diff --git a/install-service.sh b/install-service.sh
index af4c897..30a9e1a 100755
--- a/install-service.sh
+++ b/install-service.sh
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 #
 # Prerequisites:
 #   - Linux system with systemd OR macOS
-#   - Python 3.7+ installed
+#   - Python 3.9+ installed
 #   - sudo access (script will prompt if needed)
 #   - Run from the meshcore-bot directory
 
@@ -128,6 +128,29 @@ print_error() {
     echo -e "${RED}✗${NC}  $1"
 }
 
+# Function to ask yes/no question
+ask_yes_no() {
+    local prompt="$1"
+    local default="${2:-n}"
+    local response
+
+    if [[ "$default" == "y" ]]; then
+        prompt="${prompt} [Y/n]: "
+    else
+        prompt="${prompt} [y/N]: "
+    fi
+
+    while true; do
+        read -p "$(echo -e "${YELLOW}${prompt}${NC}")" response
+        response="${response:-$default}"
+        case "$response" in
+            [Yy]|[Yy][Ee][Ss]) return 0 ;;
+            [Nn]|[Nn][Oo])     return 1 ;;
+            *) echo "Please answer yes or no." ;;
+        esac
+    done
+}
+
 if [[ "$UPGRADE_MODE" == true ]]; then
     print_section "MeshCore Bot Service Upgrader"
     print_info "Running in UPGRADE mode - will update files and dependencies"
@@ -202,7 +225,7 @@ fi
 # Check if Python 3 is available
 if ! command -v python3 &> /dev/null; then
     print_error "Python 3 is not installed or not in PATH"
-    print_error "Please install Python 3.7 or higher before running this script"
+    print_error "Please install Python 3.9 or higher before running this script"
     exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -505,6 +528,33 @@ $VENV_PYTHON -m pip install --quiet -r "$INSTALL_DIR/requirements.txt" || {
 }
 print_success "Installed all Python dependencies"
 
+# Optional extras
+echo ""
+print_info "Optional feature packages are available:"
+echo "  • Profanity filter (better-profanity, unidecode) — drop/censor offensive messages"
+echo "  • Geocoding extras (pycountry, us) — improved country/state name resolution"
+echo ""
+
+if ask_yes_no "Install profanity filter packages? (recommended if using the profanity filter feature)" "n"; then
+    print_info "Installing profanity filter packages..."
+    "$INSTALL_DIR/venv/bin/pip" install --quiet "better-profanity>=0.7.0" "unidecode>=1.3.0" || {
+        print_warning "Failed to install profanity filter packages (non-fatal)"
+    }
+    print_success "Installed profanity filter packages"
+else
+    print_info "Skipping profanity filter packages"
+fi
+
+if ask_yes_no "Install geocoding extras? (recommended if using location/path commands)" "n"; then
+    print_info "Installing geocoding extras..."
+    "$INSTALL_DIR/venv/bin/pip" install --quiet "pycountry>=23.12.0" "us>=2.0.0" || {
+        print_warning "Failed to install geocoding extras (non-fatal)"
+    }
+    print_success "Installed geocoding extras"
+else
+    print_info "Skipping geocoding extras"
+fi
+
 print_section "Step 5: Setting File Permissions"
 print_info "Configuring file ownership and permissions for security"
 print_info "The service user will own all files, with appropriate read/write permissions"
diff --git a/scripts/build-deb.sh b/scripts/build-deb.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..b8ef798
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/build-deb.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,231 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# build-deb.sh — Build a .deb package for meshcore-bot
+# Usage: ./scripts/build-deb.sh [version]
+#
+# Produces: dist/meshcore-bot_<version>_all.deb
+# Requirements: dpkg-deb, fakeroot (sudo apt install fakeroot)
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/.." && pwd)"
+
+# ── Version ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+VERSION="${1:-}"
+if [[ -z "${VERSION}" ]]; then
+    VERSION="$(python3 -c "import tomllib; d=tomllib.load(open('${PROJECT_ROOT}/pyproject.toml','rb')); print(d['project']['version'])" 2>/dev/null || \
