diff --git a/HelperTasks.yml b/HelperTasks.yml
index 7b55cbd5f..bacd8307d 100644
--- a/HelperTasks.yml
+++ b/HelperTasks.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ vars:
     sh: (echo "/tmp/var-check-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)")
   minio_flag_file:
     sh: (echo "/tmp/minio-flag-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)")
+  solo_chart_file:
+    sh: (echo "/tmp/solo-chart-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)")
+  solo_consensus_file:
+    sh: (echo "/tmp/solo-consensus-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)")
 
 env:
   SOLO_CLUSTER_SETUP_NAMESPACE: solo-setup
@@ -47,8 +51,6 @@ tasks:
         - node_list_internal
         - node_identifiers
         - run_build_file
-        - SOLO_CHART_VERSION
-        - CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION
         - SOLO_NAMESPACE
         - SOLO_CLUSTER_SETUP_NAMESPACE
         - SOLO_CLUSTER_RELEASE_NAME
@@ -158,8 +160,15 @@ tasks:
         if [[ "${LOCAL_BUILD_FLAG}" == "" ]]; then
           export RELEASE_FLAG='--release-tag {{.CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION}}'
         fi
-        SOLO_HOME_DIR=${SOLO_HOME_DIR} npm run solo -- network deploy --namespace "${SOLO_NAMESPACE}" --node-aliases-unparsed {{.node_identifiers}} ${RELEASE_FLAG} --solo-chart-version "${SOLO_CHART_VERSION}" ${VALUES_FLAG} ${SETTINGS_FLAG} ${LOG4J2_FLAG} ${APPLICATION_PROPERTIES_FLAG} -q
-      - SOLO_HOME_DIR=${SOLO_HOME_DIR} npm run solo -- node setup --namespace "${SOLO_NAMESPACE}" --node-aliases-unparsed {{.node_identifiers}} --release-tag "${CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION}" ${LOCAL_BUILD_FLAG} -q
+        if [[ "${SOLO_CHART_VERSION}" != "" ]]; then
+          export SOLO_CHART_FLAG='--solo-chart-version ${SOLO_CHART_VERSION}'
+        fi
+        SOLO_HOME_DIR=${SOLO_HOME_DIR} npm run solo -- network deploy --namespace "${SOLO_NAMESPACE}" --node-aliases-unparsed {{.node_identifiers}} ${RELEASE_FLAG} ${SOLO_CHART_FLAG} ${VALUES_FLAG} ${SETTINGS_FLAG} ${LOG4J2_FLAG} ${APPLICATION_PROPERTIES_FLAG} -q
+      - |
+        if [[ "${CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION}" != "" ]]; then
+          export CONSENSUS_NODE_FLAG='--release-tag ${CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION}'
+        fi
+        SOLO_HOME_DIR=${SOLO_HOME_DIR} npm run solo -- node setup --namespace "${SOLO_NAMESPACE}" --node-aliases-unparsed {{.node_identifiers}} ${CONSENSUS_NODE_FLAG} ${LOCAL_BUILD_FLAG} -q
 
   solo:network:destroy:
     internal: true
@@ -211,24 +220,30 @@ tasks:
       - SOLO_HOME_DIR=${SOLO_HOME_DIR} npm run solo -- relay destroy -n "${SOLO_NAMESPACE}" -i node1 -q
 
   solo:cache:remove:
+    silent: true
     internal: true
     status:
       - test [[ ! -d {{ .solo_cache_dir }} ]]
     cmds:
+      - echo "Removing solo cache directory..."
       - rm -rf {{ .solo_cache_dir }}
 
   solo:logs:remove:
+    silent: true
     internal: true
     status:
       - test [[ ! -d {{ .solo_logs_dir }} ]]
     cmds:
+      - echo "Removing solo logs directory..."
       - rm -rf {{ .solo_logs_dir }}
 
   solo:config:remove:
+    silent: true
     internal: true
     status:
       - test [[ ! -f {{ .solo_user_dir }}/solo.yaml ]]
     cmds:
+      - echo "Removing solo config..."
       - rm -rf {{ .solo_user_dir }}/solo.yaml
 
   cluster:create:
@@ -250,7 +265,9 @@ tasks:
       - kind delete cluster --name "${SOLO_CLUSTER_NAME}"
 
