diff --git a/core/cli/run.go b/core/cli/run.go
index 7c7c92d0ed42..987b9c0e83f8 100644
--- a/core/cli/run.go
+++ b/core/cli/run.go
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ type RunCMD struct {
 	AgentJobRetentionDays              int      `env:"LOCALAI_AGENT_JOB_RETENTION_DAYS,AGENT_JOB_RETENTION_DAYS" default:"30" help:"Number of days to keep agent job history (default: 30)" group:"api"`
 	OpenResponsesStoreTTL              string   `env:"LOCALAI_OPEN_RESPONSES_STORE_TTL,OPEN_RESPONSES_STORE_TTL" default:"0" help:"TTL for Open Responses store (e.g., 1h, 30m, 0 = no expiration)" group:"api"`
 
+	BackendImagesReleaseTag            string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_IMAGES_RELEASE_TAG" default:"latest" help:"Release tag for backend images (e.g., 'latest')" group:"backends"`
+	BackendImagesBranchTag             string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_IMAGES_BRANCH_TAG" default:"master" help:"Branch tag for backend images (e.g., 'master')" group:"backends"`
+	BackendDevSuffix                   string   `env:"LOCALAI_BACKEND_DEV_SUFFIX" default:"development" help:"Development suffix for backend images (e.g., 'development')" group:"backends"`
+
+
 	Version bool
 }
 
@@ -98,10 +103,25 @@ func (r *RunCMD) Run(ctx *cliContext.Context) error {
 	os.MkdirAll(r.BackendsPath, 0750)
 	os.MkdirAll(r.ModelsPath, 0750)
 
+	systemStateOpts := []system.SystemStateOptions{}
+
+	// Pass backend image fallback tags via system state
+	if r.BackendImagesReleaseTag != "" {
+		systemStateOpts = append(systemStateOpts, system.WithBackendImagesReleaseTag(r.BackendImagesReleaseTag))
+	}
+	if r.BackendImagesBranchTag != "" {
+		systemStateOpts = append(systemStateOpts, system.WithBackendImagesBranchTag(r.BackendImagesBranchTag))
+	}
+	if r.BackendDevSuffix != "" {
+		systemStateOpts = append(systemStateOpts, system.WithBackendDevSuffix(r.BackendDevSuffix))
+	}
+
+
 	systemState, err := system.GetSystemState(
 		system.WithBackendSystemPath(r.BackendsSystemPath),
 		system.WithModelPath(r.ModelsPath),
 		system.WithBackendPath(r.BackendsPath),
+			systemStateOpts...,
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -140,12 +160,6 @@ func (r *RunCMD) Run(ctx *cliContext.Context) error {
 		config.WithMachineTag(r.MachineTag),
 		config.WithAPIAddress(r.Address),
 		config.WithAgentJobRetentionDays(r.AgentJobRetentionDays),
-		config.WithTunnelCallback(func(tunnels []string) {
-			tunnelEnvVar := strings.Join(tunnels, ",")
-			// TODO: this is very specific to llama.cpp, we should have a more generic way to set the environment variable
-			os.Setenv("LLAMACPP_GRPC_SERVERS", tunnelEnvVar)
-			xlog.Debug("setting LLAMACPP_GRPC_SERVERS", "value", tunnelEnvVar)
-		}),
 	}
 
 	if r.DisableMetricsEndpoint {
diff --git a/core/gallery/backends.go b/core/gallery/backends.go
index 833408cfcdf5..328f247b544f 100644
--- a/core/gallery/backends.go
+++ b/core/gallery/backends.go
@@ -38,13 +38,29 @@ const (
 	envDevSuffix = "LOCALAI_BACKEND_DEV_SUFFIX"
 )
 
-// getFallbackTagValues returns the configurable fallback tag values from environment variables
-func getFallbackTagValues() (latestTag, masterTag, devSuffix string) {
-	latestTag = os.Getenv(envLatestTag)
-	masterTag = os.Getenv(envMasterTag)
-	devSuffix = os.Getenv(envDevSuffix)
+// getFallbackTagValues returns the configurable fallback tag values from system state, falling back to environment variables
+func getFallbackTagValues(systemState *system.SystemState) (latestTag, masterTag, devSuffix string) {
+	// First try to get values from system state
+	if systemState != nil && systemState.Backend.BackendImagesReleaseTag != "" {
+		latestTag = systemState.Backend.BackendImagesReleaseTag
+	} else {
+		// Fallback to environment variables
+		latestTag = os.Getenv(envLatestTag)
+	}
+
+	if systemState != nil && systemState.Backend.BackendImagesBranchTag != "" {
+		masterTag = systemState.Backend.BackendImagesBranchTag
+	} else {
+		masterTag = os.Getenv(envMasterTag)
+	}
+
+	if systemState != nil && systemState.Backend.BackendDevSuffix != "" {
+		devSuffix = systemState.Backend.BackendDevSuffix
+	} else {
+		devSuffix = os.Getenv(envDevSuffix)
+	}
 
