diff --git a/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone-kubernetes.yaml b/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone-kubernetes.yaml
index a551a6f1d74..e8db85281c3 100644
--- a/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone-kubernetes.yaml
+++ b/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone-kubernetes.yaml
@@ -692,16 +692,18 @@ spec:
       # Uncomment if using hints feature
       #initContainers:
       #  - name: k8s-templates-downloader
-      #    image: busybox:1.28
-      #    command: ['sh']
+      #    image: docker.elastic.co/beats/elastic-agent:8.15.0
+      #    command: ['bash']
       #    args:
       #      - -c
       #      - >-
-      #        mkdir -p /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d &&
-      #        wget -O - https://github.com/elastic/elastic-agent/archive/8.15.tar.gz | tar xz -C /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d --strip=5 "elastic-agent-8.15/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/templates.d"
+      #        mkdir -p /usr/share/elastic-agent/state/inputs.d &&
+      #        curl -sL https://github.com/elastic/elastic-agent/archive/8.15.tar.gz | tar xz -C /usr/share/elastic-agent/state/inputs.d --strip=5 "elastic-agent-8.15/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/templates.d"
+      #    securityContext:
+      #      runAsUser: 0
       #    volumeMounts:
-      #      - name: external-inputs
-      #        mountPath: /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d
+      #      - name: elastic-agent-state
+      #        mountPath: /usr/share/elastic-agent/state
       containers:
         - name: elastic-agent-standalone
           image: docker.elastic.co/beats/elastic-agent:8.15.0
@@ -725,8 +727,6 @@ spec:
               valueFrom:
                 fieldRef:
                   fieldPath: metadata.name
-            - name: STATE_PATH
-              value: "/etc/elastic-agent"
             # The following ELASTIC_NETINFO:false variable will disable the netinfo.enabled option of add-host-metadata processor. This will remove fields host.ip and host.mac.  
             # For more info: https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/metricbeat/current/add-host-metadata.html
             - name: ELASTIC_NETINFO
@@ -760,9 +760,6 @@ spec:
               mountPath: /etc/elastic-agent/agent.yml
               readOnly: true
               subPath: agent.yml
-            # Uncomment if using hints feature
-            #- name: external-inputs
-            #  mountPath: /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d
             - name: proc
               mountPath: /hostfs/proc
               readOnly: true
@@ -793,9 +790,6 @@ spec:
           configMap:
             defaultMode: 0640
             name: agent-node-datastreams
-        # Uncomment if using hints feature
-        #- name: external-inputs
-        #  emptyDir: {}
         - name: proc
           hostPath:
             path: /proc
diff --git a/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/elastic-agent-standalone-daemonset.yaml b/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/elastic-agent-standalone-daemonset.yaml
index 674ab8425dd..f5c86a0d4a0 100644
--- a/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/elastic-agent-standalone-daemonset.yaml
+++ b/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/elastic-agent-standalone-daemonset.yaml
@@ -28,16 +28,18 @@ spec:
       # Uncomment if using hints feature
       #initContainers:
       #  - name: k8s-templates-downloader
-      #    image: busybox:1.28
-      #    command: ['sh']
+      #    image: docker.elastic.co/beats/elastic-agent:%VERSION%
+      #    command: ['bash']
       #    args:
       #      - -c
       #      - >-
-      #        mkdir -p /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d &&
-      #        wget -O - https://github.com/elastic/elastic-agent/archive/%BRANCH%.tar.gz | tar xz -C /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d --strip=5 "elastic-agent-%BRANCH%/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/templates.d"
+      #        mkdir -p /usr/share/elastic-agent/state/inputs.d &&
+      #        curl -sL https://github.com/elastic/elastic-agent/archive/%BRANCH%.tar.gz | tar xz -C /usr/share/elastic-agent/state/inputs.d --strip=5 "elastic-agent-%BRANCH%/deploy/kubernetes/elastic-agent-standalone/templates.d"
+      #    securityContext:
+      #      runAsUser: 0
       #    volumeMounts:
-      #      - name: external-inputs
-      #        mountPath: /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d
+      #      - name: elastic-agent-state
+      #        mountPath: /usr/share/elastic-agent/state
       containers:
         - name: elastic-agent-standalone
           image: docker.elastic.co/beats/elastic-agent:%VERSION%
@@ -61,8 +63,6 @@ spec:
               valueFrom:
                 fieldRef:
                   fieldPath: metadata.name
-            - name: STATE_PATH
-              value: "/etc/elastic-agent"
             # The following ELASTIC_NETINFO:false variable will disable the netinfo.enabled option of add-host-metadata processor. This will remove fields host.ip and host.mac.  
             # For more info: https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/metricbeat/current/add-host-metadata.html
             - name: ELASTIC_NETINFO
@@ -96,9 +96,6 @@ spec:
               mountPath: /etc/elastic-agent/agent.yml
               readOnly: true
               subPath: agent.yml
-            # Uncomment if using hints feature
-            #- name: external-inputs
-            #  mountPath: /etc/elastic-agent/inputs.d
             - name: proc
               mountPath: /hostfs/proc
               readOnly: true
@@ -129,9 +126,6 @@ spec:
           configMap:
             defaultMode: 0640
             name: agent-node-datastreams
-        # Uncomment if using hints feature
-        #- name: external-inputs
-        #  emptyDir: {}
         - name: proc
           hostPath:
             path: /proc