diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index abc2fc1..cae4cac 100644
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,36 @@
-#! /bin/bash
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
 
-# Install the required support programs
+# Check if apt-get is available
+if ! command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
+    echo "apt-get not found. Please install dependencies manually for your OS."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Ensure requirements.txt exists to prevent running in wrong directory
+if [ ! -f requirements.txt ]; then
+    echo "requirements.txt not found! Run this script from the repository root."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Install system dependencies
 apt-get update
-apt-get install python3 python3-pip python3-dev libffi-dev libssl-dev cargo sed -y
-pip3 install --upgrade setuptools wheel --break-system-packages
-pip3 install -r requirements.txt --break-system-packages
+apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev libffi-dev libssl-dev cargo sed
+
+# Set up Python virtual environment if not exists
+if [ ! -d ".venv" ]; then
+    python3 -m venv .venv
+fi
+
+# Upgrade pip and tools, then install requirements in venv
+. .venv/bin/activate
+pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
+pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+echo ""
+echo "=============================================="
+echo "Setup complete! To activate, run:"
+echo "  source .venv/bin/activate"
+echo ""
+echo "Then run your app as usual (e.g., python monitor.py/bridge.py)"
+echo "=============================================="