diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-phar.yml b/.github/workflows/build-phar.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98b3e78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-phar.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+name: Build and test phar
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+      - '[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  build-phar:
+    name: Build and test phar (PHP ${{ matrix.php-version }})
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: true
+      matrix:
+        php-version: ['7.4', '8.1', '8.2']
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup PHP for building
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: '8.1'
+          tools: composer:v2
+          extensions: phar
+          ini-values: phar.readonly=0
+
+      - name: Install humbug/box
+        run: composer global require humbug/box:^4.0
+
+      - name: Build phar
+        run: box compile
+
+      - name: Setup PHP ${{ matrix.php-version }} for testing
+        if: matrix.php-version != '8.1'
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: ${{ matrix.php-version }}
+          extensions: phar
+
+      - name: Verify phar boots
+        run: php slic.phar help
+
+      - name: Verify phar version output
+        run: php slic.phar help 2>&1 | grep -q "version"
+
+      - name: Verify phar upgrade check
+        run: php slic.phar upgrade
+
+      - name: Verify no test files in phar
+        run: |
+          php -r "
+          foreach (new RecursiveIteratorIterator(new Phar('slic.phar')) as \$f) {
+            \$path = (string) \$f;
+            if (preg_match('#/(tests|docs|\.github)/#', \$path)) {
+              echo 'FAIL: found excluded file: ' . \$path . PHP_EOL;
+              exit(1);
+            }
+          }
+          echo 'OK: no test/docs/.github files in phar' . PHP_EOL;
+          "
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-phar.yml b/.github/workflows/release-phar.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e40587c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-phar.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+name: Build and release slic.phar
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - '[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
+      - 'v[0-9]+.[0-9]+.[0-9]+'
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+
+jobs:
+  build-phar:
+    name: Build phar and create release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup PHP
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        with:
+          php-version: '8.1'
+          tools: composer:v2
+          extensions: phar
+          ini-values: phar.readonly=0
+
+      - name: Install humbug/box
+        run: composer global require humbug/box:^4.0
+
+      - name: Build phar
+        run: box compile
+
+      - name: Verify phar works
+        run: php slic.phar help
+
+      - name: Create GitHub release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          files: slic.phar
+          generate_release_notes: true
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 77766ae..96094b7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -44,3 +44,6 @@ _plugins
 
 # PHPUnit cache
 .phpunit.result.cache
+
+# Phar build artifacts
+*.phar
diff --git a/box.json b/box.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..823b000
--- /dev/null
+++ b/box.json
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+{
+    "main": "slic.php",
+    "output": "slic.phar",
+    "shebang": "#!/usr/bin/env php",
+    "directories": [
+        "src",
+        "includes",
+        "containers",
+        "completions"
+    ],
+    "files": [
+        "slic.php",
+        "version.php",
+        ".env.slic",
+        "slic-stack.yml",
+        "slic-stack.site.yml",
+        "slic-stack.worktree.yml"
+    ],
+    "blacklist": [
+        "tests",
+        "docs",
+        "vendor",
+        ".github",
+        ".git",
+        "_wordpress",
+        "_plugins",
+        ".cache",
+        ".idea",
+        ".data"
+    ],
+    "compactors": [
+        "KevinGH\\Box\\Compactor\\Php"
+    ],
+    "compression": "NONE",
+    "chmod": "0755"
+}
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 5b53091..b4dcde9 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     "type": "project",
     "license": "GPL-2.0-or-later",
     "require": {
-        "php": ">=8.2"
+        "php": ">=7.4"
     },
     "require-dev": {
         "phpunit/phpunit": "^11.0"
diff --git a/composer.lock b/composer.lock
index 8b1057e..cbdb1cc 100644
--- a/composer.lock
+++ b/composer.lock
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
         "Read more about it at https://getcomposer.org/doc/01-basic-usage.md#installing-dependencies",
         "This file is @generated automatically"
     ],
-    "content-hash": "b388d73aaec46a4546e7ec2780b48839",
+    "content-hash": "d134efd2fa9b49b4e1273d1277292399",
     "packages": [],
     "packages-dev": [
         {
@@ -1795,7 +1795,7 @@
     "prefer-stable": false,
     "prefer-lowest": false,
     "platform": {
-        "php": ">=8.2"
+        "php": ">=7.4"
     },
     "platform-dev": {},
     "plugin-api-version": "2.6.0"
diff --git a/slic.php b/slic.php
index 5e1d672..b68408b 100644
--- a/slic.php
+++ b/slic.php
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@
 $subcommand          = $args( 'subcommand', 'help' );
 
