diff --git a/goss.yaml b/goss.yaml
index 0d76ed40d..290e81018 100644
--- a/goss.yaml
+++ b/goss.yaml
@@ -160,12 +160,6 @@ command:
   /usr/local/bin/docker-gc:
     exit-status: 0
 
-  systemctl is-enabled docker-low-disk-gc.timer:
-    exit-status: 0
-
-  /usr/local/bin/docker-low-disk-gc:
-    exit-status: 0
-
   # test that we can build a docker image
   docker buildx build -f tests/Dockerfile --progress=plain -t buildkite-postgres:latest tests:
     exit-status: 0
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.sh b/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5a5ee2031
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+echo "Configuring docker cleanup"
+
+DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE="${DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE:-hourly}"
+DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL="${DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL:-4h}"
+DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES="${DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES:-false}"
+DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES="${DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES:-false}"
+
+if ! [[ "$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL" =~ ^[0-9]+[smhd]$ ]]; then
+  echo "Warning: time format not expected: $DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL" >&2
+  echo "use format like 4h, 30m, 1d" >&2
+fi
+
+case "$DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE" in
+hourly | daily | weekly | monthly) ;;
+*[0-9]*) ;;
+*)
+  echo "Warning: time format not expected - $DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE" >&2
+  echo "use hourly, daily, weekly, monthly" >&2
+  ;;
+esac
+
+echo "Schedule: $DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE"
+echo "Prune older than: $DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL"
+echo "Cleaning all images: $DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES"
+echo "Volumes: $DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES"
+
+cat >/usr/local/bin/docker-gc <<'EOF'
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then
+    exec >> /var/log/elastic-stack.log 2>&1
+fi
+
+mark_instance_unhealthy() {
+  # cancel any running buildkite builds
+  killall -QUIT buildkite-agent || true
+
+  # mark the instance for termination
+  echo "Marking instance as unhealthy"
+
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2155
+  local token=$(curl -X PUT -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token-ttl-seconds: 60" --fail --silent --show-error --location "http://169.254.169.254/latest/api/token")
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2155
+  local instance_id=$(curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $token" --fail --silent --show-error --location "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/instance-id")
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2155
+  local region=$(curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $token" --fail --silent --show-error --location "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/placement/region")
+
+  aws autoscaling set-instance-health \
+    --instance-id "${instance_id}" \
+    --region "${region}" \
+    --health-status Unhealthy
+}
+
+trap mark_instance_unhealthy ERR
+
+echo "$(date): Docker cleanup starting"
+
+# Check if this is a disk-space triggered cleanup or scheduled cleanup
+FORCE_CLEANUP=${1:-""}
+if [[ "$FORCE_CLEANUP" != "force" ]]; then
+    if /usr/local/bin/bk-check-disk-space.sh >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "$(date): Disk space is sufficient, skipping Docker cleanup"
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    echo "$(date): Disk space is low, proceeding with emergency Docker cleanup"
+    
+    TIME_FILTER="--filter until=DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL_PLACEHOLDER"
+    echo "Cleaning up docker resources older than DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL_PLACEHOLDER"
+    docker image prune --all --force $TIME_FILTER
+    docker builder prune --all --force $TIME_FILTER
+else
+    echo "$(date): Running scheduled Docker cleanup"
+    
+    TIME_FILTER="--filter until=DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL_PLACEHOLDER"
+
+    echo "Cleaning networks and containers"
+    docker network prune --force
+    docker container prune --force $TIME_FILTER
+
+    if [[ "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES_PLACEHOLDER" == "true" ]]; then
+        echo "Cleaning all images"
+        docker image prune --all --force $TIME_FILTER
+    else
+        echo "Cleaning dangling images only"
+        docker image prune --force $TIME_FILTER
+    fi
+
+    if [[ "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES_PLACEHOLDER" == "true" ]]; then
+        echo "Cleaning volumes"
+        docker volume prune --force
+    fi
+fi
+
+# After cleanup, verify we actually freed up space (but only if this was disk-triggered)
