diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-operators-for-e2e-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-operators-for-e2e-tests.yml
index 5d49cb4fc..0b54f3f45 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-operators-for-e2e-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-operators-for-e2e-tests.yml
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ jobs:
       uses: codeready-toolchain/toolchain-cicd/prepare-tools-action@master
 
     # Execute composite action using values from PR event
+    # Developer Sandbox Dashboard will be published too in this action
     - name: Publish current operator bundles for host & member based on PR event
       uses: codeready-toolchain/toolchain-cicd/publish-operators-for-e2e-tests@master
       if: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' }}
@@ -85,6 +86,7 @@ jobs:
         gh-head-ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }}
 
     # Execute composite action using values from PR event
+     # Developer Sandbox Dashboard will be published too in this action
     - name: Publish current operator bundles for host & member based on comment event
       uses: codeready-toolchain/toolchain-cicd/publish-operators-for-e2e-tests@master
       if: ${{ github.event_name == 'issue_comment' }}
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 59408b5e7..e81cf59a6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -339,10 +339,10 @@ $RECYCLE.BIN/
 # Windows shortcuts
 *.lnk
 
-# custom .env file for Developer Sandbox UI E2E tests
+# custom .env file for Developer Sandbox Dashboard E2E tests
 testsupport/sandbox-ui/.env
 
-# trace folder for Developer Sandbox UI E2E tests
+# trace folder for Developer Sandbox Dashboard E2E tests
 trace/
 
 # End of https://www.gitignore.io/api/go,vim,git,macos,linux,emacs,windows,eclipse,intellij+all,visualstudiocode
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/build/sandbox-ui/Dockerfile b/build/sandbox-ui/Dockerfile
index 9ed1bd573..0b1635732 100644
--- a/build/sandbox-ui/Dockerfile
+++ b/build/sandbox-ui/Dockerfile
@@ -76,4 +76,4 @@ RUN yum install -y \
         libX11-xcb && \
     yum clean all
 
-CMD ["make", "test-ui-e2e"]
+CMD ["/bin/bash"]
diff --git a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/deployment.yaml b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/deployment.yaml
index e9cb04a8e..936753da3 100644
--- a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/deployment.yaml
+++ b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/deployment.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ kind: Deployment
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 metadata:
   name: rhdh
-  namespace: ${SANDBOX_UI_NS}
+  namespace: ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}
   labels:
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: rhdh
 spec:
diff --git a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/route.yaml b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/route.yaml
index 19faf1ce2..0b98efa70 100644
--- a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/route.yaml
+++ b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/route.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ kind: Route
 apiVersion: route.openshift.io/v1
 metadata:
   name: rhdh
-  namespace: ${SANDBOX_UI_NS}
+  namespace: ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}
   labels:
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: rhdh
 spec:
diff --git a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service-accounts.yaml b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service-accounts.yaml
index d1b9c0aa2..8504b2953 100644
--- a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service-accounts.yaml
+++ b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service-accounts.yaml
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ apiVersion: v1
 kind: ServiceAccount
 metadata:
   name: rhdh
-  namespace: ${SANDBOX_UI_NS}
\ No newline at end of file
+  namespace: ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service.yaml b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service.yaml
index c16e47632..52bfad24a 100644
--- a/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service.yaml
+++ b/deploy/sandbox-ui/base/service.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ kind: Service
 apiVersion: v1
 metadata:
   name: rhdh
-  namespace: ${SANDBOX_UI_NS}
+  namespace: ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}
   labels:
     app.kubernetes.io/instance: rhdh
 spec:
diff --git a/make/sandbox-ui.mk b/make/sandbox-ui.mk
index a485e1e55..be0114cfb 100644
--- a/make/sandbox-ui.mk
+++ b/make/sandbox-ui.mk
@@ -1,235 +1,97 @@
-SANDBOX_UI_NS := sandbox-ui
-SANDBOX_PLUGIN_IMAGE_NAME := sandbox-rhdh-plugin
-TAG := latest
-PLATFORM ?= linux/amd64
-RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP ?= $(TMPDIR)rhdh-plugins
-AUTH_FILE := /tmp/auth.json
-OPENID_SECRET_NAME=openid-sandbox-public-client-secret
-PUSH_SANDBOX_IMAGE ?= false
+DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS := devsandbox-dashboard
+IMAGE_PLATFORM ?= linux/amd64
+KUBECONFIG ?= $(HOME)/.kube/config
+OPENID_SECRET_NAME := openid-sandbox-public-client-secret
 UI_ENVIRONMENT := ui-e2e-tests
 SSO_USERNAME_READ := $(shell if [ -n "$(CI)" ]; then cat /usr/local/sandbox-secrets/SSO_USERNAME 2>/dev/null || echo ""; else echo "${SSO_USERNAME}"; fi)
 SSO_PASSWORD_READ := $(shell if [ -n "$(CI)" ]; then cat /usr/local/sandbox-secrets/SSO_PASSWORD 2>/dev/null || echo ""; else echo "${SSO_PASSWORD}"; fi)
 
-QUAY_NAMESPACE ?= codeready-toolchain-test
-IMAGE_NAME_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY ?= quay.io/$(QUAY_NAMESPACE)/sandbox-rhdh-plugin
 
