diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index ff0eb22..a9934a9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -45,6 +45,33 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build release archives
         run: ./tools/build_release.sh "$GITHUB_REF_NAME"
 
+      - name: Write the install notes
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          version=$(sed -n "s/^VERSION = '\([0-9][0-9.]*\)'.*/\1/p" pd.py)
+          notes="$RUNNER_TEMP/release-notes.md"
+          cat > "$notes" <<'EOF'
+          Runtime release - the decoder, setup/start scripts, docs and README
+          images; no git history and no development files.
+
+          **Install - release package (recommended)**
+          - Linux: `sigrok_iso7816_stream-<VERSION>.tar.gz`
+          - Windows: `sigrok_iso7816_stream-<VERSION>.zip`
+
+          Extract the archive, then run `./setup.sh` + `./start.sh` (Linux) or
+          `setup.bat` + `start.bat` (Windows).  `SHA256SUMS` (attached) verifies
+          both downloads.  Requires sigrok-cli and the FX2 firmware; see the
+          README *Installation* section for the full prerequisites.
+
+          **Install - source checkout (development)**
+          `git clone https://github.com/anttro/sigrok_iso7816_stream.git`, then
+          the same setup/start scripts.  The clone adds `tests/`, the baseline
+          tools and the (local-only) example traces; the release package is the
+          runtime tree.
+          EOF
+          sed -i "s/<VERSION>/$version/g" "$notes"
+
       - name: Create or update the GitHub release
         shell: bash
         env:
@@ -52,12 +79,15 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           version=$(sed -n "s/^VERSION = '\([0-9][0-9.]*\)'.*/\1/p" pd.py)
+          notes="$RUNNER_TEMP/release-notes.md"
           # Upload into an existing release first.  If the release does not
           # exist yet, create it as a draft so the published release never
-          # appears with a partial asset set.
+          # appears with a partial asset set.  The install notes are prepended
+          # to GitHub's generated changelog.
           if ! gh release upload "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" dist/* --clobber; then
             gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" dist/* --draft \
-              --title "sigrok_iso7816_stream $version" --generate-notes
+              --title "sigrok_iso7816_stream $version" \
+              --notes-file "$notes" --generate-notes
           fi
           # Publish a new draft and re-publish an existing one.
           gh release edit "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --draft=false
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 058613d..3117a33 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -1050,11 +1050,14 @@ untouched, and `gh release upload dist/*` can never attach a stale version).
 (`tests/test_gsmtap.py`), tag == `pd.py` VERSION, the build script, then
 `gh release upload --clobber` (or `gh release create --draft` when there is
 no release yet) followed by `gh release edit --draft=false`, with
-`release-<tag>` concurrency.  **Release process:** commit the docs, workflow
-and scripts first, then tag `v1.9.7` and push the tag (with user approval) -
-the workflow must exist in the tagged commit, and the archive ships the
-committed READMEs.  Release notes are GitHub's auto-generated notes from the
-commits; `AGENTS.md` and `tests/` are not in the archive.  Packaging/docs
+`release-<tag>` concurrency.  The workflow prepends a standard install block
+to the generated notes: release package (recommended; Linux tar.gz / Windows
+zip, setup/start, SHA256SUMS) and source checkout (development).  **Release
+process:** commit the docs, workflow and scripts first, then tag `v1.9.7` and
+push the tag (with user approval) - the workflow must exist in the tagged
+commit, and the archive ships the committed READMEs.  The changelog itself is
+GitHub's auto-generated notes from the commits; `AGENTS.md` and `tests/` are
+not in the archive.  Packaging/docs
 only - no decoder behavior change, and `VERSION` is unchanged.
 
 ### Testing after decoder changes