diff --git a/content/download-stats.html b/content/download-stats.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9732b600
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/download-stats.html
@@ -0,0 +1,525 @@
+---
+title: JBang Download Stats
+tagline: GitHub release download statistics for jbangdev/jbang
+link: /usage/downloads/
+layout: splash
+---
+
+{|
+<div class="dlstats-root">
+  <h1>JBang Download Stats</h1>
+
+  <p>
+    Live download statistics for
+    <a href="https://github.com/jbangdev/jbang/releases">jbangdev/jbang</a>
+    GitHub releases, fetched straight from the
+    <a href="https://docs.github.com/en/rest/releases">GitHub Releases API</a>
+    in your browser (inspired by <a href="https://github.com/HanaDigital/grev">grev</a>).
+  </p>
+
+  <p class="dlstats-note">
+    Two things are done differently here:
+    <strong><code>version.txt</code> is separated out</strong> &mdash; it is the tiny file
+    JBang downloads on every
+    <a href="https://www.jbang.dev/documentation/guide/latest/installation.html#version-check">update check</a>,
+    so its count dwarfs real installs and would otherwise skew the picture &mdash; and the
+    <strong>x-axis follows real time</strong> (each release sits at its actual publish date),
+    not evenly spaced release tags, so bursts and quiet periods show honestly.
+  </p>
+
+  <div id="dlstats-status" class="dlstats-status">Loading release data from GitHub&hellip;</div>
+
+  <div id="dlstats-body" hidden>
+
+    <!-- KPI tiles - ordered small to big left to right -->
+    <div class="dlstats-tiles">
+      <div class="tile">
+        <span class="tile-value" id="kpi-releases">&ndash;</span>
+        <span class="tile-label">Releases</span>
+        <span class="tile-sub" id="kpi-span">&nbsp;</span>
+      </div>
+      <div class="tile">
+        <span class="tile-value" id="kpi-latest-dl">&ndash;</span>
+        <span class="tile-label">Latest release</span>
+        <span class="tile-sub" id="kpi-latest-info">&nbsp;</span>
+      </div>
+      <div class="tile">
+        <span class="tile-value" id="kpi-checks">&ndash;</span>
+        <span class="tile-label">version.txt checks</span>
+        <span class="tile-sub">update-check pings</span>
+      </div>
+      <div class="tile">
+        <span class="tile-value" id="kpi-installs">&ndash;</span>
+        <span class="tile-label">Installer downloads</span>
+        <span class="tile-sub">.zip / .tar binaries</span>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+
+    <!-- controls -->
+    <div class="dlstats-controls">
+      <label><input type="checkbox" id="opt-prereleases"> Include pre-releases</label>
+      <label><input type="checkbox" id="opt-log"> Logarithmic y-axis</label>
+      <label><input type="checkbox" id="opt-dates"> Dates on x-axis</label>
+      <button id="opt-refresh" type="button">Refresh from GitHub</button>
+      <span id="dlstats-cache" class="dlstats-cache"></span>
+    </div>
+
+    <!-- installer downloads over time -->
+    <section class="dlstats-chart">
+      <h2>Installer downloads per release <small>(real installs)</small></h2>
+      <p class="chart-caption">
+        Total downloads each release's binary artifacts have accumulated to date, placed at the
+        moment the release was published. Signatures (<code>.asc</code>), checksums and
+        <code>version.txt</code> are excluded.
+      </p>
+      <div class="chart-holder"><canvas id="chart-installs"></canvas></div>
+    </section>
+
+    <!-- version.txt over time (the separated-out series) -->
+    <section class="dlstats-chart">
+      <h2>version.txt update-checks per release <small>(separated out)</small></h2>
+      <p class="chart-caption">
+        Downloads of the <code>version.txt</code> asset &mdash; overwhelmingly automated update
+        checks, not installs. Shown on its own axis so it never distorts the installer chart above.
