diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index f462b15..826ec5a 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -148,9 +148,20 @@ echo ""
 log "Step 1c/7: Where should recordings be stored?"
 info "  This is where video clips and snapshots will be saved."
 info "  Examples: /mnt/recordings, /home/user/nvr, /media/usb-drive"
+info "  Or set STORAGE_PATH environment variable to skip the prompt."
 echo ""
-read -p "  Storage path [${HOME}/nvr_data]: " STORAGE_PATH
-STORAGE_PATH="${STORAGE_PATH:-${HOME}/nvr_data}"
+if [ -n "${STORAGE_PATH}" ]; then
+    log "Using STORAGE_PATH from environment: ${STORAGE_PATH}"
+elif [ -t 0 ]; then
+    # Interactive terminal — ask the user.
+    read -p "  Storage path [${HOME}/nvr_data]: " STORAGE_PATH
+    STORAGE_PATH="${STORAGE_PATH:-${HOME}/nvr_data}"
+else
+    # Non-interactive (piped install) — use default.
+    STORAGE_PATH="${HOME}/nvr_data"
+    warn "Non-interactive install — using default storage: ${STORAGE_PATH}"
+    info "  To change: export STORAGE_PATH=/your/path before running this script."
+fi
 # Strip trailing slash.
 STORAGE_PATH="${STORAGE_PATH%/}"