diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b8cff08..5f2eea9 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 BINARY := lazy-update-manager
 PREFIX ?= $(HOME)/.local
 
+# Versioning: try to use git describe, fall back to 'dev'
+VERSION := $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || echo dev)
+BUILD_TIME := $(shell date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+
 .PHONY: build desktop desktop-dist install install-user-service enable-user-service test fmt clean
 
 build:
-	go build -buildvcs=false -o bin/$(BINARY) ./cmd/lazy-update-manager
+	@echo "Building $(BINARY) (version: $(VERSION), build time: $(BUILD_TIME))"
+	go build -buildvcs=false -ldflags "-X 'lazy-update-manager/internal/version.Version=$(VERSION)' -X 'lazy-update-manager/internal/version.BuildTime=$(BUILD_TIME)'" -o bin/$(BINARY) ./cmd/lazy-update-manager
 
 desktop:
 	npm run start
@@ -13,8 +18,22 @@ desktop-dist:
 	npm run dist
 
 install: build
-	install -Dm755 bin/$(BINARY) $(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY)
-	install -Dm644 systemd/lazy-update-manager.desktop $(PREFIX)/share/applications/lazy-update-manager.desktop
+	@mkdir -p $(PREFIX)/bin
+	@mkdir -p $(PREFIX)/share/applications
+	@echo "Installing $(BINARY) to $(PREFIX)/bin"
+	@if [ -f "$(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY)" ]; then \
+		if cmp -s bin/$(BINARY) "$(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY)"; then \
+			echo "Existing binary is identical; skipping overwrite."; \
+			exit 0; \
+		else \
+			ts=$$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S); \
+			mv "$(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY)" "$(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY)-$$ts.bak"; \
+			echo "Backed up previous binary to $(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY)-$$ts.bak"; \
+		fi; \
+	fi; \
+	install -Dm755 bin/$(BINARY) $(PREFIX)/bin/$(BINARY); \
+	install -Dm644 systemd/lazy-update-manager.desktop $(PREFIX)/share/applications/lazy-update-manager.desktop; \
+	echo "Installed $(BINARY) to $(PREFIX)/bin"
 
