diff --git a/install/install.ps1 b/install/install.ps1
index a63cb0b95..becb8392e 100644
--- a/install/install.ps1
+++ b/install/install.ps1
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
     Specifies Pixi's home directory.
     The default value is '$Env:USERPROFILE\.pixi'. You can also specify it by
     setting the environment variable 'PIXI_HOME'.
+.PARAMETER NoPathUpdate
+    If specified, the script will not update the PATH environment variable.
 .LINK
     https://pixi.sh
 .LINK
@@ -18,11 +20,82 @@
 #>
 param (
     [string] $PixiVersion = 'latest',
-    [string] $PixiHome = "$Env:USERPROFILE\.pixi"
+    [string] $PixiHome = "$Env:USERPROFILE\.pixi",
+    [switch] $NoPathUpdate
 )
 
 Set-StrictMode -Version Latest
 
+function Publish-Env {
+    if (-not ("Win32.NativeMethods" -as [Type])) {
+        Add-Type -Namespace Win32 -Name NativeMethods -MemberDefinition @"
+[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
+public static extern IntPtr SendMessageTimeout(
+    IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, UIntPtr wParam, string lParam,
+    uint fuFlags, uint uTimeout, out UIntPtr lpdwResult);
+"@
+    }
+
+    $HWND_BROADCAST = [IntPtr] 0xffff
+    $WM_SETTINGCHANGE = 0x1a
+    $result = [UIntPtr]::Zero
+
+    [Win32.Nativemethods]::SendMessageTimeout($HWND_BROADCAST,
+        $WM_SETTINGCHANGE,
+        [UIntPtr]::Zero,
+        "Environment",
+        2,
+        5000,
+        [ref] $result
+    ) | Out-Null
+}
+
+function Write-Env {
+    param(
+        [String] $name,
+        [String] $val,
+        [Switch] $global
+    )
+
+    $RegisterKey = if ($global) {
+        Get-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager'
+    } else {
+        Get-Item -Path 'HKCU:'
+    }
+
+    $EnvRegisterKey = $RegisterKey.OpenSubKey('Environment', $true)
+    if ($null -eq $val) {
+        $EnvRegisterKey.DeleteValue($name)
+    } else {
+        $RegistryValueKind = if ($val.Contains('%')) {
+            [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind]::ExpandString
+        } elseif ($EnvRegisterKey.GetValue($name)) {
+            $EnvRegisterKey.GetValueKind($name)
+        } else {
+            [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind]::String
+        }
+        $EnvRegisterKey.SetValue($name, $val, $RegistryValueKind)
+    }
+    Publish-Env
+}
+
+function Get-Env {
+    param(
+        [String] $name,
+        [Switch] $global
+    )
+
+    $RegisterKey = if ($global) {
+        Get-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager'
+    } else {
+        Get-Item -Path 'HKCU:'
+    }
+
+    $EnvRegisterKey = $RegisterKey.OpenSubKey('Environment')
+    $RegistryValueOption = [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueOptions]::DoNotExpandEnvironmentNames
+    $EnvRegisterKey.GetValue($name, $null, $RegistryValueOption)
+}
+
 if ($Env:PIXI_VERSION) {
     $PixiVersion = $Env:PIXI_VERSION
 }
@@ -31,6 +104,10 @@ if ($Env:PIXI_HOME) {
     $PixiHome = $Env:PIXI_HOME
 }
 
+if ($Env:PIXI_NO_PATH_UPDATE) {
+    $NoPathUpdate = $true
+}
+
 # Repository name
 $REPO = 'prefix-dev/pixi'
 $ARCH = 'x86_64'
@@ -57,7 +134,7 @@ try {
 
     # Create the install dir if it doesn't exist
     if (!(Test-Path -Path $BinDir)) {
-        New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $BinDir
+        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $BinDir | Out-Null
     }
 
     $ZIP_FILE = $TEMP_FILE + ".zip"
@@ -65,18 +142,26 @@ try {
 
     # Extract pixi from the downloaded zip file
     Expand-Archive -Path $ZIP_FILE -DestinationPath $BinDir -Force
-
-    # Add pixi to PATH if the folder is not already in the PATH variable
-    $PATH = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
-    if ($PATH -notlike "*$BinDir*") {
-        Write-Output "Adding $BinDir to PATH`n"
-        [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$BinDir;" + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User"), "User")
-    } else {
-        Write-Output "$BinDir is already in PATH`n"
-    }
 } catch {
     Write-Host "Error: '$DOWNLOAD_URL' is not available or failed to download"
     exit 1
 } finally {
     Remove-Item -Path $ZIP_FILE
 }
+
+# Add pixi to PATH if the folder is not already in the PATH variable
+if (!$NoPathUpdate) {
+    $PATH = Get-Env 'PATH'
+    if ($PATH -notlike "*$BinDir*") {
+        Write-Output "Adding $BinDir to PATH"
+        # For future sessions
+        Write-Env -name 'PATH' -val "$BinDir;$PATH"
+        # For current session
+        $Env:PATH = "$BinDir;$PATH"
+        Write-Output "You may need to restart your shell"
+    } else {
+        Write-Output "$BinDir is already in PATH"
+    }
+} else {
+    Write-Output "You may need to update your PATH manually to use pixi"
+}
diff --git a/install/install.sh b/install/install.sh
index 96190466b..8f9c7bd15 100644
--- a/install/install.sh
+++ b/install/install.sh
@@ -79,6 +79,9 @@ update_shell() {
     FILE=$1
     LINE=$2
 
+    # shell update can be suppressed by `PIXI_NO_PATH_UPDATE` env var
+    [[ ! -z "$PIXI_NO_PATH_UPDATE" ]] && return
+
     # Create the file if it doesn't exist
     if [ -f "$FILE" ]; then
         touch "$FILE"