diff --git a/components/backends/vllm/src/dynamo/vllm/main.py b/components/backends/vllm/src/dynamo/vllm/main.py
index decae44828..43d7c5181f 100644
--- a/components/backends/vllm/src/dynamo/vllm/main.py
+++ b/components/backends/vllm/src/dynamo/vllm/main.py
@@ -131,7 +131,12 @@ async def init_prefill(runtime: DistributedRuntime, config: Config):
     """
     Instantiate and serve
     """
-    component = runtime.namespace(config.namespace).component(config.component)
+
+    component = (
+        runtime.namespace(config.namespace)
+        .component(config.component)
+        .add_labels([("model", config.model)])
+    )
     await component.create_service()
 
     generate_endpoint = component.endpoint(config.endpoint)
@@ -164,7 +169,11 @@ async def init(runtime: DistributedRuntime, config: Config):
     Instantiate and serve
     """
 
-    component = runtime.namespace(config.namespace).component(config.component)
+    component = (
+        runtime.namespace(config.namespace)
+        .component(config.component)
+        .add_labels([("model", config.model)])
+    )
     await component.create_service()
 
     generate_endpoint = component.endpoint(config.endpoint)
diff --git a/components/metrics/src/lib.rs b/components/metrics/src/lib.rs
index bf925b96e3..5f9ddec6c4 100644
--- a/components/metrics/src/lib.rs
+++ b/components/metrics/src/lib.rs
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ impl MetricsMode {
 pub struct LLMWorkerLoadCapacityConfig {
     pub component_name: String,
     pub endpoint_name: String,
+    pub model_name: Option<String>,
 }
 
 /// Metrics collector for exposing metrics to prometheus/grafana
diff --git a/components/metrics/src/main.rs b/components/metrics/src/main.rs
index 58a2979012..cbbf36fd3a 100644
--- a/components/metrics/src/main.rs
+++ b/components/metrics/src/main.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ use dynamo_llm::kv_router::scheduler::KVHitRateEvent;
 use dynamo_llm::kv_router::KV_HIT_RATE_SUBJECT;
 use dynamo_runtime::{
     error, logging,
+    metrics::MetricsRegistry,
     traits::events::{EventPublisher, EventSubscriber},
     utils::{Duration, Instant},
     DistributedRuntime, ErrorContext, Result, Runtime, Worker,
@@ -60,6 +61,10 @@ struct Args {
     #[arg(long)]
     endpoint: String,
 
+    /// Model name for the target component (optional)
+    #[arg(long)]
+    model_name: Option<String>,
+
     /// Polling interval in seconds for scraping dynamo endpoint stats (minimum 1 second)
     #[arg(long, default_value = "1")]
     poll_interval: u64,
@@ -109,6 +114,7 @@ fn get_config(args: &Args) -> Result<LLMWorkerLoadCapacityConfig> {
     Ok(LLMWorkerLoadCapacityConfig {
         component_name: args.component.clone(),
         endpoint_name: args.endpoint.clone(),
+        model_name: args.model_name.clone(),
     })
 }
 
@@ -131,7 +137,14 @@ async fn app(runtime: Runtime) -> Result<()> {
         .await
         .context("Unable to create unique instance of Count; possibly one already exists")?;
 
-    let target_component = namespace.component(&config.component_name)?;
+    let target_component = {
+        let c = namespace.component(&config.component_name)?;
+        if let Some(ref model) = config.model_name {
+            c.add_labels(&[("model", model.as_str())])?
+        } else {
+            c
+        }
+    };
     let target_endpoint = target_component.endpoint(&config.endpoint_name);
 
