diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d133d13..90a50db 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-.PHONY: install install-user test test-node clean
+.PHONY: install link test test-node clean
 
 install:
 	bun install
 
-install-user:
-	bun link
+link:
+	bun install && node bin/vit.js link
 
 test: test-node
 	bun test
diff --git a/hack b/hack
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..77b260e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -e
+
+SELF="solpbc/vit"
+
+command_exists() {
+  command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+echo "installing vit from source ($SELF)..."
+
+if ! command_exists git; then
+  echo "error: git is required. install git and try again."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! command_exists bun; then
+  echo "bun not found, installing..."
+  curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
+  export BUN_INSTALL="$HOME/.bun"
+  export PATH="$BUN_INSTALL/bin:$PATH"
+fi
+
+DIR_NAME=$(echo "$SELF" | sed 's|.*/||')
+if [ -d "$DIR_NAME" ]; then
+  echo "$DIR_NAME/ already exists, skipping clone"
+else
+  if command_exists gh; then
+    gh repo clone "$SELF" "$DIR_NAME"
+  else
+    git clone "https://github.com/$SELF.git" "$DIR_NAME"
+  fi
+fi
+
+cd "$DIR_NAME"
+
+bun install
+node bin/vit.js link
+
+echo ""
+echo "vit installed from source"
+echo "run: cd $DIR_NAME"
diff --git a/src/cli.js b/src/cli.js
index a741665..e7e3541 100644
--- a/src/cli.js
+++ b/src/cli.js
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ import registerVet from './cmd/vet.js';
 import registerVouch from './cmd/vouch.js';
 import registerFollow from './cmd/follow.js';
 import registerSetup from './cmd/setup.js';
+import registerHack from './cmd/hack.js';
+import registerLink from './cmd/link.js';
 
 const program = new Command();
 program
@@ -38,5 +40,7 @@ registerVet(program);
 registerVouch(program);
 registerFollow(program);
 registerSetup(program);
+registerHack(program);
+registerLink(program);
 
 export { program };
diff --git a/src/cmd/doctor.js b/src/cmd/doctor.js
index bceabac..21400cb 100644
--- a/src/cmd/doctor.js
+++ b/src/cmd/doctor.js
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@
 import { loadConfig } from '../lib/config.js';
 import { restoreAgent } from '../lib/oauth.js';
 import { readProjectConfig } from '../lib/vit-dir.js';
-import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { existsSync, lstatSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { mark, name } from '../lib/brand.js';
+import { which } from '../lib/compat.js';
 
 export default function register(program) {
   async function checkHealth() {
@@ -19,6 +20,23 @@ export default function register(program) {
         console.log(`${mark} setup: not done (run ${name} setup)`);
       }
 
