diff --git a/kickstart/veilor-os.ks b/kickstart/veilor-os.ks
index 4603109..2ac860d 100644
--- a/kickstart/veilor-os.ks
+++ b/kickstart/veilor-os.ks
@@ -274,6 +274,45 @@ zram-size = min(ram, 8192)
 compression-algorithm = zstd
 EOF
 
+# Patch anaconda's transaction_progress.py inside the live rootfs so that
+# when the user clicks "Install" from the live ISO and anaconda runs in
+# --cmdline mode, a non-fatal scriptlet warning (RC=5) does not get
+# escalated to "An error occurred during the transaction" + abort.
+#
+# Why this is needed: Fedora 43 ships RPM 6.0, which changed scriptlet
+# failure propagation (Fedora wiki Changes/RPM-6.0; dnf5 issue #2507).
+# Scriptlets that previously emitted "Non-critical error" warnings now
+# bubble up as transaction-level errors. man-db's
+# `transfiletriggerin` is the most common trigger — `systemd-run
+# /usr/bin/systemctl start man-db-cache-update` returns non-zero in
+# the anaconda chroot, RPM-6.0-aware dnf5 reports it as transaction
+# error, anaconda --cmdline aborts.
+#
+# We previously patched the same file on the BUILD HOST (build/build-iso.sh)
+# so livecd-creator could finish its own transaction. That patch lives
+# only on the host running the build — never landed in the live rootfs
+# the user installs from. Reproduced 3 consecutive VM tests
+# (v0.5.26 / v0.5.27 / v0.5.28) failing at exactly "Configuring
+# man-db.x86_64".
+#
+# The patch downgrades the 'error' token in transaction progress
+# callback to a warning log line. Confirmed working at build time
+# (build/build-iso.sh:47-51).
+TP=/usr/lib64/python3.14/site-packages/pyanaconda/modules/payloads/payload/dnf/transaction_progress.py
+if [ -f "$TP" ]; then
+    cp -a "$TP" "${TP}.veilor-bak"
+    sed -i 's|raise PayloadInstallationError("An error occurred during the transaction: " + msg)|log.warning("veilor: ignoring non-fatal transaction error: %s", msg)|' "$TP"
+    if grep -q 'veilor: ignoring' "$TP"; then
+        echo "[OK] transaction_progress.py patched in live rootfs"
+        # Drop the cached .pyc so the patched .py is what runs.
+        rm -f /usr/lib64/python3.14/site-packages/pyanaconda/modules/payloads/payload/dnf/__pycache__/transaction_progress.*.pyc 2>/dev/null || true
+    else
+        echo "[WARN] transaction_progress.py patch did not apply — file format may have changed in this anaconda version"
+    fi
+else
+    echo "[WARN] transaction_progress.py not found at expected path — anaconda may have moved it"
+fi
+
 # Enable services
 # veilor-firstboot.service NOT enabled on live ISO — it prompts admin pw
 # which makes no sense on a live boot. Real installs enable it in their
diff --git a/overlay/usr/local/bin/veilor-installer b/overlay/usr/local/bin/veilor-installer
index ddbe238..acc6f58 100644
--- a/overlay/usr/local/bin/veilor-installer
+++ b/overlay/usr/local/bin/veilor-installer
@@ -486,6 +486,17 @@ zram-generator
 -open-vm-tools-desktop
 -mlocate
 
+# Belt-and-braces with the kickstart/veilor-os.ks transaction_progress
+# patch: even with the patch, man-db's transfiletriggerin in the F43
+# RPM 6.0 toolchain dispatches a systemd-run that anaconda's chroot
+# can race-with on exit. Excluding the package entirely guarantees the
+# trigger never fires during install. Veilor users who want man pages
+# install them post-firstboot via \`dnf install man-db man-pages\` or
+# via the v0.6 \`veilor-postinstall\` welcome menu.
+-man-db
+-man-pages
+-man-pages-overrides
+
 %end
 
 # ── Post-install (nochroot): copy overlay + scripts + assets from boot ISO.