 install-user-service: install
 	install -Dm644 systemd/lazy-update-manager.service $(HOME)/.config/systemd/user/lazy-update-manager.service
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 81235ba..752cf36 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -90,9 +90,31 @@ make desktop-dist
 make install
 ```
 
-This installs the binary to `~/.local/bin/lazy-update-manager`.
+This installs the binary to `~/.local/bin/lazy-update-manager` and a desktop launcher to `~/.local/share/applications/lazy-update-manager.desktop`.
 
-It also installs a desktop launcher to `~/.local/share/applications/lazy-update-manager.desktop`.
+The install target now preserves the previous binary by backing it up when it differs, so installations are safe and reversible.
+
+### Check version and update
+
+After installing, check the installed version with:
+
+```sh
+lazy-update-manager version
+```
+
+To update to the latest version from this repository:
+
+```sh
+git pull --ff-only
+make build
+make install
+```
+
+If you prefer to test the local build without installing, run the bundled binary directly:
+
+```sh
+./bin/lazy-update-manager gui
+```
 
 ## Enable Weekly Reminder
 
diff --git a/cmd/lazy-update-manager/main.go b/cmd/lazy-update-manager/main.go
index 6877448..5d10cde 100644
--- a/cmd/lazy-update-manager/main.go
+++ b/cmd/lazy-update-manager/main.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"lazy-update-manager/internal/notify"
 	"lazy-update-manager/internal/state"
 	"lazy-update-manager/internal/updater"
+	"lazy-update-manager/internal/version"
 )
 
 func main() {
@@ -39,6 +40,9 @@ func run(args []string) int {
 		return runGUI(args[1:])
 	case "update":
 		return update()
+	case "version":
+		fmt.Println(version.String())
+		return 0
 	case "help", "-h", "--help":
 		usage()
 		return 0
@@ -174,6 +178,14 @@ func runGUI(args []string) int {
 	fs := flag.NewFlagSet("gui", flag.ContinueOnError)
 	fs.SetOutput(os.Stderr)
 	noOpen := fs.Bool("no-open", false, "start the GUI server without opening a browser")
+
+	// Support positional "web" argument: `lazy-update-manager gui web`
+	forceWeb := false
+	if len(args) > 0 && args[0] == "web" {
+		forceWeb = true
+		args = args[1:]
+	}
+
 	if err := fs.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return 2
 	}
@@ -184,8 +196,19 @@ func runGUI(args []string) int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
-	// Check if Electron is preferred and available
-	if cfg.PreferElectron && runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
+	// If the user explicitly requested the web interface, skip Electron
+	if forceWeb {
+		if err := gui.Run(defaultConfigPath(), defaultStatePath(), !*noOpen); err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err)
+			return 1
+		}
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	// Only try launching the Electron desktop when the caller did not request
+	// "-no-open" (used by the Electron wrapper to start the backend).
+	// This avoids the Electron<->backend launch loop.
+	if !*noOpen && cfg.PreferElectron && runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
 		if err := tryElectronApp(); err == nil {
 			return 0
 		}
@@ -289,14 +312,16 @@ Usage:
   lazy-update-manager status
   lazy-update-manager check [-quiet]
   lazy-update-manager notify [-force]
-  lazy-update-manager gui [-no-open]
+  lazy-update-manager gui [web] [-no-open]
   lazy-update-manager update
+  lazy-update-manager version
 
 Commands:
   status   Show available pacman and AUR updates
   check    Check updates, useful for scripts and status bars
   notify   Send a weekly desktop notification when updates exist
-  gui      Start the graphical web interface
+  gui      Start the graphical web interface (use 'web' to force opening in the browser)
   update   Run paru/yay -Syu when available, otherwise sudo pacman -Syu
+  version  Print the installed version and build time
 `))
 }
diff --git a/electron/main.cjs b/electron/main.cjs
index 878e969..deddb5f 100644
--- a/electron/main.cjs
+++ b/electron/main.cjs
@@ -37,22 +37,29 @@ function startBackend() {
     let stderr = "";
     const rl = readline.createInterface({ input: backendProcess.stdout });
 
+    // Give the backend more time to start and report the URL (20s)
     const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
-      reject(new Error("Backend did not report a GUI URL."));
-    }, 8000);
+      // include any captured stderr to aid debugging
+      const detail = stderr ? ("\nBackend stderr:\n" + stderr) : "";
+      reject(new Error("Backend did not report a GUI URL." + detail));
+    }, 20000);
 
     rl.on("line", (line) => {
+      console.log("backend stdout:", line);
       const match = line.match(/LazyUpdateManager GUI:\s+(http:\/\/127\.0\.0\.1:\d+)/);
       if (!match) {
         return;
       }
 
       clearTimeout(timeout);
+      console.log("backend reported GUI URL:", match[1]);
       resolve(match[1]);
     });
 
     backendProcess.stderr.on("data", (chunk) => {
-      stderr += chunk.toString();
+      const s = chunk.toString();
+      stderr += s;
+      console.error("backend stderr:", s);
     });
 
     backendProcess.on("error", (error) => {
@@ -71,7 +78,13 @@ function startBackend() {
 }
 
 async function createWindow() {
-  const url = await startBackend();
+  // If LAZY_BACKEND_URL is set, use it (helps debugging a separately started backend)
+  let url = process.env.LAZY_BACKEND_URL || null;
+  if (!url) {
+    url = await startBackend();
+  } else {
+    console.log('Using LAZY_BACKEND_URL:', url);
+  }
 
   mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
     width: 1180,
@@ -109,12 +122,8 @@ app.whenReady().then(async () => {
   try {
     await createWindow();
   } catch (error) {
-    await dialog.showMessageBox({
-      type: "error",
-      title: "LazyUpdateManager",
-      message: "Die Desktop-App konnte nicht gestartet werden.",
-      detail: error.message,
-    });
+    // Avoid noisy GUI popups when the backend fails. Log the error and quit.
+    console.error('Desktop app startup failed:', error && error.message ? error.message : error);
     app.quit();
   }
 });
diff --git a/internal/version/version.go b/internal/version/version.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ff762c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/version/version.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package version
+
+// Version and BuildTime are set at build time using -ldflags. Defaults are provided
+// for development builds.
+var Version = "dev"
+var BuildTime = "unknown"
+
+func String() string {
+return Version + " (" + BuildTime + ")"
+}