diff --git a/cmd/hyprvoice/main.go b/cmd/hyprvoice/main.go
index 505c553..f398d7e 100644
--- a/cmd/hyprvoice/main.go
+++ b/cmd/hyprvoice/main.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"bufio"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -141,7 +142,7 @@ func runInteractiveConfig() error {
 	fmt.Println("------------------------------")
 
 	// OpenAI API Key
-	fmt.Printf("OpenAI API Key (current: %s): ", maskAPIKey(cfg.Transcription.APIKey))
+	fmt.Printf("OpenAI API Key (current: %s, leave empty to use OPENAI_API_KEY env var): ", maskAPIKey(cfg.Transcription.APIKey))
 	if scanner.Scan() {
 		input := strings.TrimSpace(scanner.Text())
 		if input != "" {
@@ -227,10 +228,21 @@ func runInteractiveConfig() error {
 	fmt.Println("✅ Configuration saved successfully!")
 	fmt.Println()
 
+	// Check if service is running
+	serviceRunning := false
+	if _, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "--user", "is-active", "--quiet", "hyprvoice.service").CombinedOutput(); err == nil {
+		serviceRunning = true
+	}
+
 	// Show next steps
 	fmt.Println("🚀 Next Steps:")
-	fmt.Println("1. Start/restart the daemon: systemctl --user restart hyprvoice.service")
-	fmt.Println("2. Test voice input: hyprvoice toggle")
+	if !serviceRunning {
+		fmt.Println("1. Start the service: systemctl --user start hyprvoice.service")
+		fmt.Println("2. Test voice input: hyprvoice toggle")
+	} else {
+		fmt.Println("1. Restart the service to apply changes: systemctl --user restart hyprvoice.service")
+		fmt.Println("2. Test voice input: hyprvoice toggle")
+	}
 	fmt.Println()
 
 	configPath, _ := config.GetConfigPath()
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 9421c7b..2bc809c 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func (c *Config) Validate() error {
 			apiKey = os.Getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
 		}
 		if apiKey == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("OpenAI API key required (set transcription.api_key in config or OPENAI_API_KEY env var)")
+			return fmt.Errorf("OpenAI API key required: not found in config (transcription.api_key) or environment variable (OPENAI_API_KEY)")
 		}
 
 		// Validate language code if provided (empty string means auto-detect)
diff --git a/packaging/hyprvoice-0.1.0 b/packaging/hyprvoice-0.1.0
deleted file mode 100644
index 393cdcf..0000000
Binary files a/packaging/hyprvoice-0.1.0 and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/packaging/hyprvoice.install b/packaging/hyprvoice.install
index 956f464..bdddfa7 100644
--- a/packaging/hyprvoice.install
+++ b/packaging/hyprvoice.install
@@ -1,9 +1,19 @@
 post_install() {
     echo "==> Hyprvoice installation complete!"
     echo ""
-    echo "    📋 Next steps (in order):"
+
+    # Auto-enable the service (safe to do during installation)
+    echo "==> Enabling hyprvoice service..."
+    if systemctl --user enable hyprvoice.service 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "    ✅ Service enabled successfully"
+    else
+        echo "    ⚠️  Service enable failed (you may need to run: systemctl --user enable hyprvoice.service)"
+    fi
+    echo ""
+
+    echo "    📋 Next steps:"
     echo "    1. Configure hyprvoice: hyprvoice configure"
-    echo "    2. Enable the service: systemctl --user enable --now hyprvoice.service"
+    echo "    2. Start the service: systemctl --user start hyprvoice.service"
     echo "    3. Add keybinding to your window manager config"
     echo ""
     echo "    🔑 For Hyprland, add to ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf:"
@@ -16,9 +26,24 @@ post_install() {
 post_upgrade() {
     echo "==> Hyprvoice has been upgraded."
     echo ""
-    echo "    📋 Next steps:"
-    echo "    1. Restart the service: systemctl --user restart hyprvoice.service"
-    echo "    2. Check for new options: hyprvoice configure"
+
+    # Check if service was running before upgrade
+    was_active=false
+    if systemctl --user is-active --quiet hyprvoice.service 2>/dev/null; then
+        was_active=true
+        echo "==> Service was running, restarting to apply updates..."
+        if systemctl --user restart hyprvoice.service 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "    ✅ Service restarted successfully"
+        else
+            echo "    ⚠️  Service restart failed (you may need to run: systemctl --user restart hyprvoice.service)"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "==> Service was not running (start with: systemctl --user start hyprvoice.service)"
+    fi
+    echo ""
+
+    echo "    📋 Additional steps:"
+    echo "    1. Check for new configuration options: hyprvoice configure"
     echo ""
 }