     let service_path = target_endpoint.path();
diff --git a/lib/bindings/python/rust/lib.rs b/lib/bindings/python/rust/lib.rs
index 39ff3fd1a8..615a1dca8a 100644
--- a/lib/bindings/python/rust/lib.rs
+++ b/lib/bindings/python/rust/lib.rs
@@ -480,6 +480,21 @@ impl Component {
             Ok(())
         })
     }
+
+    /// Add constant labels to this component (for metrics). Returns a new Component with labels.
+    /// labels: list of (key, value) tuples.
+    fn add_labels(&self, labels: Vec<(String, String)>) -> PyResult<Component> {
+        use rs::metrics::MetricsRegistry as _;
+        let pairs: Vec<(&str, &str)> = labels
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(k, v)| (k.as_str(), v.as_str()))
+            .collect();
+        let inner = self.inner.clone().add_labels(&pairs).map_err(to_pyerr)?;
+        Ok(Component {
+            inner,
+            event_loop: self.event_loop.clone(),
+        })
+    }
 }
 
 #[pymethods]
diff --git a/lib/llm/src/discovery/watcher.rs b/lib/llm/src/discovery/watcher.rs
index 18fa84809c..66082c8218 100644
--- a/lib/llm/src/discovery/watcher.rs
+++ b/lib/llm/src/discovery/watcher.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ use anyhow::Context as _;
 use tokio::sync::{mpsc::Receiver, Notify};
 
 use dynamo_runtime::{
+    metrics::MetricsRegistry,
     pipeline::{
         network::egress::push_router::PushRouter, ManyOut, Operator, RouterMode, SegmentSource,
         ServiceBackend, SingleIn, Source,
@@ -169,7 +170,8 @@ impl ModelWatcher {
         let component = self
             .drt
             .namespace(&endpoint_id.namespace)?
-            .component(&endpoint_id.component)?;
+            .component(&endpoint_id.component)
+            .and_then(|c| c.add_labels(&[("model", &model_entry.name)]))?;
         let client = component.endpoint(&endpoint_id.name).client().await?;
 
         let Some(etcd_client) = self.drt.etcd_client() else {
diff --git a/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/common.rs b/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/common.rs
index ee3e8fe22d..ff0e86f798 100644
--- a/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/common.rs
+++ b/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/common.rs
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@ use crate::{
         Annotated,
     },
 };
+
 use dynamo_runtime::{
     component::Client,
     distributed::DistributedConfig,
     engine::{AsyncEngineStream, Data},
+    metrics::MetricsRegistry,
     pipeline::{
         Context, ManyOut, Operator, PushRouter, RouterMode, SegmentSource, ServiceBackend,
         ServiceEngine, ServiceFrontend, SingleIn, Source,
@@ -109,7 +111,9 @@ pub async fn prepare_engine(
             let endpoint_id = local_model.endpoint_id();
             let component = distributed_runtime
                 .namespace(&endpoint_id.namespace)?
-                .component(&endpoint_id.component)?;
+                .component(&endpoint_id.component)
+                .and_then(|c| c.add_labels(&[("model", card.slug().to_string().as_str())]))?;
+
             let client = component.endpoint(&endpoint_id.name).client().await?;
 
             let kv_chooser = if router_mode == RouterMode::KV {
diff --git a/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/endpoint.rs b/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/endpoint.rs
index 467fff6027..7b4996f002 100644
--- a/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/endpoint.rs
+++ b/lib/llm/src/entrypoint/input/endpoint.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ use crate::{
         Annotated,
     },
 };
+
 use dynamo_runtime::engine::AsyncEngineStream;
+use dynamo_runtime::metrics::MetricsRegistry;
 use dynamo_runtime::pipeline::{
     network::Ingress, Context, ManyOut, Operator, SegmentSource, ServiceBackend, SingleIn, Source,
 };
@@ -31,9 +33,25 @@ pub async fn run(
     let cancel_token = distributed_runtime.primary_token().clone();
     let endpoint_id: EndpointId = path.parse()?;
 
