diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 8fe84d9c..326b47cb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -112,7 +112,6 @@ jobs:
 
     - name: Set persistence spec in SonataFlow resource
       run: |
-        yq --inplace '.spec.podTemplate.container.image="quay.io/orchestrator/serverless-workflow-${{ inputs.workflow_id }}:${{ github.sha }}"' ${{ inputs.workflow_id }}/manifests/01-sonataflow*.yaml
         yq --inplace '.spec |= (
           . + {
             "persistence": {
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a1035d59..f34da8f4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ endif
 DEPLOYMENT_REPO ?= parodos-dev/serverless-workflows-config
 DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH ?= main
 
+ENABLE_PERSISTENCE ?= false
+
 # extra extensions needed for persistence at build time.
 # The extentions listed below are included in the cache in image quay.io/kiegroup/kogito-swf-builder:9.99.1.CR1 or available from maven central repository
 QUARKUS_EXTENSIONS=org.kie.kogito:kogito-addons-quarkus-jobs-knative-eventing:9.99.1.redhat-00003,org.kie.kogito:kogito-addons-quarkus-persistence-jdbc:9.99.1.redhat-00003,org.kie.kogito:kogito-addons-persistence-jdbc:9.99.1.redhat-00003,io.quarkus:quarkus-jdbc-postgresql:3.2.9.Final,io.quarkus:quarkus-agroal:3.2.9.Final
@@ -163,7 +165,8 @@ save-oci: build-image
 gen-manifests: prepare-workdir
 	cd $(WORKDIR)
 	@$(CONTAINER_ENGINE) run --rm -v $(WORKDIR):/workdir -w /workdir \
-		$(LINUX_IMAGE) /bin/bash -c "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/gen_manifests.sh $(WORKFLOW_ID)"
+		$(LINUX_IMAGE) /bin/bash -c "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/gen_manifests.sh $(WORKFLOW_ID) $(ENABLE_PERSISTENCE)"
+	@echo "Manifests are available in workdir $(WORKDIR)/$(WORKFLOW_ID)/manifests"
 
 # Target: push-manifests
 # Description: Pushes the generated k8s manifests from the configured WORKDIR to the 
diff --git a/make.md b/make.md
index dc75887a..2f27c156 100644
--- a/make.md
+++ b/make.md
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ Variables can be used to configure the behavior of the [Makefile](./Makefile):
 | IMAGE_TAG | Automatically added image tag | 8 chars commit hash of the latest commit |
 | DEPLOYMENT_REPO | Git repo of the deployment source code | `parodos-dev/serverless-workflows-config` |
 | DEPLOYMENT_BRANCH | Branch of the deployment git repo | `main` |
+| ENABLE_PERSISTENCE | Enables the addition of persistence to the generated manifests. Useful for local testing | `false` |
 
 Override the default values with:
 ```bash
@@ -105,6 +106,12 @@ Generate the k8s manifests in the WORKDIR folder:
 ```bash
 make CONTAINER_ENGINE=docker WORKFLOW_ID=escalation gen-manifests
 ```
+
+Generate the k8s manifests with persistence enabled in the Sonataflow CR and in the ConfigMap in the WORKDIR folder:
+```bash
+make CONTAINER_ENGINE=docker WORKFLOW_ID=escalation ENABLE_PERSISTENCE=true gen-manifests
+```
+
 Generate the k8s manifests and push them to the default deployment repo:
 ```bash
 make CONTAINER_ENGINE=docker WORKFLOW_ID=escalation gen-manifests push-manifests
diff --git a/scripts/gen_manifests.sh b/scripts/gen_manifests.sh
index 87e7c93b..17d38ac3 100755
--- a/scripts/gen_manifests.sh
+++ b/scripts/gen_manifests.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 
 WORKFLOW_ID=$1
 
+ENABLE_PERSISTENCE=false
+if [ "$2" = "true" ]; then
+    ENABLE_PERSISTENCE=true
+fi
+
 if [ ! -f kn ]; then
   echo "Installing kn-workflow CLI"
   KN_CLI_URL="https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/serverless/latest/kn-linux-amd64.tar.gz"
@@ -11,6 +16,39 @@ else
 fi
 
 cd "${WORKFLOW_ID}" || exit
+
+echo -e "\nquarkus.flyway.migrate-at-start=true" >> application.properties
+
 # TODO Update to use --skip-namespace when the following is released
 # https://github.com/apache/incubator-kie-tools/pull/2136
 ../kn workflow gen-manifest --namespace ""
+
+
+if [ "$ENABLE_PERSISTENCE" = false ]; then
+  exit
+fi
+
+SONATAFLOW_CR=manifests/01-sonataflow_${WORKFLOW_ID}.yaml
+yq --inplace eval '.metadata.annotations["sonataflow.org/profile"] = "prod"' "${SONATAFLOW_CR}"
+
+yq --inplace ".spec.podTemplate.container.image=\"quay.io/orchestrator/serverless-workflow-${WORKFLOW_ID}:latest\"" "${SONATAFLOW_CR}"
+
+yq --inplace ".spec |= (
+  . + {
+    \"persistence\": {
+      \"postgresql\": {
+        \"secretRef\": {
+          \"name\": \"sonataflow-psql-postgresql\",
+          \"userKey\": \"postgres-username\",
+          \"passwordKey\": \"postgres-password\"
+        },
+        \"serviceRef\": {
+          \"name\": \"sonataflow-psql-postgresql\",
+          \"port\": 5432,
+          \"databaseName\": \"sonataflow\",
+          \"databaseSchema\": \"${WORKFLOW_ID}\"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+)" "${SONATAFLOW_CR}"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/setup/Dockerfile b/setup/Dockerfile
index 2189265c..a185aa54 100644
--- a/setup/Dockerfile
+++ b/setup/Dockerfile
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9-minimal
 
 # Install Git
-RUN microdnf install -y git tar && \
+RUN microdnf install -y git tar jq && \
     microdnf clean all
 
+RUN mkdir -p /usr/local/bin && \
+    curl -sSLo /usr/local/bin/yq https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/download/v4.43.1/yq_linux_amd64 && \
+    chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq
+
 RUN curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/master/hack/install_kustomize.sh"  | bash
 RUN mv kustomize /usr/local/bin
 
diff --git a/setup/README.md b/setup/README.md
index a624a4d2..775a2068 100644
--- a/setup/README.md
+++ b/setup/README.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ This container images extends a basic UBI 9 image with the required tools:
 * `git`
 * `tar`
 * `kustomize`
+* `jq`
+* `yq`
 
 # Build and publish the image
 Customize the `push` command to publish in your own repository: