diff --git a/benchmarks/actor_cli_bench.py b/benchmarks/actor_cli_bench.py
index 0e30e5d4c..fc55b0134 100644
--- a/benchmarks/actor_cli_bench.py
+++ b/benchmarks/actor_cli_bench.py
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ from cleveragents.cli.commands.actor import app as actor_app  # noqa: E402
 from cleveragents.domain.models.core.actor import Actor  # noqa: E402
 
 _VALID_CONFIG = {
+    "name": "local/bench",
     "provider": "openai",
     "model": "gpt-4",
     "temperature": 0.5,
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ class ActorCLIAddSuite:
 
     def time_add_from_config(self) -> None:
         """Benchmark add --config end-to-end."""
-        _runner.invoke(actor_app, ["add", "local/bench", "--config", self._path])
+        _runner.invoke(actor_app, ["add", "--config", self._path])
 
 
 class ActorCLIListSuite:
diff --git a/features/steps/actor_cli_steps.py b/features/steps/actor_cli_steps.py
index a6d53301c..ec098370f 100644
--- a/features/steps/actor_cli_steps.py
+++ b/features/steps/actor_cli_steps.py
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an actor JSON config file")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {
+        "name": "local/test-actor",
         "provider": "openai",
         "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
         "temperature": 0.5,
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an actor JSON config file with options")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {
+        "name": "local/test-actor",
         "provider": "openai",
         "model": "gpt-4o",
         "options": {"temperature": 0.4, "enabled": True},
@@ -104,11 +106,15 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an actor YAML config file returning empty data")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {
+        "name": "local/existing-actor",
         "provider": "existing-provider",
         "model": "existing-model",
     }
     with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False, suffix=".yaml") as handle:
-        handle.write(b"provider: existing-provider\nmodel: existing-model\n")
+        handle.write(
+            b"name: local/existing-actor\n"
+            b"provider: existing-provider\nmodel: existing-model\n"
+        )
         handle.flush()
     context.actor_config_path = Path(handle.name)
     _register_cleanup(context, context.actor_config_path)
@@ -117,6 +123,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an actor YAML-only config file")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {
+        "name": "local/test-actor",
         "provider": "openai",
         "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
         "yaml_only": True,
@@ -124,7 +131,10 @@ def step_impl(context):
     with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
         delete=False, suffix=".yaml", mode="w", encoding="utf-8"
     ) as handle:
-        handle.write("provider: openai\nmodel: gpt-4o-mini\nyaml_only: true\n")
+        handle.write(
+            "name: local/test-actor\nprovider: openai\n"
+            "model: gpt-4o-mini\nyaml_only: true\n"
+        )
         handle.flush()
     context.actor_config_path = Path(handle.name)
     _register_cleanup(context, context.actor_config_path)
@@ -133,6 +143,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an actor graph config file")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {
+        "name": "service/graph-actor",
         "provider": "graph-provider",
         "model": "graph-model",
         "graph": {"nodes": ["start"], "edges": []},
@@ -149,7 +160,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an empty actor YAML config file")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {}
-    context.expected_error = "provider is required"
+    context.expected_error = "Config file must contain a 'name' field"
     with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
         delete=False, suffix=".yaml", mode="w", encoding="utf-8"
     ) as handle:
@@ -162,6 +173,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
 @given("I have an unsafe actor JSON config file")
 def step_impl(context):
     context.actor_config_data = {
+        "name": "local/test-actor",
         "provider": "openai",
         "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
         "unsafe": True,
@@ -181,7 +193,7 @@ def step_impl(context):
         mock_actor_service = MagicMock()
         mock_actor_registry = MagicMock()
         mock_get_services.return_value = (mock_actor_service, mock_actor_registry)
-        context.result = context.runner.invoke(actor_app, ["add", "test-actor"])
+        context.result = context.runner.invoke(actor_app, ["add"])
         context.mock_actor_registry = mock_actor_registry
     context.expected_error = "Config file is required"
 
@@ -216,7 +228,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
             ],
@@ -232,8 +243,8 @@ def step_impl(context):
         context.expected_allow_unsafe = False
         if not isinstance(context.actor_config_data, dict):
             context.expected_error = "Config must be a JSON/YAML object"
-        elif context.actor_config_data == {}:
-            context.expected_error = "provider is required"
+        elif not context.actor_config_data.get("name"):
+            context.expected_error = "Config file must contain a 'name' field"
         elif isinstance(
             context.actor_config_data, dict
         ) and context.actor_config_data.get("unsafe"):
@@ -273,7 +284,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 *option_args,
@@ -315,7 +325,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 *option_args,
@@ -357,7 +366,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 *option_args,
@@ -381,7 +389,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 "--option",
@@ -399,7 +406,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 "--option",
@@ -439,7 +445,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 "--unsafe",
@@ -480,7 +485,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "service/graph-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
             ],
@@ -499,7 +503,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(missing_path),
             ],
@@ -509,7 +512,11 @@ def step_impl(context):
 
