages on Debian 12+ if necessary
-  PIP_OPTS="--user --upgrade"
-  if [ -f /etc/debian_version ]; then
-     DEB_VER=$(cat /etc/debian_version | cut -d. -f1)
-     if [[ "$DEB_VER" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && [ "$DEB_VER" -ge 12 ]; then
-       PIP_OPTS="$PIP_OPTS --break-system-packages"
-     fi
-  fi
-  if pip install $PIP_OPTS 'voxvera@git+https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera.git@main'; then
-    msg "VoxVera installed via pip."
-  else
-    die "Installation failed."
-  fi
+  die "Installation failed."
 fi
 
 msg "\nVoxVera installed/updated successfully. Run 'voxvera check' to verify."
diff --git a/voxvera-install.sh b/voxvera-install.sh
index 353155d..a23fc59 100644
--- a/voxvera-install.sh
+++ b/voxvera-install.sh
@@ -64,31 +64,54 @@ elif ! command_exists onionshare-cli && ! command_exists onionshare; then
   fi
 fi
 
-## -------- install VoxVera (prefers pipx, falls back) ---------------
+## -------- install VoxVera (prefers binary, falls back) -------------
 install_voxvera() {
+  local install_dir="$HOME/.local/bin"
+  mkdir -p "$install_dir"
+  local url latest dest="$install_dir/voxvera"
+
+  if command_exists curl; then
+    msg "Attempting to download latest VoxVera binary..."
+    # Get the latest release tag
+    latest=$(curl -fsSLI -o /dev/null -w '%{url_effective}' https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/latest | grep -oE '[^/]+$')
+    
+    OS="$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')"
+    case "$OS" in
+      linux*)  BINARY="voxvera-linux" ;;
+      darwin*) BINARY="voxvera-macos" ;;
+      *)       BINARY="voxvera-linux" ;;
+    esac
+    
+    # Try to download architecture-specific binary first (x86_64)
+    ARCH=$(uname -m)
+    if [ "$ARCH" == "x86_64" ]; then
+      url="https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/download/${latest}/${BINARY}-x86_64"
+      if curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$dest"; then
+        chmod +x "$dest"
+        msg "VoxVera binary (${ARCH}) installed to $dest"
+        return 0
+      fi
+    fi
+
+    # Fallback to generic binary
+    url="https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/download/${latest}/${BINARY}"
+    if curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$dest"; then
+      chmod +x "$dest"
+      msg "VoxVera binary installed to $dest"
+      return 0
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  # Fallback to pipx
   if command_exists pipx; then
-    msg "Installing/Re-installing VoxVera via pipx..."
+    msg "Falling back to pipx installation (this may take a few minutes)..."
     if pipx install --force 'voxvera@git+https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera.git@main'; then
       pipx ensurepath --force
       return 0
     fi
   fi
-  # fallback: binary
-  local install_dir="$HOME/.local/bin"
-  mkdir -p "$install_dir"
-  local url latest dest="$install_dir/voxvera"
-  if command_exists curl; then
-    msg "Downloading VoxVera binary..."
-    url=$(curl -fsSLI -o /dev/null -w '%{url_effective}' \
-          https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/latest)
-    latest="${url%/}" ; latest="${latest##*/}"      # vX.Y.Z tag
-    url="https://github.com/PR0M3TH3AN/VoxVera/releases/download/${latest/\/}/voxvera-linux"
-    if curl -fsSL "$url" -o "$dest"; then
-      chmod +x "$dest"
-      return 0
-    fi
-  fi
-  # fallback: pip
+
+  # Fallback to pip
   msg "Installing/Updating VoxVera via pip..."
   PIP_OPTS="--user --upgrade"
   if [ -f /etc/debian_version ]; then