+    let model_name = match &engine_config {
+        EngineConfig::StaticFull { model, .. } | EngineConfig::StaticCore { model, .. } => {
+            Some(model.service_name().to_string())
+        }
+        EngineConfig::StaticRemote(model) | EngineConfig::Dynamic(model) => {
+            Some(model.service_name().to_string())
+        }
+    };
+
     let component = distributed_runtime
         .namespace(&endpoint_id.namespace)?
-        .component(&endpoint_id.component)?;
+        .component(&endpoint_id.component)
+        .and_then(|c| {
+            if let Some(ref name) = model_name {
+                c.add_labels(&[("model", name.as_str())])
+            } else {
+                Ok(c)
+            }
+        })?;
     let endpoint = component
         .service_builder()
         .create()
diff --git a/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/client.rs b/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/client.rs
index 9ab2805357..46bfd44b5a 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/client.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/client.rs
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
 // limitations under the License.
 
 use dynamo_runtime::{
-    logging, pipeline::PushRouter, protocols::annotated::Annotated, stream::StreamExt,
-    DistributedRuntime, Result, Runtime, Worker,
+    logging, metrics::MetricsRegistry, pipeline::PushRouter, protocols::annotated::Annotated,
+    stream::StreamExt, DistributedRuntime, Result, Runtime, Worker,
 };
 use hello_world::DEFAULT_NAMESPACE;
 
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ async fn app(runtime: Runtime) -> Result<()> {
     let client = distributed
         .namespace(DEFAULT_NAMESPACE)?
         .component("backend")?
+        .add_labels(&[("model", "hello_world_model")])?
         .endpoint("generate")
         .client()
         .await?;
diff --git a/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/server.rs b/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/server.rs
index e1e22ce897..153f3df0bc 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/server.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/examples/hello_world/src/bin/server.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 use dynamo_runtime::{
     logging,
+    metrics::MetricsRegistry,
     pipeline::{
         async_trait, network::Ingress, AsyncEngine, AsyncEngineContextProvider, Error, ManyOut,
         ResponseStream, SingleIn,
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@ async fn backend(runtime: DistributedRuntime) -> Result<()> {
     runtime
         .namespace(DEFAULT_NAMESPACE)?
         .component("backend")?
+        .add_labels(&[("model", "hello_world_model")])?
         .service_builder()
         .create()
         .await?
diff --git a/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_client.rs b/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_client.rs
index 7952fc3576..b1d90672d7 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_client.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_client.rs
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ use futures::StreamExt;
 use service_metrics::DEFAULT_NAMESPACE;
 
 use dynamo_runtime::{
-    logging, pipeline::PushRouter, protocols::annotated::Annotated, utils::Duration,
-    DistributedRuntime, Result, Runtime, Worker,
+    logging, metrics::MetricsRegistry, pipeline::PushRouter, protocols::annotated::Annotated,
+    utils::Duration, DistributedRuntime, Result, Runtime, Worker,
 };
 
 fn main() -> Result<()> {
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ async fn app(runtime: Runtime) -> Result<()> {
     let distributed = DistributedRuntime::from_settings(runtime.clone()).await?;
 
     let namespace = distributed.namespace(DEFAULT_NAMESPACE)?;
-    let component = namespace.component("backend")?;
+    let component = namespace
+        .component("backend")?
+        .add_labels(&[("model", "service_metrics_model")])?;
 
     let client = component.endpoint("generate").client().await?;
 
diff --git a/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_server.rs b/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_server.rs
index c8ab9ed13c..54fc295ff6 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_server.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/examples/service_metrics/src/bin/service_server.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ use service_metrics::{MyStats, DEFAULT_NAMESPACE};
 
