diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 8a40537..7d8a518 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: Set up Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v6
         with:
           go-version: "1.26.2"
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 29ef5e2..e4c294e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: Set up Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v6
         with:
           go-version: "1.26.2"
 
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p dist
           cp model/_version.txt dist/version.txt
           cp model/constants/doth.sh dist/doth.sh
+          cp model/constants/doth-init.sh dist/doth-init.sh
+          cp LICENSE dist/LICENSE
 
           platforms=(
             "linux/amd64"
@@ -64,14 +66,14 @@ jobs:
             if [ "$os" = "windows" ]; then
               ext=".exe"
             fi
-            output="doth-${os}-${arch}${ext}"
+            output="doth-${{ inputs.version }}-${os}-${arch}${ext}"
             CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS="$os" GOARCH="$arch" go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o "dist/$output" .
             chmod +x "dist/$output"
             echo "Built: dist/$output"
           done
 
       - name: Create Release
-        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
         with:
           tag_name: ${{ inputs.version }}
           files: dist/*
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
index e69de29..a2c800e 100644
--- a/LICENSE
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 5000K
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/cmd/add.go b/cmd/add.go
index 76d3bd3..6340864 100644
--- a/cmd/add.go
+++ b/cmd/add.go
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ If the target directory already exists, all existing files will be added with th
 This can be skipped with the --skip-existing flag (-s).
 `,
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		if util.ConfirmRunIfRoot() == false {
+			return
+		}
+
 		name, err := cmd.Flags().GetString("name")
 		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Printf("Error getting name flag: %v\n", err)
diff --git a/cmd/deploy.go b/cmd/deploy.go
index 38aec5e..078b0ec 100644
--- a/cmd/deploy.go
+++ b/cmd/deploy.go
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ Takes in one or more config.yaml files that will be applied when deploying the m
 This command will copy, symlink, or render the files from the modules to their respective target locations based on the defined strategies.
 If a module has dependencies, they will be installed first using the appropriate strategies.`,
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		if util.ConfirmRunIfRoot() == false {
+			return
+		}
 
 		configPaths, err := cmd.Flags().GetStringSlice("config")
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/init.go b/cmd/init.go
index 5022038..acdca72 100644
--- a/cmd/init.go
+++ b/cmd/init.go
@@ -49,7 +49,10 @@ This will create a doth.yaml file with the provided configuration, and a modules
 
 		pipeline := model.NewPipeline()
 
-		if destructive {
+		_, err = model.LoadDothFileFromCwd()
+
+		// ask for confirmation if doth is already set up
+		if destructive && err == nil {
 			pipeline.AddModule(model.NewConfirmStep("Force create a new project?"))
 		}
 
diff --git a/cmd/lock.go b/cmd/lock.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec6fa34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/lock.go
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/5000K/doth/model"
+	"github.com/5000K/doth/util"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+// lockCmd represents the lock command
+var lockCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "lock",
+	Short: "Locks the project to a specific version of doth",
+	Long: `Locks the project to a specific version of doth (defaults to the current version).
+	
+This only affects the wrapper script. If you installed doth using another source, this won't have any effect.`,
+	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		version, err := cmd.Flags().GetString("version")
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("Error getting version flag: %v\n", err)
+			return
+		}
+
+		loc := util.CleanPath(model.DothLockFileLocation)
+
+		if ok, _ := util.Exists(loc); ok {
+			err := util.Delete(loc)
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("Failed to overwrite existing lock: %v\n", err)
+				return
+			}
+		}
+
+		err = os.WriteFile(loc, []byte(version), 0644)
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("Failed to lock the project: %v\n", err)
+			return
+		}
+
+		fmt.Println("Project locked.")
+	},
+}
+
+// lockCmd represents the lock command
+var unlockCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "unlock",
+	Short: "Unlocks the project",
+	Long: `Unlocks the project.
+	
+This only affects the wrapper script. If you installed doth using another source, this won't have any effect.`,
+	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+
+		loc := util.CleanPath(model.DothLockFileLocation)
+
+		if ok, _ := util.Exists(loc); !ok {
+			fmt.Println("Project wasn't locked.")
+			return
+		}
+
+		err := util.Delete(loc)
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("Failed to unlock the project: %v\n", err)
+			return
+		}
+
+		fmt.Println("Project unlocked.")
+	},
+}
+
+func init() {
+	versionCmd.AddCommand(lockCmd)
+	versionCmd.AddCommand(unlockCmd)
+
+	lockCmd.Flags().StringP("version", "v", model.Version, "The version of doth to lock to (defaults to the current version).")
+}
diff --git a/cmd/version.go b/cmd/version.go
index 53f6b6c..b88782f 100644
--- a/cmd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/version.go
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-/*
-Copyright © 2026 NAME HERE <EMAIL ADDRESS>
-*/
 package cmd
 
 import (
diff --git a/cmd/wrapper.go b/cmd/wrapper.go
index c7f438a..5f1f0ae 100644
--- a/cmd/wrapper.go
+++ b/cmd/wrapper.go
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-/*
-Copyright © 2026 NAME HERE <EMAIL ADDRESS>
-*/
 package cmd
 
 import (
diff --git a/model/constants.go b/model/constants.go
index 18bd12d..cabebef 100644
--- a/model/constants.go
+++ b/model/constants.go
@@ -25,3 +25,5 @@ const GitignoreFileLocation = "./.gitignore"
 var GitignoreFileTemplate string
 