-IMAGE_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY := $(shell \
-    if [ -n "$(CI)$(CLONEREFS_OPTIONS)" ]; then \
-        if [ -n "$(GITHUB_ACTIONS)" ]; then \
-            REPOSITORY_NAME=$$(basename "$(GITHUB_REPOSITORY)"); \
-            COMMIT_ID_SUFFIX=$$(echo "$(PULL_PULL_SHA)" | cut -c1-7); \
-            echo "$(IMAGE_NAME_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY):from.$${REPOSITORY_NAME}.PR$(PULL_NUMBER).$${COMMIT_ID_SUFFIX}"; \
-        else \
-            : "if REPO_NAME is not set, it means that the E2E tests were triggered by periodic CI job"; \
-            if [ -z "$(REPO_NAME)" ]; then \
-                echo "quay.io/codeready-toolchain/sandbox-rhdh-plugin:latest"; \
-            else \
-				AUTHOR=$$(jq -r '.refs[0].pulls[0].author' <<< $${CLONEREFS_OPTIONS} | tr -d '[:space:]'); \
-            	PULL_PULL_SHA=$${PULL_PULL_SHA:-$$(jq -r '.refs[0].pulls[0].sha' <<< $${CLONEREFS_OPTIONS} | tr -d '[:space:]')}; \
-            	COMMIT_ID_SUFFIX=$$(echo "$${PULL_PULL_SHA}" | cut -c1-7); \
-                echo "$(IMAGE_NAME_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY):from.$$(echo $(REPO_NAME) | sed 's/\"//g').PR$(PULL_NUMBER).$${COMMIT_ID_SUFFIX}"; \
-            fi; \
-        fi; \
-    else \
-        echo "$(IMAGE_NAME_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY):latest"; \
-    fi)
+PUBLISH_UI ?= false
+DEPLOY_UI ?= true
 
