diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5c60954..b42b761 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ water_level{station_code="P.1"}
 ```sql
 -- Latest readings from all stations
 SELECT s.station_code, s.english_name, m.water_level, m.discharge
-FROM stations s 
+FROM stations s
 JOIN water_measurements m ON s.id = m.station_id
 WHERE m.timestamp = (SELECT MAX(timestamp) FROM water_measurements WHERE station_id = s.id);
 ```
@@ -267,14 +267,32 @@ docker run -d \
 
 ### Systemd Service (Linux)
 
-```bash
-# Copy service file
-sudo cp scripts/water-monitor.service /etc/systemd/system/
+The install script sets everything up: a dedicated `water-monitor` system user,
+a deploy to `/opt/thailand-water-monitor`, a uv-managed virtualenv, and the
+enabled systemd unit.
 
-# Enable and start
+```bash
+# From a checkout of the repo, as root:
+sudo bash scripts/install.sh
+
+# Then start and check:
+sudo systemctl start water-monitor.service
+systemctl status water-monitor.service
+```
+
+Fill in `/opt/thailand-water-monitor/.env` (Matrix token/room, DB settings)
+before starting if the script reports it is missing.
+
+<details>
+<summary>Manual setup (if you prefer not to use the script)</summary>
+
+```bash
+sudo useradd --system --no-create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin water-monitor
+sudo cp scripts/water-monitor.service /etc/systemd/system/
 sudo systemctl enable water-monitor.service
 sudo systemctl start water-monitor.service
 ```
+</details>
 
 ### Migration for Existing Systems
 
@@ -475,7 +493,7 @@ See [docs/PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md](docs/PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md) for detailed architec
 The project includes comprehensive Gitea Actions workflows:
 
 - **🧪 CI/CD Pipeline** - Automated testing, building, and deployment
-- **🔒 Security Scanning** - Daily vulnerability and dependency checks  
+- **🔒 Security Scanning** - Daily vulnerability and dependency checks
 - **📚 Documentation** - Automated API docs and validation
 - **🚀 Release Management** - Automated releases with multi-arch Docker builds
 
diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e43109b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Install the Thailand Water Level Monitor as a hardened systemd service.
+#
+# Creates a dedicated system user, deploys the code to /opt, builds a uv-managed
+# virtualenv, installs the systemd unit, and enables the service. Idempotent:
+# safe to re-run to update an existing install.
+#
+# Usage (as root, from a checkout of the repo):
+#     sudo bash scripts/install.sh
+#
+# Override defaults via environment variables:
+#     APP_DIR=/opt/thailand-water-monitor SERVICE_USER=water-monitor sudo -E bash scripts/install.sh
+#
+set -euo pipefail
+
+APP_DIR="${APP_DIR:-/opt/thailand-water-monitor}"
+SERVICE_USER="${SERVICE_USER:-water-monitor}"
+SERVICE_GROUP="${SERVICE_GROUP:-${SERVICE_USER}}"
+SERVICE_NAME="water-monitor.service"
+
+# Resolve the repo root (parent of this scripts/ directory).
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+REPO_DIR="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/.." && pwd)"
+
+log() { printf '\033[1;32m==>\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
+warn() { printf '\033[1;33m[warn]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
+die() { printf '\033[1;31m[error]\033[0m %s\n' "$*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+[ "$(id -u)" -eq 0 ] || die "This script must be run as root (use sudo)."
+
+# 1. Dedicated system user/group (no login, no home) --------------------------
+if ! getent group "${SERVICE_GROUP}" >/dev/null; then
+    log "Creating group ${SERVICE_GROUP}"
+    groupadd --system "${SERVICE_GROUP}"
+fi
+if ! id "${SERVICE_USER}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    log "Creating system user ${SERVICE_USER}"
+    useradd --system --no-create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin \
+        --gid "${SERVICE_GROUP}" "${SERVICE_USER}"
+fi
+
+# 2. Deploy code to APP_DIR ----------------------------------------------------
+log "Deploying code to ${APP_DIR}"
+mkdir -p "${APP_DIR}"
+if command -v rsync >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    rsync -a --delete \
+        --exclude '.git' --exclude '.venv' --exclude 'venv' \
+        --exclude '__pycache__' --exclude '*.pyc' \
+        --exclude '*.db' --exclude '.env' --exclude 'stations.json' \
+        "${REPO_DIR}/" "${APP_DIR}/"
+else
+    warn "rsync not found; falling back to cp (will not prune deleted files)"
+    cp -r "${REPO_DIR}/." "${APP_DIR}/"
+fi
+
+# 3. Build the uv-managed virtualenv ------------------------------------------
+if ! command -v uv >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    log "Installing uv"
+    curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | env UV_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/local/bin sh
+fi
+UV="$(command -v uv)"
+
+log "Creating virtualenv at ${APP_DIR}/venv"
+cd "${APP_DIR}"
+# Named 'venv' (not uv's default .venv) to match the systemd unit's ExecStart.
+"${UV}" venv venv
+"${UV}" pip install --python venv/bin/python -r requirements.txt
+
+# 4. Environment file ----------------------------------------------------------
+if [ ! -f "${APP_DIR}/.env" ]; then
+    if [ -f "${REPO_DIR}/.env" ]; then
+        log "Copying .env from checkout"
+        cp "${REPO_DIR}/.env" "${APP_DIR}/.env"
+    else
+        warn "No .env found. Copy .env.example to ${APP_DIR}/.env and fill in"
+        warn "MATRIX_ACCESS_TOKEN / MATRIX_ROOM_ID and DB settings before starting."
+    fi
+fi
+
+# 5. Ownership (service user needs write access for logs / stations.json) ------
+log "Setting ownership to ${SERVICE_USER}:${SERVICE_GROUP}"
+chown -R "${SERVICE_USER}:${SERVICE_GROUP}" "${APP_DIR}"
+
+# 6. Install and enable the systemd unit --------------------------------------
+log "Installing systemd unit"
+install -m 0644 "${SCRIPT_DIR}/${SERVICE_NAME}" "/etc/systemd/system/${SERVICE_NAME}"
+systemctl daemon-reload
+systemctl enable "${SERVICE_NAME}"
+
+log "Done."
+echo
+echo "Next steps:"
+echo "  sudo systemctl start ${SERVICE_NAME}"
+echo "  systemctl status ${SERVICE_NAME}"
+echo "  sudo journalctl -u ${SERVICE_NAME} -f"
diff --git a/scripts/water-monitor.service b/scripts/water-monitor.service
index a670fb2..28e3b2d 100644
--- a/scripts/water-monitor.service
+++ b/scripts/water-monitor.service
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [Unit]
 Description=Thailand Water Level Monitor
-Documentation=https://github.com/your-username/thailand-water-monitor
+Documentation=https://git.b4l.co.th/B4L/Northern-Thailand-Ping-River-Monitor
 After=network.target
 Wants=network-online.target