diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d571dba..e92ab63 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -51,4 +51,7 @@ service-account-key.json
 
 # Backup files
 *.bak
-*.backup
\ No newline at end of file
+*.backup
+
+# Chromium persistent data
+chromium-data/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile.local b/Dockerfile.local
index 92b4353..35756a4 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.local
+++ b/Dockerfile.local
@@ -315,6 +315,21 @@ RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | bash - && \
 RUN echo '#!/bin/bash\ncd /opt/eval-server && node examples/with-http-wrapper.js' > /usr/local/bin/start-eval-server.sh && \
     chmod +x /usr/local/bin/start-eval-server.sh
 
+# ============================================================================
+# Chromium Data Directory Configuration
+# ============================================================================
+
+# Environment variable for configurable data directory
+ENV CHROMIUM_DATA_DIR=/data
+
+# Create data directory structure for optional volume mounting
+RUN mkdir -p /data/user-data /data/config /data/cache && \
+    chown -R kernel:kernel /data && \
+    chmod -R 755 /data
+
+# Declare volume for optional mounting of Chromium profiles and data
+VOLUME ["/data"]
+
 # Expose ports
 EXPOSE 8000 8001 8080 8081 8082
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2e640e0..477e46e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ help: ## Show this help message
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Available commands:"
 	@grep -E '^[a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?## .*$$' $(MAKEFILE_LIST) | awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*?## "}; {printf "  %-15s %s\n", $$1, $$2}'
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Chromium Data Persistence:"
+	@echo "  - Browser data persists to ./chromium-data by default"
+	@echo "  - Customize location: CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST=/path/to/data make run"
+	@echo "  - Disable persistence: CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST=\"\" make run"
 
 init: ## Initialize submodules (run this first)
 	git submodule update --init --recursive
@@ -23,7 +28,7 @@ build: init ## Build extended image with DevTools frontend
 run: ## Run extended container with DevTools (interactive)
 	@echo "🚀 Starting extended kernel-browser with DevTools..."
 	@if [ -n "$(URLS)" ]; then echo "📄 Opening URLs: $(URLS)"; fi
-	URLS='$(URLS)' ./run-local.sh
+	@./run-local.sh
 
 compose-up: build ## Start with docker-compose (background)
 	@echo "🚀 Starting with docker-compose..."
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 42a2744..d54e756 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ version: '3.8'
 
 services:
   kernel-browser:
-    image: "kernel-browser:local"
-    container_name: "kernel-browser-local"
+    image: "kernel-browser:extended"
+    container_name: "kernel-browser-extended"
     privileged: true
     shm_size: 2gb
     deploy:
@@ -30,13 +30,15 @@ services:
       - NEKO_WEBRTC_NAT1TO1=127.0.0.1
       # Run as kernel user (not root)
       - RUN_AS_ROOT=false
-      # Mount Chromium flags
-      - CHROMIUM_FLAGS=--user-data-dir=/home/kernel/user-data --disable-dev-shm-usage --start-maximized --remote-allow-origins=* --no-sandbox --disable-setuid-sandbox
+      # Chromium flags with persistent data directory
+      - CHROMIUM_FLAGS=--user-data-dir=/data/user-data --disable-dev-shm-usage --start-maximized --remote-allow-origins=* --no-sandbox --disable-setuid-sandbox
     volumes:
       # Persist recordings in local directory
       - "./recordings:/recordings"
       # Mount Chromium flags file (will be created by run script)
       - "./kernel-images/images/chromium-headful/.tmp/chromium/flags:/chromium/flags:ro"
+      # Persist Chromium data across container restarts (set CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST env var to customize path)
+      - "${CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST:-./chromium-data}:/data"
     tmpfs:
       - /dev/shm:size=2g
     restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/run-local.sh b/run-local.sh
index 9c89adb..cb17e47 100755
--- a/run-local.sh
+++ b/run-local.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export UKC_METRO="dummy-metro-for-local-run"
 
 
 # Local-friendly Chrome flags (less restrictive than cloud) + custom DevTools frontend
-export CHROMIUM_FLAGS="--user-data-dir=/home/kernel/user-data --disable-dev-shm-usage --start-maximized --remote-allow-origins=* --no-sandbox --disable-setuid-sandbox --custom-devtools-frontend=http://localhost:8001/"
+export CHROMIUM_FLAGS="--user-data-dir=/data/user-data --disable-dev-shm-usage --start-maximized --remote-allow-origins=* --no-sandbox --disable-setuid-sandbox --custom-devtools-frontend=http://localhost:8001/"
 
 echo "🔧 Configuration:"
 echo "   Image: $IMAGE"
@@ -56,12 +56,35 @@ echo "🏃 Starting extended container with kernel-images run system..."
 # Source common build vars
 source ../../shared/ensure-common-build-run-vars.sh chromium-headful
 
-# Directory on host where recordings will be saved  
+# Directory on host where recordings will be saved
 HOST_RECORDINGS_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/recordings"
 mkdir -p "$HOST_RECORDINGS_DIR"
 
+# Chromium data directory for persistence
+# Set CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST to customize location (default: ./chromium-data)
+# Set CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST="" to disable persistence (ephemeral mode)
+if [[ "${CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST+set}" == "set" && -z "$CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST" ]]; then
+  echo "🔄 Using ephemeral Chromium data (no persistence)"
+  CHROMIUM_DATA_VOLUME=""
+else
+  # Default to ./chromium-data if not specified
+  CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST="${CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST:-$SCRIPT_DIR/chromium-data}"
+  echo "🗂️  Using persistent Chromium data directory: $CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST"
+  CHROMIUM_DATA_REAL=$(realpath "$CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+  if [[ -z "$CHROMIUM_DATA_REAL" ]]; then
+    # Path doesn't exist yet, try to create it first
+    mkdir -p "$CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST"
+    CHROMIUM_DATA_REAL=$(realpath "$CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    if [[ -z "$CHROMIUM_DATA_REAL" ]]; then
+      echo "❌ Error: Invalid path $CHROMIUM_DATA_HOST"
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  fi
+  CHROMIUM_DATA_VOLUME="${CHROMIUM_DATA_REAL}:/data"
+fi
+
 # Build Chromium flags file and mount
-CHROMIUM_FLAGS_DEFAULT="--user-data-dir=/home/kernel/user-data --disable-dev-shm-usage --disable-gpu --start-maximized --disable-software-rasterizer --remote-allow-origins=*"
+CHROMIUM_FLAGS_DEFAULT="--user-data-dir=/data/user-data --disable-dev-shm-usage --disable-gpu --start-maximized --disable-software-rasterizer --remote-allow-origins=*"
 if [[ "$RUN_AS_ROOT" == "true" ]]; then
   CHROMIUM_FLAGS_DEFAULT="$CHROMIUM_FLAGS_DEFAULT --no-sandbox --no-zygote"
 fi
@@ -92,6 +115,11 @@ RUN_ARGS=(
   --mount type=bind,src="$FLAGS_FILE",dst=/chromium/flags,ro
 )
 
+# Add Chromium data volume if specified
+if [[ -n "$CHROMIUM_DATA_VOLUME" ]]; then
+  RUN_ARGS+=( -v "${CHROMIUM_DATA_VOLUME}" )
+fi
+
 # Add URLS environment variable if provided
 if [[ -n "${URLS:-}" ]]; then
   echo "   URLs: $URLS"