diff --git a/Dockerfile.e2e b/Dockerfile.e2e
deleted file mode 100644
index 1553191..0000000
--- a/Dockerfile.e2e
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-# Dockerfile.e2e
-#
-# Builds a Headlamp image with the polaris plugin pre-installed.
-# Used by E2E tests — not for production distribution (use ArtifactHub).
-#
-# Usage:
-#   npm run build
-#   docker build -f Dockerfile.e2e -t ghcr.io/privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-e2e:sha-abc123 .
-#
-# The plugin dist/ must be built before running docker build.
-
-ARG HEADLAMP_VERSION=latest
-FROM ghcr.io/headlamp-k8s/headlamp:${HEADLAMP_VERSION}
-
-COPY dist/ /headlamp/plugins/headlamp-polaris/
-COPY package.json /headlamp/plugins/headlamp-polaris/
diff --git a/deployment/e2e-ci-runner-rbac.yaml b/deployment/e2e-ci-runner-rbac.yaml
index 5947294..9cac04e 100644
--- a/deployment/e2e-ci-runner-rbac.yaml
+++ b/deployment/e2e-ci-runner-rbac.yaml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # namespace to deploy and tear down a dedicated Headlamp instance via Helm.
 #
 # No kube-system access needed — E2E tests use a separate namespace.
-# No PVC management — plugin is baked into the Docker image.
+# Plugin is loaded via ConfigMap volume mount — no custom Docker images.
 #
 # Prerequisites:
 #   kubectl create namespace headlamp-e2e
diff --git a/deployment/headlamp-e2e-values.yaml b/deployment/headlamp-e2e-values.yaml
index dbd9773..1c968a2 100644
--- a/deployment/headlamp-e2e-values.yaml
+++ b/deployment/headlamp-e2e-values.yaml
@@ -1,19 +1,17 @@
 ---
 # Headlamp Helm values for E2E testing.
 #
-# Uses a custom Docker image (built from Dockerfile.e2e) with the plugin
-# pre-installed. No PVCs, no volume mounts, no deployment patching.
-#
-# The E2E workflow builds the image, pushes to ghcr.io, and deploys this
-# Helm release in the headlamp-e2e namespace.
+# Uses the stock Headlamp image with the plugin loaded via a ConfigMap
+# volume mount. No custom Docker images — the plugin dist/ is packaged
+# as a ConfigMap by deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh.
 #
 # Usage:
 #   helm install headlamp-e2e headlamp/headlamp \
 #     -n headlamp-e2e --create-namespace \
 #     -f deployment/headlamp-e2e-values.yaml \
 #     --set image.registry=ghcr.io \
-#     --set image.repository=privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-e2e \
-#     --set image.tag=<sha>
+#     --set image.repository=headlamp-k8s/headlamp \
+#     --set image.tag=latest
 
 config:
   pluginsDir: /headlamp/plugins
@@ -21,3 +19,13 @@ config:
 
 service:
   type: ClusterIP
+
+extraVolumes:
+  - name: polaris-plugin
+    configMap:
+      name: headlamp-polaris-plugin
+
+extraVolumeMounts:
+  - name: polaris-plugin
+    mountPath: /headlamp/plugins/headlamp-polaris
+    readOnly: true
diff --git a/e2e/README.md b/e2e/README.md
index 29d0015..8b7e446 100644
--- a/e2e/README.md
+++ b/e2e/README.md
@@ -6,15 +6,14 @@ Playwright-based smoke tests that validate the Polaris plugin against a live Hea
 
 E2E tests run automatically in GitHub Actions on pushes to `main` and pull requests. The workflow (`.github/workflows/e2e.yaml`):
 
-1. Builds the plugin
-2. Builds a custom Headlamp Docker image with the plugin pre-installed (`Dockerfile.e2e`)
-3. Pushes the image to `ghcr.io/privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-e2e:<sha>`
-4. Deploys a dedicated Headlamp instance in the `headlamp-e2e` namespace via Helm
-5. Generates a ServiceAccount token for test auth
-6. Runs Playwright tests against the E2E instance
-7. Tears down the E2E instance
+1. Builds the plugin (`npm run build`)
+2. Creates a ConfigMap from the built `dist/` output
+3. Deploys a stock Headlamp instance via Helm with the plugin mounted as a ConfigMap volume
+4. Generates a ServiceAccount token for test auth
+5. Runs Playwright tests against the E2E instance
+6. Tears down the E2E instance
 
-This approach avoids PVCs, kubectl exec/cp, and deployment patching. The plugin is part of the container image.
+This approach uses the stock `ghcr.io/headlamp-k8s/headlamp` image with no custom Docker builds. The plugin is loaded via `HEADLAMP_PLUGINS_DIR` volume mount.
 
 ### Required GitHub Secrets
 
@@ -27,6 +26,8 @@ Configure these in GitHub repository settings (Settings → Secrets and variable
 
 Token-based auth is auto-generated by the deploy script. OIDC secrets are only needed if testing against the shared Headlamp instance.
 
+No `GHCR_TOKEN` or Docker registry secrets are needed — the stock Headlamp image is public.
+
 ## Running Locally
 
 ### Option 1: OIDC via Authentik (same as CI)
@@ -261,13 +262,13 @@ Tests run automatically in GitHub Actions on pushes to `main` and pull requests.
 
