diff --git a/bin/postinstall.js b/bin/postinstall.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c986a52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/postinstall.js
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+// Skip if explicitly opted out
+if (process.env.SEED_SKIP_POSTINSTALL === '1') process.exit(0);
+
+// Only run automatically on global installs, not local/dependency installs
+if (!process.env.npm_config_global) process.exit(0);
+
+try {
+  require('./install.js');
+} catch (err) {
+  console.warn('\n  [seed] postinstall skipped:', err.message, '\n');
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1e28a29..da07acf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 {
   "name": "@chrisai/seed",
   "version": "1.0.0",
+  "scripts": {
+    "postinstall": "node bin/postinstall.js"
+  },
   "description": "Typed project incubator — guided ideation through graduation for Claude Code. Part of the Agentic OS by Chris AI Systems.",
   "bin": {
     "seed": "bin/install.js"