+if [[ "$FORCE_CLEANUP" != "force" ]]; then
+    if ! /usr/local/bin/bk-check-disk-space.sh; then
+        echo "$(date): Disk health checks failed after Docker cleanup" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+fi
+
+echo "$(date): Docker cleanup completed successfully"
+EOF
+
+sed -i "s/DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL_PLACEHOLDER/$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL/g" /usr/local/bin/docker-gc
+sed -i "s/DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES_PLACEHOLDER/$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES/g" /usr/local/bin/docker-gc
+sed -i "s/DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES_PLACEHOLDER/$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES/g" /usr/local/bin/docker-gc
+
+chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-gc
+
+cat >/etc/systemd/system/docker-gc.timer <<EOF
+[Unit]
+Description=Docker GC Cleanup Timer
+Requires=docker-gc.service
+
+[Timer]
+Unit=docker-gc.service
+OnCalendar=${DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE}
+Persistent=true
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=timers.target
+EOF
+
+cat >/etc/systemd/system/docker-gc.service <<EOF
+[Unit]
+Description=Docker GC Cleanup
+Wants=docker-gc.timer
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/docker-gc force
+StandardOutput=journal
+StandardError=journal
+EOF
+
+echo "Enabling timer"
+systemctl daemon-reload || {
+  echo "Warning: systemctl daemon-reload failed, retrying in 5 seconds"
+  sleep 5
+  systemctl daemon-reload || {
+    echo "Error: systemctl daemon-reload failed twice, skipping timer setup"
+    exit 0
+  }
+}
+
+systemctl enable docker-gc.timer || {
+  echo "Warning: failed to enable docker-gc.timer"
+}
+
+systemctl start docker-gc.timer || {
+  echo "Warning: failed to start docker-gc.timer, will retry later"
+}
+
+echo "Docker GC Cleanup configured"
+echo "Schedule: $DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE"
+echo "Prune older than: $DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL"
+if [[ "$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES" == "true" ]]; then
+  echo "Will clean all images"
+else
+  echo "Will clean dangling images only"
+fi
+if [[ "$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES" == "true" ]]; then
+  echo "Will clean volumes"
+else
+  echo "Volumes left alone"
+fi
+
+echo Restarting docker daemon...
+systemctl restart docker
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker.sh b/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker.sh
index dd560a2a1..bcb6a6870 100755
--- a/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker.sh
+++ b/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker.sh
@@ -95,11 +95,5 @@ else
   echo Instance storage not configured.
 fi
 
-echo Cleaning up docker images...
-systemctl start docker-low-disk-gc.service
-
-echo Enabling docker-gc timers...
-systemctl enable docker-gc.timer docker-low-disk-gc.timer
-
 echo Restarting docker daemon...
 systemctl restart docker
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.sh b/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.sh
index 1886d1c2a..b1496ce76 100755
--- a/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.sh
+++ b/packer/linux/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.sh
@@ -143,6 +143,12 @@ set_always         "BUILDKITE_STACK_NAME" "$BUILDKITE_STACK_NAME"
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_STACK_VERSION" "$BUILDKITE_STACK_VERSION"
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_DOCKER_EXPERIMENTAL" "$DOCKER_EXPERIMENTAL"
 set_always         "DOCKER_USERNS_REMAP" "$DOCKER_USERNS_REMAP"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE" "$DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL" "$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES" "$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES" "$DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES"
+set_always         "DISK_MIN_AVAILABLE" "$DISK_MIN_AVAILABLE"
+set_always         "DISK_MIN_INODES" "$DISK_MIN_INODES"
 set_always         "DOCKER_VERSION" "$DOCKER_VERSION"
 set_always         "PLUGINS_ENABLED" "${PLUGINS_ENABLED[*]-}"
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_ARTIFACTS_BUCKET" "$BUILDKITE_ARTIFACTS_BUCKET"
@@ -418,6 +424,17 @@ fi
 echo "Waited $next_wait_time times for docker to start. We will exit if it still has not started."
 check_docker
 
+echo "Configuring Docker garbage collection..."
+if [[ -f "/usr/local/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.sh" ]]; then
+  if /usr/local/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.sh; then
+    echo "Docker GC configuration completed successfully"
+  else
+    echo "Warning: Docker GC configuration failed, continuing with installation..."
+  fi
+else
+  echo "Warning: bk-configure-docker-gc.sh not found, skipping Docker GC configuration"
+fi
+
 echo Writing buildkite-agent systemd environment override...
