diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index a3b828aa..650b8a7d 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -66,6 +66,8 @@ When adding a new command that depends on configuration, wire config initializat
 
 Created automatically on first run with defaults. Supports emulator types: `aws`, `snowflake`, and `azure`.
 
+Each `[[containers]]` block may set an optional `image` to override the default Docker Hub image (e.g. an internal registry mirror or a locally loaded offline image). `ContainerConfig.Image()` returns `image` as-is when it already carries a tag, otherwise it appends `tag` (or `latest`); the default `localstack/<product>:<tag>` is used when `image` is unset.
+
 # Emulator Setup Commands
 
 Use `lstk setup <emulator>` to set up CLI integration for an emulator type:
diff --git a/internal/config/containers.go b/internal/config/containers.go
index 45ab23d6..30bc16d4 100644
--- a/internal/config/containers.go
+++ b/internal/config/containers.go
@@ -112,10 +112,15 @@ func KnownImageReposForType(t EmulatorType) []string {
 }
 
 type ContainerConfig struct {
-	Type   EmulatorType `mapstructure:"type"`
-	Tag    string       `mapstructure:"tag"`
-	Port   string       `mapstructure:"port"`
-	Volume string       `mapstructure:"volume"`
+	Type EmulatorType `mapstructure:"type"`
+	Tag  string       `mapstructure:"tag"`
+	Port string       `mapstructure:"port"`
+	// CustomImage overrides the default Docker image for this emulator. Set it to use an
+	// image from an internal registry or a locally loaded offline image instead of pulling
+	// the default localstack image from Docker Hub. If it carries no tag, Tag (or "latest")
+	// is appended.
+	CustomImage string `mapstructure:"image"`
+	Volume      string `mapstructure:"volume"`
 	// Env is a list of named environment references defined in the top-level [env.*] config sections.
 	Env []string `mapstructure:"env"`
 	// Snapshot is an optional snapshot REF (e.g. "pod:my-baseline" or a local path)
@@ -205,17 +210,32 @@ func (c *ContainerConfig) ResolvedEnv(namedEnvs map[string]map[string]string) ([
 }
 
 func (c *ContainerConfig) Image() (string, error) {
-	productName, err := c.ProductName()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
 	tag := c.Tag
 	if tag == "" {
 		tag = "latest"
 	}
+	if c.CustomImage != "" {
+		if imageHasTag(c.CustomImage) {
+			return c.CustomImage, nil
+		}
+		return c.CustomImage + ":" + tag, nil
+	}
+	productName, err := c.ProductName()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s:%s", dockerRegistry, productName, tag), nil
 }
 
+// imageHasTag reports whether a Docker image reference already includes a tag.
+// A colon only counts as a tag separator when it appears in the final path
+// segment, so "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro" (registry port, no tag) is
+// correctly treated as untagged.
+func imageHasTag(image string) bool {
+	lastSegment := image[strings.LastIndex(image, "/")+1:]
+	return strings.Contains(lastSegment, ":")
+}
+
 // Name returns the container name: "localstack-{type}" or "localstack-{type}-{tag}" if tag != latest
 func (c *ContainerConfig) Name() string {
 	tag := c.Tag
diff --git a/internal/config/containers_test.go b/internal/config/containers_test.go
index ff1bccb0..0fbca862 100644
--- a/internal/config/containers_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/containers_test.go
@@ -140,6 +140,38 @@ func TestEmulatorTypeForImage_Azure(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, EmulatorAzure, EmulatorTypeForImage("localstack/localstack-azure:latest"))
 }
 