 use dynamo_runtime::{
     logging,
+    metrics::MetricsRegistry,
     pipeline::{
         async_trait, network::Ingress, AsyncEngine, AsyncEngineContextProvider, Error, ManyOut,
         ResponseStream, SingleIn,
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@ async fn backend(runtime: DistributedRuntime) -> Result<()> {
     runtime
         .namespace(DEFAULT_NAMESPACE)?
         .component("backend")?
+        .add_labels(&[("model", "service_metrics_model")])?
         .service_builder()
         .create()
         .await?
diff --git a/lib/runtime/examples/system_metrics/src/lib.rs b/lib/runtime/examples/system_metrics/src/lib.rs
index bfada2858d..2f131c1abe 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/examples/system_metrics/src/lib.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/examples/system_metrics/src/lib.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 pub const DEFAULT_NAMESPACE: &str = "dyn_example_namespace";
 pub const DEFAULT_COMPONENT: &str = "dyn_example_component";
 pub const DEFAULT_ENDPOINT: &str = "dyn_example_endpoint";
+pub const DEFAULT_MODEL_NAME: &str = "dyn_example_model";
 
 /// Stats structure returned by the endpoint's stats handler
 #[derive(serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize, Debug, Clone)]
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ pub async fn backend(drt: DistributedRuntime, endpoint_name: Option<&str>) -> Re
     let endpoint = drt
         .namespace(DEFAULT_NAMESPACE)?
         .component(DEFAULT_COMPONENT)?
+        .add_labels(&[("model", DEFAULT_MODEL_NAME)])?
         .service_builder()
         .create()
         .await?
diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/component.rs b/lib/runtime/src/component.rs
index 2e0366cc8b..e00e1268ea 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/component.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/component.rs
@@ -125,6 +125,10 @@ pub struct Component {
     #[validate(custom(function = "validate_allowed_chars"))]
     name: String,
 
+    /// Additional labels for metrics
+    #[builder(default = "Vec::new()")]
+    labels: Vec<(String, String)>,
+
     // todo - restrict the namespace to a-z0-9-_A-Z
     /// Namespace
     #[builder(setter(into))]
@@ -183,6 +187,16 @@ impl MetricsRegistry for Component {
         ]
         .concat()
     }
+
+    fn stored_labels(&self) -> Vec<(&str, &str)> {
+        let mut all_labels = self.namespace.stored_labels();
+        all_labels.extend(self.labels.iter().map(|(k, v)| (k.as_str(), v.as_str())));
+        all_labels
+    }
+
+    fn labels_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<(String, String)> {
+        &mut self.labels
+    }
 }
 
 impl Component {
@@ -220,6 +234,7 @@ impl Component {
             component: self.clone(),
             name: endpoint.into(),
             is_static: self.is_static,
+            labels: Vec::new(),
         }
     }
 
@@ -285,6 +300,9 @@ pub struct Endpoint {
     name: String,
 
     is_static: bool,
+
+    /// Additional labels for metrics
+    labels: Vec<(String, String)>,
 }
 
 impl Hash for Endpoint {
@@ -329,6 +347,16 @@ impl MetricsRegistry for Endpoint {
         ]
         .concat()
     }
+
+    fn stored_labels(&self) -> Vec<(&str, &str)> {
+        let mut all_labels = self.component.stored_labels();
+        all_labels.extend(self.labels.iter().map(|(k, v)| (k.as_str(), v.as_str())));
+        all_labels
+    }
+
+    fn labels_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<(String, String)> {
+        &mut self.labels
+    }
 }
 
 impl Endpoint {
@@ -447,6 +475,10 @@ pub struct Namespace {
 
     #[builder(default = "None")]
     parent: Option<Arc<Namespace>>,
+
+    /// Additional labels for metrics
+    #[builder(default = "Vec::new()")]
+    labels: Vec<(String, String)>,
 }
 
