diff --git a/.buildkite/image_build/image_build.sh b/.buildkite/image_build/image_build.sh
index 00ae34bba6..10c03c3e17 100755
--- a/.buildkite/image_build/image_build.sh
+++ b/.buildkite/image_build/image_build.sh
@@ -192,6 +192,7 @@ export BUILDKITE_COMMIT
 export PARENT_COMMIT
 export IMAGE_TAG
 export IMAGE_TAG_LATEST
+export COMMIT="${COMMIT:-${BUILDKITE_COMMIT}}"
 export CACHE_FROM
 export CACHE_FROM_BASE_BRANCH
 export CACHE_FROM_MAIN
diff --git a/.buildkite/release-pipeline.yaml b/.buildkite/release-pipeline.yaml
index ffe5f4f2bd..74227da45c 100644
--- a/.buildkite/release-pipeline.yaml
+++ b/.buildkite/release-pipeline.yaml
@@ -121,7 +121,19 @@ steps:
           queue: cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_X86}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu22.04 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m) --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_X86}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu22.04 \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)"
           # re-tag to default image tag and push, just in case arm64 build fails
           - "docker tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m) public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT"
@@ -134,7 +146,19 @@ steps:
           queue: arm64_cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu22.04 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m) --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu22.04 \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)"
 
       - label: "Build release image - x86_64 - CUDA 12.9"
@@ -144,7 +168,18 @@ steps:
           queue: cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_X86_CU129}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh cu129) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_X86_CU129}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129"
           # re-tag to default image tag and push, just in case arm64 build fails
           - "docker tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129 public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-cu129"
@@ -157,7 +192,18 @@ steps:
           queue: arm64_cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64_CU129}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh cu129) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64_CU129}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129"
 
       - label: "Build release image - x86_64 - CUDA 13.0 - Ubuntu 24.04"
@@ -167,7 +213,21 @@ steps:
           queue: cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_X86}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu24.04 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-ubuntu2404 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh ubuntu2404) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 \
+              --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 \
+              --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_X86}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu24.04 \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-ubuntu2404"
           - "docker tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-ubuntu2404 public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-ubuntu2404"
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-ubuntu2404"
@@ -179,7 +239,21 @@ steps:
           queue: arm64_cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu24.04 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-ubuntu2404 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh ubuntu2404) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.2 \
+              --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 \
+              --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.2-devel-ubuntu24.04 \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-ubuntu2404"
 
       - label: "Build release image - x86_64 - CUDA 12.9 - Ubuntu 24.04"
@@ -189,7 +263,20 @@ steps:
           queue: cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_X86_CU129}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129-ubuntu2404 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh cu129-ubuntu2404) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 \
+              --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 \
+              --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_X86_CU129}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129-ubuntu2404"
           - "docker tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129-ubuntu2404 public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-cu129-ubuntu2404"
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-cu129-ubuntu2404"
@@ -201,7 +288,20 @@ steps:
           queue: arm64_cpu_queue_release
         commands:
           - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list=\"${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64_CU129}\" --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129-ubuntu2404 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
+          - |
+            DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+              $(bash .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh cu129-ubuntu2404) \
+              --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
+              --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+              --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+              --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=12.9.1 \
+              --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 \
+              --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 \
+              --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list="${CUDA_ARCH_AARCH64_CU129}" \
+              --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true \
+              --target vllm-openai \
+              --progress plain \
+              -f docker/Dockerfile .
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu129-ubuntu2404"
 