+      </p>
+      <div class="chart-holder"><canvas id="chart-checks"></canvas></div>
+    </section>
+
+    <!-- table view (accessibility / detail) -->
+    <section class="dlstats-chart">
+      <h2>Per-release detail</h2>
+      <div class="table-scroll">
+        <table id="dlstats-table">
+          <thead>
+            <tr>
+              <th>Release</th>
+              <th>Published</th>
+              <th class="num">Installers</th>
+              <th class="num">version.txt</th>
+              <th class="num">Checksums / sigs</th>
+              <th class="num">Total</th>
+            </tr>
+          </thead>
+          <tbody></tbody>
+        </table>
+      </div>
+    </section>
+
+    <p class="dlstats-note">
+      Note: GitHub reports each asset's <em>cumulative</em> download count to date, so a bar shows
+      a release's lifetime downloads positioned at its publish date &mdash; not activity within that
+      period. Data is cached in your browser for a few hours to stay within the GitHub API rate limit.
+    </p>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<style>
+.dlstats-root {
+  /* dataviz reference palette (validated) */
+  --surface-1:      #fcfcfb;
+  --page-plane:     #f9f9f7;
+  --text-primary:   #0b0b0b;
+  --text-secondary: #52514e;
+  --text-muted:     #898781;
+  --grid:           #e1e0d9;
+  --axis:           #c3c2b7;
+  --series-install: #2a78d6; /* blue  */
+  --series-check:   #eb6834; /* orange */
+  --border:         rgba(11,11,11,0.10);
+  max-width: 980px;
+  margin: 0 auto;
+}
+@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
+  .dlstats-root {
+    --surface-1:      #1a1a19;
+    --page-plane:     #0d0d0d;
+    --text-primary:   #ffffff;
+    --text-secondary: #c3c2b7;
+    --text-muted:     #898781;
+    --grid:           #2c2c2a;
+    --axis:           #383835;
+    --series-install: #3987e5;
+    --series-check:   #d95926;
+    --border:         rgba(255,255,255,0.10);
+  }
+}
+.dlstats-root p { color: var(--text-secondary); line-height: 1.55; }
+.dlstats-note { font-size: 0.9em; }
+.dlstats-status { padding: 24px; text-align: center; color: var(--text-secondary); }
+.dlstats-status.error { color: #d03b3b; }
+
+.dlstats-tiles {
+  display: flex;
+  gap: 30px;
+  background-color: #fff;
+  padding: 20px;
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  box-shadow: 0 4px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
+  margin: 24px 0;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
+  .dlstats-tiles {
+    background-color: var(--surface-1);
+    box-shadow: 0 4px 8px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);
+  }
+}
+.tile {
+  text-align: center;
+  flex: 1;
+  min-width: 120px;
+  padding: 10px 15px;
+}
+.tile + .tile {
+  border-left: 1px solid #e0e0e0;
+}
+@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
+  .tile + .tile { border-left-color: #333; }
+}
+.tile-value {
+  font-size: 2em;
+  font-weight: bold;
+  color: #4a90e2;
+  line-height: 1.1;
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.tile-label { display: block; margin-top: 8px; font-size: 1em; color: #666; text-transform: uppercase; }
+.tile-sub   { font-size: 0.8em; color: var(--text-muted); }
+
+.dlstats-controls {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 18px;
+  margin: 8px 0 28px;
+  font-size: 0.92em;
+  color: var(--text-secondary);
+}
+.dlstats-controls label { cursor: pointer; user-select: none; }
+.dlstats-controls button {
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  background: var(--surface-1);
+  color: var(--text-primary);
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  padding: 6px 12px;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.dlstats-controls button:hover { background: var(--page-plane); }
+.dlstats-cache { color: var(--text-muted); font-size: 0.85em; }
+
+.dlstats-chart { margin: 32px 0; }
+.dlstats-chart h2 { margin-bottom: 4px; color: var(--text-primary); }
+.dlstats-chart h2 small { font-weight: 400; color: var(--text-muted); font-size: 0.6em; }
+.chart-caption { font-size: 0.88em; margin-top: 0; }
+.chart-holder { position: relative; height: 340px; }
+
+.table-scroll { overflow-x: auto; }
+#dlstats-table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 0.9em; }
+#dlstats-table th, #dlstats-table td {
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--grid);
+  padding: 7px 10px;