-
-.PHONY: deploy-sandbox-ui
-deploy-sandbox-ui: HOST_NS=$(shell oc get projects -l app=host-operator --output=name -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}' | sort | tail -n 1)
-deploy-sandbox-ui: REGISTRATION_SERVICE_API=https://$(shell oc get route registration-service -n ${HOST_NS} -o custom-columns=":spec.host" | tr -d '\n')/api/v1
-deploy-sandbox-ui: HOST_OPERATOR_API=https://$(shell oc get route api -n ${HOST_NS} -o custom-columns=":spec.host" | tr -d '\n')
-deploy-sandbox-ui: RHDH=https://rhdh-${SANDBOX_UI_NS}.$(shell oc get ingress.config.openshift.io/cluster -o jsonpath='{.spec.domain}')
-deploy-sandbox-ui:
-	$(MAKE) check-sso-credentials
-	@echo "sandbox ui will be deployed in '${SANDBOX_UI_NS}' namespace"
-	$(MAKE) create-namespace SANDBOX_UI_NS=${SANDBOX_UI_NS}
-ifeq ($(PUSH_SANDBOX_IMAGE),true)
-	$(MAKE) push-sandbox-plugin
-endif
-	oc kustomize deploy/sandbox-ui/ui-e2e-tests | REGISTRATION_SERVICE_API=${REGISTRATION_SERVICE_API} \
-		HOST_OPERATOR_API=${HOST_OPERATOR_API} \
-		SANDBOX_UI_NS=${SANDBOX_UI_NS} \
-		SANDBOX_PLUGIN_IMAGE=${IMAGE_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY} \
-		RHDH=${RHDH} envsubst | oc apply -f -
-	$(MAKE) configure-oauth-idp
-ifeq ($(ENVIRONMENT),ui-e2e-tests)
-	@echo "applying toolchainconfig changes"
-	@echo "HOST_NS: ${HOST_NS}"
-	@oc apply -f deploy/host-operator/ui-e2e-tests/toolchainconfig.yaml -n ${HOST_NS}
-	@echo "restarting registration-service to apply toolchainconfig changes"
-	@oc -n ${HOST_NS} rollout restart deploy/registration-service
-else
-	@echo "skipping toolchainconfig changes - environment is not ui-e2e-tests"
+.PHONY: get-and-publish-devsandbox-dashboard
+get-and-publish-devsandbox-dashboard:
+ifneq (${UI_REPO_PATH},)
+		$(eval UI_REPO_PATH_PARAM = -ur ${UI_REPO_PATH})
 endif
-	@oc -n ${SANDBOX_UI_NS} rollout status deploy/rhdh
-	@echo "Developer Sandbox UI running at ${RHDH}"
-
-
-check-sso-credentials:
-	@echo "checking SSO credentials..."
-	@if [ -z "$(SSO_USERNAME_READ)" ] || [ -z "$(SSO_PASSWORD_READ)" ]; then \
-		if [ -n "$(CI)" ]; then \
-			echo "SSO credential files not found or empty in CI environment"; \
-		else \
-		  	echo "SSO_USERNAME or SSO_PASSWORD environment variables not set"; \
-		fi; \
-		exit 1; \
-	fi
-	@echo "Validating SSO credentials..."
-	@status=$$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
-	  -X POST "https://sso.devsandbox.dev/auth/realms/sandbox-dev/protocol/openid-connect/token" \
-	  -d "grant_type=password" \
-	  -d "client_id=sandbox-public" \
-	  -d "username=$(SSO_USERNAME_READ)" \
-	  -d "password=$(SSO_PASSWORD_READ)"); \
-	if [ "$$status" != "200" ]; then \
-	  echo "failed trying to login to 'https://sso.devsandbox.dev/auth/realms/sandbox-dev' ($$status) — check your SSO credentials."; \
-	  exit 1; \
-	fi
-	@echo "SSO credentials validated successfully"
-
-configure-oauth-idp:
-	@echo "configuring DevSandbox identity provider"
-	@oc create secret generic ${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} \
-		--from-literal=clientSecret=dummy \
-		--namespace=openshift-config
-	OPENID_SECRET_NAME=${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} envsubst < deploy/sandbox-ui/ui-e2e-tests/oauth-idp-patch.yaml | \
-		oc patch oauths.config.openshift.io/cluster --type=merge --patch-file=/dev/stdin
-
-create-namespace:
-	@if ! oc get project ${SANDBOX_UI_NS} >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-		echo "Creating namespace ${SANDBOX_UI_NS}"; \
-		oc new-project ${SANDBOX_UI_NS} >/dev/null 2>&1 || true; \
-	else \
-		echo "Namespace ${SANDBOX_UI_NS} already exists"; \
-	fi
-	@oc project ${SANDBOX_UI_NS} >/dev/null 2>&1
-
-
-.PHONY: get-rhdh-plugins
-get-rhdh-plugins:
-ifeq ($(strip $(RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP)), $(TMPDIR)rhdh-plugins)
-ifeq ($(GITHUB_ACTIONS),true)
-	@echo "using author ${AUTHOR}"
-	$(eval AUTHOR_LINK = https://github.com/${AUTHOR})
-	@echo "detected branch ${BRANCH_NAME}"
-	# check if a branch with the same ref exists in the user's fork of rhdh-plugins repo
-	@echo "branches of ${AUTHOR_LINK}/rhdh-plugins - checking if there is a branch ${BRANCH_NAME} we could pair with."
-	curl ${AUTHOR_LINK}/rhdh-plugins.git/info/refs?service=git-upload-pack --output -
-	$(eval REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH := $(shell curl ${AUTHOR_LINK}/rhdh-plugins.git/info/refs?service=git-upload-pack --output - 2>/dev/null | grep -a "refs/heads/${BRANCH_NAME}$$" | awk '{print $$2}'))
-	
-	# check if the branch with the same name exists, if so then merge it with master and use the merge branch, if not then use master
-	@echo "REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH: ${REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH}"
-	@$(MAKE) pair-if-needed REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH=${REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH} AUTHOR_LINK=${AUTHOR_LINK}
-else
-	@echo "using rhdh-plugins repo from master"
-	@$(MAKE) clone-rhdh-plugins
-endif
-else
-	@echo "using local rhdh-plugins repo, no pairing needed: ${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}"
+ifneq (${FORCED_TAG},)
+		$(eval FORCED_TAG_PARAM = -ft ${FORCED_TAG})
 endif
-
-pair-if-needed:
-ifneq ($(strip $(REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH)),)
-	@echo "Branch ref of the user's fork to be used for pairing: \"${REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH}\""
-	git config --global user.email "devsandbox@redhat.com"
-	git config --global user.name "KubeSaw"
-	# clone
-	rm -rf ${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}
-	git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/redhat-developer/rhdh-plugins.git ${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}
-	# add the user's fork as remote repo
-	git --git-dir=${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}/.git --work-tree=${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP} remote add external ${AUTHOR_LINK}/rhdh-plugins.git
-	# fetch the branch
-	git --git-dir=${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}/.git --work-tree=${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP} fetch external ${REMOTE_RHDH_PLUGINS_BRANCH}
-	# merge the branch with master
-	git --git-dir=${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}/.git --work-tree=${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP} merge --ff-only FETCH_HEAD
-else
-	@echo "no pairing needed, using rhdh-plugins repo from master"
-	@$(MAKE) clone-rhdh-plugins 
+ifneq (${DEPLOY_LATEST},)
+		$(eval DEPLOY_LATEST_PARAM = -dl ${DEPLOY_LATEST})
 endif
+	@echo "Publishing and installing the Developer Sandbox Dashboard"
+	scripts/ci/manage-devsandbox-dashboard.sh -pp ${PUBLISH_UI} ${UI_REPO_PATH_PARAM} -ds ${DATE_SUFFIX} -qn ${QUAY_NAMESPACE} ${FORCED_TAG_PARAM} -du ${DEPLOY_UI} -ns ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} -os ${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} -en ${UI_ENVIRONMENT} ${DEPLOY_LATEST_PARAM}
 
