diff --git a/install.ztnet/README.md b/install.ztnet/README.md
index 862b3817..6312796c 100644
--- a/install.ztnet/README.md
+++ b/install.ztnet/README.md
@@ -5,11 +5,19 @@ This is the code and installation scripts running at install.ztnet.network.
 ### Installation Steps for Debian and Ubuntu
 
 1. Open a terminal window.
-2. Run the following command to download and execute the installation script:
+2. Install curl if it is not already installed:
+   ```bash
+   sudo apt update && sudo apt install curl
+   ```
+3. Run the following command to download and execute the installation script:
+
+   **!NOTE:** if you system does not have sudo installed, you will need to run the script as root and remove the sudo from the command below.
+
    ```bash
    curl -s http://install.ztnet.network | sudo bash
    ```
-3. Follow any on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
+
+4. Follow any on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
 
 After completing these steps, ztnet should be successfully installed on your system.
 
diff --git a/install.ztnet/bash/ztnet.sh b/install.ztnet/bash/ztnet.sh
index da511e89..07c0e815 100755
--- a/install.ztnet/bash/ztnet.sh
+++ b/install.ztnet/bash/ztnet.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+# Check if the script is run as root (sudo)
+if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
+  echo "This script must be run as root (sudo). Exiting."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 # exit if any command fails
 set -e
 
@@ -46,7 +52,7 @@ fi
 printf "\n\n${YELLOW}Welcome to the installation script.${NC}\n"
 printf "${YELLOW}This script will perform the following actions:${NC}\n"
 printf "  1. Check if PostgreSQL is installed. If not, it will be installed.\n"
-printf "  2. Check if Node.js version 18 is installed. If not, it will be installed.\n"
+printf "  2. Check if Node.js version "$NODE_MAJOR" is installed. If not, it will be installed.\n"
 printf "  3. Clone ztnet repo into /tmp folder and build artifacts .\n"
 printf "  4. Copy artifacts to /opt/ztnet folder.\n"
 printf "${YELLOW}Please note:${NC}\n"
@@ -72,6 +78,7 @@ if ! command_exists openssl; then
     sudo apt install openssl -y
 fi
 
+
 # Remove directories and then recreate the target directory
 rm -rf "$INSTALL_DIR" "$TARGET_DIR/.next" "$TARGET_DIR/prisma" "$TARGET_DIR/src"
 mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR"
@@ -95,12 +102,12 @@ if ! command_exists psql; then
     fi
 fi
 
-# Install Node.js if it's not installed or if installed version is not 18
+# Install Node.js if it's not installed or if installed version is not the number defined in 'NODE_MAJOR' variable
 if ! command_exists node; then
   INSTALL_NODE=true
 else
   NODE_VERSION=$(node -v | cut -d 'v' -f 2 | cut -d '.' -f 1)
-  if [ "$NODE_VERSION" -lt 18 ]; then
+  if [ $NODE_VERSION -lt $NODE_MAJOR ]; then
     INSTALL_NODE=true
   fi
 fi