diff --git a/src/download.js b/src/download.js
index b334846..3b361e6 100644
--- a/src/download.js
+++ b/src/download.js
@@ -22,10 +22,49 @@ function mapOS(os) {
   return mappings[os] || os;
 }
 
-export function getDownloadUrl({ version, platform, arch }) {
-  const filename = `kosli_${version}_${mapOS(platform)}_${mapArch(arch)}`;
+// Name of the release asset for a given version/platform/arch, e.g.
+// "kosli_2.11.43_linux_amd64.tar.gz". This is also the filename used to look the
+// asset up in the release's checksums.txt, so it is the single source of truth.
+export function getAssetFilename({ version, platform, arch }) {
   const extension = platform === "win32" ? "zip" : "tar.gz";
-  return `https://github.com/kosli-dev/cli/releases/download/v${version}/${filename}.${extension}`;
+  return `kosli_${version}_${mapOS(platform)}_${mapArch(arch)}.${extension}`;
+}
+
+export function getDownloadUrl({ version, platform, arch }) {
+  const filename = getAssetFilename({ version, platform, arch });
+  return `https://github.com/kosli-dev/cli/releases/download/v${version}/${filename}`;
+}
+
+// URL of the SHA-256 checksums file published alongside each release.
+export function getChecksumsUrl(version) {
+  return `https://github.com/kosli-dev/cli/releases/download/v${version}/kosli_${version}_checksums.txt`;
+}
+
+// Verify that `actualHex` matches the digest recorded for `assetFilename` in a
+// goreleaser-style checksums file (lines of "<sha256>  <filename>"). Throws if the
+// asset is not listed or the digest differs. Comparison is case-insensitive.
+export function verifyChecksum(actualHex, checksumsText, assetFilename) {
+  let expected = null;
+  for (const line of checksumsText.split("\n")) {
+    const trimmed = line.trim();
+    if (!trimmed) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const parts = trimmed.split(/\s+/);
+    const name = parts[parts.length - 1];
+    if (name === assetFilename) {
+      expected = parts[0];
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  if (expected === null) {
+    throw new Error(`checksums file does not list an entry for "${assetFilename}"`);
+  }
+  if (expected.toLowerCase() !== actualHex.toLowerCase()) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `checksum mismatch for "${assetFilename}": expected ${expected.toLowerCase()}, got ${actualHex.toLowerCase()}`
+    );
+  }
 }
 
 // Classify the `version` input:
@@ -92,8 +131,14 @@ function highestStableRelease(releases, major, minor) {
 export async function resolveVersion(version, token, octokit) {
   const spec = classifyVersion(version);
 
-  // A full semver or any literal tag is used exactly as given, with no API call.
-  if (spec.kind === "exact" || spec.kind === "literal") {
+  // A full semver is used as-is (no API call), but with any leading "v" stripped so
+  // the resolved value is a bare "x.y.z" like the latest/partial paths produce.
+  if (spec.kind === "exact") {
+    return version.replace(/^v/, "");
+  }
+
+  // Any other literal tag (e.g. "Latest") is used exactly as given, no API call.
+  if (spec.kind === "literal") {
     return version;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 6f39f3f..22c91b6 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import os from "os";
+import crypto from "crypto";
+import fs from "fs";
 import * as core from "@actions/core";
 import * as tc from "@actions/tool-cache";
-import { getDownloadUrl, resolveVersion } from "./download.js";
+import { getAssetFilename, getChecksumsUrl, getDownloadUrl, resolveVersion, verifyChecksum } from "./download.js";
 import { withRetries } from "./retry.js";
 
 async function setup() {
@@ -24,6 +26,7 @@ async function setup() {
         () => tc.downloadTool(downloadUrl),
         { onRetry: logRetry("downloading Kosli CLI") }
       );
+      await verifyDownload({ pathToTarball, version: resolvedVersion, platform, arch });
       const extracted = await tc.extractTar(pathToTarball);
       pathToCLI = await tc.cacheDir(extracted, "kosli", resolvedVersion);
     } else {
@@ -38,6 +41,35 @@ async function setup() {
   }
 }
 
