diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index fdf4d4d..fa51d55 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -28,9 +28,21 @@ EOF
   esac
 done
 
-say() { printf '\033[1;36m[install]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
-warn() { printf '\033[1;33m[warn]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
-err() { printf '\033[1;31m[error]\033[0m %s\n' "$*" >&2; }
+# ANSI on iff stdout is a TTY and NO_COLOR is unset (respect no-color.org).
+if [ -t 1 ] && [ "${NO_COLOR:-}" = "" ]; then
+  COLOR=1
+else
+  COLOR=0
+fi
+if [ "$COLOR" = "1" ]; then
+  say()  { printf '\033[1;36m[install]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
+  warn() { printf '\033[1;33m[warn]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
+  err()  { printf '\033[1;31m[error]\033[0m %s\n' "$*" >&2; }
+else
+  say()  { printf '[install] %s\n' "$*"; }
+  warn() { printf '[warn] %s\n' "$*"; }
+  err()  { printf '[error] %s\n' "$*" >&2; }
+fi
 
 # --- rollback bookkeeping ---------------------------------------------------
 # Every successful backup_dir / per-file backup appends a "ORIGINAL|BACKUP"
@@ -266,7 +278,11 @@ elif [ ! -f "$SETTINGS_FILE" ]; then
   say "no existing settings.json; installing snippet"
   activate_hooks && DID_ACTIVATE=1
 elif [ -t 0 ] && [ -t 1 ]; then
-  printf '\033[1;36m[install]\033[0m activate hooks now? [y/N] '
+  if [ "$COLOR" = "1" ]; then
+    printf '\033[1;36m[install]\033[0m activate hooks now? [y/N] '
+  else
+    printf '[install] activate hooks now? [y/N] '
+  fi
   read -r reply
   case "$reply" in
     y|Y|yes|YES) activate_hooks && DID_ACTIVATE=1 ;;