diff --git a/install/bash/examples.sh b/install/bash/examples.sh
index b70a8a48..92dfe938 100755
--- a/install/bash/examples.sh
+++ b/install/bash/examples.sh
@@ -15,13 +15,70 @@ NC="${NC:-\033[0m}"
 EXAMPLES_FOLDER_NAME="plainlang-examples"
 EXAMPLES_DOWNLOAD_URL="https://codeplain.ai/examples/unix"
 
+# Prompt the user, reading from the terminal when there is one. Falling back to
+# stdin keeps the script usable in non-interactive environments instead of
+# dying on an unreadable /dev/tty.
+prompt_user() {
+    local prompt="$1"
+    local varname="$2"
+
+    # Test that /dev/tty can actually be opened: it exists but fails to open
+    # when the process has no controlling terminal.
+    if { : < /dev/tty; } 2>/dev/null; then
+        read -r -p "$prompt" "$varname" < /dev/tty || true
+    else
+        read -r -p "$prompt" "$varname" || true
+    fi
+}
+
+# Make the user acknowledge that the examples were not installed. The
+# installation continues either way, but the failure must not scroll past
+# unseen - the installer clears the screen in its next step.
+confirm_continue_after_failure() {
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "  ${YELLOW}The examples were not installed.${NC} ${GRAY}The installation will continue.${NC}"
+    echo ""
+    prompt_user "$(printf '%b' "  Continue? Press ${WHITE}[Enter]${NC} to acknowledge: ")" _ACKNOWLEDGED
+    echo ""
+}
+
+# Tell the user how to get unzip on their system, then let the installer move on.
+report_missing_unzip_tool() {
+    echo -e "  ${RED}✗ Cannot extract the examples: no 'unzip' command found.${NC}"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "  ${GRAY}Install unzip and re-run the installer to get the examples:${NC}"
+    echo ""
+    case "$OSTYPE" in
+        darwin*)
+            echo -e "  ${WHITE}${BOLD}brew install unzip${NC}"
+            ;;
+        *)
+            echo -e "  ${WHITE}${BOLD}apt-get install unzip${NC}   ${GRAY}(Debian/Ubuntu)${NC}"
+            echo -e "  ${WHITE}${BOLD}dnf install unzip${NC}       ${GRAY}(Fedora/RHEL)${NC}"
+            echo -e "  ${WHITE}${BOLD}apk add unzip${NC}           ${GRAY}(Alpine)${NC}"
+            ;;
+    esac
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "  ${GRAY}The examples are also available at:${NC}"
+    echo -e "  ${WHITE}https://github.com/Codeplain-ai/plainlang-examples${NC}"
+    echo ""
+}
+
+# Checked before anything is downloaded, so a missing unzip is reported up
+# front instead of leaving the user with an installer that just stops.
+if ! command -v unzip &> /dev/null; then
+    report_missing_unzip_tool
+    confirm_continue_after_failure
+    exit 0
+fi
+
 # Show current directory and ask for extraction path
 CURRENT_DIR=$(pwd)
 echo -e "  Current folder: ${WHITE}${CURRENT_DIR}${NC}"
 echo ""
 echo -e "  Extract examples here, or enter a different path:"
 echo ""
-read -r -p "  [Enter for current, or type path]: " EXTRACT_PATH < /dev/tty
+prompt_user "  [Enter for current, or type path]: " EXTRACT_PATH
 echo ""
 
 # Use current directory if empty
@@ -37,36 +94,49 @@ SKIP_DOWNLOAD=false
 # Check if directory exists, create if not
 if [ ! -d "$EXTRACT_PATH" ]; then
     echo -e "  ${GRAY}Creating directory...${NC}"
-    mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_PATH" 2>/dev/null
-    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+    if ! mkdir -p "$EXTRACT_PATH" 2>/dev/null; then
         echo -e "  ${RED}✗ Failed to create directory: ${EXTRACT_PATH}${NC}"
-        echo -e "  ${GRAY}Skipping example download.${NC}"
+        confirm_continue_after_failure
         SKIP_DOWNLOAD=true
     fi
 fi
 
+EXAMPLES_INSTALLED=false
+
 if [ "$SKIP_DOWNLOAD" = false ]; then
     echo -e "  ${GRAY}Downloading examples...${NC}"
 
     # Download the zip file
     TEMP_ZIP=$(mktemp)
-    curl -L -s -o "$TEMP_ZIP" "$EXAMPLES_DOWNLOAD_URL"
+    DOWNLOAD_OK=false
+    DOWNLOAD_ERROR="Could not download ${EXAMPLES_DOWNLOAD_URL}"
+    if curl -L -s -o "$TEMP_ZIP" "$EXAMPLES_DOWNLOAD_URL" && [ -s "$TEMP_ZIP" ]; then
+        DOWNLOAD_OK=true
+    fi
+
+    # A server error page is a successful download of the wrong thing, so check
+    # for the zip magic bytes rather than handing unzip an HTML page.
+    if [ "$DOWNLOAD_OK" = true ] && [ "$(head -c 2 "$TEMP_ZIP")" != "PK" ]; then
+        DOWNLOAD_OK=false
+        DOWNLOAD_ERROR="The downloaded file is not a zip archive."
+    fi
 
