diff --git a/src/cli/cli.c b/src/cli/cli.c
index 4228dbaa..feb4f5b2 100644
--- a/src/cli/cli.c
+++ b/src/cli/cli.c
@@ -349,6 +349,48 @@ int cbm_copy_file(const char *src, const char *dst) {
     return rc == 0 ? 0 : CLI_ERR;
 }
 
+/* Return true if two paths refer to the same on-disk file. Used to avoid
+ * copying the running binary onto itself during install (cbm_copy_file would
+ * truncate it, since it opens the destination "wb" before reading the source). */
+static bool cbm_same_file(const char *a, const char *b) {
+    struct stat sa;
+    struct stat sb;
+    if (stat(a, &sa) != 0 || stat(b, &sb) != 0) {
+        return false;
+    }
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    /* st_ino is unreliable on Windows; compare normalized path strings. */
+    char na[CLI_BUF_1K];
+    char nb[CLI_BUF_1K];
+    snprintf(na, sizeof(na), "%s", a);
+    snprintf(nb, sizeof(nb), "%s", b);
+    cbm_normalize_path_sep(na);
+    cbm_normalize_path_sep(nb);
+    return strcmp(na, nb) == 0;
+#else
+    return sa.st_dev == sb.st_dev && sa.st_ino == sb.st_ino;
+#endif
+}
+
+/* Copy the running binary into the canonical install target, preserving the
+ * executable bit. When src and dst are the same on-disk file the copy is
+ * skipped: cbm_copy_file opens dst "wb" before reading src, so copying a file
+ * onto itself would truncate it to zero. Returns 0 on success or skip,
+ * CLI_ERR on failure. Exposed (non-static) as the regression surface for the
+ * `install --force` binary-swap bug (#472). */
+int cbm_copy_binary_to_target(const char *src, const char *dst) {
+    if (cbm_same_file(src, dst)) {
+        return 0; /* already in place — nothing to copy */
+    }
+    if (cbm_copy_file(src, dst) != 0) {
+        return CLI_ERR;
+    }
+#ifndef _WIN32
+    (void)chmod(dst, CLI_OCTAL_PERM);
+#endif
+    return 0;
+}
+
 /* Replace a binary file. Unlinks the old file first (handles read-only and
  * running binaries on Unix where unlink succeeds on open files). On all
  * platforms, the caller should tell the user to restart after update. */
@@ -3412,24 +3454,68 @@ int cbm_cmd_install(int argc, char **argv) {
         }
     }
 
-    /* Step 1c: macOS ad-hoc signing (in case binary was placed without signing) */
+    /* Step 1c: Place the running binary at the canonical install target.
+     * Previously install only re-signed whatever was already at the target, so
+     * `install --force` from a freshly built binary silently kept the OLD file
+     * — operators ran stale code believing they had upgraded (#472). Copy the
+     * running binary to ~/.local/bin (unless we ARE that file), then sign it. */
+    char self_path[CLI_BUF_1K] = {0};
+    cbm_detect_self_path(self_path, sizeof(self_path), home);
+
+    char bin_target[CLI_BUF_1K];
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    snprintf(bin_target, sizeof(bin_target), "%s/.local/bin/codebase-memory-mcp.exe", home);
+#else
+    snprintf(bin_target, sizeof(bin_target), "%s/.local/bin/codebase-memory-mcp", home);
+#endif
+
+    if (!cbm_same_file(self_path, bin_target)) {
+        struct stat tgt_st;
+        bool target_exists = (stat(bin_target, &tgt_st) == 0);
+        bool do_copy = !target_exists || force;
+        if (target_exists && !force) {
+            printf("A different binary already exists at:\n  %s\n", bin_target);
+            if (prompt_yn("Replace it with the binary you ran install from?")) {
+                do_copy = true;
+                force = true; /* user approved replacement for this run */
+            } else {
+                printf("Keeping existing binary; configs will point at it.\n\n");
+            }
+        }
+        if (do_copy) {
+            char bin_dir[CLI_BUF_1K];
+            snprintf(bin_dir, sizeof(bin_dir), "%s/.local/bin", home);
+            if (dry_run) {
+                printf("Would install binary -> %s\n\n", bin_target);
+            } else {
+                cbm_mkdir_p(bin_dir, CLI_OCTAL_PERM);
+                if (cbm_copy_binary_to_target(self_path, bin_target) != 0) {
+                    (void)fprintf(stderr, "error: failed to copy binary to %s\n", bin_target);
+                    return CLI_TRUE;
+                }
+                printf("Installed binary -> %s\n\n", bin_target);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* Step 1d: macOS ad-hoc signing of the installed binary. A freshly
+     * clang-built arm64 binary is linker-signed (flags=0x20002) and gets
+     * Killed:9 when spawned by an MCP host; re-signing ad-hoc (flags=0x2)
+     * makes it launchable. Sign the target, not whatever the operator ran. */
 #ifdef __APPLE__
-    {
-        char sign_path[CLI_BUF_1K];
-        snprintf(sign_path, sizeof(sign_path), "%s/.local/bin/codebase-memory-mcp", home);
+    if (!dry_run) {
         struct stat sign_st;
-        if (stat(sign_path, &sign_st) == 0) {
-            (void)cbm_macos_adhoc_sign(sign_path);
+        if (stat(bin_target, &sign_st) == 0) {
+            if (cbm_macos_adhoc_sign(bin_target) != 0) {
+                (void)fprintf(
+                    stderr, "warning: ad-hoc signing failed — binary may not run on macOS arm64\n");
+            }
         }
     }
 #endif
 
