diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 5330806f..a5e2c254 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -215,12 +215,17 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        # TODO(#592): revisit when the sdk<->compliance_tool version pinning is fixed.
+        # Need tags so setuptools_scm builds the local sdk as >=1.0.0, else the loose
+        # `basyx-python-sdk>=1.0.0` pin lets pip replace it with the PyPI release.
+        fetch-depth: 0
     - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
         python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
     - name: Install Python dependencies
-      # install the local sdk in editable mode so it does not get overwritten
+      # install the local sdk first so its version satisfies the >=1.0.0 pin and pip keeps it instead of PyPI
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
         python -m pip install ../sdk
@@ -242,12 +247,17 @@ jobs:
         working-directory: ./compliance_tool
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        # TODO(#592): revisit when the sdk<->compliance_tool version pinning is fixed.
+        # Need tags so setuptools_scm builds the local sdk as >=1.0.0, else the loose
+        # `basyx-python-sdk>=1.0.0` pin lets pip replace it with the PyPI release.
+        fetch-depth: 0
     - name: Set up Python ${{ env.X_PYTHON_MIN_VERSION }}
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
         python-version: ${{ env.X_PYTHON_MIN_VERSION }}
     - name: Install Python dependencies
-      # install the local sdk in editable mode so it does not get overwritten
+      # install the local sdk first so its version satisfies the >=1.0.0 pin and pip keeps it instead of PyPI
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
         python -m pip install ../sdk
diff --git a/compliance_tool/README.md b/compliance_tool/README.md
index 185e157a..be49156a 100644
--- a/compliance_tool/README.md
+++ b/compliance_tool/README.md
@@ -10,6 +10,38 @@ Shell elements
 * check if the data in a given xml, json or aasx file is the same as the example data
 * check if two given xml, json or aasx files contain the same Asset Administration Shell elements in any order 
 
+## Installation
+
+### Default installation
+Install the latest release from PyPI:
+
+```bash
+pip install basyx-compliance-tool
+```
+
+### Developer installation
+When working from a checkout of this repository, install the sibling SDK from the source tree *first*, then the 
+compliance tool:
+
+```bash
+pip install ./sdk
+pip install ./compliance_tool
+```
+
+Installing the local SDK first is what lets the tool check against your in-development metamodel: `pip` keeps the 
+already-installed local SDK instead of pulling a release from PyPI.
+
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> The compliance checks are only as current as the installed `basyx-python-sdk` — the tool reports compliance against 
+> whatever metamodel version that SDK implements, not against the version named in this README. Because the dependency 
+> is currently declared loosely (`basyx-python-sdk>=1.0.0`), `pip` will **not** replace an SDK that is already installed 
+> and satisfies that constraint, even if it is older than the one you intend to test against. This happens silently, with 
+> no error. To be sure you are checking against the intended metamodel, install or upgrade the SDK explicitly, e.g. the 
+> local source tree with `pip install ./sdk` or a specific release with `pip install --upgrade "basyx-python-sdk==2.1.0"`.
+>
+> This manual version matching is a temporary workaround; see #592.
+
+## Usage
 Invoking should work with either `python -m aas_compliance_tool.cli` or (when installed correctly and PATH is set 
 correctly) with `aas-compliance-check` on the command line.
 
diff --git a/compliance_tool/pyproject.toml b/compliance_tool/pyproject.toml
index 6ae3cd27..64f8adf8 100644
--- a/compliance_tool/pyproject.toml
+++ b/compliance_tool/pyproject.toml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
     "pyecma376-2>=0.2.4",
     "jsonschema>=4.21.1",
-    "basyx-python-sdk @ file:../sdk",
+    "basyx-python-sdk>=1.0.0",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ dev = [
 [project.urls]
 "Homepage" = "https://github.com/eclipse-basyx/basyx-python-sdk"
 
+[project.scripts]
+aas-compliance-check = "aas_compliance_tool.cli:main"
+
 [tool.setuptools]
 packages = { find = { include = ["aas_compliance_tool*"], exclude = ["test*"] } }