diff --git a/internal/cli/node/add.go b/internal/cli/node/add.go
index b45d008..d449f88 100644
--- a/internal/cli/node/add.go
+++ b/internal/cli/node/add.go
@@ -108,21 +108,6 @@ func runAdd(ctx context.Context, nodeName, controlPlane, nodeImage, role string,
 		return fmt.Errorf("ensuring cluster image: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Ensure images volume exists for this node image version
-	logger.Infof("Step 0: Ensuring cluster images volume...")
-	clusterMgr := cluster.New(cluster.Config{
-		Name:                 clusterName,
-		ControlPlane:         controlPlane,
-		HostNetworkPopulator: hostNetworkPopulator,
-		Logger:               logger,
-	})
-
-	clusterImagesVolume, err := clusterMgr.EnsureImagesVolume(ctx, nodeImage)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("ensuring images volume: %w", err)
-	}
-	logger.Info("")
-
 	// Step 1: Create the new node
 	logger.Infof("Step 1: Creating %s node...", role)
 	logger.Infof("Node image: %s", nodeImage)
@@ -140,6 +125,27 @@ func runAdd(ctx context.Context, nodeName, controlPlane, nodeImage, role string,
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Auto-detect the control-plane node name from container labels
+	discovered, err := findControlPlaneNode(ctx, podmanClient, clusterName, "")
+	if err == nil {
+		controlPlane = discovered
+	}
+
+	// Ensure images volume exists for this node image version
+	logger.Infof("Step 0: Ensuring cluster images volume...")
+	clusterMgr := cluster.New(cluster.Config{
+		Name:                 clusterName,
+		ControlPlane:         controlPlane,
+		HostNetworkPopulator: hostNetworkPopulator,
+		Logger:               logger,
+	})
+
+	clusterImagesVolume, err := clusterMgr.EnsureImagesVolume(ctx, nodeImage)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("ensuring images volume: %w", err)
+	}
+	logger.Info("")
+
 	// Discover DNS container IP for cloud-init config
 	dnsMgr, err := dns.NewManager(clusterName)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/test/integration/helpers/cluster.go b/test/integration/helpers/cluster.go
index a998337..291d94e 100644
--- a/test/integration/helpers/cluster.go
+++ b/test/integration/helpers/cluster.go
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ func CreateCluster(name string) {
 	Expect(session.ExitCode()).To(Equal(0), "Failed to create cluster: %s", string(session.Err.Contents()))
 }
 
+// CreateClusterWithNodeName creates a cluster with a custom control-plane node name
+func CreateClusterWithNodeName(name, nodeName string) {
+	GinkgoWriter.Printf("Creating cluster: %s with node name: %s (with auto-assigned API port)\n", name, nodeName)
+	cmd := BinkCmd("cluster", "start", "--cluster-name", name, "--node-name", nodeName, "--api-port", "0", "--memory", "1900", "--max-memory", "4096")
+	session := RunCommand(cmd, 10*time.Minute)
+	Expect(session.ExitCode()).To(Equal(0), "Failed to create cluster: %s", string(session.Err.Contents()))
+}
+
 // AddNode adds a node to the cluster
 func AddNode(clusterName, nodeName string, extraArgs ...string) {
 	GinkgoWriter.Printf("Adding node %s to cluster %s\n", nodeName, clusterName)
diff --git a/test/integration/multinode_test.go b/test/integration/multinode_test.go
index ab99e61..9b54474 100644
--- a/test/integration/multinode_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/multinode_test.go
@@ -134,6 +134,31 @@ var _ = Describe("Multi-Node Clusters", func() {
 		}
 	})
 
+	It("should add worker node when cluster uses custom node name", func() {
+		const customNodeName = "cp-custom"
+
+		By("Creating a cluster with a custom control-plane node name")
+		helpers.CreateClusterWithNodeName(clusterName, customNodeName)
+
+		By("Verifying control-plane container has the custom name")
+		containerName := helpers.NodeContainerName(clusterName, customNodeName)
+		container := helpers.GetContainer(containerName)
+		Expect(container).ToNot(BeNil(), "Container %s should exist", containerName)
+		Expect(container.State).To(Equal("running"))
+
+		By("Adding a worker node without specifying --control-plane")
+		helpers.AddNode(clusterName, node2, "--role", "worker")
+
+		By("Exposing API and creating Kubernetes client")
+		kubeClient, kubeconfigPath := helpers.SetupKubeClient(clusterName)
+		defer helpers.CleanupKubeconfig(kubeconfigPath)
+
+		By("Verifying both nodes are Ready in Kubernetes")
+		helpers.WaitForNodeReady(kubeClient, customNodeName, 5*time.Minute)
+		helpers.WaitForNodeReady(kubeClient, node2, 5*time.Minute)
+		Expect(helpers.GetNodeCount(kubeClient)).To(Equal(2))
+	})
+
 	It("should add control-plane nodes for HA configuration", Serial, func() {
 		By("Creating a single-node cluster")
 		helpers.CreateCluster(clusterName)