-    if [ $? -eq 0 ] && [ -s "$TEMP_ZIP" ]; then
+    if [ "$DOWNLOAD_OK" = true ]; then
         echo -e "  ${GRAY}Extracting to ${EXTRACT_PATH}...${NC}"
 
         # Extract the zip file (contents are at the zip root, so extract into the target folder)
         EXTRACTED_DIR="${EXTRACT_PATH}/${EXAMPLES_FOLDER_NAME}"
-        rm -rf "$EXTRACTED_DIR" 2>/dev/null  # Remove existing if present
-        unzip -q -o "$TEMP_ZIP" -d "$EXTRACTED_DIR" 2>/dev/null
+        rm -rf "$EXTRACTED_DIR" 2>/dev/null || true  # Remove existing if present
 
-        if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+        # Keep the extractor's own error output: it is the only clue about why
+        # extraction failed (corrupt download, no disk space, no permissions).
+        if EXTRACT_OUTPUT=$(unzip -q -o "$TEMP_ZIP" -d "$EXTRACTED_DIR" 2>&1); then
             # Remove the .gitignore file from the root of the extracted directory
             if [ -f "${EXTRACTED_DIR}/.gitignore" ]; then
                 rm -f "${EXTRACTED_DIR}/.gitignore"
             fi
 
-            clear
+            clear || true
             echo ""
             echo -e "  ${GREEN}✓ Examples downloaded successfully!${NC}"
             echo ""
@@ -80,18 +150,26 @@ if [ "$SKIP_DOWNLOAD" = false ]; then
             echo ""
             echo -e "  ${GRAY}See hello-world/python/README.md for details.${NC}"
             echo ""
+            EXAMPLES_INSTALLED=true
         else
             echo -e "  ${RED}✗ Failed to extract examples.${NC}"
+            if [ -n "$EXTRACT_OUTPUT" ]; then
+                echo -e "  ${GRAY}$(echo "$EXTRACT_OUTPUT" | tail -n 3)${NC}"
+            fi
         fi
 
         # Clean up temp file
         rm -f "$TEMP_ZIP"
     else
         echo -e "  ${RED}✗ Failed to download examples.${NC}"
+        echo -e "  ${GRAY}${DOWNLOAD_ERROR}${NC}"
         rm -f "$TEMP_ZIP"
     fi
 
-    echo ""
-    PROMPT=$(printf '%b' "  Press ${WHITE}[Enter]${NC} to continue...")
-    read -r -p "$PROMPT" < /dev/tty
+    if [ "$EXAMPLES_INSTALLED" = true ]; then
+        echo ""
+        prompt_user "$(printf '%b' "  Press ${WHITE}[Enter]${NC} to continue...")" _CONTINUE
+    else
+        confirm_continue_after_failure
+    fi
 fi
diff --git a/install/bash/install.sh b/install/bash/install.sh
index dfd371e2..5082970b 100755
--- a/install/bash/install.sh
+++ b/install/bash/install.sh
@@ -425,9 +425,11 @@ else
     echo ""
 fi
 
-# Run examples download if user agrees
+# Run examples download if user agrees. The examples are a nice-to-have, so a
+# failure there must never abort the installation (set -e would otherwise take
+# the whole installer down without printing anything).
 if [[ ! "${DOWNLOAD_EXAMPLES:-}" =~ ^[Nn]$ ]]; then
-    run_script "examples.sh"
+    run_script "examples.sh" || echo -e "${GRAY}Example download did not complete. Continuing with the installation.${NC}"
 fi
 
 # Final verification: make sure the installed codeplain can actually run and
diff --git a/install/powershell/examples.ps1 b/install/powershell/examples.ps1
index 7e64c85c..c9b0f3e2 100644
--- a/install/powershell/examples.ps1
+++ b/install/powershell/examples.ps1
@@ -19,6 +19,39 @@ $CROSS = [char]0x2717
 $EXAMPLES_FOLDER_NAME = "plainlang-examples"
 $EXAMPLES_DOWNLOAD_URL = "https://codeplain.ai/examples/windows"
 
