diff --git a/examples/lab/topology.yaml b/examples/lab/topology.yaml
index ac9bdd4..e6e34ba 100644
--- a/examples/lab/topology.yaml
+++ b/examples/lab/topology.yaml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ topology:
   nodes:
   - name: dc1-spine1
     type: ceos
-    image: localhost:5001/netclab/ceos:4.36.1F
+    image: ceos:4.36.1F
     memory: 2Gi
     cpu: 1000m
     interfaces:
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ topology:
       network: b1
   - name: dc1-leaf1a
     type: ceos
-    image: localhost:5001/netclab/ceos:4.36.1F
+    image: ceos:4.36.1F
     memory: 2Gi
     cpu: 1000m
     interfaces:
diff --git a/function/netclab_topology.py b/function/netclab_topology.py
index 4fc7cee..3716d08 100644
--- a/function/netclab_topology.py
+++ b/function/netclab_topology.py
@@ -27,7 +27,17 @@
 # the readable link written alongside as a comment.
 MAX_IFNAME = 15
 
-CEOS_IMAGE = "localhost:5001/netclab/ceos:4.36.1F"
+# No registry, deliberately. The generated topology is committed and fetched at
+# a tag by other repositories, so it is read far more often than it is run here
+# -- and a machine-local registry address in a published artifact is wrong for
+# everyone but the machine that has it. `docker import` + `kind load` names the
+# image exactly this way, which is what a reader following netclab-xp's
+# documentation ends up with.
+#
+# Bring-up scripts that do serve cEOS from a registry rewrite this: it is one
+# line against a temp copy, and local specifics belong in a script rather than
+# in something published. See `scripts/kind-up.sh`.
+CEOS_IMAGE = "ceos:4.36.1F"
 CEOS_MEMORY = "2Gi"
 CEOS_CPU = "1000m"
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index afd3ad0..824f76a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "function-avd"
-version = "0.1.5"
+version = "0.1.6"
 description = "Living AVD model driven by Crossplane XRs (Fabric -> Device composite function)"
 readme = "README.md"
 authors = [
diff --git a/scripts/kind-up.sh b/scripts/kind-up.sh
index 5674f16..6213d31 100755
--- a/scripts/kind-up.sh
+++ b/scripts/kind-up.sh
@@ -191,15 +191,21 @@ EOF
   else
     echo ">> lab topology regenerated for ${LAB_HOSTS}"
     TOPO="$(mktemp -t netclab-topology.XXXXXX.yaml)"
-    trap 'rm -f "$TOPO"' EXIT
+    TOPO_REGENERATED="$TOPO"
     uv run avd-topology "$LAB_FABRIC" --hosts "$LAB_HOSTS" > "$TOPO"
   fi
 
+  # The topology names the image without a registry -- the name `docker import`
+  # plus `kind load` leaves, and the one a reader of netclab-xp's documentation
+  # ends up with. This lab serves cEOS from the local registry instead, because
+  # that survives teardown. The EOS version still comes from the topology: it is
+  # generated from the AVD model, so the model decides which image the lab runs.
+  CEOS_TAG="$(awk '/image:/ {print $2; exit}' "$TOPO")"; CEOS_TAG="${CEOS_TAG##*:}"
+  CEOS_REPO=${CEOS_REPO:-netclab/ceos}
+  CEOS_IMG="localhost:${REG_PORT}/${CEOS_REPO}:${CEOS_TAG}"
+
   # cEOS cannot be pulled: it is licensed and needs an Arista login. Fail here
   # with the tag the topology asks for, rather than as an ImagePullBackOff later.
-  CEOS_IMG="$(awk '/image:/ {print $2; exit}' "$TOPO")"
-  CEOS_REPO="${CEOS_IMG#*/}"; CEOS_REPO="${CEOS_REPO%:*}"
-  CEOS_TAG="${CEOS_IMG##*:}"
   if ! curl -sf "http://localhost:${REG_PORT}/v2/${CEOS_REPO}/tags/list" \
        | grep -q "\"${CEOS_TAG}\""; then
     echo "!! ${CEOS_IMG} is not in the local registry."
@@ -208,9 +214,16 @@ EOF
     exit 1
   fi
 
+  # Rewrite a copy, never the committed file: it is an artifact other
+  # repositories fetch at a tag, and `test_topology_golden` compares it to what
+  # the generator produces.
+  TOPO_LOCAL="$(mktemp -t netclab-topology-local.XXXXXX.yaml)"
+  trap 'rm -f "$TOPO_LOCAL" "${TOPO_REGENERATED:-}"' EXIT
+  sed "s|^\( *image: \).*|\1${CEOS_IMG}|" "$TOPO" > "$TOPO_LOCAL"
+
   echo ">> netclab-chart ${NETCLAB_CHART}"
   helm upgrade --install avd netclab/netclab --version "${NETCLAB_CHART}" \
-    --kube-context "$CTX" -n default -f "$TOPO" >/dev/null
+    --kube-context "$CTX" -n default -f "$TOPO_LOCAL" >/dev/null
 fi
 
 echo
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index dbbba70..a39fcc7 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "function-avd"
-version = "0.1.5"
+version = "0.1.6"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "crossplane-function-sdk-python" },