 The E2E workflow deploys a **dedicated Headlamp instance** for each test run:
 
-1. Build plugin and Docker image (`Dockerfile.e2e`)
-2. Push image to `ghcr.io/privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-e2e:<sha>`
-3. Deploy via Helm in the `headlamp-e2e` namespace (`scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh`)
+1. Build plugin (`npm run build`)
+2. Create ConfigMap from `dist/` output (`scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh`)
+3. Deploy stock Headlamp via Helm with ConfigMap volume mount
 4. Run Playwright tests against the E2E instance
 5. Tear down (`scripts/teardown-e2e-headlamp.sh`)
 
-No PVCs, no kubectl exec/cp, no patching of existing deployments. The plugin is baked into the Docker image.
+No custom Docker images, no PVCs, no kubectl exec/cp, no patching of existing deployments. The plugin is mounted from a ConfigMap into the stock Headlamp image.
 
 ### Cluster Prerequisites
 
diff --git a/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh b/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
index 4b67f4c..461cd60 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
@@ -1,25 +1,19 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # deploy-e2e-headlamp.sh
 #
-# Builds a custom Headlamp image with the polaris plugin pre-installed,
-# pushes it to ghcr.io, and deploys a dedicated E2E Headlamp instance.
-#
-# This replaces the old PVC + kubectl-patch approach. The plugin is part
-# of the container image — no PVCs, no kubectl exec/cp, no deployment
-# patching required.
+# Deploys a stock Headlamp instance with the polaris plugin loaded via
+# a ConfigMap volume mount. No custom Docker images — the plugin is built
+# in CI and injected as a ConfigMap.
 #
 # Prerequisites:
-#   - Plugin built (dist/ exists)
-#   - Docker or buildx available
-#   - GHCR_TOKEN set (or GH_TOKEN with packages:write)
+#   - Plugin built (dist/ exists with plugin-main.js + package.json)
 #   - kubectl configured with cluster access
 #   - Helm 3 installed
 #
 # Environment:
 #   E2E_NAMESPACE     — namespace for E2E Headlamp (default: headlamp-e2e)
 #   E2E_RELEASE       — Helm release name (default: headlamp-e2e)
-#   HEADLAMP_VERSION  — base Headlamp image tag (default: latest)
-#   IMAGE_TAG         — tag for the E2E image (default: git SHA)
+#   HEADLAMP_VERSION  — Headlamp image tag (default: latest)
 set -euo pipefail
 
 REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
@@ -28,9 +22,6 @@ DIST_DIR="$REPO_ROOT/dist"
 E2E_NAMESPACE="${E2E_NAMESPACE:-headlamp-e2e}"
 E2E_RELEASE="${E2E_RELEASE:-headlamp-e2e}"
 HEADLAMP_VERSION="${HEADLAMP_VERSION:-latest}"
-IMAGE_REPO="ghcr.io/privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-e2e"
-IMAGE_TAG="${IMAGE_TAG:-$(git -C "$REPO_ROOT" rev-parse --short HEAD)}"
-IMAGE="${IMAGE_REPO}:${IMAGE_TAG}"
 
 if [ ! -d "$DIST_DIR" ]; then
   echo "ERROR: dist/ not found. Run 'npm run build' first." >&2
@@ -38,20 +29,28 @@ if [ ! -d "$DIST_DIR" ]; then
 fi
 
 echo "=== E2E Headlamp Deployment ==="
-echo "  Image:     $IMAGE"
+echo "  Image:     ghcr.io/headlamp-k8s/headlamp:${HEADLAMP_VERSION}"
 echo "  Namespace: $E2E_NAMESPACE"
 echo "  Release:   $E2E_RELEASE"
 
-# --- Build and push the custom image ---
+# --- Create namespace ---
 echo ""
-echo "Building E2E Headlamp image..."
-docker build -f "$REPO_ROOT/Dockerfile.e2e" \
-  --build-arg "HEADLAMP_VERSION=${HEADLAMP_VERSION}" \
-  -t "$IMAGE" \
-  "$REPO_ROOT"
+echo "Creating namespace ${E2E_NAMESPACE} (if needed)..."
+kubectl create namespace "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -
 
-echo "Pushing image to ghcr.io..."
-docker push "$IMAGE"
+# --- Create ConfigMap from built plugin ---
+echo ""
+echo "Creating ConfigMap with plugin files..."
+
+# Delete existing ConfigMap if present (idempotent redeploy)
+kubectl delete configmap headlamp-polaris-plugin \
+  -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
+
+# Create ConfigMap from dist/ contents and package.json
+kubectl create configmap headlamp-polaris-plugin \
+  -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" \
+  --from-file="$DIST_DIR" \
+  --from-file=package.json="$REPO_ROOT/package.json"
 
 # --- Deploy with Helm ---
 echo ""
@@ -59,16 +58,13 @@ echo "Adding Headlamp Helm repo..."
 helm repo add headlamp https://headlamp-k8s.github.io/headlamp/ --force-update
 helm repo update
 
-echo "Creating namespace ${E2E_NAMESPACE} (if needed)..."
-kubectl create namespace "$E2E_NAMESPACE" --dry-run=client -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -
-
 echo "Installing/upgrading Headlamp E2E instance..."
 helm upgrade --install "$E2E_RELEASE" headlamp/headlamp \
   -n "$E2E_NAMESPACE" \
   -f "$REPO_ROOT/deployment/headlamp-e2e-values.yaml" \
   --set "image.registry=ghcr.io" \
-  --set "image.repository=privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-e2e" \
-  --set "image.tag=${IMAGE_TAG}" \
+  --set "image.repository=headlamp-k8s/headlamp" \
+  --set "image.tag=${HEADLAMP_VERSION}" \
   --wait \
   --timeout 120s