diff --git a/go/cli/cmd/kagent/main.go b/go/cli/cmd/kagent/main.go
index 3dc4efd84..8a40533b0 100644
--- a/go/cli/cmd/kagent/main.go
+++ b/go/cli/cmd/kagent/main.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
 	"syscall"
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/kagent-dev/kagent/go/cli/internal/profiles"
 	"github.com/kagent-dev/kagent/go/cli/internal/tui"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 )
 
 func main() {
@@ -46,6 +48,12 @@ func main() {
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&cfg.OutputFormat, "output-format", "o", "table", "Output format")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&cfg.Verbose, "verbose", "v", false, "Verbose output")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().DurationVar(&cfg.Timeout, "timeout", 300*time.Second, "Timeout")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&cfg.Registry, "registry", "localhost:5001", "Default registry for local builds")
+
+	if err := viper.BindPFlag("registry", rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("registry")); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to bind pflag: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	installCfg := &cli.InstallCfg{
 		Config: cfg,
 	}
@@ -421,6 +429,24 @@ Examples:
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
+	finalCfg, err := config.Get()
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error loading final config: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	cfg = finalCfg
+	if buildCfg != nil {
+		buildCfg.Registry = cfg.Registry
+	}
+	if deployCfg != nil {
+		deployCfg.Registry = cfg.Registry
+	}
+	if runCfg != nil {
+		runCfg.Registry = cfg.Registry
+	}
+
+
 	if err := rootCmd.ExecuteContext(ctx); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
 
diff --git a/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/build.go b/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/build.go
index 6da7474c8..fb8c3f199 100644
--- a/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/build.go
+++ b/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/build.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ type BuildCfg struct {
 	Platform       string
 	Config         *config.Config
 	SkipMCPServers bool
+	Registry 	   string
 }
 
 // BuildCmd builds a Docker image for an agent project
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ func constructImageName(cfg *BuildCfg) string {
 	}
 
 	// Construct full image name using common utility
-	return commonimage.ConstructImageName(cfg.Image, agentName)
+	return commonimage.ConstructImageName(cfg.Image, agentName, cfg.Registry)
 }
 
 // getAgentNameFromManifest attempts to load the agent name from kagent.yaml
@@ -202,5 +203,5 @@ func constructMcpServerImageName(cfg *BuildCfg, serverName string) string {
 	if agentName == "" {
 		agentName = filepath.Base(cfg.ProjectDir)
 	}
-	return commonimage.ConstructMCPServerImageName(agentName, serverName)
+	return commonimage.ConstructMCPServerImageName(agentName, serverName, cfg.Registry)
 }
diff --git a/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/deploy.go b/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/deploy.go
index 87b783688..f8373cf67 100644
--- a/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/deploy.go
+++ b/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/deploy.go
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ type DeployCfg struct {
 
 	// DryRun when true, outputs YAML manifests without actually creating resources
 	DryRun bool
+
+	Registry string
 }
 
 // DeployCmd deploys an agent to Kubernetes
@@ -645,7 +647,7 @@ func createOrUpdateSecret(ctx context.Context, k8sClient client.Client, secret *
 
 // createAgentCRD creates or updates the Agent CRD
 func createAgentCRD(ctx context.Context, k8sClient client.Client, cfg *DeployCfg, manifest *common.AgentManifest, envData *envFileData, verbose bool) error {
-	imageName := determineImageName(cfg.Image, manifest.Name)
+	imageName := determineImageName(cfg.Image, manifest.Name, cfg.Config.Registry)
 	agent := buildAgentCRD(cfg.Config.Namespace, manifest, imageName, envData)
 
 	// In dry-run mode, just output the YAML
@@ -658,8 +660,8 @@ func createAgentCRD(ctx context.Context, k8sClient client.Client, cfg *DeployCfg
 }
 
 // determineImageName returns the image name to use, either from config or default
-func determineImageName(configImage, agentName string) string {
-	return commonimage.ConstructImageName(configImage, agentName)
+func determineImageName(configImage, agentName, registry string) string {
+	return commonimage.ConstructImageName(configImage, agentName, registry)
 }
 
 // buildAgentCRD constructs an Agent CRD object
diff --git a/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/run.go b/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/run.go
index f07bd9877..988bf65a7 100644
--- a/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/run.go
+++ b/go/cli/internal/cli/agent/run.go
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ import (
 type RunCfg struct {
 	ProjectDir string
 	Config     *config.Config
-	Build	   bool	
+	Build	   bool
+	Registry   string
 }
 
 // RunCmd starts docker-compose in the background and launches a chat session with the local agent
diff --git a/go/cli/internal/common/image/image.go b/go/cli/internal/common/image/image.go
index 0240d6034..e0ae12d5b 100644
--- a/go/cli/internal/common/image/image.go
+++ b/go/cli/internal/common/image/image.go
@@ -10,17 +10,25 @@ const (
 // ConstructImageName constructs a Docker image name with default registry and tag.
 // If configImage is provided (non-empty), it is returned as-is.
 // Otherwise, constructs: DefaultRegistry/imageName:DefaultTag (e.g., "localhost:5001/my-agent:latest")
-func ConstructImageName(configImage, imageName string) string {
-	if configImage != "" {
-		return configImage
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s:%s", DefaultRegistry, imageName, DefaultTag)
+func ConstructImageName(configImage, imageName, registry string) string {
+    if configImage != "" {
+        return configImage
+    }
+
+    if registry == "" {
+        registry = DefaultRegistry
+    }
+
+    return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s:%s", registry, imageName, DefaultTag)
 }
 
 // ConstructMCPServerImageName constructs a Docker image name for an MCP server.
 // The image name follows the pattern: DefaultRegistry/agentName-serverName:DefaultTag
 // (e.g., "localhost:5001/my-agent-github-server:latest")
-func ConstructMCPServerImageName(agentName, serverName string) string {
-	imageName := fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s", agentName, serverName)
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s:%s", DefaultRegistry, imageName, DefaultTag)
+func ConstructMCPServerImageName(agentName, serverName, registry string) string {
+    if registry == "" {
+        registry = DefaultRegistry
+    }
+    imageName := fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s", agentName, serverName)
+    return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s:%s", registry, imageName, DefaultTag)
 }
diff --git a/go/cli/internal/config/config.go b/go/cli/internal/config/config.go
index 46a385063..7cc456f4f 100644
--- a/go/cli/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/go/cli/internal/config/config.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	OutputFormat string        `mapstructure:"output_format"`
 	Verbose      bool          `mapstructure:"verbose"`
 	Timeout      time.Duration `mapstructure:"timeout"`
+	Registry 	 string		   `mapstructure:"registry"`
 }
 
 func (c *Config) Client() *kagentclient.ClientSet {
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@ func Init() error {
 	viper.SetDefault("output_format", "table")
 	viper.SetDefault("namespace", "kagent")
 	viper.SetDefault("timeout", 300*time.Second)
+	viper.SetDefault("registry", "localhost:5001")
+	if err := viper.BindEnv("registry", "KAGENT_REGISTRY"); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error binding KAGENT_REGISTRY: %w", err)
+	}
 	viper.MustBindEnv("USER_ID")
 
 	if err := viper.ReadInConfig(); err != nil {