diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4da1385..f8fd6b4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,22 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog][keepachangelog] and adheres to [Semant
 ### Deprecated
 
 ### Fixed
+## [0.67.4] - 2025-11-11
+
+### Added
+\n
+### Changed
+- Improved configuration file loading logic to support absolute paths for config files.
+- Updated IPFS Cluster initialization during setup to run `ipfs-cluster-service init` and automatically configure the cluster secret.
+- IPFS repositories initialized with a private swarm key will now automatically disable AutoConf.
+
+### Deprecated
+
+### Removed
+
+### Fixed
+- Fixed configuration path resolution to correctly check for config files in both the legacy (`~/.debros/`) and production (`~/.debros/configs/`) directories.
+
 ## [0.67.3] - 2025-11-11
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d38a6f5..224f9ab 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ test-e2e:
 
 .PHONY: build clean test run-node run-node2 run-node3 run-example deps tidy fmt vet lint clear-ports install-hooks kill
 
-VERSION := 0.67.3
+VERSION := 0.67.4
 COMMIT  ?= $(shell git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)
 DATE    ?= $(shell date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
 LDFLAGS := -X 'main.version=$(VERSION)' -X 'main.commit=$(COMMIT)' -X 'main.date=$(DATE)'
diff --git a/cmd/node/main.go b/cmd/node/main.go
index 451c8f8..b665101 100644
--- a/cmd/node/main.go
+++ b/cmd/node/main.go
@@ -66,23 +66,32 @@ func check_if_should_open_help(help *bool) {
 func select_data_dir_check(configName *string) {
 	logger := setup_logger(logging.ComponentNode)
 
-	// Ensure config directory exists and is writable
-	_, err := config.EnsureConfigDir()
-	if err != nil {
-		logger.Error("Failed to ensure config directory", zap.Error(err))
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\n❌ Configuration Error:\n")
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Failed to create/access config directory: %v\n", err)
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\nPlease ensure:\n")
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  1. Home directory is accessible: %s\n", os.ExpandEnv("~"))
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  2. You have write permissions to home directory\n")
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  3. Disk space is available\n")
-		os.Exit(1)
-	}
+	var configPath string
+	var err error
 
-	configPath, err := config.DefaultPath(*configName)
-	if err != nil {
-		logger.Error("Failed to determine config path", zap.Error(err))
-		os.Exit(1)
+	// Check if configName is an absolute path
+	if filepath.IsAbs(*configName) {
+		// Use absolute path directly
+		configPath = *configName
+	} else {
+		// Ensure config directory exists and is writable
+		_, err = config.EnsureConfigDir()
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Error("Failed to ensure config directory", zap.Error(err))
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\n❌ Configuration Error:\n")
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Failed to create/access config directory: %v\n", err)
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\nPlease ensure:\n")
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  1. Home directory is accessible: %s\n", os.ExpandEnv("~"))
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  2. You have write permissions to home directory\n")
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  3. Disk space is available\n")
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
+
+		configPath, err = config.DefaultPath(*configName)
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Error("Failed to determine config path", zap.Error(err))
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
 	}
 
 	if _, err := os.Stat(configPath); err != nil {
@@ -232,15 +241,21 @@ func main() {
 
 	check_if_should_open_help(help)
 
-	// Check if config file exists
+	// Check if config file exists and determine path
 	select_data_dir_check(configName)
 
-	// Load configuration from ~/.debros/node.yaml
-	configPath, err := config.DefaultPath(*configName)
-	if err != nil {
-		logger.Error("Failed to determine config path", zap.Error(err))
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Configuration error: %v\n", err)
-		os.Exit(1)
+	// Determine config path (handle both absolute and relative paths)
+	var configPath string
+	var err error
+	if filepath.IsAbs(*configName) {
+		configPath = *configName
+	} else {
+		configPath, err = config.DefaultPath(*configName)
+		if err != nil {
+			logger.Error("Failed to determine config path", zap.Error(err))
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Configuration error: %v\n", err)
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
 	}
 
 	var cfg *config.Config
diff --git a/pkg/config/paths.go b/pkg/config/paths.go
index 4e8ecec..ca3fd5a 100644
--- a/pkg/config/paths.go
+++ b/pkg/config/paths.go
@@ -29,10 +29,26 @@ func EnsureConfigDir() (string, error) {
 
 // DefaultPath returns the path to the config file for the given component name.
 // component should be e.g., "node.yaml", "bootstrap.yaml", "gateway.yaml"
+// It checks both ~/.debros/ and ~/.debros/configs/ for backward compatibility.
 func DefaultPath(component string) (string, error) {
 	dir, err := ConfigDir()
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
-	return filepath.Join(dir, component), nil
+
+	// First check in ~/.debros/configs/ (production installer location)
+	configsPath := filepath.Join(dir, "configs", component)
+	if _, err := os.Stat(configsPath); err == nil {
+		return configsPath, nil
+	}
+
+	// Fallback to ~/.debros/ (legacy/development location)
+	legacyPath := filepath.Join(dir, component)
+	if _, err := os.Stat(legacyPath); err == nil {
+		return legacyPath, nil
+	}
+
+	// Return configs path as default (even if it doesn't exist yet)
+	// This allows the error message to show the expected production location
+	return configsPath, nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/environments/production/installers.go b/pkg/environments/production/installers.go
index 5b33667..d9a2b44 100644
--- a/pkg/environments/production/installers.go
+++ b/pkg/environments/production/installers.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package production
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
@@ -363,10 +364,22 @@ func (bi *BinaryInstaller) InitializeIPFSRepo(nodeType, ipfsRepoPath string, swa
 	}
 