 # also set in /var/lib/buildkite-agent/cfn-env so that it's shown in the job logs
 mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/buildkite-agent.service.d
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/buildkite-agent/hooks/environment b/packer/linux/conf/buildkite-agent/hooks/environment
index ba31e04ca..55adfb391 100755
--- a/packer/linux/conf/buildkite-agent/hooks/environment
+++ b/packer/linux/conf/buildkite-agent/hooks/environment
@@ -41,8 +41,11 @@ fi
 
 echo "Checking disk space"
 if ! /usr/local/bin/bk-check-disk-space.sh; then
-  echo "Cleaning up docker resources older than ${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL:-4h}"
-  docker image prune --all --force --filter "until=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL:-4h}"
+  echo "Disk space low, triggering emergency Docker cleanup"
+  if ! /usr/local/bin/docker-gc; then
+    echo "Emergency Docker cleanup failed" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
 
   echo "Checking disk space again"
   # Capture disk space output for potential error logging
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/docker/scripts/docker-gc b/packer/linux/conf/docker/scripts/docker-gc
deleted file mode 100755
index edd8d6943..000000000
--- a/packer/linux/conf/docker/scripts/docker-gc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -euo pipefail
-
-if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then
-  exec >>/var/log/elastic-stack.log 2>&1 # Logs to elastic-stack.log
-fi
-
-DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL:-4h}
-
-## ------------------------------------------
-## Prune stuff that doesn't affect cache hits
-
-docker network prune --force --filter "until=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL}"
-docker container prune --force --filter "until=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL}"
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/docker/scripts/docker-low-disk-gc b/packer/linux/conf/docker/scripts/docker-low-disk-gc
deleted file mode 100755
index 3f74f73c4..000000000
--- a/packer/linux/conf/docker/scripts/docker-low-disk-gc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -euo pipefail
-
-if [[ $EUID -eq 0 ]]; then
-  exec >>/var/log/elastic-stack.log 2>&1 # Logs to elastic-stack.log
-fi
-
-DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL:-1h}
-
-mark_instance_unhealthy() {
-  # cancel any running buildkite builds
-  killall -QUIT buildkite-agent || true
-
-  # mark the instance for termination
-  echo "Marking instance as unhealthy"
-
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2155
-  local token=$(curl -X PUT -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token-ttl-seconds: 60" --fail --silent --show-error --location "http://169.254.169.254/latest/api/token")
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2155
-  local instance_id=$(curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $token" --fail --silent --show-error --location "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/instance-id")
-  # shellcheck disable=SC2155
-  local region=$(curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $token" --fail --silent --show-error --location "http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/placement/region")
-
-  aws autoscaling set-instance-health \
-    --instance-id "${instance_id}" \
-    --region "${region}" \
-    --health-status Unhealthy
-}
-
-trap mark_instance_unhealthy ERR
-
-## -----------------------------------------------------------------
-## Check disk, we only want to prune images/containers/build caches
-## if we really need to
-
-if ! /usr/local/bin/bk-check-disk-space.sh; then
-  echo "Cleaning up docker resources older than ${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL}"
-  docker image prune --all --force --filter "until=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL}"
-  docker builder prune --all --force --filter "until=${DOCKER_PRUNE_UNTIL}"
-
-  if ! /usr/local/bin/bk-check-disk-space.sh; then
-    echo "Disk health checks failed" >&2 && false
-    exit 1
-  fi
-fi
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-gc.service b/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-gc.service
deleted file mode 100644
index be0cffa2b..000000000
--- a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-gc.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Clean files used by docker except for the build cache
-Wants=docker-gc.timer
-
-[Service]
-Type=oneshot
-ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/docker-gc
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-gc.timer b/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-gc.timer
deleted file mode 100644
index 93886059d..000000000
--- a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-gc.timer
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Clean files used by docker except for the build cache
-Requires=docker-gc.service
-
-[Timer]
-Unit=docker-gc.service
-OnCalendar=hourly
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-low-disk-gc.service b/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-low-disk-gc.service
deleted file mode 100644
index 4e19e751f..000000000
--- a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-low-disk-gc.service
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Clean files used by docker including the build cache when disk space is low
-Wants=docker-low-disk-gc.timer
-
-[Service]
-Type=oneshot
-ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/docker-low-disk-gc
diff --git a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-low-disk-gc.timer b/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-low-disk-gc.timer
deleted file mode 100644
index 900234413..000000000
--- a/packer/linux/conf/docker/systemd/docker-low-disk-gc.timer
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-[Unit]
-Description=Clean files used by docker including the build cache when disk space is low
-Requires=docker-low-disk-gc.service
-
-[Timer]
-Unit=docker-low-disk-gc.service
-OnCalendar=hourly
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/packer/linux/scripts/install-docker.sh b/packer/linux/scripts/install-docker.sh
index e182647da..39b70cf91 100755
--- a/packer/linux/scripts/install-docker.sh
+++ b/packer/linux/scripts/install-docker.sh
@@ -17,9 +17,11 @@ sudo mkdir -p /etc/docker
 sudo cp /tmp/conf/docker/daemon.json /etc/docker/daemon.json
 
 echo "Adding docker systemd timers..."