+  text-align: left;
+  color: var(--text-secondary);
+}
+#dlstats-table th { color: var(--text-primary); }
+#dlstats-table td.num, #dlstats-table th.num { text-align: right; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
+#dlstats-table tbody tr:hover { background: var(--page-plane); }
+</style>
+
+<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js@4.4.4/dist/chart.umd.min.js"></script>
+<!-- date adapter not needed: using category axis with tag labels for visible bars -->
+<script>
+(function () {
+  "use strict";
+
+  var OWNER = "jbangdev", REPO = "jbang";
+  var CACHE_KEY = "jbang-dlstats:" + OWNER + "/" + REPO;
+  var CACHE_TTL_MS = 6 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 6 hours
+
+  var css = getComputedStyle(document.querySelector(".dlstats-root"));
+  var COLOR = {
+    install: css.getPropertyValue("--series-install").trim() || "#2a78d6",
+    check:   css.getPropertyValue("--series-check").trim()   || "#eb6834",
+    grid:    css.getPropertyValue("--grid").trim()           || "#e1e0d9",
+    axis:    css.getPropertyValue("--axis").trim()           || "#c3c2b7",
+    text:    css.getPropertyValue("--text-secondary").trim() || "#52514e",
+    muted:   css.getPropertyValue("--text-muted").trim()     || "#898781"
+  };
+
+  var statusEl = document.getElementById("dlstats-status");
+  var bodyEl   = document.getElementById("dlstats-body");
+  var cacheEl  = document.getElementById("dlstats-cache");
+
+  // --- asset classification ------------------------------------------------
+  function classify(name) {
+    if (name === "version.txt") return "check";
+    if (/\.(asc|sha256|sig)$/i.test(name)) return "sig";
+    if (/^checksums/i.test(name)) return "sig";
+    if (/version\.txt\.(asc|sha256)$/i.test(name)) return "sig";
+    return "install";
+  }
+
+  function summarize(release) {
+    var installs = 0, checks = 0, sigs = 0;
+    (release.assets || []).forEach(function (a) {
+      var kind = classify(a.name);
+      if (kind === "install") installs += a.download_count;
+      else if (kind === "check") checks += a.download_count;
+      else sigs += a.download_count;
+    });
+    return {
+      tag: release.tag_name,
+      name: release.name || release.tag_name,
+      prerelease: !!release.prerelease,
+      published: release.published_at || release.created_at,
+      url: release.html_url,
+      installs: installs,
+      checks: checks,
+      sigs: sigs
+    };
+  }
+
+  // --- data fetching (paginated + cached) ----------------------------------
+  function readCache() {
+    try {
+      var raw = localStorage.getItem(CACHE_KEY);
+      if (!raw) return null;
+      var obj = JSON.parse(raw);
+      if (!obj || !obj.at || !Array.isArray(obj.releases)) return null;
+      return obj;
+    } catch (e) { return null; }
+  }
+  function writeCache(releases) {
+    try {
+      localStorage.setItem(CACHE_KEY, JSON.stringify({ at: Date.now(), releases: releases }));
+    } catch (e) { /* ignore quota */ }
+  }
+
+  function fetchAllReleases() {
+    var out = [];
+    function page(p) {
+      var url = "https://api.github.com/repos/" + OWNER + "/" + REPO +
+                "/releases?per_page=100&page=" + p;
+      return fetch(url, { headers: { "Accept": "application/vnd.github+json" } })
+        .then(function (res) {
+          if (res.status === 403 || res.status === 429) {
+            var err = new Error("rate-limited"); err.rate = true; throw err;
+          }
+          if (!res.ok) throw new Error("GitHub API error " + res.status);
+          return res.json();
+        })
+        .then(function (batch) {
+          out = out.concat(batch.map(summarize));
+          if (batch.length === 100 && p < 20) return page(p + 1);
+          return out;
+        });
+    }
+    return page(1);
+  }
+
+  function ageText(at) {
+    var mins = Math.round((Date.now() - at) / 60000);
+    if (mins < 1) return "just now";
+    if (mins < 60) return mins + " min ago";
+    var hrs = Math.round(mins / 60);
+    return hrs + " h ago";
+  }
+
+  // --- state / rendering ---------------------------------------------------
+  var ALL = [];           // all releases (summarized), newest first from API
+  var installChart, checkChart;
+
+  function activeReleases() {
+    var includePre = document.getElementById("opt-prereleases").checked;
+    return ALL