+// Verify the downloaded asset against the release's SHA-256 checksums file. A
+// mismatch (or the asset missing from the file) throws and fails the action. If the
+// release published no checksums file at all (e.g. very old versions), we warn and
+// continue rather than break the install.
+async function verifyDownload({ pathToTarball, version, platform, arch }) {
+  const checksumsUrl = getChecksumsUrl(version);
+  let checksumsPath;
+  try {
+    checksumsPath = await withRetries(
+      () => tc.downloadTool(checksumsUrl),
+      { onRetry: logRetry("downloading Kosli CLI checksums") }
+    );
+  } catch (e) {
+    if (e.httpStatusCode === 404) {
+      core.warning(
+        `no checksums file published for Kosli CLI v${version}; skipping checksum verification`
+      );
+      return;
+    }
+    throw e;
+  }
+
+  const assetFilename = getAssetFilename({ version, platform, arch });
+  const actualHex = crypto.createHash("sha256").update(fs.readFileSync(pathToTarball)).digest("hex");
+  const checksumsText = fs.readFileSync(checksumsPath, "utf8");
+  verifyChecksum(actualHex, checksumsText, assetFilename);
+  console.log(`verified Kosli CLI ${assetFilename} checksum`);
+}
+
 function logRetry(label) {
   return ({ attempt, retries, delayMs, error }) => {
     core.warning(
diff --git a/test/download.test.js b/test/download.test.js
index 1abacb8..62ae96d 100644
--- a/test/download.test.js
+++ b/test/download.test.js
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 import test from "ava";
-import { getDownloadUrl, resolveVersion } from "../src/download.js";
+import {
+  getAssetFilename,
+  getChecksumsUrl,
+  getDownloadUrl,
+  resolveVersion,
+  verifyChecksum
+} from "../src/download.js";
 
 const baseUrl = "https://github.com/kosli-dev/cli/releases/download/";
 const testCases = [
@@ -169,3 +175,77 @@ test("resolveVersion surfaces a descriptive error when listing releases fails",
     message: /failed to resolve Kosli CLI version "2".*rate limit/
   });
 });
+
+// --- leading "v" on an exact pin ---
+
+test("resolveVersion strips a leading v from an exact semver pin", async t => {
+  // No octokit/token needed: an exact pin must not hit the API.
+  t.is(await resolveVersion("v2.11.43", "token-unused"), "2.11.43");
+});
+
+test("resolveVersion leaves an unprefixed exact semver unchanged", async t => {
+  t.is(await resolveVersion("2.11.43", "token-unused"), "2.11.43");
+});
+
+// --- asset filename / checksums url ---
+
+test("getAssetFilename renders the tar.gz asset name on linux", t => {
+  t.is(getAssetFilename({ version: "2.11.43", platform: "linux", arch: "x64" }), "kosli_2.11.43_linux_amd64.tar.gz");
+});
+
+test("getAssetFilename renders the zip asset name on windows", t => {
+  t.is(getAssetFilename({ version: "2.11.43", platform: "win32", arch: "amd64" }), "kosli_2.11.43_windows_amd64.zip");
+});
+
+test("getAssetFilename renders the darwin arm64 asset name", t => {
+  t.is(getAssetFilename({ version: "2.11.43", platform: "darwin", arch: "arm64" }), "kosli_2.11.43_darwin_arm64.tar.gz");
+});
+
+test("getChecksumsUrl points at the release's checksums file", t => {
+  t.is(
+    getChecksumsUrl("2.11.43"),
+    "https://github.com/kosli-dev/cli/releases/download/v2.11.43/kosli_2.11.43_checksums.txt"
+  );
+});
+
+// --- verifyChecksum ---
+
+const checksumsFixture = [
+  "aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111  kosli_2.11.43_linux_amd64.tar.gz",
+  "bbbb2222bbbb2222bbbb2222bbbb2222bbbb2222bbbb2222bbbb2222bbbb2222  kosli_2.11.43_windows_amd64.zip",
+  ""
+].join("\n");
+
+test("verifyChecksum passes when the digest matches", t => {
+  t.notThrows(() =>
+    verifyChecksum(
+      "aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111aaaa1111",
+      checksumsFixture,
+      "kosli_2.11.43_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
+    )
+  );
+});
+
+test("verifyChecksum matches case-insensitively", t => {
+  t.notThrows(() =>
+    verifyChecksum(
+      "AAAA1111AAAA1111AAAA1111AAAA1111AAAA1111AAAA1111AAAA1111AAAA1111",
+      checksumsFixture,
+      "kosli_2.11.43_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
+    )
+  );
+});
+
+test("verifyChecksum throws on a digest mismatch", t => {
+  const err = t.throws(() =>
+    verifyChecksum("deadbeef", checksumsFixture, "kosli_2.11.43_linux_amd64.tar.gz")
+  );
+  t.regex(err.message, /checksum mismatch for "kosli_2\.11\.43_linux_amd64\.tar\.gz"/);
+});
+
+test("verifyChecksum throws when the asset is not listed", t => {
+  const err = t.throws(() =>
+    verifyChecksum("aaaa1111", checksumsFixture, "kosli_2.11.43_linux_arm64.tar.gz")
+  );
+  t.regex(err.message, /does not list an entry for "kosli_2\.11\.43_linux_arm64\.tar\.gz"/);
+});