 // Both these variables will be used by commands.
-$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+$run_settings_file = \StellarWP\Slic\slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 $cli_name          = basename( $argv[0] );
 
 if ( 'help' !== $subcommand ) {
diff --git a/src/commands/composer.php b/src/commands/composer.php
index b186927..3ad736d 100644
--- a/src/commands/composer.php
+++ b/src/commands/composer.php
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
 				echo magenta( "Error: set-version requires a Composer version number, either 1 or 2." . PHP_EOL );
 				exit( 1 );
 			}
-			$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+			$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 			write_env_file( $run_settings_file, [ 'SLIC_COMPOSER_VERSION' => (int) $version ], true );
 			echo colorize( "Composer version set to $version\n" );
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
 			exit( slic_realtime()( [ 'exec', 'slic', $composer_bin, '--version' ] ) );
 		case 'reset-version':
 			$version = 2;
-			$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+			$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 			write_env_file( $run_settings_file, [ 'SLIC_COMPOSER_VERSION' => (int) $version ], true );
 			echo colorize( "Composer version reset to default: $default_version\n" );
 
diff --git a/src/commands/php-version.php b/src/commands/php-version.php
index 041ccb8..1dcef94 100644
--- a/src/commands/php-version.php
+++ b/src/commands/php-version.php
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
 }
 
 // Read .env.slic.run to get runtime value.
-$run_env_file    = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+$run_env_file    = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 $runtime_version = null;
 if ( file_exists( $run_env_file ) ) {
 	$run_env         = read_env_file( $run_env_file );
diff --git a/src/commands/reset.php b/src/commands/reset.php
index d094d86..81e8c4d 100644
--- a/src/commands/reset.php
+++ b/src/commands/reset.php
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 
 quietly_tear_down_stack();
 
-$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 echo "Removing {$run_settings_file} ... ";
 echo ( ! file_exists( $run_settings_file ) || unlink( $run_settings_file ) ) ?
 	light_cyan( 'done' )
diff --git a/src/commands/upgrade.php b/src/commands/upgrade.php
index 183f9f9..b75bd72 100644
--- a/src/commands/upgrade.php
+++ b/src/commands/upgrade.php
@@ -17,14 +17,139 @@
 	return;
 }
 
-$today = date( 'Y-m-d' );
-chdir( SLIC_ROOT_DIR );
-$status = passthru( 'git checkout main && git pull' );
+if ( is_phar() ) {
+	phar_self_update();
+} else {
+	git_upgrade();
+}
+
+/**
+ * Upgrades slic via git pull on the main branch.
+ */
+function git_upgrade() {
+	chdir( SLIC_ROOT_DIR );
+	$status = passthru( 'git checkout main && git pull' );
 
-if ( ! $status ) {
-	unlink( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.remote-version' );
+	if ( ! $status ) {
+		$remote_version_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.remote-version';
+		if ( file_exists( $remote_version_file ) ) {
+			unlink( $remote_version_file );
+		}
 
-	$status = passthru( 'php slic update' );
+		$status = passthru( PHP_BINARY . ' ' . escapeshellarg( $GLOBALS['argv'][0] ) . ' update' );
+	}
+
+	exit( $status );
 }
 