+func TestImage_CustomImage(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name        string
+		customImage string
+		tag         string
+		want        string
+	}{
+		{"untagged custom image gets configured tag", "my-registry.internal/localstack-pro", "2026.4", "my-registry.internal/localstack-pro:2026.4"},
+		{"untagged custom image defaults to latest", "local-image-name", "", "local-image-name:latest"},
+		{"tagged custom image is used as-is", "my-registry.internal/localstack-pro:custom", "latest", "my-registry.internal/localstack-pro:custom"},
+		{"registry port is not mistaken for a tag", "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro", "2026.4", "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro:2026.4"},
+		{"registry port with explicit tag", "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro:custom", "", "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro:custom"},
+		{"digest-pinned image is used as-is", "localstack/localstack-pro@sha256:abc123def456", "2026.4", "localstack/localstack-pro@sha256:abc123def456"},
+		{"registry port with digest is used as-is", "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro@sha256:abc123def456", "", "my-registry:5000/localstack-pro@sha256:abc123def456"},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			c := &ContainerConfig{Type: EmulatorAWS, Port: "4566", Tag: tt.tag, CustomImage: tt.customImage}
+			image, err := c.Image()
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, image)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestImage_DefaultWhenNoCustomImage(t *testing.T) {
+	c := &ContainerConfig{Type: EmulatorAWS, Port: "4566", Tag: "latest"}
+	image, err := c.Image()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "localstack/localstack-pro:latest", image)
+}
+
 func TestSelfValidatesLicense(t *testing.T) {
 	// Snowflake and Azure containers activate their own license against the
 	// licensing server, so lstk skips its pre-flight platform license check.
diff --git a/internal/config/default_config.toml b/internal/config/default_config.toml
index 02b9ef20..e6818a0b 100644
--- a/internal/config/default_config.toml
+++ b/internal/config/default_config.toml
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@
 type = "aws"     # Emulator type. Currently supported: "aws", "snowflake", "azure"
 tag  = "latest"  # Docker image tag, e.g. "latest", "2026.4"
 port = "4566"    # Host port the emulator will be accessible on
+# image = ""     # Custom image to use instead of the default Docker Hub image, e.g.
+#                # an internal registry mirror or a locally loaded offline image.
+#                # If it carries no tag, 'tag' above is appended.
 # volume = ""    # Host directory for persistent state (default: OS cache dir)
 # env = []       # Named environment profiles to apply (see [env.*] sections below)
 # snapshot = "pod:my-baseline"  # Snapshot REF auto-loaded on start (AWS only); skip once with 'lstk start --no-snapshot'
diff --git a/test/integration/start_test.go b/test/integration/start_test.go
index bfc3ab4e..13e0671d 100644
--- a/test/integration/start_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/start_test.go
@@ -662,6 +662,37 @@ func TestStartHidesHeaderUntilAuthComplete(t *testing.T) {
 	_ = cmd.Wait()
 }
 
+// TestStartWithCustomImageFailsClearlyWhenUnavailable verifies that a configured
+// custom image is honored and that, when it can be neither pulled nor found
+// locally, the start fails with the pull error rather than hanging. The "latest"
+// tag defers the license check until after the pull, so the (unreachable) license
+// endpoint is never contacted — the pull failure surfaces first.
+func TestStartWithCustomImageFailsClearlyWhenUnavailable(t *testing.T) {
+	requireDocker(t)
+	cleanup()
+	t.Cleanup(cleanup)
+
+	configContent := `
+[[containers]]
+type = "aws"
+tag = "latest"
+port = "4566"
+image = "lstk-nonexistent-custom-image"
+`
+	configFile := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "config.toml")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(configFile, []byte(configContent), 0644))
+
+	// A dummy token satisfies the up-front auth check (it is not validated here);
+	// the flow fails when the custom image cannot be pulled or found locally.
+	e := env.Environ(testEnvWithHome(t.TempDir(), "")).With(env.AuthToken, "dummy-token")
+	stdout, stderr, err := runLstk(t, testContext(t), "", e, "--config", configFile, "--non-interactive", "start")
+
+	require.Error(t, err, "expected start to fail when the custom image is unavailable")
+	requireExitCode(t, 1, err)
+	combined := stdout + stderr
+	assert.Contains(t, combined, "Failed to pull lstk-nonexistent-custom-image:latest")
+}
+
 func cleanup() {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	// ContainerRemove with Force already SIGKILLs the container; an explicit