diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 9c4aa11..20c7924 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "twitch-vod-manager",
-  "version": "4.2.3",
+  "version": "4.2.4",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "twitch-vod-manager",
-      "version": "4.2.3",
+      "version": "4.2.4",
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
         "axios": "^1.6.0",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 748bb81..e281541 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "twitch-vod-manager",
-  "version": "4.2.3",
+  "version": "4.2.4",
   "description": "Twitch VOD Manager - Download Twitch VODs easily",
   "main": "dist/main.js",
   "author": "xRangerDE",
diff --git a/src/index.html b/src/index.html
index 5646237..fbf66f8 100644
--- a/src/index.html
+++ b/src/index.html
@@ -450,6 +450,10 @@
                                 <input type="checkbox" id="duplicatePreventionToggle" checked>
                                 <span id="duplicatePreventionLabel">Duplikate in Queue verhindern</span>
                             </label>
+                            <label style="display:flex; align-items:center; gap:8px; margin-top: 8px;">
+                                <input type="checkbox" id="persistQueueToggle" checked>
+                                <span id="persistQueueLabel">Queue zwischen App-Starts speichern</span>
+                            </label>
                         </div>
                         <div class="form-group">
                             <label id="metadataCacheMinutesLabel">Metadata-Cache (Minuten)</label>
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 6d1b7d9..e965661 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ interface Config {
     smart_queue_scheduler: boolean;
     performance_mode: PerformanceMode;
     prevent_duplicate_downloads: boolean;
+    persist_queue_on_restart: boolean;
     metadata_cache_minutes: number;
 }
 
@@ -238,6 +239,7 @@ const defaultConfig: Config = {
     smart_queue_scheduler: true,
     performance_mode: DEFAULT_PERFORMANCE_MODE,
     prevent_duplicate_downloads: true,
+    persist_queue_on_restart: true,
     metadata_cache_minutes: DEFAULT_METADATA_CACHE_MINUTES
 };
 
@@ -272,6 +274,7 @@ function normalizeConfigTemplates(input: Config): Config {
         smart_queue_scheduler: input.smart_queue_scheduler !== false,
         performance_mode: normalizePerformanceMode(input.performance_mode),
         prevent_duplicate_downloads: input.prevent_duplicate_downloads !== false,
+        persist_queue_on_restart: input.persist_queue_on_restart !== false,
         metadata_cache_minutes: normalizeMetadataCacheMinutes(input.metadata_cache_minutes)
     };
 }
@@ -300,6 +303,10 @@ function saveConfig(config: Config): void {
 // QUEUE MANAGEMENT
 // ==========================================
 function loadQueue(): QueueItem[] {
+    if (config.persist_queue_on_restart === false) {
+        return [];
+    }
+
     try {
         if (fs.existsSync(QUEUE_FILE)) {
             const data = fs.readFileSync(QUEUE_FILE, 'utf-8');
@@ -314,7 +321,22 @@ function loadQueue(): QueueItem[] {
 let queueSaveTimer: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
 let pendingQueueSnapshot: QueueItem[] | null = null;
 
+function clearQueueFileFromDisk(): void {
+    try {
+        if (fs.existsSync(QUEUE_FILE)) {
+            fs.unlinkSync(QUEUE_FILE);
+        }
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.error('Error clearing queue file:', e);
+    }
+}
+
 function writeQueueToDisk(queue: QueueItem[]): void {
+    if (config.persist_queue_on_restart === false) {
+        clearQueueFileFromDisk();
+        return;
+    }
+
     try {
         fs.writeFileSync(QUEUE_FILE, JSON.stringify(queue, null, 2));
     } catch (e) {
@@ -323,6 +345,16 @@ function writeQueueToDisk(queue: QueueItem[]): void {
 }
 
 function saveQueue(queue: QueueItem[], force = false): void {
+    if (config.persist_queue_on_restart === false) {
+        pendingQueueSnapshot = null;
+        if (queueSaveTimer) {
+            clearTimeout(queueSaveTimer);
+            queueSaveTimer = null;
+        }
+        clearQueueFileFromDisk();
+        return;
+    }
+
     pendingQueueSnapshot = queue;
 
     if (force) {
@@ -3207,6 +3239,7 @@ function setupAutoUpdater() {
     autoUpdaterInitialized = true;
     autoUpdater.autoDownload = false;
     autoUpdater.autoInstallOnAppQuit = true;
+    autoUpdater.autoRunAppAfterInstall = true;
 
     autoUpdater.on('checking-for-update', () => {
         console.log('Checking for updates...');
@@ -3308,6 +3341,7 @@ ipcMain.handle('save-config', (_, newConfig: Partial<Config>) => {
     const previousClientId = config.client_id;
     const previousClientSecret = config.client_secret;
     const previousCacheMinutes = config.metadata_cache_minutes;
+    const previousPersistQueueOnRestart = config.persist_queue_on_restart;
 
     config = normalizeConfigTemplates({ ...config, ...newConfig });
 