 @when("I run actor add with business rule violation")
 def step_impl(context):
-    config_data = {"provider": "openai", "model": "gpt-4o"}
+    config_data = {
+        "name": "local/test-actor",
+        "provider": "openai",
+        "model": "gpt-4o",
+    }
     with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
         delete=False, suffix=".json", mode="w", encoding="utf-8"
     ) as handle:
@@ -528,7 +535,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(config_path),
             ],
@@ -546,7 +552,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "service/unsafe",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
             ],
@@ -585,7 +590,6 @@ def step_impl(context):
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "service/unsafe",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
             ],
diff --git a/features/steps/actor_cli_yaml_steps.py b/features/steps/actor_cli_yaml_steps.py
index 8daa9eb6c..0463bd13a 100644
--- a/features/steps/actor_cli_yaml_steps.py
+++ b/features/steps/actor_cli_yaml_steps.py
@@ -209,7 +209,6 @@ def step_add_update(context: Any) -> None:
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 "--update",
@@ -246,7 +245,6 @@ def step_add_format_json(context: Any) -> None:
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 "--format",
@@ -268,7 +266,6 @@ def step_add_format_yaml(context: Any) -> None:
             actor_app,
             [
                 "add",
-                "test-actor",
                 "--config",
                 str(context.actor_config_path),
                 "--format",
diff --git a/robot/e2e/m2_acceptance.robot b/robot/e2e/m2_acceptance.robot
index 6d3f0561b..104521bca 100644
--- a/robot/e2e/m2_acceptance.robot
+++ b/robot/e2e/m2_acceptance.robot
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ M2 Full Actor Compiler And LLM Integration
     Create File    ${actor_yaml_path}    ${actor_yaml}
     ${actor_config}=    Catenate    SEPARATOR=\n
     ...    {
+    ...      "name": "${ACTOR_NAME}",
     ...      "provider": "openai",
     ...      "model": "gpt-4",
     ...      "options": {"temperature": 0.2}
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ M2 Full Actor Compiler And LLM Integration
     ${config_path}=    Set Variable    ${SUITE_HOME}${/}actor_config.json
     Create File    ${config_path}    ${actor_config}
     ${r_actor}=    Run CleverAgents Command
-    ...    actor    add    ${ACTOR_NAME}    --config    ${config_path}    --format    plain
+    ...    actor    add    --config    ${config_path}    --format    plain
     Should Not Contain    ${r_actor.stdout}${r_actor.stderr}    Traceback
     Log    Actor registration: ${r_actor.stdout}
 
diff --git a/robot/e2e/wf14_server_mode.robot b/robot/e2e/wf14_server_mode.robot
index 1204bc4a3..4e51e4158 100644
--- a/robot/e2e/wf14_server_mode.robot
+++ b/robot/e2e/wf14_server_mode.robot
@@ -104,12 +104,13 @@ WF14 E2E Actor Add For Namespace
     ...                the current ActorService validation.
     ${actor_name}=    Set Variable    local/team-rev-${RUN_SUFFIX}
     ${yaml_content}=    Catenate    SEPARATOR=\n
+    ...    name: ${actor_name}
     ...    provider: openai
     ...    model: gpt-4
     ...    description: Team code reviewer actor for collaborative reviews
     ${yaml_file}=    Set Variable    ${SUITE_HOME}${/}team-reviewer-actor.yaml
     Create File    ${yaml_file}    ${yaml_content}
-    ${add_result}=    Run CleverAgents Command    actor    add    ${actor_name}    --config    ${yaml_file}
+    ${add_result}=    Run CleverAgents Command    actor    add    --config    ${yaml_file}
     Output Should Contain    ${add_result}    team-rev
     # Use --format plain to avoid table truncation
     ${list_result}=    Run CleverAgents Command    actor    list    --format    plain
diff --git a/robot/helper_m2_e2e_verification.py b/robot/helper_m2_e2e_verification.py
index 7abb810ef..19e8fcfd2 100644
--- a/robot/helper_m2_e2e_verification.py
+++ b/robot/helper_m2_e2e_verification.py
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ def actor_add_config_cli() -> None:
     with open(config_path, "w") as f:
         json.dump(
             {
+                "name": "local/m2-cli-actor",
                 "provider": "openai",
                 "model": "gpt-4",
                 "options": {"temperature": 0.5},
@@ -177,7 +178,6 @@ def actor_add_config_cli() -> None:
         result = run_cli(
             "actor",
             "add",
-            "local/m2-cli-actor",
             "--config",
             config_path,
             "--format",
diff --git a/src/cleveragents/cli/commands/actor.py b/src/cleveragents/cli/commands/actor.py
index 7ae0582e0..1268ed747 100644
--- a/src/cleveragents/cli/commands/actor.py
+++ b/src/cleveragents/cli/commands/actor.py
@@ -367,7 +367,6 @@ def _print_role_warnings(config_blob: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
 
 @app.command()
 def add(
-    name: Annotated[str, typer.Argument(help="Name for the actor")],
     config: Annotated[
         Path | None,
         typer.Option("--config", "-c", help="Path to JSON/YAML actor config"),
@@ -397,14 +396,16 @@ def add(
 ) -> None:
     """Add a new actor configuration.
 
-    Actors are defined via YAML configuration files (``--config``).
-    The actor name follows the ``[[server:]namespace/]name`` format;
-    names without a namespace default to ``local/``.
+    The actor is fully defined by the YAML configuration file specified
+    with ``--config``, including the ``name`` field which determines the
+    actor's registered name.
+
+    Signature: ``agents actor add (--config|-c) <FILE> [--update]``
 
     Examples:
-        agents actor add local/my-actor --config ./actors/my-actor.yaml
-        agents actor add local/my-actor --config ./actors/my-actor.yaml --update
-        agents actor add local/my-actor --config actor.yaml --format json
+        agents actor add --config ./actors/my-actor.yaml
+        agents actor add --config ./actors/my-actor.yaml --update
+        agents actor add --config actor.yaml --format json
     """
     service, registry = _get_services()
     config_blob = _load_config(config)
@@ -415,6 +416,12 @@ def add(
     if config_blob is None:
         raise typer.BadParameter("Config file is required for actor add")
 
+    name = config_blob.get("name")
+    if not name or not isinstance(name, str):
+        raise typer.BadParameter(
+            "Config file must contain a 'name' field for the actor name"
+        )
+
     resolved, canonical_blob, requires_confirmation = _canonicalize_actor_config(
         name=name,
         config_blob=config_blob,