+      .filter(function (r) { return r.published && (includePre || !r.prerelease); })
+      .slice()
+      .sort(function (a, b) { return new Date(a.published) - new Date(b.published); });
+  }
+
+  var fmt = function (n) { return n.toLocaleString(); };
+
+  function animateCount(el, target) {
+    var current = 0;
+    var increment = target / 200;
+    function step() {
+      current += increment;
+      if (current < target) {
+        el.textContent = Math.ceil(current).toLocaleString();
+        setTimeout(step, 20);
+      } else {
+        el.textContent = target.toLocaleString();
+      }
+    }
+    step();
+  }
+
+  function renderKPIs(rows) {
+    var installs = 0, checks = 0;
+    rows.forEach(function (r) { installs += r.installs; checks += r.checks; });
+    animateCount(document.getElementById("kpi-installs"), installs);
+    animateCount(document.getElementById("kpi-checks"), checks);
+    animateCount(document.getElementById("kpi-releases"), rows.length);
+    if (rows.length) {
+      var first = rows[0], last = rows[rows.length - 1];
+      document.getElementById("kpi-span").textContent =
+        new Date(first.published).getFullYear() + "–" + new Date(last.published).getFullYear();
+      animateCount(document.getElementById("kpi-latest-dl"), last.installs);
+      document.getElementById("kpi-latest-info").textContent =
+        last.tag + " \u00b7 " + new Date(last.published).toLocaleDateString();
+    }
+  }
+
+  function makeBarChart(canvasId, rows, valueKey, label, color) {
+    var logEl = document.getElementById("opt-log");
+    var useDates = document.getElementById("opt-dates").checked;
+    var tags = rows.map(function (r) { return r.tag; });
+    var dateLabels = rows.map(function (r) {
+      var d = new Date(r.published);
+      var months = ["Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"];
+      return months[d.getMonth()] + " " + String(d.getFullYear()).slice(-2);
+    });
+    var labels = useDates ? dateLabels : tags;
+    var data = rows.map(function (r) { return r[valueKey]; });
+    var dates = rows.map(function (r) { return r.published; });
+    return new Chart(document.getElementById(canvasId), {
+      type: "line",
+      data: {
+        labels: labels,
+        datasets: [{
+          label: label,
+          data: data,
+          backgroundColor: color + "55",
+          borderColor: color,
+          borderWidth: 1.5,
+          fill: true,
+          tension: 0.3,
+          pointRadius: 0,
+          pointHitRadius: 8,
+          pointHoverRadius: 4
+        }]
+      },
+      options: {
+        responsive: true,
+        maintainAspectRatio: false,
+        animation: false,
+        scales: {
+          x: {
+            grid: { color: COLOR.grid },
+            border: { color: COLOR.axis },
+            ticks: {
+              color: COLOR.muted,
+              maxRotation: 45,
+              autoSkip: true,
+              maxTicksLimit: 20,
+              callback: function (val, idx) {
+                return labels[idx];
+              }
+            }
+          },
+          y: {
+            type: logEl.checked ? "logarithmic" : "linear",
+            beginAtZero: !logEl.checked,
+            grid: { color: COLOR.grid },
+            border: { color: COLOR.axis },
+            ticks: { color: COLOR.muted, callback: function (v) { return Number(v).toLocaleString(); } }
+          }
+        },
+        plugins: {
+          legend: { display: false },
+          tooltip: {
+            callbacks: {
+              title: function (items) {
+                var idx = items[0].dataIndex;
+                return tags[idx] + " · " + new Date(dates[idx]).toLocaleDateString();
+              },
+              label: function (item) {
+                return label + ": " + Number(item.raw).toLocaleString();
+              }
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
+  function renderTable(rows) {
+    var tbody = document.querySelector("#dlstats-table tbody");
+    tbody.innerHTML = "";
+    // newest first for the table
+    rows.slice().reverse().forEach(function (r) {
+      var tr = document.createElement("tr");
+      var total = r.installs + r.checks + r.sigs;
+      tr.innerHTML =
+        '<td><a href="' + r.url + '">' + r.tag + '</a>' + (r.prerelease ? ' <em>(pre)</em>' : '') + '</td>' +
+        '<td>' + new Date(r.published).toLocaleDateString() + '</td>' +