@@ -3321,6 +3355,18 @@ ipcMain.handle('save-config', (_, newConfig: Partial<Config>) => {
     }
 
     saveConfig(config);
+
+    if (config.persist_queue_on_restart === false) {
+        pendingQueueSnapshot = null;
+        if (queueSaveTimer) {
+            clearTimeout(queueSaveTimer);
+            queueSaveTimer = null;
+        }
+        clearQueueFileFromDisk();
+    } else if (previousPersistQueueOnRestart === false) {
+        saveQueue(downloadQueue, true);
+    }
+
     return config;
 });
 
@@ -3526,7 +3572,7 @@ ipcMain.handle('download-update', async () => {
 });
 
 ipcMain.handle('install-update', () => {
-    autoUpdater.quitAndInstall(false, true);
+    autoUpdater.quitAndInstall(true, true);
 });
 
 ipcMain.handle('open-external', async (_, url: string) => {
diff --git a/src/renderer-globals.d.ts b/src/renderer-globals.d.ts
index 4ef23e3..d71cb44 100644
--- a/src/renderer-globals.d.ts
+++ b/src/renderer-globals.d.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ interface AppConfig {
     smart_queue_scheduler?: boolean;
     performance_mode?: 'stability' | 'balanced' | 'speed';
     prevent_duplicate_downloads?: boolean;
+    persist_queue_on_restart?: boolean;
     metadata_cache_minutes?: number;
     [key: string]: unknown;
 }
diff --git a/src/renderer-locale-de.ts b/src/renderer-locale-de.ts
index 5e7ea05..7fdec11 100644
--- a/src/renderer-locale-de.ts
+++ b/src/renderer-locale-de.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ const UI_TEXT_DE = {
         performanceModeSpeed: 'Max Geschwindigkeit',
         smartSchedulerLabel: 'Smart Queue Scheduler aktivieren',
         duplicatePreventionLabel: 'Duplikate in Queue verhindern',
+        persistQueueLabel: 'Queue zwischen App-Starts speichern',
         metadataCacheMinutesLabel: 'Metadata-Cache (Minuten)',
         filenameTemplatesTitle: 'Dateinamen-Templates',
         vodTemplateLabel: 'VOD-Template',
@@ -208,11 +209,11 @@ const UI_TEXT_DE = {
         downloadNow: 'Jetzt herunterladen',
         downloadLabel: 'Download',
         ready: 'bereit zur Installation!',
-        installNow: 'Jetzt installieren',
+        installNow: 'Jetzt installieren & neu starten',
         modalAvailableTitle: 'Update verfugbar',
         modalAvailableMessage: 'Version {version} ist verfugbar. Jetzt herunterladen?',
         modalReadyTitle: 'Update bereit',
-        modalReadyMessage: 'Version {version} wurde heruntergeladen. Jetzt installieren?',
+        modalReadyMessage: 'Version {version} wurde heruntergeladen. Jetzt installieren und neu starten?',
         modalDismiss: 'Nein',
         modalDownloadConfirm: 'Ja, herunterladen',
         modalInstallConfirm: 'Ja, installieren',
diff --git a/src/renderer-locale-en.ts b/src/renderer-locale-en.ts
index 4a28ca5..91bcfeb 100644
--- a/src/renderer-locale-en.ts
+++ b/src/renderer-locale-en.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ const UI_TEXT_EN = {
         performanceModeSpeed: 'Max Speed',
         smartSchedulerLabel: 'Enable smart queue scheduler',
         duplicatePreventionLabel: 'Prevent duplicate queue entries',
+        persistQueueLabel: 'Keep queue between app restarts',
         metadataCacheMinutesLabel: 'Metadata Cache (Minutes)',
         filenameTemplatesTitle: 'Filename Templates',
         vodTemplateLabel: 'VOD Template',
@@ -208,11 +209,11 @@ const UI_TEXT_EN = {
         downloadNow: 'Download now',
         downloadLabel: 'Download',
         ready: 'ready to install!',
-        installNow: 'Install now',
+        installNow: 'Install now & restart',
         modalAvailableTitle: 'Update available',
         modalAvailableMessage: 'Version {version} is available. Download it now?',
         modalReadyTitle: 'Update ready',
-        modalReadyMessage: 'Version {version} has been downloaded. Install it now?',
+        modalReadyMessage: 'Version {version} has been downloaded. Install and restart now?',
         modalDismiss: 'No',
         modalDownloadConfirm: 'Yes, download',
         modalInstallConfirm: 'Yes, install',
diff --git a/src/renderer-settings.ts b/src/renderer-settings.ts
index bf77ab9..b680818 100644
--- a/src/renderer-settings.ts
+++ b/src/renderer-settings.ts
@@ -318,6 +318,7 @@ function collectDownloadSettingsPayload(): Partial<AppConfig> {
         performance_mode: byId<HTMLSelectElement>('performanceMode').value as 'stability' | 'balanced' | 'speed',
         smart_queue_scheduler: byId<HTMLInputElement>('smartSchedulerToggle').checked,
         prevent_duplicate_downloads: byId<HTMLInputElement>('duplicatePreventionToggle').checked,
+        persist_queue_on_restart: byId<HTMLInputElement>('persistQueueToggle').checked,
         metadata_cache_minutes: parseInt(byId<HTMLInputElement>('metadataCacheMinutes').value, 10) || 10
     };
 }
@@ -358,6 +359,7 @@ function getSettingsFingerprint(payload: Partial<AppConfig>): string {
         effective.performance_mode ?? 'balanced',
         effective.smart_queue_scheduler !== false,
         effective.prevent_duplicate_downloads !== false,
+        effective.persist_queue_on_restart !== false,
         effective.metadata_cache_minutes ?? 10,
         effective.filename_template_vod ?? '{title}.mp4',
         effective.filename_template_parts ?? '{date}_Part{part_padded}.mp4',
@@ -373,6 +375,7 @@ function syncSettingsFormFromConfig(): void {
     byId<HTMLSelectElement>('performanceMode').value = (config.performance_mode as string) || 'balanced';
     byId<HTMLInputElement>('smartSchedulerToggle').checked = (config.smart_queue_scheduler as boolean) !== false;
     byId<HTMLInputElement>('duplicatePreventionToggle').checked = (config.prevent_duplicate_downloads as boolean) !== false;
+    byId<HTMLInputElement>('persistQueueToggle').checked = (config.persist_queue_on_restart as boolean) !== false;
     byId<HTMLInputElement>('metadataCacheMinutes').value = String((config.metadata_cache_minutes as number) || 10);
     byId<HTMLInputElement>('vodFilenameTemplate').value = (config.filename_template_vod as string) || '{title}.mp4';
     byId<HTMLInputElement>('partsFilenameTemplate').value = (config.filename_template_parts as string) || '{date}_Part{part_padded}.mp4';
@@ -481,7 +484,8 @@ function initSettingsAutoSave(): void {
         'downloadMode',
         'performanceMode',
         'smartSchedulerToggle',
-        'duplicatePreventionToggle'
+        'duplicatePreventionToggle',
+        'persistQueueToggle'
     ] as const;
 
     const debouncedSaveIds = [
diff --git a/src/renderer-texts.ts b/src/renderer-texts.ts
index 4aefdb3..e291396 100644
--- a/src/renderer-texts.ts
+++ b/src/renderer-texts.ts
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ function applyLanguageToStaticUI(): void {
     setText('performanceModeSpeed', UI_TEXT.static.performanceModeSpeed);
     setText('smartSchedulerLabel', UI_TEXT.static.smartSchedulerLabel);
     setText('duplicatePreventionLabel', UI_TEXT.static.duplicatePreventionLabel);
+    setText('persistQueueLabel', UI_TEXT.static.persistQueueLabel);
     setText('metadataCacheMinutesLabel', UI_TEXT.static.metadataCacheMinutesLabel);
     setText('filenameTemplatesTitle', UI_TEXT.static.filenameTemplatesTitle);
     setText('vodTemplateLabel', UI_TEXT.static.vodTemplateLabel);
diff --git a/src/renderer-updates.ts b/src/renderer-updates.ts
index 11ae1c5..f0ee708 100644
--- a/src/renderer-updates.ts
+++ b/src/renderer-updates.ts
@@ -366,8 +366,10 @@ function refreshUpdateUiTexts(): void {
 
 async function checkUpdateSilent(): Promise<void> {
     try {
+        shouldOpenUpdateModalOnAvailable = true;
         await window.api.checkUpdate();
     } catch {
+        shouldOpenUpdateModalOnAvailable = false;
         // ignore silent updater errors
     }
 }