diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index 93759bdb25..b77cc86c1c 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ repos:
         entry: golangci-lint run --enable-only goimports --fix
         types: [go]
         language: golang
-        pass_filenames: true
+        pass_filenames: false
       - id: lint
         name: golangci-lint go lint
         entry: golangci-lint run
diff --git a/src/config/config.go b/src/config/config.go
index 8aedce6abb..f603e317a2 100644
--- a/src/config/config.go
+++ b/src/config/config.go
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ const (
 	ZarfConnectAnnotationDescription = "zarf.dev/connect-description"
 	ZarfConnectAnnotationURL         = "zarf.dev/connect-url"
 
-	ZarfManagedByLabel     = "app.kubernetes.io/managed-by"
 	ZarfCleanupScriptsPath = "/opt/zarf"
 
 	ZarfPackagePrefix = "zarf-package-"
diff --git a/src/internal/packager/helm/post-render.go b/src/internal/packager/helm/post-render.go
index 8b99cd14f0..4be00a1b11 100644
--- a/src/internal/packager/helm/post-render.go
+++ b/src/internal/packager/helm/post-render.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/pkg/helpers"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/config"
+	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/cluster"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/message"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/utils"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/types"
@@ -21,6 +22,8 @@ import (
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
 
+	kerrors "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/errors"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 )
@@ -34,16 +37,27 @@ type renderer struct {
 func (h *Helm) newRenderer() (*renderer, error) {
 	message.Debugf("helm.NewRenderer()")
 
-	namespaces := make(map[string]*corev1.Namespace)
-	if h.cluster != nil {
-		namespaces[h.chart.Namespace] = h.cluster.NewZarfManagedNamespace(h.chart.Namespace)
+	rend := &renderer{
+		Helm:           h,
+		connectStrings: types.ConnectStrings{},
+		namespaces:     map[string]*corev1.Namespace{},
+	}
+	if h.cluster == nil {
+		return rend, nil
 	}
 
-	return &renderer{
-		Helm:           h,
-		connectStrings: make(types.ConnectStrings),
-		namespaces:     namespaces,
-	}, nil
+	namespace, err := h.cluster.Clientset.CoreV1().Namespaces().Get(context.TODO(), h.chart.Namespace, metav1.GetOptions{})
+	if err != nil && !kerrors.IsNotFound(err) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to check for existing namespace %q in cluster: %w", h.chart.Namespace, err)
+	}
+	if kerrors.IsNotFound(err) {
+		rend.namespaces[h.chart.Namespace] = cluster.NewZarfManagedNamespace(h.chart.Namespace)
+	} else if h.cfg.DeployOpts.AdoptExistingResources {
+		namespace.Labels = cluster.AdoptZarfManagedLabels(namespace.Labels)
+		rend.namespaces[h.chart.Namespace] = namespace
+	}
+
+	return rend, nil
 }
 
 func (r *renderer) Run(renderedManifests *bytes.Buffer) (*bytes.Buffer, error) {
@@ -169,22 +183,15 @@ func (r *renderer) editHelmResources(ctx context.Context, resources []releaseuti
 