-.PHONY: clone-rhdh-plugins
-clone-rhdh-plugins:
-	rm -rf ${RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP}; \
-	git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/redhat-developer/rhdh-plugins $(RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP) && \
-	echo "cloned to $(RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP)"
-
-.PHONY: push-sandbox-plugin
-push-sandbox-plugin:
-	$(MAKE) get-rhdh-plugins
-	cd $(RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP)/workspaces/sandbox && \
-	rm -rf plugins/sandbox/dist-dynamic && \
-	rm -rf red-hat-developer-hub-backstage-plugin-sandbox && \
-	yarn install && \
-	npx @janus-idp/cli@3.3.1 package package-dynamic-plugins \
-	  --tag $(IMAGE_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY) \
-	  --platform $(PLATFORM) && \
-	podman push $(IMAGE_TO_PUSH_IN_QUAY)
-
-.PHONY: clean-sandbox-ui
-clean-sandbox-ui: HOST_NS=$(shell oc get projects -l app=host-operator --output=name -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}' | sort | tail -n 1)
-clean-sandbox-ui:
-	@oc delete ns ${SANDBOX_UI_NS}
-	@oc delete secret ${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} -n openshift-config
-	@oc delete usersignup ${SSO_USERNAME} -n ${HOST_NS}
-
-.PHONY: e2e-run-sandbox-ui
-e2e-run-sandbox-ui: HOST_NS=$(shell oc get projects -l app=host-operator --output=name -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}' | sort | tail -n 1)
-e2e-run-sandbox-ui: RHDH=https://rhdh-${SANDBOX_UI_NS}.$(shell oc get ingress.config.openshift.io/cluster -o jsonpath='{.spec.domain}')
-e2e-run-sandbox-ui:
-	@echo "Installing Playwright..."
+.PHONY: e2e-run-devsandbox-dashboard
+e2e-run-devsandbox-dashboard: HOST_NS=$(shell oc get projects -l app=host-operator --output=name -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}' | sort | tail -n 1)
+e2e-run-devsandbox-dashboard: RHDH=https://rhdh-${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}.$(shell oc get ingress.config.openshift.io/cluster -o jsonpath='{.spec.domain}')
+e2e-run-devsandbox-dashboard:
 	$(eval PWGO_VER := $(shell grep -oE "playwright-go v\S+" go.mod | sed 's/playwright-go //g'))
 	@echo "Installing Playwright CLI version: $(PWGO_VER)"
 	go install github.com/playwright-community/playwright-go/cmd/playwright@$(PWGO_VER)
 	@echo "Installing Firefox browser for Playwright..."
 	$(GOPATH)/bin/playwright install firefox
 
-	@echo "Running Developer Sandbox UI setup e2e tests..."
-	SANDBOX_UI_NS=${SANDBOX_UI_NS} go test "./test/e2e/sandbox-ui/setup" -v -timeout=10m -failfast
+	@echo "Running Developer Sandbox Dashboard setup e2e tests..."
+	DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS=${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} go test "./test/e2e/sandbox-ui/setup" -v -timeout=10m -failfast
 	
-	@echo "Running Developer Sandbox UI e2e tests in firefox..."
+	@echo "Running Developer Sandbox Dashboard e2e tests in firefox..."
 	@SSO_USERNAME=$(SSO_USERNAME_READ) SSO_PASSWORD=$(SSO_PASSWORD_READ) BASE_URL=${RHDH} BROWSER=firefox envsubst < deploy/sandbox-ui/ui-e2e-tests/.env > testsupport/sandbox-ui/.env
 	go test "./test/e2e/sandbox-ui" -v -timeout=10m -failfast
 	@oc delete usersignup $(SSO_USERNAME_READ) -n $(HOST_NS)
 
-	@echo "The Developer Sandbox UI e2e tests successfully finished"
+	@echo "The Developer Sandbox Dashboard e2e tests successfully finished"
 
+.PHONY: test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e
+test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e: get-and-publish-devsandbox-dashboard e2e-run-devsandbox-dashboard
 
-.PHONY: test-ui-e2e
-test-ui-e2e:
-	$(MAKE) deploy-sandbox-ui e2e-run-sandbox-ui ENVIRONMENT=${UI_ENVIRONMENT}
+.PHONY: test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-local
+test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-local: 
+	$(MAKE) get-and-publish-devsandbox-dashboard e2e-run-devsandbox-dashboard UI_REPO_PATH=${PWD}/../devsandbox-dashboard PUBLISH_UI=true DEPLOY_UI=true
 
-.PHONY: test-ui-e2e-local
-test-ui-e2e-local:
-	$(MAKE) deploy-sandbox-ui e2e-run-sandbox-ui RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP=${PWD}/../rhdh-plugins ENVIRONMENT=${UI_ENVIRONMENT} PUSH_SANDBOX_IMAGE=true
-
-
-UNIT_TEST_IMAGE_NAME=sandbox-ui-e2e-tests
-UNIT_TEST_DOCKERFILE=build/sandbox-ui/Dockerfile
+.PHONY: clean-devsandbox-dashboard
+clean-devsandbox-dashboard: HOST_NS=$(shell oc get projects -l app=host-operator --output=name -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}' | sort | tail -n 1)
+clean-devsandbox-dashboard:
+	@oc delete ns ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}
+	@oc delete secret ${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} -n openshift-config
+	@oc delete usersignup ${SSO_USERNAME} -n ${HOST_NS}
 
-# Build Developer Sandbox UI e2e tests image using podman
-.PHONY: build-sandbox-ui-e2e-tests
-build-sandbox-ui-e2e-tests:
-	@echo "building the $(UNIT_TEST_IMAGE_NAME) image with podman..."
-	podman build --platform $(PLATFORM) -t $(UNIT_TEST_IMAGE_NAME) -f $(UNIT_TEST_DOCKERFILE) .
 