 impl DistributedRuntimeProvider for Namespace {
diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/component/namespace.rs b/lib/runtime/src/component/namespace.rs
index a7c1bfe7a8..c1beee55a9 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/component/namespace.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/component/namespace.rs
@@ -86,6 +86,18 @@ impl MetricsRegistry for Namespace {
     fn parent_hierarchy(&self) -> Vec<String> {
         vec![self.drt().basename()]
     }
+
+    fn stored_labels(&self) -> Vec<(&str, &str)> {
+        // Convert Vec<(String, String)> to Vec<(&str, &str)>
+        self.labels
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(k, v)| (k.as_str(), v.as_str()))
+            .collect()
+    }
+
+    fn labels_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<(String, String)> {
+        &mut self.labels
+    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(feature = "integration")]
diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/distributed.rs b/lib/runtime/src/distributed.rs
index c4bb7c965c..28b154a748 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/distributed.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/distributed.rs
@@ -40,6 +40,18 @@ impl MetricsRegistry for DistributedRuntime {
     fn parent_hierarchy(&self) -> Vec<String> {
         vec![] // drt is the root, so no parent hierarchy
     }
+
+    fn stored_labels(&self) -> Vec<(&str, &str)> {
+        // Convert Vec<(String, String)> to Vec<(&str, &str)>
+        self.labels
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(k, v)| (k.as_str(), v.as_str()))
+            .collect()
+    }
+
+    fn labels_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<(String, String)> {
+        &mut self.labels
+    }
 }
 
 impl DistributedRuntime {
@@ -111,6 +123,7 @@ impl DistributedRuntime {
                 prometheus::Registry,
             >::new())),
             system_health,
+            labels: Vec::new(),
         };
 
         // Start metrics server if enabled
diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/lib.rs b/lib/runtime/src/lib.rs
index 351b2aee6c..6cd2f2281c 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/lib.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/lib.rs
@@ -178,4 +178,7 @@ pub struct DistributedRuntime {
 
     // This map associates metric prefixes with their corresponding Prometheus registries.
     prometheus_registries_by_prefix: Arc<std::sync::Mutex<HashMap<String, prometheus::Registry>>>,
+
+    // Additional labels for metrics
+    labels: Vec<(String, String)>,
 }
diff --git a/lib/runtime/src/metrics.rs b/lib/runtime/src/metrics.rs
index 78169bc431..a3a499c78c 100644
--- a/lib/runtime/src/metrics.rs
+++ b/lib/runtime/src/metrics.rs
@@ -65,6 +65,21 @@ fn lint_prometheus_name(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<String> {
     Ok(sanitized)
 }
 
+/// Validate that a label slice has no duplicate keys.
+/// Returns Ok(()) when all keys are unique; otherwise returns an error naming the duplicate key.
+fn validate_no_duplicate_label_keys(labels: &[(&str, &str)]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let mut seen_keys = std::collections::HashSet::new();
+    for (key, _) in labels {
+        if !seen_keys.insert(*key) {
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "Duplicate label key '{}' found in labels",
+                key
+            ));
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// Trait that defines common behavior for Prometheus metric types
 pub trait PrometheusMetric: prometheus::core::Collector + Clone + Send + Sync + 'static {
     /// Create a new metric with the given options
@@ -196,7 +211,16 @@ fn create_metric<T: PrometheusMetric, R: MetricsRegistry + ?Sized>(
     const_labels: Option<&[&str]>,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<T> {
     // Validate that user-provided labels don't have duplicate keys
-    let mut seen_keys = std::collections::HashSet::new();
+    validate_no_duplicate_label_keys(labels)?;
+    // Validate that user-provided labels don't conflict with stored labels
+    for (key, _) in registry.stored_labels() {
+        if labels.iter().any(|(k, _)| *k == key) {
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "Label key '{}' already exists in registry.",
+                key
+            ));
+        }
+    }
 
     let basename = registry.basename();
     let parent_hierarchy = registry.parent_hierarchy();
@@ -206,16 +230,7 @@ fn create_metric<T: PrometheusMetric, R: MetricsRegistry + ?Sized>(
 
     let metric_name = build_metric_name(metric_name);
 