       - block: "Build release image for x86_64 CPU"
diff --git a/.buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh b/.buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9aa6fa9314
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Emit docker build flags for release image provenance metadata.
+# Keep this helper best-effort: missing Buildkite metadata should fall back to
+# local/default values instead of blocking the Docker build.
+
+# Variant examples: "", "cu129", "ubuntu2404", "cu129-ubuntu2404".
+variant="${1:-}"
+variant_suffix="${variant:+-${variant}}"
+
+image_name="${VLLM_DOCKER_IMAGE_NAME:-vllm/vllm-openai}"
+staging_repo="${VLLM_STAGING_IMAGE_REPO:-public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo}"
+build_commit="${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT:-${BUILDKITE_COMMIT:-unknown}}"
+build_pipeline="${VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE:-${BUILDKITE_PIPELINE_ID:-${BUILDKITE_PIPELINE_SLUG:-local}}}"
+build_url="${VLLM_BUILD_URL:-${BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL:-}}"
+tag_commit="${BUILDKITE_COMMIT:-${build_commit}}"
+
+if [[ -n "${BUILDKITE:-}" || -n "${BUILDKITE_COMMIT:-}" ]]; then
+  release_version="${RELEASE_VERSION:-}"
+  if command -v buildkite-agent >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    release_version="${release_version:-$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version 2>/dev/null)}"
+  fi
+  release_version="${release_version#v}"
+  release_version="${release_version:-${tag_commit}}"
+
+  staging_image_ref="${staging_repo}:${tag_commit}-$(uname -m)${variant_suffix}"
+
+  if [[ "${NIGHTLY:-}" == "1" ]]; then
+    if [[ -z "${variant}" ]]; then
+      image_tag="${image_name}:nightly-${tag_commit}"
+    elif [[ "${variant}" == cu* ]]; then
+      cuda_variant="${variant%%-*}"
+      remaining_variant="${variant#${cuda_variant}}"
+      image_tag="${image_name}:${cuda_variant}-nightly-${tag_commit}${remaining_variant}"
+    else
+      image_tag="${image_name}:nightly-${tag_commit}${variant_suffix}"
+    fi
+  else
+    image_tag="${image_name}:v${release_version}${variant_suffix}"
+  fi
+else
+  image_tag="${VLLM_IMAGE_TAG:-local/vllm-openai:dev}"
+  staging_image_ref="${image_tag}"
+fi
+
+emit_arg() {
+  printf -- "--build-arg %s=%s " "$1" "$2"
+}
+
+emit_arg VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT "${build_commit}"
+emit_arg VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE "${build_pipeline}"
+emit_arg VLLM_BUILD_URL "${build_url}"
+# This is the intended public tag. The final digest is only known after push.
+emit_arg VLLM_IMAGE_TAG "${image_tag}"
+printf -- "--tag %s " "${staging_image_ref}"
diff --git a/.buildkite/test_areas/docker.yaml b/.buildkite/test_areas/docker.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9bf96221ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.buildkite/test_areas/docker.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+group: Docker
+depends_on:
+  - image-build-cpu
+steps:
+- label: Docker Build Metadata
+  timeout_in_minutes: 10
+  device: cpu-small
+  source_file_dependencies:
+    - .buildkite/release-pipeline.yaml
+    - .buildkite/scripts/docker-build-metadata-args.sh
+    - docker/Dockerfile
+    - docker/Dockerfile.cpu
+    - docker/docker-bake.hcl
+    - tests/tools/test_docker_build_metadata_args.py
+  commands:
+    - pytest -v -s tools/test_docker_build_metadata_args.py
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile b/docker/Dockerfile
index 3d652a5dea..a6b2914077 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -763,6 +763,10 @@ FROM vllm-base AS vllm-openai-base
 ARG TARGETPLATFORM
 ARG INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=false
 ARG CUDA_VERSION
+ARG VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT
+ARG VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE
+ARG VLLM_BUILD_URL
+ARG VLLM_IMAGE_TAG
 
 ARG PIP_INDEX_URL UV_INDEX_URL
 ARG PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL UV_EXTRA_INDEX_URL
@@ -799,6 +803,18 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
     fi
 
 ENV VLLM_USAGE_SOURCE production-docker-image
+ENV VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT=${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT:-unknown} \
+    VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE=${VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE:-local} \
+    VLLM_BUILD_URL=${VLLM_BUILD_URL:-} \
+    VLLM_IMAGE_TAG=${VLLM_IMAGE_TAG:-local/vllm-openai:dev}
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.source="https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm" \
+      org.opencontainers.image.revision="${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT}" \
+      org.opencontainers.image.version="${VLLM_IMAGE_TAG}" \
+      org.opencontainers.image.url="${VLLM_BUILD_URL}" \
+      ai.vllm.build.commit="${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT}" \
+      ai.vllm.build.pipeline="${VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE}" \
+      ai.vllm.build.url="${VLLM_BUILD_URL}" \
+      ai.vllm.image.tag="${VLLM_IMAGE_TAG}"
 
