diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3689b88..020ee5b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -8,10 +8,45 @@ test:
 # Gateway-focused E2E tests assume gateway and nodes are already running
 # Auto-discovers configuration from ~/.orama and queries database for API key
 # No environment variables required
-.PHONY: test-e2e test-e2e-deployments test-e2e-fullstack test-e2e-https test-e2e-quick
+.PHONY: test-e2e test-e2e-deployments test-e2e-fullstack test-e2e-https test-e2e-quick test-e2e-local test-e2e-prod
+
+# Check if gateway is running (helper)
+.PHONY: check-gateway
+check-gateway:
+	@if ! curl -sf http://localhost:6001/v1/health > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
+		echo "❌ Gateway not running on localhost:6001"; \
+		echo ""; \
+		echo "To run tests locally:"; \
+		echo "  1. Start the dev environment: make dev"; \
+		echo "  2. Wait for all services to start (~30 seconds)"; \
+		echo "  3. Run tests: make test-e2e-local"; \
+		echo ""; \
+		echo "To run tests against production:"; \
+		echo "  ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL=http://VPS-IP:6001 make test-e2e"; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi
+	@echo "✅ Gateway is running"
+
+# Local E2E tests - checks gateway first
+test-e2e-local: check-gateway
+	@echo "Running E2E tests against local dev environment..."
+	go test -v -tags e2e -timeout 30m ./e2e/...
+
+# Production E2E tests - requires ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL to be set
+test-e2e-prod:
+	@if [ -z "$$ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL" ]; then \
+		echo "❌ ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL not set"; \
+		echo "Usage: ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL=http://VPS-IP:6001 make test-e2e-prod"; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi
+	@echo "Running E2E tests against $$ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL..."
+	go test -v -tags e2e -timeout 30m ./e2e/...
+
+# Generic e2e target (works with both local and production)
 test-e2e:
 	@echo "Running comprehensive E2E tests..."
 	@echo "Auto-discovering configuration from ~/.orama..."
+	@echo "Tip: Use 'make test-e2e-local' for local or 'make test-e2e-prod' for production"
 	go test -v -tags e2e -timeout 30m ./e2e/...
 
 test-e2e-deployments:
@@ -109,7 +144,7 @@ help:
 	@echo "Available targets:"
 	@echo "  build         - Build all executables"
 	@echo "  clean         - Clean build artifacts"
-	@echo "  test          - Run tests"
+	@echo "  test          - Run unit tests"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Local Development (Recommended):"
 	@echo "  make dev      - Start full development stack with one command"
@@ -119,6 +154,15 @@ help:
 	@echo "  make stop     - Gracefully stop all development services"
 	@echo "  make kill     - Force kill all development services (use if stop fails)"
 	@echo ""
+	@echo "E2E Testing:"
+	@echo "  make test-e2e-local   - Run E2E tests against local dev (checks gateway first)"
+	@echo "  make test-e2e-prod    - Run E2E tests against production (needs ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL)"
+	@echo "  make test-e2e-quick   - Quick smoke tests (static deploys, health checks)"
+	@echo "  make test-e2e         - Generic E2E tests (auto-discovers config)"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "  Example production test:"
+	@echo "    ORAMA_GATEWAY_URL=http://141.227.165.168:6001 make test-e2e-prod"
+	@echo ""
 	@echo "Development Management (via orama):"
 	@echo "  ./bin/orama dev status  - Show status of all dev services"
 	@echo "  ./bin/orama dev logs <component> [--follow]"
diff --git a/pkg/gateway/gateway.go b/pkg/gateway/gateway.go
index 28e8182..e55114c 100644
--- a/pkg/gateway/gateway.go
+++ b/pkg/gateway/gateway.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"reflect"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -270,11 +271,18 @@ func New(logger *logging.ColoredLogger, cfg *Config) (*Gateway, error) {
 			logger.Logger,
 		)
 
+		// Determine base deploy path from config
+		baseDeployPath := filepath.Join(cfg.DataDir, "deployments")
+		if cfg.DataDir == "" {
+			baseDeployPath = "" // Let handlers use default
+		}
+
 		gw.nextjsHandler = deploymentshandlers.NewNextJSHandler(
 			gw.deploymentService,
 			gw.processManager,
 			deps.IPFSClient,
 			logger.Logger,
+			baseDeployPath,
 		)
 
 		gw.goHandler = deploymentshandlers.NewGoHandler(
@@ -282,6 +290,7 @@ func New(logger *logging.ColoredLogger, cfg *Config) (*Gateway, error) {
 			gw.processManager,
 			deps.IPFSClient,
 			logger.Logger,
+			baseDeployPath,
 		)
 
 		gw.nodejsHandler = deploymentshandlers.NewNodeJSHandler(
@@ -289,6 +298,7 @@ func New(logger *logging.ColoredLogger, cfg *Config) (*Gateway, error) {
 			gw.processManager,
 			deps.IPFSClient,
 			logger.Logger,
+			baseDeployPath,
 		)
 
 		gw.listHandler = deploymentshandlers.NewListHandler(
diff --git a/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/go_handler.go b/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/go_handler.go
index 48aa772..0490ed7 100644
--- a/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/go_handler.go
+++ b/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/go_handler.go
@@ -34,13 +34,17 @@ func NewGoHandler(
 	processManager *process.Manager,
 	ipfsClient ipfs.IPFSClient,
 	logger *zap.Logger,
+	baseDeployPath string,
 ) *GoHandler {
+	if baseDeployPath == "" {
+		baseDeployPath = filepath.Join(os.Getenv("HOME"), ".orama", "deployments")
+	}
 	return &GoHandler{
 		service:        service,
 		processManager: processManager,
 		ipfsClient:     ipfsClient,
 		logger:         logger,
-		baseDeployPath: "/home/debros/.orama/deployments",
+		baseDeployPath: baseDeployPath,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nextjs_handler.go b/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nextjs_handler.go
index dcd492f..c88344d 100644
--- a/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nextjs_handler.go
+++ b/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nextjs_handler.go
@@ -34,13 +34,17 @@ func NewNextJSHandler(
 	processManager *process.Manager,
 	ipfsClient ipfs.IPFSClient,
 	logger *zap.Logger,
+	baseDeployPath string,
 ) *NextJSHandler {
+	if baseDeployPath == "" {
+		baseDeployPath = filepath.Join(os.Getenv("HOME"), ".orama", "deployments")
+	}
 	return &NextJSHandler{
 		service:        service,
 		processManager: processManager,
 		ipfsClient:     ipfsClient,
 		logger:         logger,
-		baseDeployPath: "/home/debros/.orama/deployments",
+		baseDeployPath: baseDeployPath,
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nodejs_handler.go b/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nodejs_handler.go
index c6527fb..f298822 100644
--- a/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nodejs_handler.go
+++ b/pkg/gateway/handlers/deployments/nodejs_handler.go
@@ -33,13 +33,17 @@ func NewNodeJSHandler(
 	processManager *process.Manager,
 	ipfsClient ipfs.IPFSClient,
 	logger *zap.Logger,
+	baseDeployPath string,
 ) *NodeJSHandler {
+	if baseDeployPath == "" {
+		baseDeployPath = filepath.Join(os.Getenv("HOME"), ".orama", "deployments")
+	}
 	return &NodeJSHandler{
 		service:        service,
 		processManager: processManager,
 		ipfsClient:     ipfsClient,
 		logger:         logger,
-		baseDeployPath: "/home/debros/.orama/deployments",
+		baseDeployPath: baseDeployPath,
 	}
 }