-# Run Developer Sandbox UI e2e tests image using podman
-.PHONY: test-sandbox-ui-in-container
-test-sandbox-ui-in-container: build-sandbox-ui-e2e-tests
-	@echo "pushing Developer Sandbox UI image..."
-	$(MAKE) push-sandbox-plugin
+E2E_TEST_IMAGE_NAME=devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-tests
+E2E_TEST_DOCKERFILE=build/sandbox-ui/Dockerfile
+
+# Build Developer Sandbox Dashboard e2e tests image using podman
+.PHONY: build-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-tests
+build-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-tests:
+	@echo "building the $(E2E_TEST_IMAGE_NAME) image with podman..."
+	podman build --platform $(IMAGE_PLATFORM) -t $(E2E_TEST_IMAGE_NAME) -f $(E2E_TEST_DOCKERFILE) .
+
+# Run Developer Sandbox Dashboard e2e tests image using podman
+.PHONY: test-devsandbox-dashboard-in-container
+test-devsandbox-dashboard-in-container: build-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-tests
+ifneq ($(UI_REPO_PATH),)
+	$(eval FORCED_TAG := $(DATE_SUFFIX))
+	$(eval ABS_UI_REPO_PATH := $(abspath $(UI_REPO_PATH)))
+	@echo "Generated FORCED_TAG: $(FORCED_TAG)"
+	@echo "Using UI_REPO_PATH: $(ABS_UI_REPO_PATH)"
+	@echo "pushing Developer Dashboard image..."
+	$(MAKE) get-and-publish-devsandbox-dashboard PUBLISH_UI=true DEPLOY_UI=false FORCED_TAG=$(FORCED_TAG) UI_REPO_PATH=$(UI_REPO_PATH)
+else
+	@echo "Skipping Developer Sandbox Dashboard publish - UI_REPO_PATH not set"
+endif
 	@echo "running the e2e tests in podman container..."
-	podman run --platform $(PLATFORM) --rm \
+	podman run --platform $(IMAGE_PLATFORM) --rm \
 	  -v $(KUBECONFIG):/root/.kube/config \
 	  -e KUBECONFIG=/root/.kube/config \
 	  -v ${PWD}:/root/toolchain-e2e \
 	  -e E2E_REPO_PATH=/root/toolchain-e2e \
-	  -v $(RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP):/root/rhdh-plugins \
-	  -e RHDH_PLUGINS_TMP=/root/rhdh-plugins \
+	  $(if $(ABS_UI_REPO_PATH),-v $(ABS_UI_REPO_PATH):/root/devsandbox-dashboard -e UI_REPO_PATH=/root/devsandbox-dashboard) \
+	  $(if $(ABS_UI_REPO_PATH),-e FORCED_TAG=$(FORCED_TAG)) \
 	  -e SSO_USERNAME=$(SSO_USERNAME) \
 	  -e SSO_PASSWORD=$(SSO_PASSWORD) \
 	  -e QUAY_NAMESPACE=$(QUAY_NAMESPACE) \
-	  -e TMP=/tmp/ \
-	  -e RUNNING_IN_CONTAINER=true \
-	  $(UNIT_TEST_IMAGE_NAME)
+	  -e DEPLOY_UI=true \
+	  -e PUBLISH_UI=false \
+	  $(E2E_TEST_IMAGE_NAME) make test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e
diff --git a/make/test.mk b/make/test.mk
index 622459451..8bf9800c4 100644
--- a/make/test.mk
+++ b/make/test.mk
@@ -49,9 +49,9 @@ ifeq ($(CI),true)
   # if we are running on CI, we want to run the ui e2e tests in the toolchain-e2e presubmit and periodic CI jobs
   # if REPO_NAME is not set, it means that the e2e tests were triggered by the periodic CI job
   ifeq ($(filter-out toolchain-e2e,$(REPO_NAME)),)
-	$(MAKE) test-ui-e2e
+	$(MAKE) test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e
 	@echo "UI E2E tests successfully finished"
-	@echo "To clean the Developer Sandbox UI run 'make clean-sandbox-ui'"
+	@echo "To clean the Developer Sandbox Dashboard run 'make clean-devsandbox-dashboard'"
   endif
 endif
 
@@ -294,7 +294,9 @@ deploy-single-member-e2e-latest:
 
 .PHONY: publish-current-bundles-for-e2e
 ## Target that is supposed to be called from CI - it builds & publishes the current operator bundles
-publish-current-bundles-for-e2e: get-and-publish-operators
+publish-current-bundles-for-e2e: PUBLISH_UI=true
+publish-current-bundles-for-e2e: DEPLOY_UI=false
+publish-current-bundles-for-e2e: get-and-publish-operators get-and-publish-devsandbox-dashboard
 
