diff --git a/mock_val/lib/shell/common_core_lib.sh b/mock_val/lib/shell/common_core_lib.sh
index 03f8bbc..47923de 100644
--- a/mock_val/lib/shell/common_core_lib.sh
+++ b/mock_val/lib/shell/common_core_lib.sh
@@ -1,13 +1,44 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # Shared helpers for common core init scripts (ArgoCD, OpenBao, OpenTofu, Garage).
 # Responsibilities:
-# - handle [-c|--config] early so knoe_cfg.sh loads the right knoe.cfg
+# - handle [-c|--config] early so knoe_cfg.sh loads the right config file
 # - parse standard actions/options
 # - resolve and apply namespaces consistently
 
 # Actions supported by all common core scripts
 COMMON_CORE_ACTIONS="start|stop|status|restart|initialize|update|reload"
 
+common_core_default_config_path() {
+  local script_dir="${1:-}"
+  local mode_hint="${KNOE_MODE:-${DEPLOYMENT_MODE:-${CLUSTER_ENV:-}}}"
+  local mode="${mode_hint,,}"
+
+  if declare -F knoe_normalize_mode >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    mode="$(knoe_normalize_mode "$mode_hint")"
+  fi
+
+  case "$mode" in
+    k3d)
+      [[ -f "$script_dir/../conf/k3d.cfg" ]] && { printf '%s' "$script_dir/../conf/k3d.cfg"; return 0; }
+      ;;
+    k3s)
+      [[ -f "$script_dir/../conf/k3s.cfg" ]] && { printf '%s' "$script_dir/../conf/k3s.cfg"; return 0; }
+      ;;
+    k8s)
+      [[ -f "$script_dir/../conf/gke.cfg" ]] && { printf '%s' "$script_dir/../conf/gke.cfg"; return 0; }
+      ;;
+  esac
+
+  local cfg
+  for cfg in k3d.cfg k3s.cfg gke.cfg knoe.cfg; do
+    if [[ -f "$script_dir/../conf/$cfg" ]]; then
+      printf '%s' "$script_dir/../conf/$cfg"
+      return 0
+    fi
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
 # Parse -c/--config before loading knoe_cfg.sh so KNOE_CONF is set in time.
 # Sets:
 #   COMMON_CORE_CONFIG_PATH - path to knoe.cfg (if provided)
@@ -42,8 +73,17 @@ common_core_preparse_config() {
     fi
     local cfg_dir
     cfg_dir=$(cd "$(dirname "$COMMON_CORE_CONFIG_PATH")" && pwd)
-    KNOE_CONF="$cfg_dir"
-    export KNOE_CONF
+    # Preserve an already-set KNOE_CONF when it is a more-specific env subdir of
+    # cfg_dir (e.g. conf/service/ vs the injected-default conf/).  This allows the
+    # parent shell / Python milestone to pass the correct env-specific conf dir and
+    # have it survive even when init scripts inject a generic fallback -c path.
+    local _current_conf="${KNOE_CONF:-}"
+    if [[ -n "$_current_conf" && "$_current_conf" == "${cfg_dir}/"* && ( -f "$_current_conf/k3d.cfg" || -f "$_current_conf/k3s.cfg" || -f "$_current_conf/gke.cfg" || -f "$_current_conf/knoe.cfg" ) ]]; then
+      : # keep inherited KNOE_CONF — it is already more specific than cfg_dir
+    else
+      KNOE_CONF="$cfg_dir"
+      export KNOE_CONF
+    fi
   fi
 }
 
@@ -108,7 +148,7 @@ common_core_parse_args() {
 
 common_core_usage() {
   local prog="${1:-$0}"
-  echo "Usage: ${prog##*/} [${COMMON_CORE_ACTIONS//|/|}] [-n namespace] [--mode k3d|k3s|k8s] [-c conf/knoe.cfg]" >&2
+  echo "Usage: ${prog##*/} [${COMMON_CORE_ACTIONS//|/|}] [-n namespace] [--mode k3d|k3s|k8s] [-c conf/{k3d|k3s|gke}.cfg]" >&2
 }
 
 # Resolve namespace with precedence: CLI override -> SERVICE_NAMESPACE -> NAMESPACE -> provided default
@@ -121,7 +161,7 @@ common_core_resolve_namespace() {
 
   # In k3s mode, common core services must not default into the `default` namespace.
   # If the caller didn't supply an explicit namespace, normalize `default` -> SERVICE_NAMESPACE
-  # from knoe.cfg (Explicit `-n default` is treated as a legacy/mistake and will be corrected).
+  # from config (Explicit `-n default` is treated as a legacy/mistake and will be corrected).
   local mode="${KNOE_MODE:-}"
   if declare -F knoe_normalize_mode >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     mode="$(knoe_normalize_mode "$mode")"