-    // Validate that user-provided labels don't have duplicate keys
-    for (key, _) in labels {
-        if !seen_keys.insert(*key) {
-            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
-                "Duplicate label key '{}' found in labels",
-                key
-            ));
-        }
-    }
-    // Build updated_labels: auto-labels first, then user labels
+    // Build updated_labels: auto-labels first, then `labels` + stored labels
     let mut updated_labels: Vec<(String, String)> = Vec::new();
 
     if USE_AUTO_LABELS {
@@ -266,6 +281,13 @@ fn create_metric<T: PrometheusMetric, R: MetricsRegistry + ?Sized>(
             .iter()
             .map(|(k, v)| ((*k).to_string(), (*v).to_string())),
     );
+    // Add stored labels (safe because overlaps were rejected above)
+    updated_labels.extend(
+        registry
+            .stored_labels()
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|(k, v)| (k.to_string(), v.to_string())),
+    );
 
     // Handle different metric types
     let metric = if std::any::TypeId::of::<T>() == std::any::TypeId::of::<prometheus::Histogram>() {
@@ -386,6 +408,47 @@ pub trait MetricsRegistry: Send + Sync + crate::traits::DistributedRuntimeProvid
     // Get the name of this registry (without any prefix)
     fn basename(&self) -> String;
 
+    /// Get any stored labels for this registry
+    fn stored_labels(&self) -> Vec<(&str, &str)> {
+        Vec::new()
+    }
+
+    /// Get mutable access to the labels storage - implementors must provide this
+    fn labels_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Vec<(String, String)>;
+
+    /// Add labels to this registry and return a new instance with the labels.
+    ///   This allows for method chaining like: runtime.namespace(...).add_labels(...)?
+    /// Fails if:
+    /// - Provided `labels` contains duplicate keys, or
+    /// - Any provided key already exists in the registry's stored labels.
+    fn add_labels(mut self, labels: &[(&str, &str)]) -> anyhow::Result<Self>
+    where
+        Self: Sized,
+    {
+        validate_no_duplicate_label_keys(labels)?;
+
+        // 2) Validate no overlap with existing stored labels
+        let existing: std::collections::HashSet<&str> =
+            self.stored_labels().into_iter().map(|(k, _)| k).collect();
+        if let Some(conflict) = labels
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(k, _)| *k)
+            .find(|k| existing.contains(k))
+        {
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "Label key '{}' already exists in registry; refusing to overwrite",
+                conflict
+            ));
+        }
+
+        // 3) Safe to append
+        let labels_storage = self.labels_mut();
+        for (key, value) in labels {
+            labels_storage.push((key.to_string(), value.to_string()));
+        }
+        Ok(self)
+    }
+
     /// Retrieve the complete hierarchy and basename for this registry. Currently, the prefix for drt is an empty string,
     /// so we must account for the leading underscore. The existing code remains unchanged to accommodate any future
     /// scenarios where drt's prefix might be assigned a value.
@@ -848,6 +911,33 @@ mod test_simple_metricsregistry_trait {
     use prometheus::Counter;
     use std::sync::Arc;
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_component_prometheus_output_contains_custom_label() {
+        // Arrange: DRT → namespace → component with a custom label
+        let drt = create_test_drt();
+        let namespace = drt.namespace("testnamespace").unwrap();
+        let component = namespace
+            .component("testcomponent")
+            .unwrap()
+            .add_labels(&[("service", "api")])
+            .unwrap();
+
+        // Act: create a simple gauge and render Prometheus text
+        let gauge = component
+            .create_gauge("with_label", "Gauge with custom label", &[])
+            .unwrap();
+        gauge.set(1.0);
+
+        let output = component.prometheus_metrics_fmt().unwrap();
+
+        // Assert: custom label is present (don’t rely on label ordering)
+        assert!(
+            output.contains("dynamo_component_with_label{") && output.contains(r#"service="api""#),
+            "Expected custom label service=\"api\" in Prometheus output:\n{}",
+            output
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_factory_methods_via_registry_trait() {
         // Setup real DRT and registry using the test-friendly constructor