diff --git a/internal/hack/install-ax.sh b/internal/hack/install-ax.sh
index 8e34c27..c36907b 100755
--- a/internal/hack/install-ax.sh
+++ b/internal/hack/install-ax.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,13 @@ set -o pipefail
 ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
 cd "${ROOT}"
 
+if [[ -n "${PROJECT_ID:-}" ]]; then
+  export KO_DOCKER_REPO="gcr.io/${PROJECT_ID}"
+  echo "Using KO_DOCKER_REPO: ${KO_DOCKER_REPO}" >&2
+fi
+
+export KO_DEFAULTPLATFORMS="${KO_DEFAULTPLATFORMS:-linux/amd64}"
+
 # ANSI color codes for prettier output
 COLOR_CYAN='\033[1;36m'
 COLOR_RESET='\033[0m'
diff --git a/internal/manifests/README.md b/internal/manifests/README.md
index 409dd24..334e004 100644
--- a/internal/manifests/README.md
+++ b/internal/manifests/README.md
@@ -66,8 +66,6 @@ sure you are logged in to `$KO_DOCKER_REPO` first.
 export PROJECT_ID="ax-substrate" # Your GCP project ID
 export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-api-key"
 export BUCKET_NAME="snapshot-substrate-test-$PROJECT_ID"
-export KO_DOCKER_REPO="gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/ate-images"
-export KO_DEFAULTPLATFORMS="linux/amd64"
 
 ./internal/hack/install-ax.sh --deploy-ax-server
 ```