diff --git a/hyprwhspr.install b/hyprwhspr.install
index b3dbe01fe8fa..944e905a7dcc 100644
--- a/hyprwhspr.install
+++ b/hyprwhspr.install
@@ -1,6 +1,24 @@
 post_install() {
-  # Run setup with Waybar integration enabled by default
-  HYPRWHSPR_WAYBAR_AUTO=1 hyprwhspr-setup
+  # Detect the actual user (not root)
+  if [ -n "$SUDO_USER" ]; then
+    ACTUAL_USER="$SUDO_USER"
+  else
+    # Fallback: find first non-root user
+    ACTUAL_USER=$(stat -c '%U' /home 2>/dev/null | head -1 || echo "")
+  fi
+  
+  if [ -n "$ACTUAL_USER" ] && [ "$ACTUAL_USER" != "root" ]; then
+    # Run setup as the actual user
+    sudo -u "$ACTUAL_USER" bash -c 'HYPRWHSPR_WAYBAR_AUTO=1 hyprwhspr-setup' || {
+      echo "Warning: Could not run setup as user $ACTUAL_USER. Please run manually:"
+      echo "  hyprwhspr-setup"
+      echo "  HYPRWHSPR_WAYBAR_AUTO=1 hyprwhspr-setup"
+    }
+  else
+    echo "Warning: Could not determine user. Please run setup manually:"
+    echo "  hyprwhspr-setup"
+    echo "  HYPRWHSPR_WAYBAR_AUTO=1 hyprwhspr-setup"
+  fi
   
   cat <<'EOF'