diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index b79735a..110f1e9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ defaults:
     shell: bash
 
 jobs:
-  test:
+  test-basic-setup:
     name: Test Setup ORAS CLI
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
@@ -56,3 +56,81 @@ jobs:
         echo ---
         read -ra ORAS_VERSION_INSTALLED <<<$(oras version)
         [ "${ORAS_VERSION_INSTALLED[1]}" == "$ORAS_VERSION_EXPECTED" ]
+
+  create-test-variables:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      url: ${{ steps.get-checksum-url.outputs.URL }}
+      checksum: ${{ steps.get-checksum-url.outputs.CHECKSUM }}
+    steps:
+      - id: checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - id: get-checksum-url
+        run: |
+          RELEASE=$(jq -r 'keys_unsorted[0] as $k | .[$k].linux.amd64' src/lib/data/releases.json)
+          echo "CHECKSUM=$(echo $RELEASE | jq -r '.checksum')" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "URL=$(echo $RELEASE | jq -r '.url')" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+  test-custom-url:
+    name: Test Setup using URL
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: create-test-variables
+    steps:
+    - name: Checkout
+      uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+    - name: Setup ORAS using URL
+      uses: ./
+      with:
+        url: ${{ needs.create-test-variables.outputs.url }}
+        checksum: ${{ needs.create-test-variables.outputs.checksum }}
+
+    - name: Setup ORAS using URL without checksum
+      id: no-checksum
+      continue-on-error: true
+      uses: ./
+      with:
+        url: ${{ needs.create-test-variables.outputs.url }}
+    - name: 'Should Fail: Setup ORAS using URL without checksum'
+      if: steps.no-checksum.outcome != 'failure'
+      run: |
+        echo "Setup ORAS using URL without checksum should fail, but succeeded."
+        exit 1
+    
+    - name: Setup ORAS using checksum without url
+      id: no-url
+      continue-on-error: true
+      uses: ./
+      with:
+        checksum: ${{ needs.create-test-variables.outputs.checksum }}
+    - name: 'Should Fail: Setup ORAS using checksum without url'
+      if: steps.no-url.outcome != 'failure'
+      run: |
+        echo "Setup ORAS using checksum without url should fail, but succeeded."
+        exit 1
+    
+    - name: Setup ORAS using URL and invalid checksum
+      id: invalid-checksum
+      continue-on-error: true
+      uses: ./
+      with:
+        url: ${{ needs.create-test-variables.outputs.url }}
+        checksum: abcedf
+    - name: 'Should Fail: Setup ORAS using URL and invalid checksum'
+      if: steps.invalid-checksum.outcome != 'failure'
+      run: |
+        echo "Setup ORAS using URL and invalid checksum should fail, but succeeded."
+        exit 1
+    
+    - name: Setup ORAS using invalid URL
+      id: invalid-url
+      continue-on-error: true
+      uses: ./
+      with:
+        url: invalid-url
+        checksum: test
+    - name: 'Should Fail: Setup ORAS using invalid URL'
+      if: steps.invalid-url.outcome != 'failure'
+      run: |
+        echo "Setup ORAS using invalid URL should fail, but succeeded."
+        exit 1
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index a75273e..a8099c0 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -18,9 +18,15 @@ branding:
   color: blue
 inputs:
   version:
-    description: Version of ORAS CLI to install
+    description: Version of the official ORAS CLI to install
     required: false
     default: 1.1.0
+  url:
+    description: URL of the customized ORAS CLI to install
+    required: false
+  checksum:
+    description: SHA256 of the customized ORAS CLI. Required if 'url' is present.
