diff --git a/client/cmd/node/autoUpdate.go b/client/cmd/node/autoUpdate.go
index 8952702..48b1e10 100644
--- a/client/cmd/node/autoUpdate.go
+++ b/client/cmd/node/autoUpdate.go
@@ -13,18 +13,31 @@ import (
 
 // autoUpdateCmd represents the command to setup automatic updates
 var autoUpdateCmd = &cobra.Command{
-	Use:   "auto-update",
+	Use:   "auto-update [enable|disable]",
 	Short: "Setup automatic update checks",
-	Long: `Setup a cron job to automatically check for Quilibrium node updates every 10 minutes.
+	Long: `Setup or remove a cron job to automatically check for Quilibrium node updates every 10 minutes.
 
-This command will create a cron entry that runs 'qclient node update' every 10 minutes
+This command will create or remove a cron entry that runs 'qclient node update' every 10 minutes
 to check for and apply any available updates.
 
 Example:
   # Setup automatic update checks
-  qclient node auto-update`,
+  qclient node auto-update enable
+  
+  # Remove automatic update checks
+  qclient node auto-update disable`,
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-		setupCronJob()
+		if len(args) != 1 || (args[0] != "enable" && args[0] != "disable") {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: must specify either 'enable' or 'disable'\n")
+			cmd.Help()
+			return
+		}
+
+		if args[0] == "enable" {
+			setupCronJob()
+		} else {
+			removeCronJob()
+		}
 	},
 }
 
@@ -57,6 +70,16 @@ func setupCronJob() {
 	}
 }
 
+func removeCronJob() {
+	// OS-specific removal
+	if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" || runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
+		removeUnixCron()
+	} else {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: auto-update is only supported on macOS and Linux\n")
+		return
+	}
+}
+
 func isCrontabInstalled() bool {
 	// Check if crontab is installed
 	_, err := exec.LookPath("crontab")
@@ -66,12 +89,23 @@ func isCrontabInstalled() bool {
 func installCrontab() {
 	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Installing cron package...\n")
 	// Install crontab
-	installCmd := exec.Command("sudo", "apt-get", "update", "&&", "sudo", "apt-get", "install", "-y", "cron")
+	updateCmd := exec.Command("sudo", "apt-get", "update")
+	updateCmd.Stdout = nil
+	updateCmd.Stderr = nil
+	if err := updateCmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error updating package lists: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	installCmd := exec.Command("sudo", "apt-get", "install", "-y", "cron")
+	installCmd.Stdout = nil
+	installCmd.Stderr = nil
 	if err := installCmd.Run(); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error installing cron package: %v\n", err)
 		return
 	}
 
+	// verify crontab is installed
 	if isCrontabInstalled() {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Cron package installed\n")
 	} else {
@@ -103,17 +137,39 @@ func setupUnixCron(qclientPath string) {
 	}
 
 	// Check if our update command is already in crontab
-	if strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "qclient node update") {
+	if strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "### qclient managed cron tasks") &&
+		strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "#### node auto-update") {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Automatic update check is already configured in crontab\n")
 		return
 	}
 
-	// Add new cron entry
-	newCrontab := currentCrontab
-	if strings.TrimSpace(newCrontab) != "" && !strings.HasSuffix(newCrontab, "\n") {
-		newCrontab += "\n"
+	// Add new cron entry with indicators
+	var newCrontab string
+
+	// If qclient section exists but node auto-update doesn't, we need to add it
+	if strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "### qclient managed cron tasks") &&
+		strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "### end qclient managed cron tasks") {
+		// Insert node auto-update section before the end marker
+		parts := strings.Split(currentCrontab, "### end qclient managed cron tasks")
+		if len(parts) >= 2 {
+			newCrontab = parts[0] +
+				"#### node auto-update\n" +
+				cronExpression + "\n" +
+				"#### end node auto-update (DO NOT DELETE)\n\n" +
+				"### end qclient managed cron tasks" + parts[1]
+		}
+	} else {
+		// Add the entire section with markers
+		newCrontab = currentCrontab
+		if strings.TrimSpace(newCrontab) != "" && !strings.HasSuffix(newCrontab, "\n") {
+			newCrontab += "\n"
+		}
+		newCrontab += "\n### qclient managed cron tasks\n" +
+			"#### node auto-update\n" +
+			cronExpression + "\n" +
+			"#### end node auto-update (DO NOT DELETE)\n\n" +
+			"### end qclient managed cron tasks (DO NOT DELETE)\n"
 	}
-	newCrontab += cronExpression + "\n"
 