+# Make the user acknowledge that the examples were not installed. The
+# installation continues either way, but the failure must not scroll past
+# unseen - the installer clears the screen in its next step.
+function Confirm-ContinueAfterFailure {
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host "  ${YELLOW}The examples were not installed.${NC} ${GRAY}The installation will continue.${NC}"
+    Write-Host ""
+    Read-Host "  Continue? Press ${WHITE}[Enter]${NC} to acknowledge"
+    Write-Host ""
+}
+
+# Expand-Archive lives in the Microsoft.PowerShell.Archive module, shipped with
+# PowerShell 5.0 and later. Checked before anything is downloaded, so a machine
+# without it is told what to do instead of just seeing an extraction failure.
+function Show-MissingArchiveCmdletMessage {
+    Write-Host "  ${RED}${CROSS} Cannot extract the examples: Expand-Archive is not available.${NC}"
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host "  ${GRAY}Expand-Archive requires PowerShell 5.0 or later. Install a newer${NC}"
+    Write-Host "  ${GRAY}PowerShell and re-run the installer to get the examples:${NC}"
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host "  ${WHITE}${BOLD}https://aka.ms/powershell${NC}"
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host "  ${GRAY}The examples are also available at:${NC}"
+    Write-Host "  ${WHITE}https://github.com/Codeplain-ai/plainlang-examples${NC}"
+    Write-Host ""
+}
+
+if (-not (Get-Command Expand-Archive -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+    Show-MissingArchiveCmdletMessage
+    Confirm-ContinueAfterFailure
+    exit 0
+}
+
 # Show current directory and ask for extraction path
 $CURRENT_DIR = Get-Location
 Write-Host "  Current folder: ${WHITE}${CURRENT_DIR}${NC}"
@@ -47,11 +80,13 @@ if (-not (Test-Path $EXTRACT_PATH -PathType Container)) {
         New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $EXTRACT_PATH -Force | Out-Null
     } catch {
         Write-Host "  ${RED}${CROSS} Failed to create directory: ${EXTRACT_PATH}${NC}"
-        Write-Host "  ${GRAY}Skipping example download.${NC}"
+        Confirm-ContinueAfterFailure
         $SKIP_DOWNLOAD = $true
     }
 }
 
+$EXAMPLES_INSTALLED = $false
+
 if (-not $SKIP_DOWNLOAD) {
     Write-Host "  ${GRAY}Downloading examples...${NC}"
 
@@ -60,7 +95,26 @@ if (-not $SKIP_DOWNLOAD) {
     try {
         Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $EXAMPLES_DOWNLOAD_URL -OutFile $TEMP_ZIP -UseBasicParsing
 
+        # Check for the zip magic bytes rather than handing Expand-Archive a
+        # server error page. Read via a stream: 'Get-Content -Encoding Byte' is
+        # Windows PowerShell 5.1 only, '-AsByteStream' is PowerShell 6+ only.
+        $IS_ZIP = $false
         if (Test-Path $TEMP_ZIP) {
+            $HEADER = New-Object byte[] 2
+            $STREAM = [System.IO.File]::OpenRead($TEMP_ZIP)
+            try {
+                $BYTES_READ = $STREAM.Read($HEADER, 0, 2)
+            } finally {
+                $STREAM.Close()
+            }
+            $IS_ZIP = ($BYTES_READ -eq 2 -and $HEADER[0] -eq 0x50 -and $HEADER[1] -eq 0x4B)
+        }
+
+        if (-not $IS_ZIP -and (Test-Path $TEMP_ZIP)) {
+            Write-Host "  ${RED}${CROSS} Failed to download examples.${NC}"
+            Write-Host "  ${GRAY}The downloaded file is not a zip archive.${NC}"
+            Remove-Item -Path $TEMP_ZIP -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+        } elseif ($IS_ZIP) {
             Write-Host "  ${GRAY}Extracting to ${EXTRACT_PATH}...${NC}"
 
             try {
@@ -91,8 +145,12 @@ if (-not $SKIP_DOWNLOAD) {
                 Write-Host ""
                 Write-Host "  ${GRAY}See hello-world/python/README.md for details.${NC}"
                 Write-Host ""
+                $EXAMPLES_INSTALLED = $true
             } catch {
+                # Keep the cmdlet's own message: it is the only clue about why
+                # extraction failed (corrupt download, no space, no permissions).
                 Write-Host "  ${RED}${CROSS} Failed to extract examples.${NC}"
+                Write-Host "  ${GRAY}$($_.Exception.Message)${NC}"
             }
 
             Remove-Item -Path $TEMP_ZIP -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
@@ -104,6 +162,10 @@ if (-not $SKIP_DOWNLOAD) {
         Remove-Item -Path $TEMP_ZIP -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
     }
 
-    Write-Host ""
-    Read-Host "  Press ${WHITE}[Enter]${NC} to continue..."
+    if ($EXAMPLES_INSTALLED) {
+        Write-Host ""
+        Read-Host "  Press ${WHITE}[Enter]${NC} to continue..."
+    } else {
+        Confirm-ContinueAfterFailure
+    }
 }
diff --git a/install/powershell/install.ps1 b/install/powershell/install.ps1
index 7f9f2e33..d5d068f6 100644
--- a/install/powershell/install.ps1
+++ b/install/powershell/install.ps1
@@ -526,9 +526,16 @@ if ($nonInteractive) {
     Write-Host ""
 }
 
-# Run examples download if user agrees
+# Run examples download if user agrees. The examples are a nice-to-have, so a
+# failure there must never abort the installation: examples.ps1 runs in this
+# runspace via the call operator, so a terminating error inside it would
+# otherwise propagate here and take the whole installer down.
 if ($downloadExamples -notmatch '^[Nn]$') {
-    Invoke-SubScript "examples.ps1"
+    try {
+        Invoke-SubScript "examples.ps1"
+    } catch {
+        Write-Host "${GRAY}Example download did not complete. Continuing with the installation.${NC}"
+    }
 }
 
 # Final verification: make sure the installed codeplain can actually run and