+    required: false
 runs:
   using: node20
   main: dist/index.js
diff --git a/dist/index.js b/dist/index.js
index c47bc41..9d20e09 100644
--- a/dist/index.js
+++ b/dist/index.js
@@ -6691,7 +6691,22 @@ exports.getBinaryExtension = exports.mapArch = exports.mapPlatform = exports.get
 const os = __importStar(__nccwpck_require__(2037));
 const releases_json_1 = __importDefault(__nccwpck_require__(2387));
 // Get release info of a certain verion of ORAS CLI
-function getReleaseInfo(version) {
+function getReleaseInfo(version, url, checksum) {
+    if (url && checksum) {
+        // if customized ORAS CLI link and checksum are provided, version is ignored
+        return {
+            checksum: checksum,
+            url: url
+        };
+    }
+    // sanity checks
+    if (url && !checksum) {
+        throw new Error("user provided url of customized ORAS CLI release but without SHA256 checksum");
+    }
+    if (!url && checksum) {
+        throw new Error("user provided SHA256 checksum but without url");
+    }
+    // get the official release
     const releases = releases_json_1.default;
     if (!(version in releases)) {
         console.log(`official ORAS CLI releases does not contain version ${version}`);
@@ -6808,19 +6823,21 @@ function setup() {
         try {
             // inputs from user
             const version = core.getInput('version');
+            const url = core.getInput('url');
+            const checksum = core.getInput('checksum').toLowerCase();
             // download ORAS CLI and validate checksum
-            const info = (0, release_1.getReleaseInfo)(version);
-            const url = info.url;
-            console.log(`downloading ORAS CLI from ${url}`);
-            const pathToTarball = yield tc.downloadTool(url);
+            const info = (0, release_1.getReleaseInfo)(version, url, checksum);
+            const download_url = info.url;
+            console.log(`downloading ORAS CLI from ${download_url}`);
+            const pathToTarball = yield tc.downloadTool(download_url);
             console.log("downloading ORAS CLI completed");
-            const checksum = yield (0, checksum_1.hash)(pathToTarball);
-            if (checksum !== info.checksum) {
-                throw new Error(`checksum of downloaded ORAS CLI ${checksum} does not match expected checksum ${info.checksum}`);
+            const actual_checksum = yield (0, checksum_1.hash)(pathToTarball);
+            if (actual_checksum !== info.checksum) {
+                throw new Error(`checksum of downloaded ORAS CLI ${actual_checksum} does not match expected checksum ${info.checksum}`);
             }
             console.log("successfully verified downloaded release checksum");
             // extract the tarball/zipball onto host runner
-            const extract = url.endsWith('.zip') ? tc.extractZip : tc.extractTar;
+            const extract = download_url.endsWith('.zip') ? tc.extractZip : tc.extractTar;
             const pathToCLI = yield extract(pathToTarball);
             // add `ORAS` to PATH
             core.addPath(pathToCLI);
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 6d1efd5..1ae01db 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,88 +1,121 @@
 {
   "name": "setup-oras",
   "version": "0.1.0",
-  "lockfileVersion": 1,
+  "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
-  "dependencies": {
-    "@actions/core": {
+  "packages": {
+    "": {
+      "name": "setup-oras",
+      "version": "0.1.0",
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@actions/core": "^1.10.0",
+        "@actions/tool-cache": "^2.0.1",
+        "@types/node": "^20.4.0",
+        "@vercel/ncc": "^0.36.1",
+        "typescript": "^5.2.2"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@actions/core": {
       "version": "1.10.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@actions/core/-/core-1.10.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-2aZDDa3zrrZbP5ZYg159sNoLRb61nQ7awl5pSvIq5Qpj81vwDzdMRKzkWJGJuwVvWpvZKx7vspJALyvaaIQyug==",
-      "requires": {
+      "dependencies": {
         "@actions/http-client": "^2.0.1",
         "uuid": "^8.3.2"