 		switch rawData.GetKind() {
 		case "Namespace":
-			var namespace corev1.Namespace
+			namespace := &corev1.Namespace{}
 			// parse the namespace resource so it can be applied out-of-band by zarf instead of helm to avoid helm ns shenanigans
-			if err := runtime.DefaultUnstructuredConverter.FromUnstructured(rawData.UnstructuredContent(), &namespace); err != nil {
+			if err := runtime.DefaultUnstructuredConverter.FromUnstructured(rawData.UnstructuredContent(), namespace); err != nil {
 				message.WarnErrf(err, "could not parse namespace %s", rawData.GetName())
 			} else {
 				message.Debugf("Matched helm namespace %s for zarf annotation", namespace.Name)
-				if namespace.Labels == nil {
-					// Ensure label map exists to avoid nil panic
-					namespace.Labels = make(map[string]string)
-				}
-				// Now track this namespace by zarf
-				namespace.Labels[config.ZarfManagedByLabel] = "zarf"
-				namespace.Labels["zarf-helm-release"] = r.chart.ReleaseName
-
+				namespace.Labels = cluster.AdoptZarfManagedLabels(namespace.Labels)
 				// Add it to the stack
-				r.namespaces[namespace.Name] = &namespace
+				r.namespaces[namespace.Name] = namespace
 			}
 			// skip so we can strip namespaces from helm's brain
 			continue
@@ -209,7 +216,7 @@ func (r *renderer) editHelmResources(ctx context.Context, resources []releaseuti
 		namespace := rawData.GetNamespace()
 		if _, exists := r.namespaces[namespace]; !exists && namespace != "" {
 			// if this is the first time seeing this ns, we need to track that to create it as well
-			r.namespaces[namespace] = r.cluster.NewZarfManagedNamespace(namespace)
+			r.namespaces[namespace] = cluster.NewZarfManagedNamespace(namespace)
 		}
 
 		// If we have been asked to adopt existing resources, process those now as well
diff --git a/src/pkg/cluster/common.go b/src/pkg/cluster/common.go
index 8b2153999b..e0a295cd3c 100644
--- a/src/pkg/cluster/common.go
+++ b/src/pkg/cluster/common.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/config"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/k8s"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/message"
 )
@@ -21,13 +20,8 @@ type Cluster struct {
 const (
 	// DefaultTimeout is the default time to wait for a cluster to be ready.
 	DefaultTimeout = 30 * time.Second
-	agentLabel     = "zarf.dev/agent"
 )
 
-var labels = k8s.Labels{
-	config.ZarfManagedByLabel: "zarf",
-}
-
 // NewClusterWithWait creates a new Cluster instance and waits for the given timeout for the cluster to be ready.
 func NewClusterWithWait(ctx context.Context) (*Cluster, error) {
 	spinner := message.NewProgressSpinner("Waiting for cluster connection")
@@ -36,7 +30,7 @@ func NewClusterWithWait(ctx context.Context) (*Cluster, error) {
 	c := &Cluster{}
 	var err error
 
-	c.K8s, err = k8s.New(message.Debugf, labels)
+	c.K8s, err = k8s.New(message.Debugf)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -56,7 +50,7 @@ func NewCluster() (*Cluster, error) {
 	c := &Cluster{}
 	var err error
 
-	c.K8s, err = k8s.New(message.Debugf, labels)
+	c.K8s, err = k8s.New(message.Debugf)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/src/pkg/cluster/injector.go b/src/pkg/cluster/injector.go
index 264a39648e..3abd010b8f 100644
--- a/src/pkg/cluster/injector.go
+++ b/src/pkg/cluster/injector.go
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) buildInjectionPod(node, image string, payloadConfigmaps []stri
 	pod.Labels["app"] = "zarf-injector"
 
 	// Ensure zarf agent doesn't break the injector on future runs
-	pod.Labels[agentLabel] = "ignore"
+	pod.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel] = "ignore"
 
 	// Bind the pod to the node the image was found on
 	pod.Spec.NodeName = node
diff --git a/src/pkg/cluster/namespace.go b/src/pkg/cluster/namespace.go
index a7209936b3..56a8566834 100644
--- a/src/pkg/cluster/namespace.go
+++ b/src/pkg/cluster/namespace.go
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ package cluster
 import (
 	"context"
 
+	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/k8s"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/message"
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
 )
 