 # define sagemaker first, so it is not default from `docker build`
 FROM vllm-openai-base AS vllm-sagemaker
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile.cpu b/docker/Dockerfile.cpu
index 72ee002d90..d15ced8e01 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile.cpu
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile.cpu
@@ -192,6 +192,7 @@ ADD ./tests/ ./tests/
 ADD ./examples/ ./examples/
 ADD ./benchmarks/ ./benchmarks/
 ADD ./vllm/collect_env.py .
+ADD ./docker/ ./docker/
 ADD ./.buildkite/ ./.buildkite/
 
 # install development dependencies (for testing)
diff --git a/docker/docker-bake.hcl b/docker/docker-bake.hcl
index 785d598d60..94ca839756 100644
--- a/docker/docker-bake.hcl
+++ b/docker/docker-bake.hcl
@@ -27,6 +27,22 @@ variable "COMMIT" {
   default = ""
 }
 
+variable "VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT" {
+  default = "unknown"
+}
+
+variable "VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE" {
+  default = "local"
+}
+
+variable "VLLM_BUILD_URL" {
+  default = ""
+}
+
+variable "VLLM_IMAGE_TAG" {
+  default = "local/vllm-openai:dev"
+}
+
 # Groups
 
 group "default" {
@@ -46,6 +62,10 @@ target "_common" {
     max_jobs             = MAX_JOBS
     nvcc_threads         = NVCC_THREADS
     torch_cuda_arch_list = TORCH_CUDA_ARCH_LIST
+    VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT    = VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT != "unknown" ? VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT : (COMMIT != "" ? COMMIT : "unknown")
+    VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE  = VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE
+    VLLM_BUILD_URL       = VLLM_BUILD_URL
+    VLLM_IMAGE_TAG       = VLLM_IMAGE_TAG
   }
 }
 