       }
     },
-    "@actions/exec": {
+    "node_modules/@actions/exec": {
       "version": "1.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@actions/exec/-/exec-1.1.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-+sCcHHbVdk93a0XT19ECtO/gIXoxvdsgQLzb2fE2/5sIZmWQuluYyjPQtrtTHdU1YzTZ7bAPN4sITq2xi1679w==",
-      "requires": {
+      "dependencies": {
         "@actions/io": "^1.0.1"
       }
     },
-    "@actions/http-client": {
+    "node_modules/@actions/http-client": {
       "version": "2.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@actions/http-client/-/http-client-2.1.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-qhrkRMB40bbbLo7gF+0vu+X+UawOvQQqNAA/5Unx774RS8poaOhThDOG6BGmxvAnxhQnDp2BG/ZUm65xZILTpw==",
-      "requires": {
+      "dependencies": {
         "tunnel": "^0.0.6"
       }
     },
-    "@actions/io": {
+    "node_modules/@actions/io": {
       "version": "1.1.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@actions/io/-/io-1.1.3.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-wi9JjgKLYS7U/z8PPbco+PvTb/nRWjeoFlJ1Qer83k/3C5PHQi28hiVdeE2kHXmIL99mQFawx8qt/JPjZilJ8Q=="
     },
-    "@actions/tool-cache": {
+    "node_modules/@actions/tool-cache": {
       "version": "2.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@actions/tool-cache/-/tool-cache-2.0.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-iPU+mNwrbA8jodY8eyo/0S/QqCKDajiR8OxWTnSk/SnYg0sj8Hp4QcUEVC1YFpHWXtrfbQrE13Jz4k4HXJQKcA==",
-      "requires": {
+      "dependencies": {
         "@actions/core": "^1.2.6",
         "@actions/exec": "^1.0.0",
         "@actions/http-client": "^2.0.1",
         "@actions/io": "^1.1.1",
         "semver": "^6.1.0",
         "uuid": "^3.3.2"
-      },
-      "dependencies": {
-        "uuid": {
-          "version": "3.4.0",
-          "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/uuid/-/uuid-3.4.0.tgz",
-          "integrity": "sha512-HjSDRw6gZE5JMggctHBcjVak08+KEVhSIiDzFnT9S9aegmp85S/bReBVTb4QTFaRNptJ9kuYaNhnbNEOkbKb/A=="
-        }
       }
     },
-    "@types/node": {
+    "node_modules/@actions/tool-cache/node_modules/uuid": {
+      "version": "3.4.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/uuid/-/uuid-3.4.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-HjSDRw6gZE5JMggctHBcjVak08+KEVhSIiDzFnT9S9aegmp85S/bReBVTb4QTFaRNptJ9kuYaNhnbNEOkbKb/A==",
+      "deprecated": "Please upgrade  to version 7 or higher.  Older versions may use Math.random() in certain circumstances, which is known to be problematic.  See https://v8.dev/blog/math-random for details.",
+      "bin": {
+        "uuid": "bin/uuid"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@types/node": {
       "version": "20.5.9",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/node/-/node-20.5.9.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-PcGNd//40kHAS3sTlzKB9C9XL4K0sTup8nbG5lC14kzEteTNuAFh9u5nA0o5TWnSG2r/JNPRXFVcHJIIeRlmqQ=="
     },
-    "@vercel/ncc": {
+    "node_modules/@vercel/ncc": {
       "version": "0.36.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@vercel/ncc/-/ncc-0.36.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-S4cL7Taa9yb5qbv+6wLgiKVZ03Qfkc4jGRuiUQMQ8HGBD5pcNRnHeYM33zBvJE4/zJGjJJ8GScB+WmTsn9mORw=="
+      "integrity": "sha512-S4cL7Taa9yb5qbv+6wLgiKVZ03Qfkc4jGRuiUQMQ8HGBD5pcNRnHeYM33zBvJE4/zJGjJJ8GScB+WmTsn9mORw==",
+      "bin": {
+        "ncc": "dist/ncc/cli.js"
+      }
     },
-    "semver": {
+    "node_modules/semver": {
       "version": "6.3.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/semver/-/semver-6.3.1.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-BR7VvDCVHO+q2xBEWskxS6DJE1qRnb7DxzUrogb71CWoSficBxYsiAGd+Kl0mmq/MprG9yArRkyrQxTO6XjMzA=="
+      "integrity": "sha512-BR7VvDCVHO+q2xBEWskxS6DJE1qRnb7DxzUrogb71CWoSficBxYsiAGd+Kl0mmq/MprG9yArRkyrQxTO6XjMzA==",
+      "bin": {
+        "semver": "bin/semver.js"
+      }
     },
-    "tunnel": {
+    "node_modules/tunnel": {
       "version": "0.0.6",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/tunnel/-/tunnel-0.0.6.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-1h/Lnq9yajKY2PEbBadPXj3VxsDDu844OnaAo52UVmIzIvwwtBPIuNvkjuzBlTWpfJyUbG3ez0KSBibQkj4ojg=="