-    /* Step 2: Binary path — detect actual location at runtime. */
-    char self_path[CLI_BUF_1K] = {0};
-    cbm_detect_self_path(self_path, sizeof(self_path), home);
-
-    /* Step 3: Install/refresh all agent configs */
-    cbm_install_agent_configs(home, self_path, force, dry_run);
+    /* Step 3: Install/refresh all agent configs, pointing at the install target. */
+    cbm_install_agent_configs(home, bin_target, force, dry_run);
 
     /* Step 4: Ensure PATH */
     char bin_dir[CLI_BUF_1K];
diff --git a/src/cli/cli.h b/src/cli/cli.h
index 384af45a..9efe6789 100644
--- a/src/cli/cli.h
+++ b/src/cli/cli.h
@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@ const char *cbm_find_cli(const char *name, const char *home_dir);
 /* Copy a file from src to dst. Returns 0 on success, -1 on error. */
 int cbm_copy_file(const char *src, const char *dst);
 
+/* Copy the running binary into the canonical install target, preserving the
+ * executable bit, skipping the copy when src and dst are the same file (which
+ * would otherwise truncate the running binary). Returns 0 on success or skip,
+ * -1 on error. Regression surface for the install --force binary-swap bug. */
+int cbm_copy_binary_to_target(const char *src, const char *dst);
+
 /* Replace a binary file: unlinks the existing file first (handles read-only),
  * then creates a new file with the given data and permissions.
  * Returns 0 on success, -1 on error. */
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.c b/tests/test_cli.c
index add43138..0b78537c 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.c
+++ b/tests/test_cli.c
@@ -1026,6 +1026,82 @@ TEST(cli_copy_file_source_not_found) {
     PASS();
 }
 
+/* #472: install --force must copy the freshly-built binary to the target and
+ * make it executable — previously it re-signed whatever was already there. */
+TEST(cli_install_copies_binary_to_target_issue472) {
+    char tmpdir[256];
+    snprintf(tmpdir, sizeof(tmpdir), "/tmp/cli-binswap-XXXXXX");
+    if (!cbm_mkdtemp(tmpdir))
+        FAIL("cbm_mkdtemp failed");
+
+    char src[512], dst[512];
+    snprintf(src, sizeof(src), "%s/new-build", tmpdir);
+    snprintf(dst, sizeof(dst), "%s/installed", tmpdir);
+
+    write_test_file(src, "fresh build bytes");
+
+    /* Target does not exist yet → must be created with the source content. */
+    int rc = cbm_copy_binary_to_target(src, dst);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc, 0);
+
+    const char *data = read_test_file(dst);
+    ASSERT_STR_EQ(data, "fresh build bytes");
+
+#ifndef _WIN32
+    /* The exec bit is set via chmod, which is POSIX-only; on Windows it is not
+     * meaningful and MinGW stat() derives it from the file extension. */
+    struct stat st;
+    ASSERT_EQ(stat(dst, &st), 0);
+    ASSERT((st.st_mode & S_IXUSR) != 0); /* executable bit set */
+#endif
+
+    /* Overwrite an existing (stale) target with new content. */
+    write_test_file(dst, "STALE");
+    write_test_file(src, "upgraded build bytes");
+    rc = cbm_copy_binary_to_target(src, dst);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc, 0);
+    data = read_test_file(dst);
+    ASSERT_STR_EQ(data, "upgraded build bytes");
+
+    test_rmdir_r(tmpdir);
+    PASS();
+}
+
+/* #472: copying the running binary onto itself must NOT truncate it. */
+TEST(cli_install_same_file_guard_issue472) {
+    char tmpdir[256];
+    snprintf(tmpdir, sizeof(tmpdir), "/tmp/cli-samefile-XXXXXX");
+    if (!cbm_mkdtemp(tmpdir))
+        FAIL("cbm_mkdtemp failed");
+
+    char path[512];
+    snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "%s/self", tmpdir);
+    write_test_file(path, "must survive self-copy");
+
+    int rc = cbm_copy_binary_to_target(path, path);
+    ASSERT_EQ(rc, 0); /* skipped, not failed */
+
+    const char *data = read_test_file(path);
+    ASSERT_STR_EQ(data, "must survive self-copy"); /* intact, not zeroed */
+
+#ifndef _WIN32
+    /* Distinct path strings resolving to the same inode (a symlink — exactly
+     * what a non-canonical cbm_detect_self_path vs the hardcoded target can
+     * produce) must also be detected as same-file and skipped, not truncated. */
+    char link[512];
+    snprintf(link, sizeof(link), "%s/self-link", tmpdir);
+    if (symlink(path, link) == 0) {
+        rc = cbm_copy_binary_to_target(link, path);
+        ASSERT_EQ(rc, 0);
+        data = read_test_file(path);
+        ASSERT_STR_EQ(data, "must survive self-copy"); /* still intact via symlink */
+    }
+#endif
+
+    test_rmdir_r(tmpdir);
+    PASS();
+}
+
 /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  *  Tar.gz extraction tests (port of update_test.go)
  * ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ */
@@ -2654,6 +2730,10 @@ SUITE(cli) {
     /* Full lifecycle (1 test — cli_test.go) */
     RUN_TEST(cli_install_and_uninstall);
 
+    /* Binary swap on install --force (#472) */
+    RUN_TEST(cli_install_copies_binary_to_target_issue472);
+    RUN_TEST(cli_install_same_file_guard_issue472);
+
     /* YAML parser (7 unit tests) */
     RUN_TEST(cli_yaml_parse_simple);
     RUN_TEST(cli_yaml_parse_nested);