@@ -56,10 +76,16 @@ target "_labels" {
     "org.opencontainers.image.title"       = "vLLM"
     "org.opencontainers.image.description" = "vLLM: A high-throughput and memory-efficient inference and serving engine for LLMs"
     "org.opencontainers.image.licenses"    = "Apache-2.0"
-    "org.opencontainers.image.revision"    = COMMIT
+    "org.opencontainers.image.revision"    = VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT != "unknown" ? VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT : (COMMIT != "" ? COMMIT : "unknown")
+    "org.opencontainers.image.version"     = VLLM_IMAGE_TAG
+    "org.opencontainers.image.url"         = VLLM_BUILD_URL
+    "ai.vllm.build.commit"                 = VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT != "unknown" ? VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT : (COMMIT != "" ? COMMIT : "unknown")
+    "ai.vllm.build.pipeline"               = VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE
+    "ai.vllm.build.url"                    = VLLM_BUILD_URL
+    "ai.vllm.image.tag"                    = VLLM_IMAGE_TAG
   }
   annotations = [
-      "index,manifest:org.opencontainers.image.revision=${COMMIT}",
+    "index,manifest:org.opencontainers.image.revision=${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT != "unknown" ? VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT : (COMMIT != "" ? COMMIT : "unknown")}",
   ]
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_docker_build_metadata_args.py b/tests/tools/test_docker_build_metadata_args.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fa2eac558f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/test_docker_build_metadata_args.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
+
+import os
+import shlex
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+HELPER = REPO_ROOT / ".buildkite" / "scripts" / "docker-build-metadata-args.sh"
+
+
+def run_helper(
+    *args: str,
+    env: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+    path: str | None = None,
+) -> list[str]:
+    helper_env = {"PATH": path or os.environ["PATH"]}
+    if env:
+        helper_env.update(env)
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["bash", str(HELPER), *args],
+        check=True,
+        env=helper_env,
+        stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    return shlex.split(result.stdout)
+
+
+def option_values(args: list[str], option: str) -> list[str]:
+    return [args[i + 1] for i, arg in enumerate(args[:-1]) if arg == option]
+
+
+def build_args(args: list[str]) -> dict[str, str]:
+    values = {}
+    for value in option_values(args, "--build-arg"):
+        key, arg_value = value.split("=", 1)
+        values[key] = arg_value
+    return values
+
+
+def test_release_metadata_args_prefer_pipeline_id() -> None:
+    args = run_helper(
+        "cu130-ubuntu2404",
+        env={
+            "BUILDKITE": "1",
+            "BUILDKITE_COMMIT": "abc123",
+            "BUILDKITE_PIPELINE_ID": "pipe-uuid",
+            "BUILDKITE_PIPELINE_SLUG": "release",
+            "BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL": "https://buildkite.example/vllm/builds/1",
+            "RELEASE_VERSION": "v0.20.0",
+        },
+    )
+
+    assert build_args(args) == {
+        "VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT": "abc123",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE": "pipe-uuid",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_URL": "https://buildkite.example/vllm/builds/1",
+        "VLLM_IMAGE_TAG": "vllm/vllm-openai:v0.20.0-cu130-ubuntu2404",
+    }
+    expected_tag = (
+        "public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:"
+        f"abc123-{os.uname().machine}-cu130-ubuntu2404"
+    )
+    assert option_values(args, "--tag") == [expected_tag]
+
+
+def test_nightly_metadata_args_fall_back_to_pipeline_slug() -> None:
+    args = run_helper(
+        "ubuntu2404",
+        env={
+            "BUILDKITE": "1",
+            "BUILDKITE_COMMIT": "def456",
+            "BUILDKITE_PIPELINE_SLUG": "release",
+            "BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL": "https://buildkite.example/vllm/builds/2",
+            "NIGHTLY": "1",
+        },
+    )
+
+    assert build_args(args) == {
+        "VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT": "def456",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE": "release",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_URL": "https://buildkite.example/vllm/builds/2",
+        "VLLM_IMAGE_TAG": "vllm/vllm-openai:nightly-def456-ubuntu2404",
+    }
+    expected_tag = (
+        "public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:"
+        f"def456-{os.uname().machine}-ubuntu2404"
+    )
+    assert option_values(args, "--tag") == [expected_tag]
+
+
+def test_local_metadata_args_use_local_overrides() -> None:
+    args = run_helper(
+        env={
+            "VLLM_IMAGE_TAG": "local/test:dev",
+            "VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT": "localsha",
+            "VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE": "local-pipeline",
+            "VLLM_BUILD_URL": "https://buildkite.example/local",
+        },
+    )
+
+    assert build_args(args) == {
+        "VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT": "localsha",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE": "local-pipeline",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_URL": "https://buildkite.example/local",
+        "VLLM_IMAGE_TAG": "local/test:dev",
+    }
+    assert option_values(args, "--tag") == ["local/test:dev"]
+
+
+def test_release_version_lookup_failure_falls_back_to_commit(
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    fake_bin = tmp_path / "bin"
+    fake_bin.mkdir()
+    buildkite_agent = fake_bin / "buildkite-agent"
+    buildkite_agent.write_text("#!/bin/sh\nexit 1\n")
+    buildkite_agent.chmod(0o755)
+
+    args = run_helper(
+        "cu129",
+        env={
+            "BUILDKITE": "1",
+            "BUILDKITE_COMMIT": "fallback123",
+            "BUILDKITE_PIPELINE_SLUG": "release",
+        },
+        path=f"{fake_bin}:{os.environ['PATH']}",
+    )
+
+    assert build_args(args)["VLLM_IMAGE_TAG"] == ("vllm/vllm-openai:vfallback123-cu129")
+
+
+def test_vllm_openai_image_embeds_metadata_contract() -> None:
+    dockerfile = (REPO_ROOT / "docker" / "Dockerfile").read_text()
+
+    for expected in (
+        "ARG VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT",
+        "ARG VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE",
+        "ARG VLLM_BUILD_URL",
+        "ARG VLLM_IMAGE_TAG",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT=${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT:-unknown}",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE=${VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE:-local}",
+        "VLLM_BUILD_URL=${VLLM_BUILD_URL:-}",
+        "VLLM_IMAGE_TAG=${VLLM_IMAGE_TAG:-local/vllm-openai:dev}",
+        'ai.vllm.build.commit="${VLLM_BUILD_COMMIT}"',
+        'ai.vllm.build.pipeline="${VLLM_BUILD_PIPELINE}"',
+        'ai.vllm.build.url="${VLLM_BUILD_URL}"',
+        'ai.vllm.image.tag="${VLLM_IMAGE_TAG}"',
+    ):
+        assert expected in dockerfile