+      "integrity": "sha512-1h/Lnq9yajKY2PEbBadPXj3VxsDDu844OnaAo52UVmIzIvwwtBPIuNvkjuzBlTWpfJyUbG3ez0KSBibQkj4ojg==",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=0.6.11 <=0.7.0 || >=0.7.3"
+      }
     },
-    "typescript": {
+    "node_modules/typescript": {
       "version": "5.2.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/typescript/-/typescript-5.2.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-mI4WrpHsbCIcwT9cF4FZvr80QUeKvsUsUvKDoR+X/7XHQH98xYD8YHZg7ANtz2GtZt/CBq2QJ0thkGJMHfqc1w=="
+      "integrity": "sha512-mI4WrpHsbCIcwT9cF4FZvr80QUeKvsUsUvKDoR+X/7XHQH98xYD8YHZg7ANtz2GtZt/CBq2QJ0thkGJMHfqc1w==",
+      "bin": {
+        "tsc": "bin/tsc",
+        "tsserver": "bin/tsserver"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=14.17"
+      }
     },
-    "uuid": {
+    "node_modules/uuid": {
       "version": "8.3.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/uuid/-/uuid-8.3.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-+NYs2QeMWy+GWFOEm9xnn6HCDp0l7QBD7ml8zLUmJ+93Q5NF0NocErnwkTkXVFNiX3/fpC6afS8Dhb/gz7R7eg=="
+      "integrity": "sha512-+NYs2QeMWy+GWFOEm9xnn6HCDp0l7QBD7ml8zLUmJ+93Q5NF0NocErnwkTkXVFNiX3/fpC6afS8Dhb/gz7R7eg==",
+      "bin": {
+        "uuid": "dist/bin/uuid"
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/release.ts b/src/lib/release.ts
index c0c0a89..c67c233 100644
--- a/src/lib/release.ts
+++ b/src/lib/release.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,24 @@ interface releases {
 }
 
 // Get release info of a certain verion of ORAS CLI
-export function getReleaseInfo(version: string) {
+export function getReleaseInfo(version: string, url: string, checksum: string) {
+    if (url && checksum) {
+        // if customized ORAS CLI link and checksum are provided, version is ignored
+        return {
+            checksum: checksum, 
+            url: url
+        } 
+    }
+
+    // sanity checks
+    if (url && !checksum) {
+        throw new Error("user provided url of customized ORAS CLI release but without SHA256 checksum");
+    }
+    if (!url && checksum) {
+        throw new Error("user provided SHA256 checksum but without url");
+    }
+
+    // get the official release
     const releases = releaseJson as releases;
     if (!(version in releases)) {
         console.log(`official ORAS CLI releases does not contain version ${version}`)
diff --git a/src/setup.ts b/src/setup.ts
index f40f508..cfec8a5 100644
--- a/src/setup.ts
+++ b/src/setup.ts
@@ -21,21 +21,23 @@ async function setup(): Promise<void> {
   try {
     // inputs from user
     const version: string = core.getInput('version');
+    const url: string = core.getInput('url');
+    const checksum = core.getInput('checksum').toLowerCase();
 
     // download ORAS CLI and validate checksum
-    const info = getReleaseInfo(version);
-    const url = info.url;
-    console.log(`downloading ORAS CLI from ${url}`);
-    const pathToTarball: string = await tc.downloadTool(url);
+    const info = getReleaseInfo(version, url, checksum);
+    const download_url = info.url;
+    console.log(`downloading ORAS CLI from ${download_url}`);
+    const pathToTarball: string = await tc.downloadTool(download_url);
     console.log("downloading ORAS CLI completed");
-    const checksum = await hash(pathToTarball);
-    if (checksum !== info.checksum) {
-      throw new Error(`checksum of downloaded ORAS CLI ${checksum} does not match expected checksum ${info.checksum}`);
+    const actual_checksum = await hash(pathToTarball);
+    if (actual_checksum !== info.checksum) {
+      throw new Error(`checksum of downloaded ORAS CLI ${actual_checksum} does not match expected checksum ${info.checksum}`);
     }
     console.log("successfully verified downloaded release checksum");
 
     // extract the tarball/zipball onto host runner
-    const extract = url.endsWith('.zip') ? tc.extractZip : tc.extractTar;
+    const extract = download_url.endsWith('.zip') ? tc.extractZip : tc.extractTar;
     const pathToCLI: string = await extract(pathToTarball);
 
     // add `ORAS` to PATH