 	// Copy swarm key if present
+	swarmKeyExists := false
 	if data, err := os.ReadFile(swarmKeyPath); err == nil {
 		if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(ipfsRepoPath, "swarm.key"), data, 0600); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to copy swarm key: %w", err)
 		}
+		swarmKeyExists = true
+	}
+
+	// Disable AutoConf for private swarm (required when swarm.key is present)
+	// This prevents IPFS from trying to use the public mainnet AutoConf service
+	if swarmKeyExists {
+		cmd = exec.Command(ipfsBinary, "config", "--json", "AutoConf.Enabled", "false")
+		cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "IPFS_PATH="+ipfsRepoPath)
+		if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to disable AutoConf: %v\n%s", err, string(output))
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Fix ownership
@@ -376,8 +389,7 @@ func (bi *BinaryInstaller) InitializeIPFSRepo(nodeType, ipfsRepoPath string, swa
 }
 
 // InitializeIPFSClusterConfig initializes IPFS Cluster configuration
-// Note: This is a placeholder config. The full initialization will occur via `ipfs-cluster-service init`
-// which is run during Phase2cInitializeServices with the IPFS_CLUSTER_PATH env var set.
+// This runs `ipfs-cluster-service init` to create the service.json configuration file.
 func (bi *BinaryInstaller) InitializeIPFSClusterConfig(nodeType, clusterPath, clusterSecret string, ipfsAPIPort int) error {
 	serviceJSONPath := filepath.Join(clusterPath, "service.json")
 	if _, err := os.Stat(serviceJSONPath); err == nil {
@@ -391,7 +403,72 @@ func (bi *BinaryInstaller) InitializeIPFSClusterConfig(nodeType, clusterPath, cl
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create IPFS Cluster directory: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	// Fix ownership before running init
 	exec.Command("chown", "-R", "debros:debros", clusterPath).Run()
+
+	// Resolve ipfs-cluster-service binary path
+	clusterBinary, err := bi.ResolveBinaryPath("ipfs-cluster-service", "/usr/local/bin/ipfs-cluster-service", "/usr/bin/ipfs-cluster-service")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("ipfs-cluster-service binary not found: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Initialize cluster config with ipfs-cluster-service init
+	// This creates the service.json file with all required sections
+	fmt.Fprintf(bi.logWriter.(interface{ Write([]byte) (int, error) }), "    Initializing IPFS Cluster config...\n")
+	cmd := exec.Command(clusterBinary, "init", "--force")
+	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "IPFS_CLUSTER_PATH="+clusterPath)
+	if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize IPFS Cluster config: %v\n%s", err, string(output))
+	}
+
+	// Update the cluster secret in service.json if provided
+	if clusterSecret != "" {
+		if err := bi.updateClusterSecret(clusterPath, clusterSecret); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to update cluster secret: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Fix ownership again after init
+	exec.Command("chown", "-R", "debros:debros", clusterPath).Run()
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// updateClusterSecret updates the secret field in IPFS Cluster service.json
+func (bi *BinaryInstaller) updateClusterSecret(clusterPath, secret string) error {
+	serviceJSONPath := filepath.Join(clusterPath, "service.json")
+
+	// Read existing config
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(serviceJSONPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read service.json: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Parse JSON
+	var config map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &config); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse service.json: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Update cluster secret
+	if cluster, ok := config["cluster"].(map[string]interface{}); ok {
+		cluster["secret"] = secret
+	} else {
+		config["cluster"] = map[string]interface{}{
+			"secret": secret,
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Write back
+	updatedData, err := json.MarshalIndent(config, "", "  ")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to marshal service.json: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if err := os.WriteFile(serviceJSONPath, updatedData, 0644); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to write service.json: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/environments/production/orchestrator.go b/pkg/environments/production/orchestrator.go
index 06ba571..e28b7f6 100644
--- a/pkg/environments/production/orchestrator.go
+++ b/pkg/environments/production/orchestrator.go
@@ -231,10 +231,14 @@ func (ps *ProductionSetup) Phase2cInitializeServices(nodeType string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize IPFS repo: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Initialize IPFS Cluster path (just ensure directory exists, actual init happens in daemon startup)
+	// Initialize IPFS Cluster config (runs ipfs-cluster-service init)
 	clusterPath := filepath.Join(dataDir, "ipfs-cluster")
-	if err := ps.binaryInstaller.InitializeIPFSClusterConfig(nodeType, clusterPath, "", 4501); err != nil {
-		ps.logf("  ⚠️  IPFS Cluster initialization warning: %v", err)
+	clusterSecret, err := ps.secretGenerator.EnsureClusterSecret()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get cluster secret: %w", err)
+	}
+	if err := ps.binaryInstaller.InitializeIPFSClusterConfig(nodeType, clusterPath, clusterSecret, 4501); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize IPFS Cluster: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	// Initialize RQLite data directory