   clean:port-forward:
+    silent: true
     cmds:
+      - echo "Cleaning up port forwards..."
       - |
         if [[ "{{ .use_port_forwards }}" == "true" ]];then
           pkill -f "kubectl port-forward -n {{ .SOLO_NAMESPACE }}" | grep -w ${UID} || true
@@ -384,3 +401,15 @@ tasks:
       - task: "clean:logs"
       - task: "solo:config:remove"
       - task: "clean:port-forward"
+      - task: "clean:tmp"
+
+  clean:tmp:
+    desc: remove temporary files
+    silent: true
+    cmds:
+      - echo "Cleaning up temporary files..."
+      - rm -f /tmp/run-build-*
+      - rm -f /tmp/var-check-*
+      - rm -f /tmp/minio-flag-*
+      - rm -f /tmp/solo-chart-*
+      - rm -f /tmp/solo-consensus-*
diff --git a/Taskfile.yml b/Taskfile.yml
index 342ebaca4..e03d96a28 100644
--- a/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/Taskfile.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ includes:
 env:
   SOLO_NETWORK_SIZE: 2
   SOLO_NAMESPACE: solo-e2e
-  SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.36.3
-  CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
+  # SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.39.0
+  # CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
 vars:
   use_port_forwards: "true"
 
diff --git a/examples/custom-network-config/Taskfile.yml b/examples/custom-network-config/Taskfile.yml
index 51aa756f1..7d888c8b5 100644
--- a/examples/custom-network-config/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/examples/custom-network-config/Taskfile.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ includes:
 env:
   SOLO_NETWORK_SIZE: 10
   SOLO_NAMESPACE: solo-alex-kuzmin-n4
-  SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.36.3
-  CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
+  # SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.39.0
+  # CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
   VALUES_FLAG: "--values-file {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/init-containers-values.yaml"
   SETTINGS_FLAG: "--settings-txt {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/settings.txt"
   SOLO_HOME: "/Users/user/.solo-alex-kuzmin-n4"
diff --git a/examples/performance-tuning/Latitude/Taskfile.yml b/examples/performance-tuning/Latitude/Taskfile.yml
index 747ed22fc..dff796a7f 100644
--- a/examples/performance-tuning/Latitude/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/examples/performance-tuning/Latitude/Taskfile.yml
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ vars:
   solo_home_override_dir: "%HOME%/.solo"
 env:
   SOLO_NETWORK_SIZE: 10
-  SOLO_NAMESPACE: %SOLO_NAMESPACE%
-  SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.36.3
-  CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: 0.0.0
+  SOLO_NAMESPACE: "{{.SOLO_NAMESPACE}}"
+  # SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.39.0
+  # CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: 0.0.0
   VALUES_FLAG: "--values-file {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/init-containers-values.yaml"
   SETTINGS_FLAG: "--settings-txt {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/settings.txt"
   SOLO_HOME: "{{.solo_home_override_dir}}"
diff --git a/examples/performance-tuning/solo-perf-test/Taskfile.yml b/examples/performance-tuning/solo-perf-test/Taskfile.yml
index 3961c47ff..9cdfefb03 100644
--- a/examples/performance-tuning/solo-perf-test/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/examples/performance-tuning/solo-perf-test/Taskfile.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ includes:
 env:
   SOLO_NETWORK_SIZE: 7
   SOLO_NAMESPACE: solo-perf-test
-  SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.36.3
-  CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
+  # SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.39.0
+  # CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
   VALUES_FLAG: "--values-file {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/init-containers-values.yaml"
   SETTINGS_FLAG: "--settings-txt {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/settings.txt"
   SOLO_HOME: "/Users/user/.solo-perf-test"
diff --git a/examples/solo-gke-test/Taskfile.yml b/examples/solo-gke-test/Taskfile.yml
index 6be48f5c1..07ab69c63 100644
--- a/examples/solo-gke-test/Taskfile.yml
+++ b/examples/solo-gke-test/Taskfile.yml
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ vars:
 env:
   SOLO_NETWORK_SIZE: 5
   SOLO_NAMESPACE: solo-gke-test
-  SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.36.3
-  CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
+  # SOLO_CHART_VERSION: 0.39.0
+  # CONSENSUS_NODE_VERSION: v0.58.0
   VALUES_FLAG: "--values-file {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/init-containers-values.yaml"
   SETTINGS_FLAG: "--settings-txt {{.USER_WORKING_DIR}}/settings.txt"
   SOLO_HOME: "{{.solo_home_override_dir}}"
diff --git a/src/commands/flags.ts b/src/commands/flags.ts
index 3608799f0..498640886 100644
--- a/src/commands/flags.ts
+++ b/src/commands/flags.ts
@@ -436,9 +436,9 @@ export class Flags {
       return await Flags.promptText(
         task,
         input,
-        'v0.42.5',
+        version.HEDERA_PLATFORM_VERSION,
         'Enter release version: ',
-        'release tag cannot be empty',
+        undefined,
         Flags.releaseTag.name,
       );
     },
diff --git a/src/core/profile_manager.ts b/src/core/profile_manager.ts
index 3c0c81656..eaccf31b5 100644
--- a/src/core/profile_manager.ts
+++ b/src/core/profile_manager.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import type {GenesisNetworkDataConstructor} from './genesis_network_models/genes
 import type {Optional} from '../types/index.js';
 import {inject, injectable} from 'tsyringe-neo';
 import {patchInject} from './container_helper.js';
+import {HEDERA_PLATFORM_VERSION} from '../../version.js';
 