-	// Use defaults if environment variables are not set
+	// Use defaults if values are not set
 	if latestTag == "" {
 		latestTag = defaultLatestTag
 	}
@@ -172,8 +188,8 @@ func InstallBackendFromGallery(ctx context.Context, galleries []config.Gallery,
 }
 
 func InstallBackend(ctx context.Context, systemState *system.SystemState, modelLoader *model.ModelLoader, config *GalleryBackend, downloadStatus func(string, string, string, float64)) error {
-	// Get configurable fallback tag values from environment variables
-	latestTag, masterTag, devSuffix := getFallbackTagValues()
+	// Get configurable fallback tag values from system state, falling back to environment variables
+	latestTag, masterTag, devSuffix := getFallbackTagValues(systemState)
 
 	// Create base path if it doesn't exist
 	err := os.MkdirAll(systemState.Backend.BackendsPath, 0750)
@@ -225,7 +241,7 @@ func InstallBackend(ctx context.Context, systemState *system.SystemState, modelL
 			}
 
 			// Try fallback: replace latestTag + "-" with masterTag + "-" in the URI
-			fallbackURI := strings.Replace(string(config.URI), latestTag + "-", masterTag + "-", 1)
+			fallbackURI := strings.Replace(string(config.URI), latestTag+"-", masterTag+"-", 1)
 			if fallbackURI != string(config.URI) {
 				xlog.Debug("Trying fallback URI", "original", config.URI, "fallback", fallbackURI)
 				if err := downloader.URI(fallbackURI).DownloadFileWithContext(ctx, backendPath, "", 1, 1, downloadStatus); err == nil {
@@ -234,7 +250,7 @@ func InstallBackend(ctx context.Context, systemState *system.SystemState, modelL
 				} else {
 					// Try another fallback: add "-" + devSuffix suffix to the backend name
 					// For example: master-gpu-nvidia-cuda-13-ace-step -> master-gpu-nvidia-cuda-13-ace-step-development
-					if !strings.Contains(fallbackURI, "-" + devSuffix) {
+					if !strings.Contains(fallbackURI, "-"+devSuffix) {
 						// Extract backend name from URI and add -development
 						parts := strings.Split(fallbackURI, "-")
 						if len(parts) >= 2 {
diff --git a/pkg/system/state.go b/pkg/system/state.go
index 6e8d2a335495..e6d76b175255 100644
--- a/pkg/system/state.go
+++ b/pkg/system/state.go
@@ -6,8 +6,11 @@ import (
 )
 
 type Backend struct {
-	BackendsPath       string
-	BackendsSystemPath string
+	BackendsPath            string
+	BackendsSystemPath      string
+	BackendImagesReleaseTag string // Release tag for backend images
+	BackendImagesBranchTag  string // Branch tag for backend images
+	BackendDevSuffix        string // Development suffix for backend images
 }
 
 type Model struct {
@@ -43,6 +46,24 @@ func WithModelPath(path string) SystemStateOptions {
 	}
 }
 
+func WithBackendImagesReleaseTag(tag string) SystemStateOptions {
+	return func(s *SystemState) {
+		s.Backend.BackendImagesReleaseTag = tag
+	}
+}
+
+func WithBackendImagesBranchTag(tag string) SystemStateOptions {
+	return func(s *SystemState) {
+		s.Backend.BackendImagesBranchTag = tag
+	}
+}
+
+func WithBackendDevSuffix(suffix string) SystemStateOptions {
+	return func(s *SystemState) {
+		s.Backend.BackendDevSuffix = suffix
+	}
+}
+
 func GetSystemState(opts ...SystemStateOptions) (*SystemState, error) {
 	state := &SystemState{}
 	for _, opt := range opts {