-exit( $status );
+/**
+ * Self-updates the phar archive from GitHub Releases.
+ */
+function phar_self_update() {
+	$current_version = CLI_VERSION;
+
+	echo colorize( "Checking for updates..." . PHP_EOL );
+
+	$latest_version = fetch_latest_github_release_version();
+
+	if ( null === $latest_version ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: Could not check for updates. Please try again later." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	if ( version_compare( $latest_version, $current_version, '<=' ) ) {
+		echo light_cyan( "You are already running the latest version ({$current_version})." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 0 );
+	}
+
+	echo colorize( "Updating from <yellow>{$current_version}</yellow> to <yellow>{$latest_version}</yellow>..." . PHP_EOL );
+
+	// Fetch the release to get the slic.phar asset URL.
+	$context = stream_context_create( [
+		'http' => [
+			'method'  => 'GET',
+			'header'  => "User-Agent: slic-cli\r\nAccept: application/vnd.github.v3+json\r\n",
+			'timeout' => 10,
+		],
+	] );
+
+	$response = @file_get_contents( 'https://api.github.com/repos/stellarwp/slic/releases/latest', false, $context );
+
+	if ( false === $response ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: Could not fetch release information." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	$release = json_decode( $response, true );
+
+	if ( ! is_array( $release ) || empty( $release['assets'] ) ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: No assets found in the latest release." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	// Find the slic.phar asset.
+	$phar_url = null;
+	foreach ( $release['assets'] as $asset ) {
+		if ( $asset['name'] === 'slic.phar' ) {
+			$phar_url = $asset['browser_download_url'];
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if ( null === $phar_url ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: slic.phar not found in the latest release assets." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	// Download the new phar.
+	$download_context = stream_context_create( [
+		'http' => [
+			'method'          => 'GET',
+			'header'          => "User-Agent: slic-cli\r\n",
+			'timeout'         => 60,
+			'follow_location' => true,
+		],
+	] );
+
+	$new_phar = @file_get_contents( $phar_url, false, $download_context );
+
+	if ( false === $new_phar || empty( $new_phar ) ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: Failed to download the new phar." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	// Get the path to the currently running phar.
+	$phar_path = \Phar::running( false );
+
+	if ( empty( $phar_path ) ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: Could not determine the running phar path." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	// Write the new phar to a temp file first, then rename for atomicity.
+	$tmp_path = $phar_path . '.tmp';
+
+	if ( false === file_put_contents( $tmp_path, $new_phar ) ) {
+		echo magenta( "Error: Could not write the new phar to {$tmp_path}." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	// Make the temp file executable.
+	chmod( $tmp_path, 0755 );
+
+	// Replace the old phar with the new one.
+	if ( ! rename( $tmp_path, $phar_path ) ) {
+		unlink( $tmp_path );
+		echo magenta( "Error: Could not replace the phar at {$phar_path}." . PHP_EOL );
+		exit( 1 );
+	}
+
+	// Clear the cached remote version.
+	$remote_version_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.remote-version';
+	if ( file_exists( $remote_version_file ) ) {
+		unlink( $remote_version_file );
+	}
+
+	echo light_cyan( "Successfully updated slic to version {$latest_version}." . PHP_EOL );
+	exit( 0 );
+}
diff --git a/src/slic.php b/src/slic.php
index 1d1d1ef..df3b402 100644
--- a/src/slic.php
+++ b/src/slic.php
@@ -10,6 +10,57 @@
 
 require_once __DIR__ . '/xdebug.php';
 
+/**
+ * Returns whether the current script is running inside a phar archive.
+ *
+ * @return bool
+ */
+function is_phar() {
+	return strlen( \Phar::running() ) > 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns the directory to use for writable data files.
+ *
+ * When running as a phar archive, the phar filesystem is read-only, so writable files
+ * (.env.slic.run, .build-version, .remote-version, .cache, etc.) must be stored in a
+ * real filesystem directory. This function returns:
+ * - When phar: the value of SLIC_DATA_DIR env var, or ~/.slic
+ * - When git clone: SLIC_ROOT_DIR (the project root)
+ *
+ * @return string The absolute path to the writable data directory.
+ */
+function slic_data_dir() {
+	if ( ! is_phar() ) {
+		return SLIC_ROOT_DIR;
+	}
+
+	$data_dir = getenv( 'SLIC_DATA_DIR' );
+
+	if ( ! empty( $data_dir ) ) {
+		if ( ! is_dir( $data_dir ) ) {
+			mkdir( $data_dir, 0755, true );
+		}
+
+		return rtrim( $data_dir, '/' );
+	}
+
+	$home = getenv( 'HOME' ) ?: getenv( 'USERPROFILE' );
+
+	if ( empty( $home ) ) {
+		// Fallback: use system temp directory.
+		$home = sys_get_temp_dir();
+	}
+
+	$data_dir = $home . '/.slic';
+
+	if ( ! is_dir( $data_dir ) ) {
+		mkdir( $data_dir, 0755, true );
+	}
+
+	return $data_dir;
+}
+
 /**
  * Get the CLI header.
  *
@@ -287,7 +338,7 @@ function setup_slic_env( $root_dir, $reset = false, $stack_id = null ) {
 	}
 