 const consensusSidecars = [
   'recordStreamUploader',
@@ -486,16 +487,17 @@ export class ProfileManager {
     namespace: string,
     nodeAccountMap: Map<NodeAlias, string>,
     destPath: string,
-    releaseTag: string,
+    releaseTagOverride: string,
     appName = constants.HEDERA_APP_NAME,
     chainId = constants.HEDERA_CHAIN_ID,
     genesisNetworkData?: GenesisNetworkDataConstructor,
   ) {
+    let releaseTag = releaseTagOverride;
     if (!nodeAccountMap || nodeAccountMap.size === 0) {
       throw new MissingArgumentError('nodeAccountMap the map of node IDs to account IDs is required');
     }
 
-    if (!releaseTag) throw new MissingArgumentError('release tag is required');
+    if (!releaseTag) releaseTag = HEDERA_PLATFORM_VERSION;
 
     if (!fs.existsSync(destPath)) {
       throw new IllegalArgumentError(`config destPath does not exist: ${destPath}`, destPath);
diff --git a/src/core/templates.ts b/src/core/templates.ts
index a4274bd59..06f91be0b 100644
--- a/src/core/templates.ts
+++ b/src/core/templates.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import type {IP, NodeAlias, NodeId, PodName} from '../types/aliases.js';
 import {GrpcProxyTlsEnums} from './enumerations.js';
 import {type ContextClusterStructure} from '../types/config_types.js';
 import type {Cluster, Context, Namespace} from './config/remote/types.js';
+import {HEDERA_PLATFORM_VERSION} from '../../version.js';
 
 export class Templates {
   public static renderNetworkPodName(nodeAlias: NodeAlias): PodName {
@@ -119,13 +120,14 @@ export class Templates {
     return new x509.Name(`CN=${nodeAlias},ST=${state},L=${locality},O=${org},OU=${orgUnit},C=${country}`);
   }
 
-  public static renderStagingDir(cacheDir: string, releaseTag: string): string {
+  public static renderStagingDir(cacheDir: string, releaseTagOverride: string): string {
+    let releaseTag = releaseTagOverride;
     if (!cacheDir) {
       throw new IllegalArgumentError('cacheDir cannot be empty');
     }
 
     if (!releaseTag) {
-      throw new IllegalArgumentError('releaseTag cannot be empty');
+      releaseTag = HEDERA_PLATFORM_VERSION;
     }
 
     const releasePrefix = this.prepareReleasePrefix(releaseTag);
diff --git a/test/unit/core/profile_manager.test.ts b/test/unit/core/profile_manager.test.ts
index 180b6ea0a..aa6093b80 100644
--- a/test/unit/core/profile_manager.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/core/profile_manager.test.ts
@@ -229,14 +229,6 @@ describe('ProfileManager', () => {
       );
     });
 
-    it('should fail when no releaseTag is provided', () => {
-      const nodeAccountMap = new Map<NodeAlias, string>();
-      nodeAccountMap.set('node1', '0.0.3');
-      expect(() => profileManager.prepareConfigTxt('', nodeAccountMap, '', undefined)).to.throw(
-        'release tag is required',
-      );
-    });
-
     it('should fail when destPath does not exist', () => {
       const nodeAccountMap = new Map<NodeAlias, string>();
       nodeAccountMap.set('node1', '0.0.3');