 const LocalStateDir = "./.doth"
+
+const DothLockFileLocation = "./doth.lock"
diff --git a/model/constants/doth-init.sh b/model/constants/doth-init.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c3b206b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/model/constants/doth-init.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# This is a one-time bootstrapping script to initialize a fully self-contained doth project, including the current wrapper.
+
+ROOT_DIR=$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")
+
+GO_VERSION=1.26.2
+TARGET_FOLDER=${ROOT_DIR}/.doth/go
+GOPATH_FOLDER=${ROOT_DIR}/.doth/gopath
+
+GO_COMMAND=${TARGET_FOLDER}/bin/go
+
+
+# set paths for this script
+export GOPATH=${GOPATH_FOLDER}
+export GOBIN=${GOPATH_FOLDER}/bin
+export PATH=${TARGET_FOLDER}/bin:${GOBIN}:$PATH
+
+detect_platform() {
+    local os arch
+    os=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
+    arch=$(uname -m)
+    
+    case "$os" in
+        linux)  GO_OS="linux" ;;
+        darwin) GO_OS="darwin" ;;
+        *) echo "Unsupported OS: $os"; exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+    
+    case "$arch" in
+        x86_64)         GO_ARCH="amd64" ;;
+        aarch64|arm64)  GO_ARCH="arm64" ;;
+        armv6l|armv7l)  GO_ARCH="armv6l" ;;
+        *) echo "Unsupported architecture: $arch"; exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+}
+
+setup_go() {
+    # check if Go is already installed
+    if command -v ${GO_COMMAND} &> /dev/null; then
+        return
+    fi
+    
+    detect_platform
+    echo "Installing Go ${GO_VERSION} (${GO_OS}-${GO_ARCH})..."
+    
+    # Install Go
+    mkdir -p ${TARGET_FOLDER}
+    mkdir -p ${GOBIN}
+    curl -Ls -o ${ROOT_DIR}/.doth/go.tar.gz https://go.dev/dl/go${GO_VERSION}.${GO_OS}-${GO_ARCH}.tar.gz
+    tar -C ${TARGET_FOLDER} --strip-components=1 -xzf ${ROOT_DIR}/.doth/go.tar.gz
+    rm ${ROOT_DIR}/.doth/go.tar.gz
+}
+
+setup_doth() {
+    echo "Installing the current version of doth..."
+    NEW_VERSION=$(curl -Ls https://github.com/5000K/doth/releases/latest/download/version.txt)
+    ${GO_COMMAND} install github.com/5000K/doth@$NEW_VERSION
+}
+# is doth available?
+if ! command -v doth &> /dev/null; then
+    setup_go
+    setup_doth
+fi
+
+# initialize a fresh doth project
+doth init --modules ./modules --verbose
+
+echo "doth is initialized and ready to use!"
+echo "instead of installing doth globally, use ./doth.sh to run the current version of doth."
diff --git a/model/constants/doth.sh b/model/constants/doth.sh
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index d195f88..f4c5fb3
--- a/model/constants/doth.sh
+++ b/model/constants/doth.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ GOPATH_FOLDER=${ROOT_DIR}/.doth/gopath
 
 GO_COMMAND=${TARGET_FOLDER}/bin/go
 
+DOTH_LOCK=${ROOT_DIR}/doth.lock
 
 # set paths for this script
 export GOPATH=${GOPATH_FOLDER}
@@ -53,13 +54,21 @@ setup_go() {
 }
 
 setup_doth() {
-    echo "Installing the current version of doth..."
-    NEW_VERSION=$(curl -Ls https://github.com/5000K/doth/releases/latest/download/version.txt)
+    if [[ -f "${DOTH_LOCK}" ]]; then
+        NEW_VERSION=$(cat "${DOTH_LOCK}")
+    else
+        NEW_VERSION=$(curl -Ls https://github.com/5000K/doth/releases/latest/download/version.txt)
+    fi
+    echo "Installing doth ${NEW_VERSION}..."
     ${GO_COMMAND} install github.com/5000K/doth@$NEW_VERSION
     doth wrapper > "$0"
 }
 
-check_doth_version() {
+update_doth() {
+    if [[ -f "${DOTH_LOCK}" ]]; then
+        return
+    fi
+
     NEW_VERSION=$(curl -Ls https://github.com/5000K/doth/releases/latest/download/version.txt)
     CURRENT_VERSION=$(doth version --raw)
     if [ "$NEW_VERSION" != "$CURRENT_VERSION" ]; then
@@ -78,7 +87,7 @@ if ! command -v doth &> /dev/null; then
     setup_go
     setup_doth
 else
-    check_doth_version
+    update_doth
 fi
 
 # call doth with the provided arguments
diff --git a/util/gates.go b/util/gates.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7816669
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/gates.go
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package util
+
+import "os"
+
+func IsRoot() bool {
+	return os.Geteuid() == 0
+}
+
+const runAsRootConfirm = "Warning: Running doth as root is not recommended. Please run doth as a regular user.\nDo you want to continue anyway?"
+
+func ConfirmRunIfRoot() bool {
+	if IsRoot() {
+		return ConfirmAction(runAsRootConfirm) == nil
+	}
+
+	return true
+}