diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 907b0cd..31039f1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,6 +4,50 @@
 
 **Status:** Active — eBay listing intelligence MVP complete (search, trust scoring, affiliate links, feedback FAB, vision task scheduling). Auction sniping engine and multi-platform support are next.
 
+## Quick install (self-hosted)
+
+**Requirements:** Docker with Compose plugin, Git. No API keys needed to get started.
+
+```bash
+# One-line install — clones to ~/snipe by default
+bash <(curl -fsSL https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/snipe/raw/branch/main/install.sh)
+
+# Or clone manually and run the script:
+git clone https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/snipe.git
+bash snipe/install.sh
+```
+
+Then open **http://localhost:8509**.
+
+### Manual setup (if you prefer)
+
+Snipe's API image is built from a parent context that includes `circuitforge-core`. Both repos must sit as siblings in the same directory:
+
+```
+workspace/
+├── snipe/               ← this repo
+└── circuitforge-core/   ← required sibling
+```
+
+```bash
+mkdir snipe-workspace && cd snipe-workspace
+git clone https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/snipe.git
+git clone https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge/circuitforge-core.git
+cd snipe
+cp .env.example .env   # edit if you have eBay API credentials (optional)
+./manage.sh start
+```
+
+### Optional: eBay API credentials
+
+Snipe works without any credentials using its Playwright scraper fallback. Adding eBay API credentials unlocks faster searches and inline seller account age (no extra scrape needed):
+
+1. Register at [developer.ebay.com](https://developer.ebay.com/my/keys)
+2. Copy your Production **App ID** and **Cert ID** into `.env`
+3. Restart: `./manage.sh restart`
+
+---
+
 ## What it does
 
 Snipe has two layers that work together:
diff --git a/compose.override.yml b/compose.override.yml
index 9a9805c..d1f0686 100644
--- a/compose.override.yml
+++ b/compose.override.yml
@@ -1,21 +1,17 @@
+# compose.override.yml — dev-only additions (auto-applied by Docker Compose in dev).
+# Safe to delete on a self-hosted machine — compose.yml is self-contained.
+#
+# What this adds over compose.yml:
+#   - Live source mounts so code changes take effect without rebuilding images
+#   - RELOAD=true to enable uvicorn --reload for the API
+#   - NOTE: circuitforge-core is NOT mounted here — use `./manage.sh build` to
+#     pick up cf-core changes. Mounting it as a bind volume would break self-hosted
+#     installs that don't have the sibling directory.
 services:
   api:
-    build:
-      context: ..
-      dockerfile: snipe/Dockerfile
-    network_mode: host
     volumes:
-      - ../circuitforge-core:/app/circuitforge-core
       - ./api:/app/snipe/api
       - ./app:/app/snipe/app
-      - ./data:/app/snipe/data
       - ./tests:/app/snipe/tests
     environment:
       - RELOAD=true
-
-  web:
-    build:
-      context: .
-      dockerfile: docker/web/Dockerfile
-    volumes:
-      - ./web/src:/app/src  # not used at runtime but keeps override valid
diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index b63d363..be84baf 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -3,11 +3,14 @@ services:
     build:
       context: ..
       dockerfile: snipe/Dockerfile
-    ports:
-      - "8510:8510"
+    # Host networking lets nginx (in the web container) reach the API at
+    # 172.17.0.1:8510 (the Docker bridge gateway). Required — nginx.conf
+    # is baked into the image and hard-codes that address.
+    network_mode: host
     env_file: .env
     volumes:
       - ./data:/app/snipe/data
+    restart: unless-stopped
 
   web:
     build:
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7d4a2c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Snipe — self-hosted install script
+# Clones Snipe and its shared library (circuitforge-core) into a workspace,
+# then starts the Docker stack.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   bash install.sh                    # installs to ~/snipe
+#   bash install.sh /opt/snipe         # custom install directory
+#
+# Requirements: Docker with Compose plugin, Git
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+INSTALL_DIR="${1:-$HOME/snipe}"
+FORGEJO="https://git.opensourcesolarpunk.com/Circuit-Forge"
+
+info()  { echo "  [snipe] $*"; }
+ok()    { echo "✓ $*"; }
+fail()  { echo "✗ $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+echo ""
+echo "  Snipe — self-hosted installer"
+echo "  Install directory: $INSTALL_DIR"
+echo ""
+
+# ── Pre-flight checks ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+command -v docker  >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "Docker is required. Install from https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/"
+docker compose version >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "Docker Compose plugin is required (docker compose, not docker-compose)."
+command -v git     >/dev/null 2>&1 || fail "Git is required."
+ok "Docker $(docker --version | awk '{print $3}' | tr -d ,) and Git found."
+
+# ── Clone repos ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+# compose.yml builds with context: .. so both repos must be siblings.
+SNIPE_DIR="$INSTALL_DIR/snipe"
+CORE_DIR="$INSTALL_DIR/circuitforge-core"
+
+if [[ -d "$SNIPE_DIR" ]]; then
+    info "Snipe already exists at $SNIPE_DIR — pulling latest..."
+    git -C "$SNIPE_DIR" pull --ff-only
+else
+    info "Cloning Snipe..."
+    mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR"
+    git clone "$FORGEJO/snipe.git" "$SNIPE_DIR"
+fi
+ok "Snipe cloned to $SNIPE_DIR"
+
+if [[ -d "$CORE_DIR" ]]; then
+    info "circuitforge-core already exists — pulling latest..."
+    git -C "$CORE_DIR" pull --ff-only
+else
+    info "Cloning circuitforge-core (shared library)..."
+    git clone "$FORGEJO/circuitforge-core.git" "$CORE_DIR"
+fi
+ok "circuitforge-core cloned to $CORE_DIR"
+
+# ── Configure environment ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+ENV_FILE="$SNIPE_DIR/.env"
+if [[ ! -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
+    cp "$SNIPE_DIR/.env.example" "$ENV_FILE"
+    ok ".env created from .env.example"
+    echo ""
+    echo "  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐"
+    echo "  │  Next step: edit $ENV_FILE            │"
+    echo "  │                                                        │"
+    echo "  │  Snipe works out of the box with no API keys.         │"
+    echo "  │  Add EBAY_APP_ID / EBAY_CERT_ID for faster searches   │"
+    echo "  │  and full seller account age data (optional).          │"
+    echo "  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘"
+    echo ""
+else
+    info ".env already exists — skipping (delete it to reset)"
+fi
+
+# ── Build and start ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+info "Building Docker images (first run downloads ~1 GB of dependencies)..."
+cd "$SNIPE_DIR"
+docker compose build
+
+info "Starting Snipe..."
+docker compose up -d
+
+echo ""
+ok "Snipe is running!"
+echo ""
+echo "  Web UI:  http://localhost:8509"
+echo "  API:     http://localhost:8510/docs"
+echo ""
+echo "  Manage:  cd $SNIPE_DIR && ./manage.sh {start|stop|restart|logs|test}"
+echo ""
diff --git a/manage.sh b/manage.sh
index 58a517f..dc63332 100755
--- a/manage.sh
+++ b/manage.sh
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ case "$cmd" in
     test)
         echo "Running test suite..."
         docker compose -f "$COMPOSE_FILE" exec api \
-            conda run -n job-seeker python -m pytest /app/snipe/tests/ -v "${@}"
+            python -m pytest /app/snipe/tests/ -v "${@}"
         ;;
 
     # ── Cloud commands ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────