 // DeleteZarfNamespace deletes the Zarf namespace from the connected cluster.
@@ -17,3 +20,28 @@ func (c *Cluster) DeleteZarfNamespace(ctx context.Context) error {
 
 	return c.DeleteNamespace(ctx, ZarfNamespaceName)
 }
+
+// NewZarfManagedNamespace returns a corev1.Namespace with Zarf-managed labels
+func NewZarfManagedNamespace(name string) *corev1.Namespace {
+	namespace := &corev1.Namespace{
+		TypeMeta: metav1.TypeMeta{
+			APIVersion: corev1.SchemeGroupVersion.String(),
+			Kind:       "Namespace",
+		},
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name: name,
+		},
+	}
+	namespace.Labels = AdoptZarfManagedLabels(namespace.Labels)
+	return namespace
+}
+
+// AdoptZarfManagedLabels adds & deletes the necessary labels that signal to Zarf it should manage a namespace
+func AdoptZarfManagedLabels(labels map[string]string) map[string]string {
+	if labels == nil {
+		labels = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+	labels[k8s.ZarfManagedByLabel] = "zarf"
+	delete(labels, k8s.AgentLabel)
+	return labels
+}
diff --git a/src/pkg/cluster/secrets.go b/src/pkg/cluster/secrets.go
index 17183d5e62..4b58d841d0 100644
--- a/src/pkg/cluster/secrets.go
+++ b/src/pkg/cluster/secrets.go
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/config"
+	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/k8s"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/message"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/types"
 )
@@ -89,8 +90,8 @@ func (c *Cluster) UpdateZarfManagedImageSecrets(ctx context.Context, state *type
 			}
 
 			// Check if this is a Zarf managed secret or is in a namespace the Zarf agent will take action in
-			if currentRegistrySecret.Labels[config.ZarfManagedByLabel] == "zarf" ||
-				(namespace.Labels[agentLabel] != "skip" && namespace.Labels[agentLabel] != "ignore") {
+			if currentRegistrySecret.Labels[k8s.ZarfManagedByLabel] == "zarf" ||
+				(namespace.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel] != "skip" && namespace.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel] != "ignore") {
 				spinner.Updatef("Updating existing Zarf-managed image secret for namespace: '%s'", namespace.Name)
 
 				// Create the secret
@@ -123,8 +124,8 @@ func (c *Cluster) UpdateZarfManagedGitSecrets(ctx context.Context, state *types.
 			}
 
 			// Check if this is a Zarf managed secret or is in a namespace the Zarf agent will take action in
-			if currentGitSecret.Labels[config.ZarfManagedByLabel] == "zarf" ||
-				(namespace.Labels[agentLabel] != "skip" && namespace.Labels[agentLabel] != "ignore") {
+			if currentGitSecret.Labels[k8s.ZarfManagedByLabel] == "zarf" ||
+				(namespace.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel] != "skip" && namespace.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel] != "ignore") {
 				spinner.Updatef("Updating existing Zarf-managed git secret for namespace: '%s'", namespace.Name)
 
 				// Create the secret
diff --git a/src/pkg/cluster/state.go b/src/pkg/cluster/state.go
index a2585c4361..2d51aa38d4 100644
--- a/src/pkg/cluster/state.go
+++ b/src/pkg/cluster/state.go
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) InitZarfState(ctx context.Context, initOptions types.ZarfInitO
 				namespace.Labels = make(map[string]string)
 			}
 			// This label will tell the Zarf Agent to ignore this namespace.
-			namespace.Labels[agentLabel] = "ignore"
+			namespace.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel] = "ignore"
 			namespaceCopy := namespace
 			if _, err = c.UpdateNamespace(ctx, &namespaceCopy); err != nil {
 				// This is not a hard failure, but we should log it.
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) InitZarfState(ctx context.Context, initOptions types.ZarfInitO
 