 .PHONY: get-and-publish-operators
 get-and-publish-operators: PUBLISH_OPERATOR=true
diff --git a/scripts/ci/manage-devsandbox-dashboard.sh b/scripts/ci/manage-devsandbox-dashboard.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..9b3d1188e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/manage-devsandbox-dashboard.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+user_help () {
+    echo "Publishes Developer Sandbox Dashboard to quay and deploys it to an OpenShift cluster"
+    echo "options:"
+    echo "-pp, --publish-ui         Builds and pushes the UI to quay"
+    echo "-qn, --quay-namespace     Quay namespace the images should be pushed to"
+    echo "-ur, --ui-repo-path       Path to the UI repo"
+    echo "-du, --deploy-ui          Deploys the UI to the OpenShift cluster"
+    echo "-ds, --date-suffix        Date suffix to be added to some resources that are created"
+    echo "-ft, --forced-tag         Forces a tag to be set to all built images. In the case deployment the tag is used for index image in the created CatalogSource"
+    echo "-ns, --namespace          Namespace to deploy the Developer Sandbox Dashboard"
+    echo "-os, --openid-secret      OpenID secret name"
+    echo "-en, --environment        Environment name"
+    echo "-dl, --deploy-latest      Deploys the latest version of the Developer Sandbox Dashboard"
+    echo "-h,  --help               To show this help text"
+    echo ""
+    exit 0
+}
+
+read_arguments() {
+    if [[ $# -lt 2 ]]
+    then
+        user_help
+    fi
+
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+        local arg="$1"
+        case "$arg" in
+                -h|--help)
+                    user_help
+                    ;;
+                -pp|--publish-ui)
+                    shift
+                    PUBLISH_UI=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -qn|--quay-namespace)
+                    shift
+                    QUAY_NAMESPACE=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -ur|--ui-repo-path)
+                    shift
+                    UI_REPO_PATH=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -du|--deploy-ui)
+                    shift
+                    DEPLOY_UI=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -ds|--date-suffix)
+                    shift
+                    DATE_SUFFIX=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -ft|--forced-tag)
+                    shift
+                    FORCED_TAG=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -ns|--namespace)
+                    shift
+                    DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -os|--openid-secret)
+                    shift
+                    OPENID_SECRET_NAME=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                -en|--environment)
+                    shift
+                    ENVIRONMENT=$1
+                    shift
+                    ;;
+                *)
+                   echo "$1 is not a recognized flag!" >> /dev/stderr
+                   user_help
+                   exit -1
+                   ;;
+          esac
+    done
+}
+
+check_sso_credentials() {
+    echo "checking SSO credentials..."
+    
+    if [[ -z "${SSO_USERNAME_READ}" ]] || [[ -z "${SSO_PASSWORD_READ}" ]]; then
+        if [[ -n "${CI}" ]]; then
+            echo "SSO credential files not found or empty in CI environment"
+        else
+            echo "SSO_USERNAME or SSO_PASSWORD environment variables not set"
+        fi
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    
+    echo "Validating SSO credentials..."
+    
+    status=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
+        -X POST "https://sso.devsandbox.dev/auth/realms/sandbox-dev/protocol/openid-connect/token" \
+        -d "grant_type=password" \
+        -d "client_id=sandbox-public" \
+        -d "username=${SSO_USERNAME_READ}" \
+        -d "password=${SSO_PASSWORD_READ}")
+    
+    if [[ "${status}" != "200" ]]; then
+        echo "failed trying to login to 'https://sso.devsandbox.dev/auth/realms/sandbox-dev' (${status}) — check your SSO credentials."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    
+    echo "SSO credentials validated successfully"
+}
+
+configure_oauth_idp() {
+    echo "configuring DevSandbox identity provider"
+    
+    oc create secret generic ${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} \
+        --from-literal=clientSecret=dummy \
+        --namespace=openshift-config \
+        --dry-run=client -o yaml | oc apply -f -
+    
+    OPENID_SECRET_NAME=${OPENID_SECRET_NAME} envsubst < deploy/sandbox-ui/ui-e2e-tests/oauth-idp-patch.yaml | \
+        oc patch oauths.config.openshift.io/cluster --type=merge --patch-file=/dev/stdin
+}
+
+create_namespace() {
+    if ! oc get project ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "Creating namespace ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}"
+        oc new-project ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    else
+        echo "Namespace ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} already exists"
+    fi
+    oc project ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+set -e
+
+read_arguments "$@"
+
+if [[ -n "${CI}" ]]; then
+    set -ex
+else
+    set -e
+fi
+
+source scripts/ci/manage-operator.sh
+
+# Global variables for the script
+DEFAULT_SANDBOX_PLUGIN_IMAGE="quay.io/codeready-toolchain/sandbox-rhdh-plugin:latest"
+
+
+if [[ "${DEPLOY_LATEST}" != "true" ]] && [[ -n "${CI}${UI_REPO_PATH}" ]] && [[ $(echo ${REPO_NAME} | sed 's/"//g') != "release" ]]; then
+    REPOSITORY_NAME=devsandbox-dashboard
+    PROVIDED_REPOSITORY_PATH=${UI_REPO_PATH}
+    get_repo
+    set_tags
+
+    IMAGE_LOC=quay.io/${QUAY_NAMESPACE}/sandbox-rhdh-plugin:${TAGS}
+
+    if [[ ${PUBLISH_UI} == "true" ]]; then
+        echo "Going to push Developer Sandbox Dashboard image..."
+        # workaround since our image is still named sandbox-rhdh-plugin
+        REPOSITORY_NAME=sandbox-rhdh-plugin
+        push_image
+    fi
+else
+    echo "Running in local mode without setting the UI_REPO_PATH, using sandbox-rhdh-plugin image"
+    IMAGE_LOC="${DEFAULT_SANDBOX_PLUGIN_IMAGE}"
+fi
+
+if [[ ${DEPLOY_UI} == "true" ]]; then
+    # Get the HOST_NS (host operator namespace)
+    HOST_NS=$(oc get projects -l app=host-operator --output=name -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{"\n"}{end}' | sort | tail -n 1)
+
+    # Get the Registration Service API URL
+    REGISTRATION_SERVICE_API="https://$(oc get route registration-service -n ${HOST_NS} -o custom-columns=":spec.host" | tr -d '\n')/api/v1"
+
+    # Get the Host Operator API URL
+    HOST_OPERATOR_API="https://$(oc get route api -n ${HOST_NS} -o custom-columns=":spec.host" | tr -d '\n')"
+
+    # Get the RHDH URL
+    RHDH="https://rhdh-${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}.$(oc get ingress.config.openshift.io/cluster -o jsonpath='{.spec.domain}')"
+
+    echo "Developer Sandbox Dashboard will be deployed in '${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS}' namespace"
+
+    SSO_USERNAME_READ=$(if [[ -n "${CI}" ]]; then cat /usr/local/sandbox-secrets/SSO_USERNAME 2>/dev/null || echo ""; else echo "${SSO_USERNAME}"; fi)
+    SSO_PASSWORD_READ=$(if [[ -n "${CI}" ]]; then cat /usr/local/sandbox-secrets/SSO_PASSWORD 2>/dev/null || echo ""; else echo "${SSO_PASSWORD}"; fi)
+
+    # Call check-sso-credentials
+    check_sso_credentials
+
+    # Create namespace
+    create_namespace
+
+    # Apply kustomize with envsubst
+    SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+    REPO_ROOT="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../.." && pwd)"
+
+    oc kustomize ${REPO_ROOT}/deploy/sandbox-ui/${ENVIRONMENT} | \
+        REGISTRATION_SERVICE_API=${REGISTRATION_SERVICE_API} \
+        HOST_OPERATOR_API=${HOST_OPERATOR_API} \
+        DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS=${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} \
+        SANDBOX_PLUGIN_IMAGE=${IMAGE_LOC} \
+        RHDH=${RHDH} envsubst | oc apply -f -
+
+    # Configure OAuth IDP
+    configure_oauth_idp
+
+    # Conditionally apply toolchainconfig changes
+    if [[ "${ENVIRONMENT}" == "ui-e2e-tests" ]]; then
+        echo "applying toolchainconfig changes"
+        oc apply -f ${REPO_ROOT}/deploy/host-operator/ui-e2e-tests/toolchainconfig.yaml -n ${HOST_NS}
+        echo "restarting registration-service to apply toolchainconfig changes"
+        oc -n ${HOST_NS} rollout restart deploy/registration-service
+    else
+        echo "skipping toolchainconfig changes - environment is not ui-e2e-tests"
+    fi
+
+    # Wait for RHDH deployment to be ready
+    oc -n ${DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS} rollout status deploy/rhdh --timeout 5m
+    echo "Developer Sandbox Dashboard running at ${RHDH}"
+fi
diff --git a/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/README.md b/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/README.md
index 4d864b41a..12353906e 100644
--- a/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/README.md
+++ b/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-# Developer Sandbox UI E2E Tests
+# Developer Sandbox Dashboard E2E Tests
 