-sudo cp /tmp/conf/docker/scripts/* /usr/local/bin
+if ls /tmp/conf/docker/scripts/* >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  sudo cp /tmp/conf/docker/scripts/* /usr/local/bin
+  sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-*
+fi
 sudo cp /tmp/conf/docker/systemd/docker-* /etc/systemd/system
-sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-*
 
 echo "Installing docker buildx..."
 DOCKER_CLI_DIR=/usr/libexec/docker/cli-plugins
diff --git a/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.ps1 b/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..170b1f3b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-configure-docker-gc.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
+Write-Output "Configuring docker cleanup"
+
+$DockerGcSchedule = if ($env:DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE) { $env:DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE } else { "hourly" }
+$DockerGcPruneUntil = if ($env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL) { $env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL } else { "4h" }
+$DockerGcPruneImages = if ($env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES) { $env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES } else { "false" }
+$DockerGcPruneVolumes = if ($env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES) { $env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES } else { "false" }
+
+if ($DockerGcPruneUntil -notmatch '^[0-9]+[smhd]$') {
+    Write-Warning "time format not expected: $DockerGcPruneUntil"
+    Write-Warning "use format like 4h, 30m, 1d"
+}
+
+switch ($DockerGcSchedule) {
+    { $_ -in @("hourly", "daily", "weekly", "monthly") } { break }
+    { $_ -match '[0-9]+' } { break }
+    default {
+        Write-Warning "time format not expected - $DockerGcSchedule"
+        Write-Warning "use hourly, daily, weekly, monthly"
+    }
+}
+
+Write-Output "Schedule: $DockerGcSchedule"
+Write-Output "Prune older than: $DockerGcPruneUntil"
+Write-Output "Cleaning all images: $DockerGcPruneImages"
+Write-Output "Volumes: $DockerGcPruneVolumes"
+
+$dockerGcScript = @"
+# Stop script execution when a non-terminating error occurs
+`$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+
+# Log to the main log file
+`$logFile = "C:\buildkite-agent\elastic-stack.log"
+Add-Content -Path `$logFile -Value "`$(Get-Date): Docker cleanup starting"
+
+`$TimeFilter = "--filter until=$DockerGcPruneUntil"
+
+Add-Content -Path `$logFile -Value "Cleaning networks and containers"
+docker network prune --force
+docker container prune --force `$TimeFilter
+
+if ("$DockerGcPruneImages" -eq "true") {
+    Add-Content -Path `$logFile -Value "Cleaning all images"
+    docker image prune --all --force `$TimeFilter
+} else {
+    Add-Content -Path `$logFile -Value "Cleaning dangling images only"
+    docker image prune --force `$TimeFilter
+}
+
+if ("$DockerGcPruneVolumes" -eq "true") {
+    Add-Content -Path `$logFile -Value "Cleaning volumes"
+    docker volume prune --force
+}
+
+Add-Content -Path `$logFile -Value "`$(Get-Date): Docker cleanup completed"
+"@
+
+$dockerGcScript | Out-File -FilePath "C:\buildkite-agent\bin\docker-gc.ps1" -Encoding UTF8
+
+$taskName = "DockerGC"
+
+$trigger = switch ($DockerGcSchedule) {
+    "hourly" { New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Hours 1) -RepetitionDuration (New-TimeSpan -Days 365) }
+    "daily" { New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At "2:00AM" }
+    "weekly" { New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -At "2:00AM" -DaysOfWeek Sunday }
+    "monthly" { New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Weekly -At "2:00AM" -WeeksInterval 4 -DaysOfWeek Sunday }
+    default { New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Once -At (Get-Date) -RepetitionInterval (New-TimeSpan -Hours 1) -RepetitionDuration (New-TimeSpan -Days 365) }
+}
+
+$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "powershell.exe" -Argument "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\buildkite-agent\bin\docker-gc.ps1 >> C:\buildkite-agent\elastic-stack.log 2>&1"
+$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -AllowStartIfOnBatteries -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries -StartWhenAvailable
+
+Write-Output "creating scheduled task"
+try {
+    Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName $taskName -Trigger $trigger -Action $action -Settings $settings -Force | Out-Null
+    Write-Output "scheduled task created successfully"
+} catch {
+    Write-Warning "failed to create scheduled task: $_"
+    Write-Warning "retrying in 5 seconds..."