 	// Start by loading the run file for all stacks, if any.
-	$run_file = $root_dir . '/.env.slic.run';
+	$run_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$staged_php_version = null;
 
 	if ( is_file( $run_file ) ) {
@@ -369,11 +420,11 @@ function setup_slic_env( $root_dir, $reset = false, $stack_id = null ) {
 	// Set up XDebug host for Linux
 	xdebug_setup_linux_host();
 
-	$default_wp_dir = root( '/_wordpress' );
+	$default_wp_dir = slic_data_dir() . '/_wordpress';
 	$wp_dir         = getenv( 'SLIC_WP_DIR' );
 
-	if ( $wp_dir === './_wordpress' || $wp_dir === $default_wp_dir ) {
-		// Default WordPress directory, inside slic.
+	if ( $wp_dir === './_wordpress' || $wp_dir === root( '/_wordpress' ) || $wp_dir === $default_wp_dir ) {
+		// Default WordPress directory, inside slic data dir.
 		$wp_dir = ensure_dir( $default_wp_dir );
 	} else if ( ! is_dir( $wp_dir ) ) {
 		// Custom WordPress directory, it falls on the user to have it set up correctly.
@@ -384,12 +435,12 @@ function setup_slic_env( $root_dir, $reset = false, $stack_id = null ) {
 	$wp_themes_dir = $wp_dir . '/wp-content/themes';
 
 	putenv( 'SLIC_WP_DIR=' . $wp_dir );
-	putenv( 'SLIC_PLUGINS_DIR=' . ensure_dir( getenv( 'SLIC_PLUGINS_DIR' ) ?: root( '_plugins' ) ) );
+	putenv( 'SLIC_PLUGINS_DIR=' . ensure_dir( getenv( 'SLIC_PLUGINS_DIR' ) ?: slic_data_dir() . '/_plugins' ) );
 	putenv( 'SLIC_THEMES_DIR=' . ensure_dir( getenv( 'SLIC_THEMES_DIR' ) ?: $wp_themes_dir ) );
 	putenv( 'SLIC_CACHE=' . cache() );
 
 	if ( empty( getenv( 'COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR' ) ) ) {
-		ensure_dir( root( '.cache' ) );
+		ensure_dir( slic_data_dir() . '/.cache' );
 		putenv( 'COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR=' . cache( '/composer' ) );
 	}
 
@@ -490,7 +541,7 @@ function slic_set_php_version( $version, $require_confirm = false, $skip_rebuild
 		$message        .= PHP_EOL . "The PHP version will be set for <yellow>the current</yellow> stack.";
 	} else {
 		// Apply this version to all the stacks.
-		$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+		$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 		$message        .= PHP_EOL . "The PHP version will be set for <yellow>all</yellow> stacks.";
 	}
 
@@ -533,7 +584,7 @@ function slic_set_php_version( $version, $require_confirm = false, $skip_rebuild
  * @return void
  */
 function slic_clear_staged_php_flag() {
-	$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+	$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 
 	write_env_file( $run_settings_file, [ 'SLIC_PHP_VERSION_STAGED' => false ], true );
 }
@@ -1088,7 +1139,7 @@ function rebuild_stack(): void {
  * Write the current CLI_VERSION to the build-version file
  */
 function write_build_version() {
-	file_put_contents( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.build-version', CLI_VERSION );
+	file_put_contents( slic_data_dir() . '/.build-version', CLI_VERSION );
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1137,7 +1188,7 @@ function slic_info() {
 	);
 
 	// Read .env.slic.run directly to show runtime state.
-	$run_env_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+	$run_env_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$run_env      = [];
 	if ( file_exists( $run_env_file ) ) {
 		$run_env = read_env_file( $run_env_file );
@@ -1150,7 +1201,7 @@ function slic_info() {
 			file_exists( $slic_root . '/.env.slic' ) ? "  - " . $slic_root . '/.env.slic' : null,
 			file_exists( $slic_root . '/.env.slic.local' ) ? "  - " . $slic_root . '/.env.slic.local' : null,
 			file_exists( $target_path . '/.env.slic.local' ) ? "  - " . $target_path . '/.env.slic.local' : null,
-			file_exists( $slic_root . '/.env.slic.run' ) ? "  - " . $slic_root . '/.env.slic.run' : null,
+			file_exists( slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run' ) ? "  - " . slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run' : null,
 		] ) ) . PHP_EOL . PHP_EOL;
 