 	// Write to temporary file
 	tempFile, err := os.CreateTemp("", "qclient-crontab")
@@ -139,3 +195,95 @@ func setupUnixCron(qclientPath string) {
 	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Successfully configured cron job to check for updates every 10 minutes\n")
 	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Added: %s\n", cronExpression)
 }
+
+func removeUnixCron() {
+	if !isCrontabInstalled() {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: crontab command not found\n")
+		return
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Removing auto-update cron job...\n")
+
+	// Check existing crontab
+	checkCmd := exec.Command("crontab", "-l")
+	checkOutput, err := checkCmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error checking existing crontab: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	currentCrontab := string(checkOutput)
+
+	// No crontab or doesn't contain our section
+	if currentCrontab == "" ||
+		!strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "### qclient managed cron tasks") ||
+		!strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "#### node auto-update") {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "No auto-update job found in crontab\n")
+		return
+	}
+
+	var newCrontab string
+
+	// If only node auto-update section exists, remove the whole qclient section
+	if !strings.Contains(currentCrontab, "#### end node auto-update") ||
+		!strings.Contains(strings.Split(currentCrontab, "### end qclient managed cron tasks")[0], "####") ||
+		strings.Count(strings.Split(currentCrontab, "### end qclient managed cron tasks")[0], "####") <= 2 {
+		// Remove entire qclient section
+		parts := strings.Split(currentCrontab, "### qclient managed cron tasks")
+		if len(parts) >= 2 {
+			endParts := strings.Split(parts[1], "### end qclient managed cron tasks")
+			if len(endParts) >= 2 {
+				newCrontab = parts[0] + endParts[1]
+			} else {
+				newCrontab = parts[0]
+			}
+		} else {
+			newCrontab = currentCrontab
+		}
+	} else {
+		// Remove just the auto-update section
+		startMarker := "#### node auto-update"
+		endMarker := "#### end node auto-update (DO NOT DELETE)"
+
+		startIdx := strings.Index(currentCrontab, startMarker)
+		endIdx := strings.Index(currentCrontab, endMarker)
+
+		if startIdx >= 0 && endIdx >= 0 {
+			endIdx += len(endMarker)
+			// Remove the section including markers
+			newCrontab = currentCrontab[:startIdx] + currentCrontab[endIdx:]
+		} else {
+			newCrontab = currentCrontab
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Clean up any leftover double newlines
+	newCrontab = strings.ReplaceAll(newCrontab, "\n\n\n", "\n\n")
+	if strings.TrimSpace(newCrontab) != "" && !strings.HasSuffix(newCrontab, "\n") {
+		newCrontab += "\n"
+	}
+
+	// Write to temporary file
+	tempFile, err := os.CreateTemp("", "qclient-crontab")
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error creating temporary file: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(tempFile.Name())
+
+	if _, err := tempFile.WriteString(newCrontab); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error writing to temporary file: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+	tempFile.Close()
+
+	// Install new crontab
+	installCmd := exec.Command("crontab", tempFile.Name())
+	if err := installCmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error updating crontab: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "Successfully removed auto-update cron job\n")
+}
diff --git a/client/cmd/node/node.go b/client/cmd/node/node.go
index d06a35b..6eebae3 100644
--- a/client/cmd/node/node.go
+++ b/client/cmd/node/node.go
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ var NodeCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		var err error
 		userLookup, err = user.Lookup(nodeUser)
 		if err != nil {
+			if !utils.IsSudo() {
+				fmt.Printf("need to be sudo to install quilibrium user, retry with sudo: %s\n", err)
+				os.Exit(1)
+			}
 			userLookup, err = InstallQuilibriumUser()
 			if err != nil {
 				fmt.Printf("error installing quilibrium user: %s\n", err)