+      const vitPath = which(name);
+      if (!vitPath) {
+        console.log(`${mark} install: not on PATH`);
+      } else {
+        try {
+          if (lstatSync(vitPath).isSymbolicLink()) {
+            console.log(`${mark} install: linked (${vitPath})`);
+          } else if (vitPath.includes('node_modules')) {
+            console.log(`${mark} install: global`);
+          } else {
+            console.log(`${mark} install: source (${vitPath})`);
+          }
+        } catch {
+          console.log(`${mark} install: source (${vitPath})`);
+        }
+      }
+
       const projConfig = readProjectConfig();
       if (projConfig.beacon) {
         console.log(`${mark} beacon: ${projConfig.beacon}`);
diff --git a/src/cmd/hack.js b/src/cmd/hack.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb0186e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cmd/hack.js
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+// Copyright (c) 2026 sol pbc
+
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { which } from '../lib/compat.js';
+import { mark, name } from '../lib/brand.js';
+
+export default function register(program) {
+  program
+    .command('hack')
+    .description('Fork and install vit from source')
+    .option('--from <repo>', 'Clone an existing fork instead of creating a new one (e.g. user/vit)')
+    .action(async (opts) => {
+      try {
+        const ghPath = which('gh');
+        if (!opts.from && !ghPath) {
+          console.error(`${name} hack requires gh (GitHub CLI). Install it from https://cli.github.com`);
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
+
+        const gitPath = which('git');
+        if (opts.from && !gitPath) {
+          console.error('missing required tool: git');
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
+
+        const repo = opts.from || 'solpbc/vit';
+        const dirName = repo.split('/').pop();
+        const dirPath = resolve(process.cwd(), dirName);
+        const cloned = !existsSync(dirPath);
+
+        if (!cloned) {
+          console.log(`${mark} ${dirName}/ already exists, skipping clone`);
+        } else if (opts.from) {
+          execFileSync('git', ['clone', 'https://github.com/' + opts.from + '.git', dirName], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+        } else {
+          execFileSync('gh', ['repo', 'fork', 'solpbc/vit', '--clone'], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+        }
+
+        process.chdir(dirName);
+
+        const bunPath = which('bun');
+        if (!bunPath) {
+          console.error('missing required tool: bun');
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
+
+        execFileSync('bun', ['install'], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+        execFileSync('node', [join(process.cwd(), 'bin', 'vit.js'), 'link'], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+
+        if (!opts.from) {
+          const remote = execFileSync(
+            'gh',
+            ['repo', 'view', '--json', 'nameWithOwner', '-q', '.nameWithOwner'],
+            { encoding: 'utf-8' }
+          ).trim();
+          const hackPath = join(process.cwd(), 'hack');
+          if (existsSync(hackPath)) {
+            const current = readFileSync(hackPath, 'utf-8');
+            writeFileSync(hackPath, current.replace('SELF="solpbc/vit"', `SELF="${remote}"`));
+          }
+        }
+
+        if (opts.from && cloned) {
+          try {
+            execFileSync('git', ['remote', 'add', 'upstream', 'https://github.com/solpbc/vit.git'], { stdio: 'inherit' });
+          } catch {}
+        }
+
+        console.log('');
+        console.log(`${mark} ${name} installed from source`);
+        console.log(`run: cd ${dirName}`);
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.error(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      }
+    });
+}
diff --git a/src/cmd/link.js b/src/cmd/link.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b81a16e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cmd/link.js
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+// Copyright (c) 2026 sol pbc
+
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, symlinkSync, unlinkSync, readlinkSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { mark, name } from '../lib/brand.js';
+
+export default function register(program) {
+  program
+    .command('link')
+    .description('Link vit binary into ~/.local/bin (or create .cmd shim on Windows)')
+    .action(async () => {
+      try {
+        const vitBin = resolve(import.meta.dirname, '..', '..', 'bin', 'vit.js');
+        if (!existsSync(vitBin)) {
+          console.error(`${name} link could not find ${vitBin}`);
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
+
+        let binDir;
+        if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+          const home = process.env.USERPROFILE || process.env.HOME;
+          binDir = join(home, '.local', 'bin');
+          mkdirSync(binDir, { recursive: true });
+          const target = join(binDir, 'vit.cmd');
+          writeFileSync(target, `@node "${vitBin}" %*\n`);
+          console.log(`${mark} link: ${target} -> ${vitBin}`);
+        } else {
+          binDir = join(process.env.HOME, '.local', 'bin');
+          mkdirSync(binDir, { recursive: true });
+          const target = join(binDir, 'vit');
+          if (existsSync(target)) {
+            try {
+              const current = readlinkSync(target);
+              if (current === vitBin) {
+                console.log(`${mark} link: already linked`);
+              } else {
+                unlinkSync(target);
+                symlinkSync(vitBin, target);
+                console.log(`${mark} link: ${target} -> ${vitBin}`);
+              }
+            } catch {
+              unlinkSync(target);
+              symlinkSync(vitBin, target);
+              console.log(`${mark} link: ${target} -> ${vitBin}`);
+            }
+          } else {
+            symlinkSync(vitBin, target);
+            console.log(`${mark} link: ${target} -> ${vitBin}`);
+          }
+        }
+
+        const pathDirs = (process.env.PATH || '').split(process.platform === 'win32' ? ';' : ':');
+        if (!pathDirs.includes(binDir)) {
+          const shell = (process.env.SHELL || '').split('/').pop();
+          let instruction = '[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "$env:USERPROFILE\\.local\\bin;" + $env:PATH, "User")';
+          if (shell === 'fish') {
+            instruction = 'set -Ua fish_user_paths ~/.local/bin';
+          } else if (shell === 'zsh') {
+            instruction = 'echo \'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"\' >> ~/.zshrc';
+          } else if (shell === 'bash') {
+            instruction = 'echo \'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"\' >> ~/.bashrc';
+          }
+          console.log(`${mark} note: add ~/.local/bin to your PATH:`);
+          console.log(instruction);
+        } else {
+          console.log(`${mark} PATH: ok`);
+        }
+      } catch (err) {
+        console.error(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      }
+    });
+}
diff --git a/test/doctor.test.js b/test/doctor.test.js
index f81c915..c782c19 100644
--- a/test/doctor.test.js
+++ b/test/doctor.test.js
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ describe('vit doctor', () => {
     expect(result.stdout).toMatch(/bluesky:/);
   });
 
+  test('reports install type', () => {
+    const result = run('doctor');
+    expect(result.stdout).toMatch(/install:/);
+  });
+
   test('vit status is an alias for doctor', () => {
     const result = run('status');
     expect(result.stdout).toMatch(/setup:/);
diff --git a/test/hack.test.js b/test/hack.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de8b430
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/hack.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+// Copyright (c) 2026 sol pbc
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { run } from './helpers.js';
+
+describe('vit hack', () => {
+  test('--help shows usage', () => {
+    const result = run('hack --help');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Fork');
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('--help shows --from option', () => {
+    const result = run('hack --help');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('--from');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/link.test.js b/test/link.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3f8ddd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/link.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+// Copyright (c) 2026 sol pbc
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { run } from './helpers.js';
+
+describe('vit link', () => {
+  test('--help shows usage', () => {
+    const result = run('link --help');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('Link');
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('creates symlink without error', () => {
+    const result = run('link');
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  test('is idempotent', () => {
+    run('link');
+    const result = run('link');
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+});