 	echo colorize( "<yellow>Current configuration:</yellow>" . PHP_EOL );
@@ -1221,7 +1272,7 @@ function composer_cache_status() {
  * @param callable $args The closure that will produce the current interactive request arguments.
  */
 function slic_handle_composer_cache( callable $args ) {
-	$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+	$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$toggle            = $args( 'toggle', 'status' );
 
 	if ( 'status' === $toggle ) {
@@ -1274,7 +1325,7 @@ function build_prompt_status() {
  * @param callable $args The closure that will produce the current interactive request arguments.
  */
 function slic_handle_build_prompt( callable $args ) {
-	$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+	$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$toggle            = $args( 'toggle', 'on' );
 
 	if ( 'status' === $toggle ) {
@@ -1313,7 +1364,7 @@ function is_interactive() {
  * @param callable $args The closure that will produce the current interactive request arguments.
  */
 function slic_handle_interactive( callable $args ) {
-	$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+	$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$toggle            = $args( 'toggle', 'on' );
 
 	if ( 'status' === $toggle ) {
@@ -1666,29 +1717,22 @@ function maybe_prompt_for_repo_update() {
 	$check_date     = null;
 	$cli_version    = CLI_VERSION;
 	$today          = date( 'Y-m-d' );
+	$data_dir       = slic_data_dir();
 
-	if ( is_file( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.remote-version' ) ) {
-		list( $check_date, $remote_version ) = explode( ':', file_get_contents( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.remote-version' ) );
+	if ( is_file( $data_dir . '/.remote-version' ) ) {
+		list( $check_date, $remote_version ) = explode( ':', file_get_contents( $data_dir . '/.remote-version' ) );
 	}
 
 	if ( empty( $remote_version ) || empty( $check_date ) || $today > $check_date ) {
-		$current_dir = getcwd();
-		chdir( SLIC_ROOT_DIR );
-
-		$tags = explode( "\n", shell_exec( 'git ls-remote --tags origin' ) );
+		$remote_version = fetch_latest_remote_version();
 
-		chdir( $current_dir );
-
-		foreach ( $tags as &$tag ) {
-			$tag_parts = explode( '/', $tag );
-			$tag       = array_pop( $tag_parts );
+		if ( null !== $remote_version ) {
+			file_put_contents( $data_dir . '/.remote-version', "{$today}:{$remote_version}" );
 		}
+	}
 
-		natsort( $tags );
-
-		$remote_version = array_pop( $tags );
-
-		file_put_contents( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.remote-version', "{$today}:{$remote_version}" );
+	if ( null === $remote_version ) {
+		return;
 	}
 
 	// If the version of the CLI is the same as the most recently built version, bail.
@@ -1703,19 +1747,76 @@ function maybe_prompt_for_repo_update() {
 	echo magenta( "****************************************************************" . PHP_EOL );
 }
 
+/**
+ * Fetches the latest remote version from git tags or GitHub Releases API.
+ *
+ * @return string|null The latest remote version, or null on failure.
+ */
+function fetch_latest_remote_version() {
+	if ( is_phar() ) {
+		return fetch_latest_github_release_version();
+	}
+
+	$current_dir = getcwd();
+	chdir( SLIC_ROOT_DIR );
+
+	$tags = explode( "\n", shell_exec( 'git ls-remote --tags origin' ) );
+
+	chdir( $current_dir );
+
+	foreach ( $tags as &$tag ) {
+		$tag_parts = explode( '/', $tag );
+		$tag       = array_pop( $tag_parts );
+	}
+
+	natsort( $tags );
+
+	return array_pop( $tags );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Fetches the latest release version from the GitHub Releases API.
+ *
+ * @return string|null The latest version tag, or null on failure.
+ */
+function fetch_latest_github_release_version() {
+	$context = stream_context_create( [
+		'http' => [
+			'method'  => 'GET',
+			'header'  => "User-Agent: slic-cli\r\nAccept: application/vnd.github.v3+json\r\n",
+			'timeout' => 5,
+		],
+	] );
+
+	$response = @file_get_contents( 'https://api.github.com/repos/stellarwp/slic/releases/latest', false, $context );
+
+	if ( false === $response ) {
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	$data = json_decode( $response, true );
+
+	if ( ! is_array( $data ) || empty( $data['tag_name'] ) ) {
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	return ltrim( $data['tag_name'], 'v' );
+}
+
 /**
  * If slic stack is out of date, prompt for an execution of slic update.
  */
 function maybe_prompt_for_stack_update() {
 	$build_version = '0.0.1';
 	$cli_version   = CLI_VERSION;
+	$data_dir      = slic_data_dir();
 