+               python3 -c "import tomli; d=tomli.load(open('${PROJECT_ROOT}/pyproject.toml','rb')); print(d['project']['version'])" 2>/dev/null || \
+               grep -Po '(?<=^version = ")([^"]+)' "${PROJECT_ROOT}/pyproject.toml" || echo "0.9.0")"
+fi
+
+PACKAGE_NAME="meshcore-bot"
+ARCH="all"
+INSTALL_ROOT="/opt/meshcore-bot"
+CONF_DIR="/etc/meshcore-bot"
+LOG_DIR="/var/log/meshcore-bot"
+DATA_DIR="/var/lib/meshcore-bot"
+SYSTEMD_DIR="/lib/systemd/system"
+
+BUILD_DIR="${PROJECT_ROOT}/dist/deb-build/${PACKAGE_NAME}_${VERSION}_${ARCH}"
+OUT_DIR="${PROJECT_ROOT}/dist"
+
+echo "==> Building ${PACKAGE_NAME} ${VERSION} (arch=${ARCH})"
+echo "    Project root : ${PROJECT_ROOT}"
+echo "    Build dir    : ${BUILD_DIR}"
+echo "    Output dir   : ${OUT_DIR}"
+echo ""
+
+# ── Clean & create staging tree ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+rm -rf "${BUILD_DIR}"
+mkdir -p \
+    "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN" \
+    "${BUILD_DIR}${INSTALL_ROOT}" \
+    "${BUILD_DIR}${CONF_DIR}" \
+    "${BUILD_DIR}${LOG_DIR}" \
+    "${BUILD_DIR}${DATA_DIR}" \
+    "${BUILD_DIR}${SYSTEMD_DIR}" \
+    "${OUT_DIR}"
+
+# ── Copy application files ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "==> Copying application files…"
+rsync -a \
+    --exclude='.git' \
+    --exclude='.github' \
+    --exclude='__pycache__' \
+    --exclude='*.pyc' \
+    --exclude='*.egg-info' \
+    --exclude='.venv' \
+    --exclude='venv' \
+    --exclude='dist' \
+    --exclude='local' \
+    --exclude='*.db' \
+    --exclude='*.log' \
+    --exclude='config.ini' \
+    --exclude='node_modules' \
+    "${PROJECT_ROOT}/" "${BUILD_DIR}${INSTALL_ROOT}/"
+
+# ── Default config ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "==> Installing default config…"
+cp "${PROJECT_ROOT}/config.ini.example" "${BUILD_DIR}${CONF_DIR}/config.ini"
+# Symlink so the app finds it in the install root
+ln -sf "${CONF_DIR}/config.ini" "${BUILD_DIR}${INSTALL_ROOT}/config.ini"
+
+# ── systemd unit ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "==> Installing systemd unit…"
+cat > "${BUILD_DIR}${SYSTEMD_DIR}/${PACKAGE_NAME}.service" << 'UNIT'
+[Unit]
+Description=MeshCore Bot - Mesh Network Bot Service
+Documentation=https://github.com/your-repo/meshcore-bot
+After=network.target
+Wants=network.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User=meshcore
+Group=meshcore
+WorkingDirectory=/opt/meshcore-bot
+ExecStart=/opt/meshcore-bot/venv/bin/python /opt/meshcore-bot/meshcore_bot.py --config /etc/meshcore-bot/config.ini
+ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=10
+StandardOutput=journal
+StandardError=journal
+SyslogIdentifier=meshcore-bot
+Environment=PYTHONPATH=/opt/meshcore-bot
+Environment=PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+NoNewPrivileges=true
+PrivateTmp=true
+ProtectSystem=strict
+ProtectHome=true
+ReadWritePaths=/opt/meshcore-bot
+ReadWritePaths=/etc/meshcore-bot
+ReadWritePaths=/var/log/meshcore-bot
+ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/meshcore-bot
+LimitNOFILE=65536
+MemoryMax=512M
+StartLimitInterval=60
+StartLimitBurst=3
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+UNIT
+
+# ── DEBIAN/control ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "==> Writing DEBIAN/control…"
+# Compute rough installed size (kB)
+INSTALLED_SIZE=$(du -s "${BUILD_DIR}${INSTALL_ROOT}" | awk '{print $1}')
+
+cat > "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/control" << EOF
+Package: ${PACKAGE_NAME}
+Version: ${VERSION}
+Section: net
+Priority: optional
+Architecture: ${ARCH}
+Installed-Size: ${INSTALLED_SIZE}
+Depends: python3 (>= 3.9), python3-pip, python3-venv, adduser
+Recommends: systemd
+Suggests: sqlite3
+Maintainer: MeshCore Bot Team <noreply@example.com>
+Description: MeshCore Bot - Mesh Network Automation Bot
+ A feature-rich bot for MeshCore mesh radio networks.
+ Supports command handling, scheduled messages, web viewer,
+ Discord/Telegram bridges, inbound webhooks, and more.
