diff --git a/cmd/podman/registry/config.go b/cmd/podman/registry/config.go
index a118fdc4dd..5b0e1a7ef3 100644
--- a/cmd/podman/registry/config.go
+++ b/cmd/podman/registry/config.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ func newPodmanConfig() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
-	cfg, err := config.NewConfig("")
+	cfg, err := config.Default()
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, "Failed to obtain podman configuration: "+err.Error())
 		os.Exit(1)
diff --git a/cmd/podman/root.go b/cmd/podman/root.go
index 5c65be96d4..4a80c688f5 100644
--- a/cmd/podman/root.go
+++ b/cmd/podman/root.go
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ func rootFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, opts *entities.PodmanConfig) {
 		_ = pFlags.MarkHidden(networkBackendFlagName)
 
 		rootFlagName := "root"
-		pFlags.StringVar(&cfg.Engine.StaticDir, rootFlagName, "", "Path to the root directory in which data, including images, is stored")
+		pFlags.StringVar(&cfg.Engine.StaticDir, rootFlagName, cfg.Engine.StaticDir, "Path to the root directory in which data, including images, is stored")
 		_ = cmd.RegisterFlagCompletionFunc(rootFlagName, completion.AutocompleteDefault)
 
 		pFlags.StringVar(&opts.RegistriesConf, "registries-conf", "", "Path to a registries.conf to use for image processing")
@@ -468,13 +468,13 @@ func rootFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, opts *entities.PodmanConfig) {
 		_ = cmd.RegisterFlagCompletionFunc(storageDriverFlagName, completion.AutocompleteNone)
 
 		tmpdirFlagName := "tmpdir"
-		pFlags.StringVar(&opts.Engine.TmpDir, tmpdirFlagName, "", "Path to the tmp directory for libpod state content.\n\nNote: use the environment variable 'TMPDIR' to change the temporary storage location for container images, '/var/tmp'.\n")
+		pFlags.StringVar(&opts.Engine.TmpDir, tmpdirFlagName, opts.Engine.TmpDir, "Path to the tmp directory for libpod state content.\n\nNote: use the environment variable 'TMPDIR' to change the temporary storage location for container images, '/var/tmp'.\n")
 		_ = cmd.RegisterFlagCompletionFunc(tmpdirFlagName, completion.AutocompleteDefault)
 
 		pFlags.BoolVar(&opts.Trace, "trace", false, "Enable opentracing output (default false)")
 
 		volumePathFlagName := "volumepath"
-		pFlags.StringVar(&opts.Engine.VolumePath, volumePathFlagName, "", "Path to the volume directory in which volume data is stored")
+		pFlags.StringVar(&opts.Engine.VolumePath, volumePathFlagName, opts.Engine.VolumePath, "Path to the volume directory in which volume data is stored")
 		_ = cmd.RegisterFlagCompletionFunc(volumePathFlagName, completion.AutocompleteDefault)
 
 		// Hide these flags for both ABI and Tunneling
diff --git a/libpod/runtime.go b/libpod/runtime.go
index 0828c19d53..56013c3480 100644
--- a/libpod/runtime.go
+++ b/libpod/runtime.go
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ func SetXdgDirs() error {
 // NewRuntime creates a new container runtime
 // Options can be passed to override the default configuration for the runtime
 func NewRuntime(ctx context.Context, options ...RuntimeOption) (*Runtime, error) {
-	conf, err := config.NewConfig("")
+	conf, err := config.Default()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -1169,3 +1169,8 @@ func (r *Runtime) RemoteURI() string {
 func (r *Runtime) SetRemoteURI(uri string) {
 	r.config.Engine.RemoteURI = uri
 }
+
+// Config returns the system config
+func (r *Runtime) Config() *config.Config {
+	return r.config
+}
diff --git a/pkg/api/handlers/libpod/images.go b/pkg/api/handlers/libpod/images.go
index 412532954b..65b83ca5ac 100644
--- a/pkg/api/handlers/libpod/images.go
+++ b/pkg/api/handlers/libpod/images.go
@@ -604,6 +604,7 @@ func ImagesRemove(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 }
 
 func ImageScp(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	runtime := r.Context().Value(api.RuntimeKey).(*libpod.Runtime)
 	decoder := r.Context().Value(api.DecoderKey).(*schema.Decoder)
 	query := struct {
 		Destination string `schema:"destination"`
@@ -618,7 +619,7 @@ func ImageScp(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	sourceArg := utils.GetName(r)
 
-	rep, source, dest, _, err := domainUtils.ExecuteTransfer(sourceArg, query.Destination, []string{}, query.Quiet, ssh.GolangMode)
+	rep, source, dest, _, err := domainUtils.ExecuteTransfer(sourceArg, query.Destination, []string{}, query.Quiet, ssh.GolangMode, runtime.Config())
 	if err != nil {
 		utils.Error(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err)
 		return
diff --git a/pkg/domain/infra/abi/images.go b/pkg/domain/infra/abi/images.go
index 1775ec24c1..e0be329c1e 100644
--- a/pkg/domain/infra/abi/images.go
+++ b/pkg/domain/infra/abi/images.go
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@ func (ir *ImageEngine) Sign(ctx context.Context, names []string, options entitie
 }
 
 func (ir *ImageEngine) Scp(ctx context.Context, src, dst string, parentFlags []string, quiet bool, sshMode ssh.EngineMode) error {
-	rep, source, dest, flags, err := domainUtils.ExecuteTransfer(src, dst, parentFlags, quiet, sshMode)
+	rep, source, dest, flags, err := domainUtils.ExecuteTransfer(src, dst, parentFlags, quiet, sshMode, ir.Libpod.Config())
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/domain/utils/scp.go b/pkg/domain/utils/scp.go
index 19567551e6..7c88c376ff 100644
--- a/pkg/domain/utils/scp.go
+++ b/pkg/domain/utils/scp.go
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
-func ExecuteTransfer(src, dst string, parentFlags []string, quiet bool, sshMode ssh.EngineMode) (*entities.ImageLoadReport, *entities.ImageScpOptions, *entities.ImageScpOptions, []string, error) {
+func ExecuteTransfer(src, dst string, parentFlags []string, quiet bool, sshMode ssh.EngineMode, conf *config.Config) (*entities.ImageLoadReport, *entities.ImageScpOptions, *entities.ImageScpOptions, []string, error) {
 	source := entities.ImageScpOptions{}
 	dest := entities.ImageScpOptions{}
 	sshInfo := entities.ImageScpConnections{}
@@ -33,11 +33,6 @@ func ExecuteTransfer(src, dst string, parentFlags []string, quiet bool, sshMode
 		return nil, nil, nil, nil, err
 	}
 
-	confR, err := config.NewConfig("") // create a hand made config for the remote engine since we might use remote and native at once
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, nil, nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("could not make config: %w", err)
-	}
-
 	locations := []*entities.ImageScpOptions{}
 	cliConnections := []string{}
 	args := []string{src}
@@ -94,7 +89,7 @@ func ExecuteTransfer(src, dst string, parentFlags []string, quiet bool, sshMode
 		return nil, nil, nil, nil, err
 	}
 
-	confR.Engine = config.EngineConfig{Remote: true, CgroupManager: "cgroupfs", ServiceDestinations: serv} // pass the service dest (either remote or something else) to engine
+	conf.Engine = config.EngineConfig{Remote: true, CgroupManager: "cgroupfs", ServiceDestinations: serv} // pass the service dest (either remote or something else) to engine
 	saveCmd, loadCmd := CreateCommands(source, dest, parentFlags, podman)
 
 	switch {