 		// Try to create the zarf namespace.
 		spinner.Updatef("Creating the Zarf namespace")
-		zarfNamespace := c.NewZarfManagedNamespace(ZarfNamespaceName)
+		zarfNamespace := NewZarfManagedNamespace(ZarfNamespaceName)
 		if _, err := c.CreateNamespace(ctx, zarfNamespace); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unable to create the zarf namespace: %w", err)
 		}
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ func (c *Cluster) SaveZarfState(ctx context.Context, state *types.ZarfState) err
 			Name:      ZarfStateSecretName,
 			Namespace: ZarfNamespaceName,
 			Labels: map[string]string{
-				config.ZarfManagedByLabel: "zarf",
+				k8s.ZarfManagedByLabel: "zarf",
 			},
 		},
 		Type: corev1.SecretTypeOpaque,
diff --git a/src/pkg/cluster/zarf.go b/src/pkg/cluster/zarf.go
index 3522dde6b5..4e558c6f67 100644
--- a/src/pkg/cluster/zarf.go
+++ b/src/pkg/cluster/zarf.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/config"
+	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/k8s"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/pkg/message"
 	"github.com/defenseunicorns/zarf/src/types"
 	autoscalingV2 "k8s.io/api/autoscaling/v2"
@@ -68,16 +69,16 @@ func (c *Cluster) StripZarfLabelsAndSecretsFromNamespaces(ctx context.Context) {
 
 	deleteOptions := metav1.DeleteOptions{}
 	listOptions := metav1.ListOptions{
-		LabelSelector: config.ZarfManagedByLabel + "=zarf",
+		LabelSelector: k8s.ZarfManagedByLabel + "=zarf",
 	}
 
 	if namespaces, err := c.GetNamespaces(ctx); err != nil {
 		spinner.Errorf(err, "Unable to get k8s namespaces")
 	} else {
 		for _, namespace := range namespaces.Items {
-			if _, ok := namespace.Labels[agentLabel]; ok {
+			if _, ok := namespace.Labels[k8s.AgentLabel]; ok {
 				spinner.Updatef("Removing Zarf Agent label for namespace %s", namespace.Name)
-				delete(namespace.Labels, agentLabel)
+				delete(namespace.Labels, k8s.AgentLabel)
 				namespaceCopy := namespace
 				if _, err = c.UpdateNamespace(ctx, &namespaceCopy); err != nil {
 					// This is not a hard failure, but we should log it
diff --git a/src/pkg/k8s/common.go b/src/pkg/k8s/common.go
index 44027f4492..66434f3caa 100644
--- a/src/pkg/k8s/common.go
+++ b/src/pkg/k8s/common.go
@@ -21,11 +21,15 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd"
 )
 
-// cannot import config.ZarfManagedByLabel due to import cycle
-const zarfManagedByLabel = "app.kubernetes.io/managed-by"
+const (
+	// ZarfManagedByLabel is used to denote Zarf manages the lifecycle of a resource
+	ZarfManagedByLabel = "app.kubernetes.io/managed-by"
+	// AgentLabel is used to give instructions to the Zarf agent
+	AgentLabel = "zarf.dev/agent"
+)
 
 // New creates a new K8s client.
-func New(logger Log, defaultLabels Labels) (*K8s, error) {
+func New(logger Log) (*K8s, error) {
 	klog.SetLogger(funcr.New(func(_, args string) {
 		logger(args)
 	}, funcr.Options{}))
@@ -39,7 +43,6 @@ func New(logger Log, defaultLabels Labels) (*K8s, error) {
 		RestConfig: config,
 		Clientset:  clientset,
 		Log:        logger,
-		Labels:     defaultLabels,
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/src/pkg/k8s/namespace.go b/src/pkg/k8s/namespace.go
index 3a63b1ac52..2f1d43d019 100644
--- a/src/pkg/k8s/namespace.go
+++ b/src/pkg/k8s/namespace.go
@@ -67,22 +67,6 @@ func (k *K8s) DeleteNamespace(ctx context.Context, name string) error {
 	}
 }
 