-The UI E2E tests are executed against the Developer Sandbox UI running in OpenShift.
+The UI E2E tests are executed against the Developer Sandbox Dashboard running in OpenShift.
 
 *Prerequisites*:
 
@@ -9,45 +9,29 @@ The UI E2E tests are executed against the Developer Sandbox UI running in OpenSh
 2. Ensure you are using Node.js version 22
     - to easily manage it, you can run `nvm use 22`
 3. Ensure you have `yarn` installed
-4. Make sure you can log in at <https://sso.devsandbox.dev/auth/realms/sandbox-dev/account> using your SSO_USERNAME and SSO_PASSWORD
-5. Make sure you have toolchain resources deployed on your cluster (you can run `make prepare-and-deploy-e2e`)
+4. Make sure you can log in at <https://sso.devsandbox.dev/auth/realms/sandbox-dev/account> using your `SSO_USERNAME` and `SSO_PASSWORD`. You can contact the [Developer Sandbox team](devsandbox@redhat.com) to obtain the test user credentials.
+5. Make sure you have toolchain resources deployed on your cluster (you can run `make prepare-and-deploy-e2e`  or if you are on apple chipset build and deploy all projects from locally with `make prepare-and-deploy-e2e-local PLATFORM=linux/arm64`)
+6. If you want to test the Developer Sandbox Dashboard from your local devsandbox-dashboard repository, it's required that you create a repository called `sandbox-rhdh-plugin` in your quay organization and make it public
 
-### Running UI E2E Tests locally
+## Running UI E2E Tests locally
 
-`make test-ui-e2e SSO_USERNAME=${SSO_USERNAME} SSO_PASSWORD=${SSO_PASSWORD} PUSH_SANDBOX_IMAGE=true`
+`make test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e SSO_USERNAME=${SSO_USERNAME} SSO_PASSWORD=${SSO_PASSWORD}`
 
-If you want to run and test the Developer Sandbox UI from your local rhdh-plugins repo, run `make test-ui-e2e-local SSO_USERNAME=${SSO_USERNAME} SSO_PASSWORD=${SSO_PASSWORD}`
+If you want to run and test the Developer Sandbox Dashboard from your local devsandbox-dashboard repository, run `make test-devsandbox-dashboard-e2e-local SSO_USERNAME=${SSO_USERNAME} SSO_PASSWORD=${SSO_PASSWORD}`
 
 For now, the UI E2E tests are running only through the Firefox browser.
 
