diff --git a/charts/snapshot/templates/_helpers.tpl b/charts/snapshot/templates/_helpers.tpl
index c785fb249..52e6db7a3 100644
--- a/charts/snapshot/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/charts/snapshot/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -199,6 +199,11 @@ reads for rootfs-diff capture, and CRI-O config.json fallback).
 
 {{/* Remote agents must never run without the corresponding admission guard. */}}
 {{- define "snapshot.provenanceChecks" -}}
+{{- if and .Values.operator.enabled (not .Values.operator.mountArtifactPVC) -}}
+  {{- if or (not .Values.provenance.consumer.enabled) .Values.daemonset.enabled -}}
+    {{- fail "operator.mountArtifactPVC=false requires a provenance consumer without a local agent" -}}
+  {{- end -}}
+{{- end -}}
 {{- if .Values.provenance.consumer.enabled -}}
   {{- if not .Values.operator.enabled -}}{{- fail "provenance.consumer requires operator.enabled=true" -}}{{- end -}}
   {{- $_ := required "provenance.consumer.namespace is required" .Values.provenance.consumer.namespace -}}
diff --git a/charts/snapshot/templates/operator-deployment.yaml b/charts/snapshot/templates/operator-deployment.yaml
index 357839003..f43dfe63b 100644
--- a/charts/snapshot/templates/operator-deployment.yaml
+++ b/charts/snapshot/templates/operator-deployment.yaml
@@ -106,8 +106,15 @@ spec:
               readOnly: true
       volumes:
         - name: checkpoints
+          {{- if .Values.operator.mountArtifactPVC }}
           persistentVolumeClaim:
             claimName: {{ .Values.storage.pvc.name }}
+          {{- else }}
+          # Remote agents own every artifact. Local maintenance sees an empty
+          # directory; the workload claim may be pinned to a virtual node.
+          emptyDir:
+            sizeLimit: 16Mi
+          {{- end }}
         - name: storage-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ include "snapshot.fullname" . }}-config
diff --git a/charts/snapshot/tests/artifact_cleanup_test.yaml b/charts/snapshot/tests/artifact_cleanup_test.yaml
index 5667fb606..6f45de748 100644
--- a/charts/snapshot/tests/artifact_cleanup_test.yaml
+++ b/charts/snapshot/tests/artifact_cleanup_test.yaml
@@ -5,6 +5,43 @@ suite: PodSnapshotContent artifact cleanup
 templates:
   - templates/operator-deployment.yaml
 tests:
+  - it: keeps a remote-only consumer independent of workload PVC scheduling
+    set:
+      daemonset.enabled: false
+      operator.mountArtifactPVC: false
+      operator.artifactCleanup.remoteAgentNodes: [virtual-a]
+      provenance.consumer:
+        enabled: true
+        namespace: source
+    asserts:
+      - equal:
+          path: spec.template.spec.volumes[0].emptyDir.sizeLimit
+          value: 16Mi
+      - notExists:
+          path: spec.template.spec.volumes[0].persistentVolumeClaim
+      - contains:
+          path: spec.template.spec.containers[0].args
+          content: --artifact-cleanup-remote-agent-nodes=virtual-a
+  - it: refuses to remove artifact access from an operator with a local agent
+    set:
+      operator.mountArtifactPVC: false
+      operator.artifactCleanup.remoteAgentNodes: [virtual-a]
+      provenance.consumer:
+        enabled: true
+        namespace: source
+    asserts:
+      - failedTemplate:
+          errorPattern: operator.mountArtifactPVC=false requires a provenance consumer without a local agent
+  - it: refuses to remove artifact access without remote cleanup delegation
+    set:
+      daemonset.enabled: false
+      operator.mountArtifactPVC: false
+      provenance.consumer:
+        enabled: true
+        namespace: source
+    asserts:
+      - failedTemplate:
+          errorPattern: provenance.consumer requires artifactCleanup.remoteAgentNodes
   - it: mounts shared artifact storage and wires cleanup defaults
     asserts:
       - equal:
diff --git a/charts/snapshot/values.yaml b/charts/snapshot/values.yaml
index c7be09e63..ce74be31c 100644
--- a/charts/snapshot/values.yaml
+++ b/charts/snapshot/values.yaml
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ replicaCount: 1
 
 operator:
   enabled: true
+  # Remote-only consumers delegate artifact access to provider agents. They
+  # use an empty scratch directory instead of mounting the provider's PVC.
+  # Disabling this requires consumer provenance and a disabled local agent.
+  mountArtifactPVC: true
   resources:
     limits:
       cpu: 500m
diff --git a/docs/operations/liqo-control-plane.md b/docs/operations/liqo-control-plane.md
index 5236142ea..524af1327 100644
--- a/docs/operations/liqo-control-plane.md
+++ b/docs/operations/liqo-control-plane.md
@@ -22,6 +22,18 @@ acknowledgements are written to the consumer; Pod conditions and finalizers are
 written to the provider. Liqo carries the Pod status back to the consumer.
 Snapshot objects and their UIDs are never copied to another API server.
 
+For a consumer with no local agents, set `operator.mountArtifactPVC: false`
+alongside `daemonset.enabled: false`, consumer provenance and the delegated
+`operator.artifactCleanup.remoteAgentNodes`. The operator uses an empty scratch
+directory for local maintenance instead of mounting the workload artifact
+claim. This lets it stay on a control-plane node when that claim is bound to a
+provider virtual node. Provider agents still mount the real artifact PVC;
+the consumer's workload Pods still reference their scheduling claim.
+Mixed local/remote installations and clusters with existing native content must
+keep the operator's PVC mount enabled. Inventory existing content before
+disabling the mount; local maintenance cannot inspect another store through
+the scratch directory.
+
 ## Required binding
 
 An agent binds exactly one consumer namespace, accepted Liqo NamespaceMap