-	if ( is_file( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.build-version' ) ) {
-		$build_version = file_get_contents( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.build-version' );
+	if ( is_file( $data_dir . '/.build-version' ) ) {
+		$build_version = file_get_contents( $data_dir . '/.build-version' );
 	}
 
 	// If there isn't a .env.slic.run, this is likely a fresh install. Bail.
-	if ( ! file_exists( SLIC_ROOT_DIR . '/.env.slic.run' ) ) {
+	if ( ! file_exists( $data_dir . '/.env.slic.run' ) ) {
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -1743,7 +1844,7 @@ function maybe_prompt_for_stack_update() {
  * @param callable $args The closure that will produce the current subdirectories build arguments.
  */
 function slic_handle_build_subdir( callable $args ) {
-	$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+	$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$toggle            = $args( 'toggle', 'on' );
 
 	if ( 'status' === $toggle ) {
@@ -1889,8 +1990,9 @@ function collect_target_suites() {
  * @return bool Whether the current system is ARM-based, or not.
  */
 function is_arm64() {
-	$arm64_architecture_file = __DIR__ . '/../.architecture_arm64';
-	$x86_architecture_file   = __DIR__ . '/../.architecture_x86';
+	$data_dir                = slic_data_dir();
+	$arm64_architecture_file = $data_dir . '/.architecture_arm64';
+	$x86_architecture_file   = $data_dir . '/.architecture_x86';
 
 	if ( is_file( $arm64_architecture_file ) ) {
 		return true;
@@ -1951,7 +2053,7 @@ function setup_architecture_env() {
  * @return string The absolute path to the created directory or file.
  */
 function cache( $path = '/', $create = true ) {
-	$cache_root_dir = __DIR__ . '/../.cache';
+	$cache_root_dir = slic_data_dir() . '/.cache';
 
 	if ( ! is_dir( $cache_root_dir ) && ! mkdir( $cache_root_dir, 0755, true ) && ! is_dir( $cache_root_dir ) ) {
 		echo magenta( "Failed to create cache root directory {$cache_root_dir}." );
diff --git a/src/stacks.php b/src/stacks.php
index 5f0ee9d..d67f028 100644
--- a/src/stacks.php
+++ b/src/stacks.php
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
  * @return string The absolute path to the .env.slic.stacks file.
  */
 function slic_stacks_registry_file() {
-	return dirname(__DIR__) . '/.env.slic.stacks';
+	return slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.stacks';
 }
 
 /**
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ function slic_stacks_get_project_name($stack_id) {
  */
 function slic_stacks_get_state_file($stack_id) {
 	$hash = substr(md5($stack_id), 0, 8);
-	return dirname(__DIR__) . '/.env.slic.run.' . $hash;
+	return slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run.' . $hash;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -918,7 +918,7 @@ function slic_stacks_detect_worktree($path) {
  * @return bool True if migration was performed, false otherwise.
  */
 function slic_stacks_migrate_legacy() {
-	$root_dir = dirname( __DIR__ );
+	$root_dir = slic_data_dir();
 	$legacy_run_file = $root_dir . '/.env.slic.run';
 	$registry_file = slic_stacks_registry_file();
 
diff --git a/src/utils.php b/src/utils.php
index 35c0920..d9d9ede 100644
--- a/src/utils.php
+++ b/src/utils.php
@@ -733,7 +733,7 @@ function normalize_php_version( $version ) {
  */
 function get_stack_env_file( $stack_id = null ) {
 	if ( null === $stack_id ) {
-		return root( '.env.slic.run' );
+		return slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	}
 
 	// Load stacks.php functions if not already loaded
diff --git a/src/xdebug.php b/src/xdebug.php
index 496cb34..d6e395f 100644
--- a/src/xdebug.php
+++ b/src/xdebug.php
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ function slic_handle_xdebug( callable $args ) {
 		$run_settings_file = get_stack_env_file( $stack_id );
 	} else {
 		// Fall back to legacy file if no stack
-		$run_settings_file = root( '/.env.slic.run' );
+		$run_settings_file = slic_data_dir() . '/.env.slic.run';
 	}
 	$toggle = $args( 'toggle', 'on' );