diff --git a/src/instance/manager.ts b/src/instance/manager.ts
index 25624a8..abb17a9 100644
--- a/src/instance/manager.ts
+++ b/src/instance/manager.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { spawn, exec } from 'child_process';
 import { promisify } from 'util';
-import { access, mkdir, writeFile, readFile } from 'fs/promises';
+import { access, mkdir, writeFile, readFile, readdir, rmdir, unlink, stat } from 'fs/promises';
 import { join, dirname } from 'path';
 import { ConfigManager } from '../config/manager.js';
 import type { PostgreSQLInstanceConfig } from '../config/types.js';
@@ -252,14 +252,24 @@ export class InstanceManager {
       await access(dataDirectory);
       
       // Directory exists, check if it's empty
-      const { readdir } = await import('fs/promises');
       const files = await readdir(dataDirectory);
       
       if (files.length > 0) {
+        // Check if this looks like a partial pgforge installation
+        const isPartialInstallation = await this.detectPartialInstallation(dataDirectory, files);
+        
+        if (isPartialInstallation) {
+          // Automatically clean up partial installation
+          console.log(`Detected partial installation in '${dataDirectory}', cleaning up...`);
+          await this.cleanupDirectory(dataDirectory);
+          return;
+        }
+        
+        // Directory contains unrecognized files - require manual intervention
         throw new Error(
-          `Data directory '${dataDirectory}' exists but is not empty. ` +
-          `This may be from a previous failed installation. ` +
-          `Please remove the directory and try again: rm -rf "${dataDirectory}"`
+          `Data directory '${dataDirectory}' exists and contains files that don't appear to be from a failed pgforge installation. ` +
+          `Please manually review and remove the directory if safe: rm -rf "${dataDirectory}"\n` +
+          `Files found: ${files.slice(0, 5).join(', ')}${files.length > 5 ? ` (and ${files.length - 5} more)` : ''}`
         );
       }
     } catch (error: any) {
@@ -271,6 +281,95 @@ export class InstanceManager {
     }
   }
 
+  private async detectPartialInstallation(dataDirectory: string, files: string[]): Promise<boolean> {
+    // Files that indicate a PostgreSQL/pgforge installation attempt
+    const pgforgeIndicators = [
+      'postgresql.conf',
+      'pg_hba.conf',
+      'PG_VERSION',
+      'postmaster.pid',
+      'postmaster.opts',
+      'sockets',
+      'pg_stat',
+      'pg_xact',
+      'pg_wal',
+      'base',
+      'global',
+      'pg_tblspc'
+    ];
+
+    // Check if the directory contains only recognized PostgreSQL/pgforge files
+    const recognizedFiles = files.filter(file => 
+      pgforgeIndicators.some(indicator => file.startsWith(indicator))
+    );
+
+    // If most files are recognized as PostgreSQL-related, consider it a partial installation
+    const recognitionRatio = recognizedFiles.length / files.length;
+    
+    // Also check for specific pgforge markers
+    const hasPgforgeMarkers = files.some(file => 
+      file === 'postgresql.conf' || file === 'pg_hba.conf'
+    );
+
+    // If there's a postgresql.conf file, check if it contains pgforge signature
+    if (hasPgforgeMarkers) {
+      try {
+        const configPath = join(dataDirectory, 'postgresql.conf');
+        await access(configPath);
+        const configContent = await readFile(configPath, 'utf-8');
+        
+        // Check for pgforge signature in the config file
+        if (configContent.includes('PostgreSQL configuration generated by PgForge')) {
+          return true;
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // Ignore errors reading config file
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Consider it a partial installation if:
+    // 1. Most files are PostgreSQL-related (80% or more), OR
+    // 2. There are clear PostgreSQL indicators and few other files
+    return recognitionRatio >= 0.8 || (recognizedFiles.length >= 3 && files.length <= 10);
+  }
+
+  private async cleanupDirectory(dataDirectory: string): Promise<void> {
+    try {
+      // Recursively remove all contents of the directory
+      const files = await readdir(dataDirectory);
+      
+      for (const file of files) {
+        const filePath = join(dataDirectory, file);
+        const fileStat = await stat(filePath);
+        
+        if (fileStat.isDirectory()) {
+          await this.removeDirectoryRecursive(filePath);
+        } else {
+          await unlink(filePath);
+        }
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      throw new Error(`Failed to cleanup directory '${dataDirectory}': ${error}`);
+    }
+  }
+
+  private async removeDirectoryRecursive(dirPath: string): Promise<void> {
+    const files = await readdir(dirPath);
+    
+    for (const file of files) {
+      const filePath = join(dirPath, file);
+      const fileStat = await stat(filePath);
+      
+      if (fileStat.isDirectory()) {
+        await this.removeDirectoryRecursive(filePath);
+      } else {
+        await unlink(filePath);
+      }
+    }
+    
+    await rmdir(dirPath);
+  }
+
   private async generateConfigFiles(config: PostgreSQLInstanceConfig): Promise<void> {
     const configPath = join(config.spec.storage.dataDirectory, 'postgresql.conf');
     const hbaPath = join(config.spec.storage.dataDirectory, 'pg_hba.conf');