diff --git a/Audio/AudioRecorder.cs b/Audio/AudioRecorder.cs
index 0a76180..aad2ac4 100644
--- a/Audio/AudioRecorder.cs
+++ b/Audio/AudioRecorder.cs
@@ -19,12 +19,12 @@ public static class AudioRecorder
             File.Delete(WavPath);
         }
 
-        Logger.LogDebug("Starting ffmpeg to record audio...");
+        Logger.LogDebug("Starting pw-record to record audio...");
 
         var pInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
         {
-            FileName = "ffmpeg",
-            Arguments = $"-f alsa -i default -y {WavPath}",
+            FileName = "pw-record",
+            Arguments = $"--rate=16000 --channels=1 --format=s16 \"{WavPath}\"",
             UseShellExecute = false,
             CreateNoWindow = true,
             RedirectStandardOutput = true,
@@ -50,17 +50,22 @@ public static class AudioRecorder
                 var process = Process.GetProcessById(pid.Value);
                 if (!process.HasExited)
                 {
-                    // Send gracefully? Process.Kill on linux sends SIGKILL by default.
-                    // But ffmpeg can sometimes handle SIGINT or SIGTERM if we use alternative tools or Process.Kill.
-                    // Standard .NET Process.Kill(true) kills the tree. Let's start with basic Kill.
-                    process.Kill();
-                    process.WaitForExit();
+                    // Gracefully stop pw-record using SIGINT to ensure WAV headers are finalizing cleanly
+                    Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo
+                    {
+                        FileName = "kill",
+                        Arguments = $"-INT {pid.Value}",
+                        CreateNoWindow = true,
+                        UseShellExecute = false
+                    })?.WaitForExit();
+                    
+                    process.WaitForExit(2000); // give it a moment to flush
                 }
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
                 // Process might already be dead
-                Console.WriteLine($"[AudioRecorder] Error stopping ffmpeg: {ex.Message}");
+                Console.WriteLine($"[AudioRecorder] Error stopping pw-record: {ex.Message}");
             }
             finally
             {
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9525ef3..3350dde 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Built with **.NET 10** and compiled to **Native AOT**, Toak runs as a lightning-
 ## 🛠 Prerequisites
 
 - **.NET 10 SDK** (for building from source)
-- **ffmpeg** (for audio capture processing)
+- **pipewire** / **pw-record** (for native Wayland/Linux audio capture)
 - **Typing Backend**: `wtype` (Wayland) or `xdotool` (X11)
 - **Groq API Key**: Get one at [console.groq.com](https://console.groq.com/)
 
diff --git a/docs/STRUCTURE.md b/docs/STRUCTURE.md
index a450261..f0a7983 100644
--- a/docs/STRUCTURE.md
+++ b/docs/STRUCTURE.md
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Toak/
 │   └── Models/              # API payload representations
 ├── Assets/                  # Sound files or other static resources
 ├── Audio/
-│   └── AudioRecorder.cs     # Handles audio capture via system utilities (e.g., ffmpeg/arecord)
+│   └── AudioRecorder.cs     # Handles audio capture via system utilities (e.g., pw-record from PipeWire)
 ├── Commands/
 │   ├── ToggleCommand.cs     # Start/stop recording and pass pipe/copy flags
 │   ├── DiscardCommand.cs    # Abort the current recording
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index ceddb74..220034d 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ set -e
 echo "Building Toak Native AOT executable..."
 dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64
 
+systemctl --user stop toak.service
+systemctl --user disable toak.service
 echo "Installing to /usr/bin/toak... (This may prompt for your sudo password)"
 sudo cp bin/Release/net10.0/linux-x64/publish/Toak /usr/bin/toak