+        '<td class="num">' + fmt(r.installs) + '</td>' +
+        '<td class="num">' + fmt(r.checks) + '</td>' +
+        '<td class="num">' + fmt(r.sigs) + '</td>' +
+        '<td class="num">' + fmt(total) + '</td>';
+      tbody.appendChild(tr);
+    });
+  }
+
+  function renderAll() {
+    var rows = activeReleases();
+    renderKPIs(rows);
+    renderTable(rows);
+    if (installChart) installChart.destroy();
+    if (checkChart) checkChart.destroy();
+    installChart = makeBarChart("chart-installs", rows, "installs", "Installer downloads", COLOR.install);
+    checkChart   = makeBarChart("chart-checks", rows, "checks", "version.txt checks", COLOR.check);
+  }
+
+  function showData(releases, cachedAt) {
+    ALL = releases;
+    statusEl.hidden = true;
+    bodyEl.hidden = false;
+    cacheEl.textContent = cachedAt ? ("cached " + ageText(cachedAt)) : "";
+    renderAll();
+  }
+
+  function loadFromGitHub() {
+    statusEl.hidden = false;
+    statusEl.classList.remove("error");
+    statusEl.textContent = "Loading release data from GitHub…";
+    bodyEl.hidden = true;
+    fetchAllReleases()
+      .then(function (releases) {
+        writeCache(releases);
+        showData(releases, Date.now());
+      })
+      .catch(function (err) {
+        var cached = readCache();
+        if (cached) {
+          showData(cached.releases, cached.at);
+          cacheEl.textContent = "GitHub unavailable – showing cached data (" + ageText(cached.at) + ")";
+        } else {
+          statusEl.classList.add("error");
+          statusEl.textContent = err && err.rate
+            ? "GitHub API rate limit reached (60 requests/hour for anonymous users). Please try again later."
+            : "Could not load release data: " + (err ? err.message : "unknown error");
+        }
+      });
+  }
+
+  // wire controls
+  document.getElementById("opt-prereleases").addEventListener("change", renderAll);
+  document.getElementById("opt-log").addEventListener("change", renderAll);
+  document.getElementById("opt-dates").addEventListener("change", renderAll);
+  document.getElementById("opt-refresh").addEventListener("click", function () {
+    try { localStorage.removeItem(CACHE_KEY); } catch (e) {}
+    loadFromGitHub();
+  });
+
+  // boot: use fresh cache if available, else fetch
+  var cached = readCache();
+  if (cached && (Date.now() - cached.at) < CACHE_TTL_MS) {
+    showData(cached.releases, cached.at);
+  } else {
+    loadFromGitHub();
+  }
+})();
+</script>
+|}
diff --git a/content/leaderboard.html b/content/leaderboard.html
index bea4f77c..bb32ab65 100644
--- a/content/leaderboard.html
+++ b/content/leaderboard.html
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@
 <h1>JBang Usage Leaderboard</h1>
 
 <p>This is a work in progress. The data is collected from the JBang version checking <a href="https://www.jbang.dev/documentation/guide/latest/installation.html#version-check">here</a>.</p>
+<p>See also the <a href="/usage/downloads/">GitHub release download stats</a> (installers vs. <code>version.txt</code> update-checks, over time).</p>
 <p>The data is updated once a day. It will show data for maximum last 3 months, starting from 2024-10-19.</p>
 <p>% is calculated as unique per approximate location info used for the http request. Meaning if the same approximate area makes multiple requests using the same version/country it is counted only once.</p>
 <p>NOTE: The data is an approximation. This is not seeing all invocations, just those that reach the version check endpoint. Meaning nothing behind proxies, nothing that runs jbang very fast (as in no time to do an update check) or just don't do an update check. The total count is unknowingly higher - thus just use this as a interesting data point - mainly for fun!</p>
diff --git a/content/usage.html b/content/usage.html
index 6a8554fe..19556f9c 100644
--- a/content/usage.html
+++ b/content/usage.html
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ <h1>JBangUsage</h1>
         version checks
     </a> done by JBang users the last 90 days.</p>
 
-<p>You can find some other fun stats in the <a href="/usage/leaderboard/">Leaderboards</a>.</p>
+<p>You can find some other fun stats in the <a href="/usage/leaderboard/">Leaderboards</a>
+    and <a href="/usage/downloads/">GitHub download stats</a>.</p>
 
 <div class="counters">
     <div class="counter">