+Homepage: https://github.com/your-repo/meshcore-bot
+EOF
+
+# ── DEBIAN/conffiles ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "${CONF_DIR}/config.ini" > "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/conffiles"
+
+# ── DEBIAN/postinst ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+cat > "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/postinst" << 'POSTINST'
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+INSTALL_ROOT="/opt/meshcore-bot"
+CONF_DIR="/etc/meshcore-bot"
+LOG_DIR="/var/log/meshcore-bot"
+DATA_DIR="/var/lib/meshcore-bot"
+SERVICE_USER="meshcore"
+
+# Create service user if it doesn't exist
+if ! id -u "${SERVICE_USER}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    adduser --system --group --no-create-home \
+        --home "${INSTALL_ROOT}" \
+        --shell /usr/sbin/nologin \
+        --gecos "MeshCore Bot service account" \
+        "${SERVICE_USER}"
+fi
+
+# Create directories
+install -d -o "${SERVICE_USER}" -g "${SERVICE_USER}" -m 0755 "${LOG_DIR}"
+install -d -o "${SERVICE_USER}" -g "${SERVICE_USER}" -m 0755 "${DATA_DIR}"
+install -d -o root -g root -m 0755 "${CONF_DIR}"
+chown -R "${SERVICE_USER}:${SERVICE_USER}" "${INSTALL_ROOT}"
+
+# Create virtualenv and install dependencies
+if [ ! -d "${INSTALL_ROOT}/venv" ]; then
+    echo "Creating Python virtualenv…"
+    python3 -m venv "${INSTALL_ROOT}/venv"
+fi
+echo "Installing Python dependencies…"
+"${INSTALL_ROOT}/venv/bin/pip" install --quiet --upgrade pip
+"${INSTALL_ROOT}/venv/bin/pip" install --quiet -e "${INSTALL_ROOT}[all]"
+
+# Enable and start systemd service
+if command -v systemctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    systemctl daemon-reload
+    systemctl enable meshcore-bot.service || true
+    echo "Service enabled. Start with: sudo systemctl start meshcore-bot"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "meshcore-bot installed successfully."
+echo "Edit /etc/meshcore-bot/config.ini before starting the service."
+POSTINST
+chmod 0755 "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/postinst"
+
+# ── DEBIAN/prerm ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+cat > "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/prerm" << 'PRERM'
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+if command -v systemctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    systemctl stop meshcore-bot.service 2>/dev/null || true
+    systemctl disable meshcore-bot.service 2>/dev/null || true
+fi
+PRERM
+chmod 0755 "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/prerm"
+
+# ── DEBIAN/postrm ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+cat > "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/postrm" << 'POSTRM'
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+if [ "$1" = "purge" ]; then
+    rm -rf /opt/meshcore-bot/venv
+    rm -rf /var/lib/meshcore-bot
+    if command -v systemctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        systemctl daemon-reload || true
+    fi
+fi
+POSTRM
+chmod 0755 "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/postrm"
+
+# ── Set permissions ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "==> Setting permissions…"
+find "${BUILD_DIR}" -type d -exec chmod 0755 {} \;
+find "${BUILD_DIR}" -type f -exec chmod 0644 {} \;
+chmod 0755 "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/postinst" "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/prerm" "${BUILD_DIR}/DEBIAN/postrm"
+# Make Python entry point executable
+chmod 0755 "${BUILD_DIR}${INSTALL_ROOT}/meshcore_bot.py" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+# ── Build the .deb ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+DEB_FILE="${OUT_DIR}/${PACKAGE_NAME}_${VERSION}_${ARCH}.deb"
+echo "==> Building .deb: ${DEB_FILE}"
+fakeroot dpkg-deb --build "${BUILD_DIR}" "${DEB_FILE}"
+
+echo ""
+echo "Done! Package: ${DEB_FILE}"
+echo ""
+echo "Install with:  sudo dpkg -i ${DEB_FILE}"
+echo "               sudo apt-get install -f  # fix dependencies if needed"
diff --git a/uninstall-service.sh b/uninstall-service.sh
index 13ca221..601a745 100755
--- a/uninstall-service.sh
+++ b/uninstall-service.sh
@@ -487,9 +487,14 @@ echo -e "${BLUE}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
 echo -e "${BLUE}ℹ️  Additional Notes${NC}"
 echo -e "${BLUE}━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━${NC}"
 echo ""
-print_info "Python packages installed via pip are not automatically removed"
-print_info "If you want to remove them, run:"
-echo "  ${YELLOW}pip3 uninstall -r requirements.txt${NC}"
+if [[ "$INSTALL_EXISTS" == true ]] && [ ! -d "$INSTALL_DIR" ]; then
+    print_info "The virtual environment was removed with the installation directory"
+    print_info "All Python packages installed for this bot have been removed"
+else
+    print_info "Python packages are installed inside the virtual environment at:"
+    echo "  ${YELLOW}$INSTALL_DIR/venv${NC}"
+    print_info "Removing the installation directory above also removes all packages"
+fi
 echo ""
 
 if [[ "$INSTALL_EXISTS" == true ]] && [ -d "$INSTALL_DIR" ]; then