diff --git a/source/src/services.cpp b/source/src/services.cpp
index 1b66f57..69c650e 100644
--- a/source/src/services.cpp
+++ b/source/src/services.cpp
@@ -139,6 +139,8 @@ namespace dropshell
 
         { // determine if the service template hash matches the template hash.
             auto it = variables.find("TEMPLATE_HASH");
+            service.service_template_hash_match = false;
+
             if (it == variables.end())
                 error << "Variable TEMPLATE_HASH not found in the service " << filenames::template_info_env << " for "<<server_name << " - "<< service.template_name << std::endl;
             else if (tinfo.is_set())
@@ -148,12 +150,12 @@ namespace dropshell
                 if (!template_hash_str.empty())
                     service_template_hash = std::stoull(template_hash_str);
                 service.service_template_hash_match = (service_template_hash == tinfo.hash());
-                //debug << "Service template hash: " << service_template_hash << " == " << tinfo.hash() << std::endl;
+                debug << "Service template hash: " << service_template_hash << " == " << tinfo.hash() << std::endl;
             }
             else
             {
                 // Template not available yet, can't check hash
-                service.service_template_hash_match = false;
+                debug << "Couldn't check template hash as the template info is not available (yet?)" << std::endl;               
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/source/src/templates.cpp b/source/src/templates.cpp
index 6666a9b..e4af907 100644
--- a/source/src/templates.cpp
+++ b/source/src/templates.cpp
@@ -303,6 +303,40 @@
             // Clean up the .tgz file
             std::filesystem::remove(temp_tgz);
             
+            // Calculate actual hash of extracted template
+            uint64_t actual_hash = hash_directory_recursive(template_cache_dir.string());
+            
+            // Verify the extracted template hash matches what registry claimed
+            if (!registry_hash.empty()) {
+                // Convert registry hash string to uint64_t for comparison
+                uint64_t expected_hash = 0;
+                try {
+                    expected_hash = std::stoull(registry_hash);
+                } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+                    error << "Invalid hash format from registry: " << registry_hash << std::endl;
+                    std::filesystem::remove_all(template_cache_dir);
+                    return template_info();
+                }
+                
+                // Compare hashes
+                if (actual_hash != expected_hash) {
+                    error << "Template hash verification failed!" << std::endl;
+                    error << "Expected hash: " << expected_hash << std::endl;
+                    error << "Actual hash:   " << actual_hash << std::endl;
+                    error << "The downloaded template '" << template_name << "' may be corrupted or tampered with." << std::endl;
+                    
+                    // Remove the corrupted template
+                    std::filesystem::remove_all(template_cache_dir);
+                    return template_info();
+                }
+                
+                debug << "Template hash verified successfully: " << actual_hash << std::endl;
+            } else {
+                warning << "Registry did not provide hash for template '" << template_name << "' - calculating hash for future verification" << std::endl;
+                // Use the calculated hash for future comparisons
+                registry_hash = std::to_string(actual_hash);
+            }
+            
             // Generate .template_info.env if it doesn't exist
             std::filesystem::path template_info_env_path = template_cache_dir / "config" / filenames::template_info_env;
             if (!std::filesystem::exists(template_info_env_path)) {
@@ -316,9 +350,8 @@
                 info_file << "TEMPLATE_SOURCE=registry" << std::endl;
                 info_file << "TEMPLATE_REGISTRY=" << mRegistry.name << std::endl;
                 info_file << "TEMPLATE_VERSION=" << registry_version << std::endl;
-                if (!registry_hash.empty()) {
-                    info_file << "TEMPLATE_HASH=" << registry_hash << std::endl;
-                }
+                // Always write the actual calculated hash
+                info_file << "TEMPLATE_HASH=" << actual_hash << std::endl;
                 info_file.close();
             }
             
@@ -326,7 +359,7 @@
             nlohmann::json cache_json;
             cache_json["template"] = template_name;
             cache_json["version"] = registry_version;
-            cache_json["hash"] = registry_hash;
+            cache_json["hash"] = std::to_string(actual_hash);  // Store actual calculated hash
             cache_json["registry"] = mRegistry.name;
             cache_json["last_updated"] = std::chrono::system_clock::to_time_t(std::chrono::system_clock::now());