+    Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
+    try {
+        Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName $taskName -Trigger $trigger -Action $action -Settings $settings -Force | Out-Null
+        Write-Output "scheduled task created successfully on retry"
+    } catch {
+        Write-Warning "failed to create scheduled task twice, skipping timer setup"
+        return
+    }
+}
+
+Write-Output "Docker GC Cleanup configured"
+Write-Output "Schedule: $DockerGcSchedule"
+Write-Output "Prune older than: $DockerGcPruneUntil"
+if ($DockerGcPruneImages -eq "true") {
+    Write-Output "Will clean all images"
+} else {
+    Write-Output "Will clean dangling images only"
+}
+if ($DockerGcPruneVolumes -eq "true") {
+    Write-Output "Will clean volumes"
+} else {
+    Write-Output "Volumes left alone"
+}
+
+Write-Output "Restarting Docker service..."
+try {
+    Restart-Service docker
+    Write-Output "Docker service restarted successfully"
+} catch {
+    Write-Warning "Failed to restart Docker service: $_"
+    Write-Warning "Continuing without Docker restart..."
+}
diff --git a/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.ps1 b/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.ps1
index cbc75366b..d6850945e 100644
--- a/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.ps1
+++ b/packer/windows/conf/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.ps1
@@ -82,6 +82,10 @@ set_always         "BUILDKITE_SECRETS_BUCKET_REGION" "$Env:BUILDKITE_SECRETS_BUC
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_STACK_NAME" "$Env:BUILDKITE_STACK_NAME"
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_STACK_VERSION" "$Env:BUILDKITE_STACK_VERSION"
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_DOCKER_EXPERIMENTAL" "$DOCKER_EXPERIMENTAL"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE" "$Env:DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL" "$Env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES" "$Env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES"
+set_always         "DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES" "$Env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES"
 set_always         "DOCKER_VERSION" "$DOCKER_VERSION"
 set_always         "PLUGINS_ENABLED" "$PLUGINS_ENABLED"
 set_always         "BUILDKITE_ARTIFACTS_BUCKET" "$Env:BUILDKITE_ARTIFACTS_BUCKET"
@@ -218,6 +222,14 @@ if ($docker_ready) {
   Write-Output "Docker is ready."
   # Optionally run docker ps again to show output if needed, but the check already passed
   # docker ps
+
+  Write-Output "Configuring Docker garbage collection..."
+  try {
+    & "C:\buildkite-agent\bin\bk-configure-docker-gc.ps1"
+  } catch {
+    Write-Warning "Failed to configure Docker GC: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+    Write-Warning "Continuing without Docker GC configuration..."
+  }
 } else {
   Write-Output "Failed to confirm Docker readiness after $max_wait_time seconds."