-### Running UI E2E Tests in Container
+## Running UI E2E Tests in Container
 
-`make test-sandbox-ui-in-container SSO_USERNAME=<SSO_USERNAME> SSO_PASSWORD=<SSO_PASSWORD> HOST_NS=<HOST_NS>`
+`make test-devsandbox-dashboard-in-container SSO_USERNAME=<SSO_USERNAME> SSO_PASSWORD=<SSO_PASSWORD>`
 
-### Running UI E2E Tests against dev/stage/prod
+If you want to use your local devsandbox-dashboard, please:
+1. Set the `QUAY_NAMESPACE` environment variable to your quay username: `export QUAY_NAMESPACE=<your-quay-username>`
+2. Run `make test-devsandbox-dashboard-in-container SSO_USERNAME=<SSO_USERNAME> SSO_PASSWORD=<SSO_PASSWORD> UI_REPO_PATH=${PWD}/../devsandbox-dashboard`
 
-If you want to run the UI E2E tests against dev/stage/prod, please follow the next steps:
+## Deploy Developer Sandbox Dashboard in E2E mode
 
-- have a new Red Hat account or an account that was deactivated
-- fill `testsupport/sandbox-ui/.env`, note that to run the UI E2E tests against dev/stage/prod, you need to set the ENVIRONMENT to dev.
-
-```
-SSO_USERNAME=<your-username>
-SSO_PASSWORD=<your-password>
-BASE_URL=https://sandbox.redhat.com/
-ENVIRONMENT=dev
-BROWSER=firefox
-```
-
-- run `go test "./test/e2e/sandbox-ui" -v -timeout=10m -failfast -count=1`
-
-`make test-sandbox-ui-in-container SSO_USERNAME=<SSO_USERNAME> SSO_PASSWORD=<SSO_PASSWORD>`
-
-### Deploy Developer Sandbox UI in E2E mode
-
-`make deploy-sandbox-ui HOST_NS=<HOST_NS>`
-
-Please note that OCP cluster does not have a valid CA, so when accessing the Developer Sandbox UI, you need to:
+Please note that OCP cluster does not have a valid CA, so when accessing the Developer Sandbox Dashboard, you need to:
 
 - accept to proceed unsafely
 
@@ -57,7 +41,7 @@ Please note that OCP cluster does not have a valid CA, so when accessing the Dev
 
 ![registration-service](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6c2f7446-1de2-4701-ace7-2d6796f49eeb)
 
-### Clean Developer Sandbox UI
+## Clean Developer Sandbox Dashboard
 
-`make clean-sandbox-ui HOST_NS=<HOST_NS> SSO_USERNAME=<SSO_USERNAME>`
+`make clean-devsandbox-dashboard SSO_USERNAME=<SSO_USERNAME>`
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/homepage_test.go b/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/homepage_test.go
index 460cb50e8..593b82558 100644
--- a/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/homepage_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/homepage_test.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // TestHomepage tests the homepage layout and welcome text
-// when the user accesses the Developer Sandbox UI for the first time
+// when the user accesses the Developer Sandbox Dashboard for the first time
 func TestHomepage(t *testing.T) {
 	page := sandboxui.Setup(t, "test-homepage")
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/setup/setup_test.go b/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/setup/setup_test.go
index a2028ee03..52bc99f71 100644
--- a/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/setup/setup_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e/sandbox-ui/setup/setup_test.go
@@ -7,6 +7,6 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestSetup(t *testing.T) {
-	// check Developer Sandbox UI is up and running
-	testsupport.WaitForSandboxUI(t)
+	// check Developer Sandbox Dashboard is up and running
+	testsupport.WaitForDevSandboxDashboard(t)
 }
diff --git a/testsupport/init.go b/testsupport/init.go
index 5c4f9731e..7fb8ce722 100644
--- a/testsupport/init.go
+++ b/testsupport/init.go
@@ -302,9 +302,9 @@ func IsSecondMemberMode(t *testing.T) bool {
 	return secondMemberMode == "true"
 }
 
-// WaitForSandboxUI waits for the Developer Sandbox UI to be ready.
-func WaitForSandboxUI(t *testing.T) {
-	ns := os.Getenv("SANDBOX_UI_NS")
+// WaitForDevSandboxDashboard waits for the Developer Sandbox Dashboard to be ready.
+func WaitForDevSandboxDashboard(t *testing.T) {
+	ns := os.Getenv("DEVSANDBOX_DASHBOARD_NS")
 	require.NotEmpty(t, ns)
 
 	initOnce.Do(func() {