diff --git a/controllers/templates/lxd_initializer_ds.yaml b/controllers/templates/lxd_initializer_ds.yaml
index e6e9967..d24e225 100644
--- a/controllers/templates/lxd_initializer_ds.yaml
+++ b/controllers/templates/lxd_initializer_ds.yaml
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ spec:
           mountPropagation: HostToContainer
       containers:
       - name: lxd-initializer
-        image: "us-east1-docker.pkg.dev/spectro-images/dev/cluster-api/capmaas-lxd-initializer:v0.0.1"
+        image: us-east1-docker.pkg.dev/spectro-images/dev/amit/cluster-api/lxd-initializer:v0.6.1-spectro-4.0.0-dev-11102025-03
         securityContext:
           privileged: true
         env:
diff --git a/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer-daemonset.yaml b/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer-daemonset.yaml
index 18400f8..c0064e4 100644
--- a/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer-daemonset.yaml
+++ b/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer-daemonset.yaml
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ spec:
       hostPID: true
       containers:
       - name: lxd-initializer
-        image: us-east1-docker.pkg.dev/spectro-images/dev/cluster-api/capmaas-lxd-initializer:v0.0.1
+        image: us-east1-docker.pkg.dev/spectro-images/dev/amit/cluster-api/lxd-initializer:v0.6.1-spectro-4.0.0-dev-11102025-03
         imagePullPolicy: Always
         securityContext:
           privileged: true
diff --git a/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer.go b/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer.go
index 3a66231..a38c1c6 100644
--- a/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer.go
+++ b/lxd-initializer/lxd-initializer.go
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ func registerWithMAAS(maasEndpoint, maasAPIKey, systemID, nodeIP, trustPassword,
 		profile := "ds"
 		// Non-interactive login (idempotent)
 		_ = runCmd("maas", []string{"login", profile, maasEndpoint, maasAPIKey})
-		args := []string{profile, "vm-hosts", "create", "type=lxd", fmt.Sprintf("power_address=%s", wantHost), fmt.Sprintf("password=%s", trustPassword), fmt.Sprintf("name=%s", hostName)}
+		args := []string{profile, "vm-hosts", "create", "type=lxd", fmt.Sprintf("power_address=%s", wantHost), fmt.Sprintf("password=%s", trustPassword), fmt.Sprintf("name=%s", hostName), "project=maas"}
 		// Do not pass zone/pool on create
 		if err := runCmd("maas", args); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("maas cli create failed: %w", err)
@@ -242,6 +242,8 @@ func registerWithMAAS(maasEndpoint, maasAPIKey, systemID, nodeIP, trustPassword,
 	if trustPassword != "" {
 		params.Set("password", trustPassword)
 	}
+	// Set only project to 'maas' per request
+	params.Set("project", "maas")
 	if _, err := client.VMHosts().Create(ctx, params); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("create vm host: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -414,12 +416,18 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	if actionStr == "register" || actionStr == "both" {
-		// Build a stable host name using MAAS system-id
+		// Build a stable host name using MAAS system-id and node hostname
 		systemID, sErr := extractSystemIDFromNodeName(nodeName)
 		if sErr != nil {
 			log.Fatalf("Failed to extract system ID from node name: %v", sErr)
 		}
-		hostName := fmt.Sprintf("lxd-host-%s", systemID)
+		hn := nodeName
+		if hn == "" {
+			if osHN, _ := os.Hostname(); osHN != "" {
+				hn = osHN
+			}
+		}
+		hostName := fmt.Sprintf("lxd-host-%s-%s", hn, systemID)
 		if err := registerWithMAAS(maasEndpoint, maasAPIKey, systemID, nodeIP, trustPassword, zone, resourcePool, hostName); err != nil {
 			log.Fatalf("Failed to register LXD host in MAAS: %v", err)
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/util/trust/password.go b/pkg/util/trust/password.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a1d955
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/util/trust/password.go
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package trust
+
+import (
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
+)
+
+// DeriveTrustPassword generates a deterministic trust password from a given seed.
+// The output is a hex string truncated to 32 characters for readability.
+func DeriveTrustPassword(seed string) string {
+	sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte("lxd-trust:" + seed))
+	s := hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+	if len(s) > 32 {
+		return s[:32]
+	}
+	return s
+}