diff --git a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Flags.swift b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Flags.swift
index e64ce927..86616a03 100644
--- a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Flags.swift
+++ b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Flags.swift
@@ -221,6 +221,9 @@ public struct Flags {
 
         @Flag(name: .long, help: "Mount the container's root filesystem as read-only")
         public var readOnly = false
+
+        @Option(name: .long, help: "Set the runtime handler for the container (default: container-runtime-linux)")
+        public var runtime: String?
     }
 
     public struct Progress: ParsableArguments {
diff --git a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift
index 22fcb8fb..a57383aa 100644
--- a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift
+++ b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift
@@ -248,6 +248,10 @@ public struct Utility {
         config.ssh = management.ssh
         config.readOnly = management.readOnly
 
+        if let runtime = management.runtime {
+            config.runtimeHandler = runtime
+        }
+
         return (config, kernel)
     }
 
diff --git a/docs/command-reference.md b/docs/command-reference.md
index e799fa28..507971a3 100644
--- a/docs/command-reference.md
+++ b/docs/command-reference.md
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ container run [<options>] <image> [<arguments> ...]
 *   `--tmpfs <tmpfs>`: Add a tmpfs mount to the container at the given path
 *   `-v, --volume <volume>`: Bind mount a volume into the container
 *   `--virtualization`: Expose virtualization capabilities to the container (requires host and guest support)
+*   `--runtime`: Set the runtime handler for the container (default: container-runtime-linux)
 
 **Registry Options**
 
@@ -214,6 +215,7 @@ container create [<options>] <image> [<arguments> ...]
 *   `--tmpfs <tmpfs>`: Add a tmpfs mount to the container at the given path
 *   `-v, --volume <volume>`: Bind mount a volume into the container
 *   `--virtualization`: Expose virtualization capabilities to the container (requires host and guest support)
+*   `--runtime`: Set the runtime handler for the container (default: container-runtime-linux)  
 
 **Registry Options**