-// NewZarfManagedNamespace returns a corev1.Namespace with Zarf-managed labels
-func (k *K8s) NewZarfManagedNamespace(name string) *corev1.Namespace {
-	return &corev1.Namespace{
-		TypeMeta: metav1.TypeMeta{
-			APIVersion: corev1.SchemeGroupVersion.String(),
-			Kind:       "Namespace",
-		},
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Name: name,
-			Labels: map[string]string{
-				zarfManagedByLabel: "zarf",
-			},
-		},
-	}
-}
-
 // IsInitialNamespace returns true if the given namespace name is an initial k8s namespace: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/namespaces/#initial-namespaces
 func (k *K8s) IsInitialNamespace(name string) bool {
 	if name == "default" {
diff --git a/src/pkg/k8s/secrets.go b/src/pkg/k8s/secrets.go
index d391b97771..82b9ef52de 100644
--- a/src/pkg/k8s/secrets.go
+++ b/src/pkg/k8s/secrets.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func (k *K8s) GenerateSecret(namespace, name string, secretType corev1.SecretTyp
 			Name:      name,
 			Namespace: namespace,
 			Labels: map[string]string{
-				zarfManagedByLabel: "zarf",
+				ZarfManagedByLabel: "zarf",
 			},
 		},
 		Type: secretType,
diff --git a/src/pkg/k8s/types.go b/src/pkg/k8s/types.go
index 2326edbc98..d52ea6389b 100644
--- a/src/pkg/k8s/types.go
+++ b/src/pkg/k8s/types.go
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ type K8s struct {
 	Clientset  kubernetes.Interface
 	RestConfig *rest.Config
 	Log        Log
-	Labels     Labels
 }
 
 // PodLookup is a struct for specifying a pod to target for data injection or lookups.
diff --git a/src/pkg/packager/deploy.go b/src/pkg/packager/deploy.go
index 039a63cb61..a7c516fb43 100644
--- a/src/pkg/packager/deploy.go
+++ b/src/pkg/packager/deploy.go
@@ -448,7 +448,7 @@ func (p *Packager) setupState(ctx context.Context) (err error) {
 
 		// Try to create the zarf namespace
 		spinner.Updatef("Creating the Zarf namespace")
-		zarfNamespace := p.cluster.NewZarfManagedNamespace(cluster.ZarfNamespaceName)
+		zarfNamespace := cluster.NewZarfManagedNamespace(cluster.ZarfNamespaceName)
 		if _, err := p.cluster.CreateNamespace(ctx, zarfNamespace); err != nil {
 			spinner.Fatalf(err, "Unable to create the zarf namespace")
 		}
diff --git a/src/test/e2e/25_helm_test.go b/src/test/e2e/25_helm_test.go
index e09d6cf47f..7c643288c0 100644
--- a/src/test/e2e/25_helm_test.go
+++ b/src/test/e2e/25_helm_test.go
@@ -189,6 +189,13 @@ func testHelmAdoption(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Contains(t, string(helmOut), "zarf-f53a99d4a4dd9a3575bedf59cd42d48d751ae866")
 
+	existingLabel, _, err := e2e.Kubectl("get", "ns", "dos-games", "-o=jsonpath={.metadata.labels.keep-this}")
+	require.Equal(t, "label", existingLabel)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	existingAnnotation, _, err := e2e.Kubectl("get", "ns", "dos-games", "-o=jsonpath={.metadata.annotations.keep-this}")
+	require.Equal(t, "annotation", existingAnnotation)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
 	// Remove the package.
 	stdOut, stdErr, err = e2e.Zarf("package", "remove", "dos-games", "--confirm")
 	require.NoError(t, err, stdOut, stdErr)
diff --git a/src/test/packages/25-manifest-adoption/deployment.yaml b/src/test/packages/25-manifest-adoption/deployment.yaml
index c5779b20f0..9cd8c5b754 100644
--- a/src/test/packages/25-manifest-adoption/deployment.yaml
+++ b/src/test/packages/25-manifest-adoption/deployment.yaml
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ apiVersion: v1
 kind: Namespace
 metadata:
   name: dos-games
+  labels:
+    keep-this: label
+  annotations:
+    keep-this: annotation
 ---
 # This is a normal deployment manifest for dos-games that should be "adopted" by Helm/Zarf
 apiVersion: apps/v1