   # Add more diagnostics if possible
diff --git a/templates/aws-stack.yml b/templates/aws-stack.yml
index c4f1861ad..ea49e22f8 100644
--- a/templates/aws-stack.yml
+++ b/templates/aws-stack.yml
@@ -149,6 +149,12 @@ Metadata:
         Parameters:
         - EnableDockerUserNamespaceRemap
         - EnableDockerExperimental
+        - DockerGCSchedule
+        - DockerGCPruneUntil
+        - DockerGCPruneImages
+        - DockerGCPruneVolumes
+        - DiskMinAvailable
+        - DiskMinInodes
 
       - Label:
           default: Docker Registry Configuration
@@ -803,6 +809,48 @@ Parameters:
       - "false"
     Default: "false"
 
+  DockerGCSchedule:
+    Description: Systemd timer schedule for docker garbage collection (default is hourly)
+    Type: String
+    Default: "hourly"
+    AllowedPattern: "^(minutely|hourly|daily|weekly|monthly|yearly|\\*-\\*-\\* \\d{1,2}:\\d{2}:\\d{2}|\\d{1,2} \\d{1,2} \\* \\* \\*)$"
+    ConstraintDescription: Must be a valid systemd timer schedule (minutely, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or cron format like "0 3 * * *")
+
+  DockerGCPruneUntil:
+    Description: Remove docker resources older than this duration (default is 4h)
+    Type: String
+    Default: "4h"
+    AllowedPattern: "^\\d+[smhdw]$"
+    ConstraintDescription: Must be a valid duration format (e.g., 30s, 5m, 2h, 1d, 1w)
+
+  DockerGCPruneImages:
+    Description: Set to "true" to prune all unused images, not just dangling ones
+    Type: String
+    AllowedValues:
+      - "true"
+      - "false"
+    Default: "false"
+
+  DockerGCPruneVolumes:
+    Description: Set to "true" to prune anonymous volumes during garbage collection
+    Type: String
+    AllowedValues:
+      - "true"
+      - "false"
+    Default: "false"
+
+  DiskMinAvailable:
+    Description: Minimum disk space (in KB) before triggering emergency Docker cleanup (default is 5GB)
+    Type: Number
+    Default: 5242880
+    MinValue: 524288
+
+  DiskMinInodes:
+    Description: Minimum free inodes before triggering emergency Docker cleanup
+    Type: Number
+    Default: 250000
+    MinValue: 10000
+
   EnableInstanceStorage:
     Type: String
     Description: >
@@ -1764,6 +1812,10 @@ Resources:
                   $Env:DOCKER_USERNS_REMAP="${EnableDockerUserNamespaceRemap}"
                   $Env:DOCKER_EXPERIMENTAL="${EnableDockerExperimental}"
                   $Env:DOCKER_NETWORKING_PROTOCOL="${DockerNetworkingProtocol}"
+                  $Env:DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE="${DockerGCSchedule}"
+                  $Env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL="${DockerGCPruneUntil}"
+                  $Env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES="${DockerGCPruneImages}"
+                  $Env:DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES="${DockerGCPruneVolumes}"
                   powershell -file C:\buildkite-agent\bin\bk-configure-docker.ps1 >> C:\buildkite-agent\elastic-stack.log
 
                   $Env:BUILDKITE_STACK_NAME="${AWS::StackName}"
@@ -1893,6 +1945,12 @@ Resources:
                   DOCKER_LOGIN_PLUGIN_ENABLED="${EnableDockerLoginPlugin}" \
                   DOCKER_EXPERIMENTAL="${EnableDockerExperimental}" \
                   DOCKER_USERNS_REMAP=${EnableDockerUserNamespaceRemap} \
+                  DOCKER_GC_SCHEDULE="${DockerGCSchedule}" \
+                  DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_UNTIL="${DockerGCPruneUntil}" \
+                  DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_IMAGES="${DockerGCPruneImages}" \
+                  DOCKER_GC_PRUNE_VOLUMES="${DockerGCPruneVolumes}" \
+                  DISK_MIN_AVAILABLE="${DiskMinAvailable}" \
+                  DISK_MIN_INODES="${DiskMinInodes}" \
                   AWS_REGION="${AWS::Region}" \
                   ENABLE_RESOURCE_LIMITS="${ExperimentalEnableResourceLimits}" \
                   RESOURCE_LIMITS_MEMORY_HIGH="${ResourceLimitsMemoryHigh}" \
@@ -1904,6 +1962,7 @@ Resources:
                   ENABLE_EC2_LOG_RETENTION_POLICY="${EnableEC2LogRetentionPolicy}" \
                   EC2_LOG_RETENTION_DAYS="${EC2LogRetentionDays}" \
                     /usr/local/bin/bk-install-elastic-stack.sh
+
                   --==BOUNDARY==--
                 - LocalSecretsBucket: !If
                     - CreateSecretsBucket