diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 48299c8..1972680 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ When a worktree is targeted:
 | Project has devcontainer.json | `/devcontainer` |
 | Different dependencies per branch | `/devcontainer` |
 | Quick branch work, same deps | `/worktree` |
-| No Docker available | `/worktree` |
+| No Docker or Podman available | `/worktree` |
 | Testing migrations/databases | `/devcontainer` |
 
 ## Configuration
@@ -89,10 +89,14 @@ When a worktree is targeted:
 ```json
 {
   "portRangeStart": 13000,
-  "portRangeEnd": 13099
+  "portRangeEnd": 13099,
+  "dockerPath": "podman",
+  "dockerComposePath": "podman-compose"
 }
 ```
 
+`dockerPath` and `dockerComposePath` are optional. When unset, the plugin uses Docker when available, otherwise Podman. A Podman runtime requires either `podman-compose` or `docker-compose`; the plugin detects one automatically and reports an unsupported configuration when neither is available. Set both paths explicitly to use nonstandard executable locations.
+
 ## How It Works
 
 ### Devcontainers
diff --git a/plugin/core/config.js b/plugin/core/config.js
index c2f9bf3..f75e124 100644
--- a/plugin/core/config.js
+++ b/plugin/core/config.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import { join, basename } from 'path'
 import { readFile, writeFile, mkdir } from 'fs/promises'
 import { existsSync } from 'fs'
+import childProcess from 'child_process'
 import { PATHS, pathId } from './paths.js'
 
 // Default configuration values
@@ -188,19 +189,60 @@ export async function generateOverrideConfig(workspace, port, repoName) {
   return overridePath
 }
 
+export async function checkCommand(command, platform = process.platform) {
+  return new Promise(resolve => {
+    const locator = platform === 'win32' ? 'where' : 'which'
+    const child = childProcess.spawn(locator, [command], { stdio: 'ignore' })
+    child.once('close', code => resolve(code === 0))
+    child.once('error', () => resolve(false))
+  })
+}
+
+function isPodmanPath(command) {
+  return /(^|[\\/])podman(?:\.exe)?$/i.test(command)
+}
+
+async function detectComposePath(dockerPath) {
+  if (await checkCommand('podman-compose')) return 'podman-compose'
+  if (await checkCommand('docker-compose')) return 'docker-compose'
+
+  throw new Error(
+    `Unsupported container runtime configuration: no compatible Compose command is available for Podman (${dockerPath}).`
+  )
+}
+
+
 /**
  * Load user configuration
  * 
  * @returns {Promise<object>} Merged user config with defaults
  */
 export async function loadUserConfig() {
+  let userConfig = {}
   try {
     const content = await readFile(PATHS.configFile, 'utf-8')
-    const userConfig = JSON.parse(content)
-    return { ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, ...userConfig }
+    userConfig = JSON.parse(content)
   } catch {
-    return { ...DEFAULT_CONFIG }
+
+  }
+
+  const config = { ...DEFAULT_CONFIG, ...userConfig }
+
+  if (!config.dockerPath) {
+    if (await checkCommand('docker')) {
+      config.dockerPath = 'docker'
+    } else if (await checkCommand('podman')) {
+      config.dockerPath = 'podman'
+    } else {
+      config.dockerPath = 'docker'
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!config.dockerComposePath && isPodmanPath(config.dockerPath)) {
+    config.dockerComposePath = await detectComposePath(config.dockerPath)
   }
+
+  return config
 }
 
 export default {
@@ -209,4 +251,5 @@ export default {
   detectInternalPort,
   generateOverrideConfig,
   loadUserConfig,
+  checkCommand,
 }
diff --git a/plugin/core/devcontainer.js b/plugin/core/devcontainer.js
index 3353776..e089bb5 100644
--- a/plugin/core/devcontainer.js
+++ b/plugin/core/devcontainer.js
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ import { readdirSync, readFileSync, existsSync, unlinkSync } from 'fs'
 import { unlink } from 'fs/promises'
 import { PATHS, ensureDirs } from './paths.js'
 import { allocatePort, releasePort, readPorts, getContainerPort, updatePortAllocation } from './ports.js'
-import { generateOverrideConfig, getOverridePath } from './config.js'
+import { generateOverrideConfig, getOverridePath, loadUserConfig } from './config.js'
 import { createClone, getClonePath, removeClone } from './clones.js'
 import { getCurrentBranch, getRepoRoot } from './git.js'
 import { startJob, updateJob, JOB_STATUS, removeJob } from './jobs.js'
@@ -98,6 +98,14 @@ export function buildUpArgs(workspace, overridePath, options = {}) {
     args.push('--remove-existing-container')
   }
 
+  if (options.dockerPath) {
+    args.push('--docker-path', options.dockerPath)
+  }
+
+  if (options.dockerComposePath) {
+    args.push('--docker-compose-path', options.dockerComposePath)
+  }
+
   return args
 }
 
@@ -108,6 +116,8 @@ export function buildUpArgs(workspace, overridePath, options = {}) {
  * @param {string} command - Command to execute
  * @param {object} [options]
  * @param {string} [options.overridePath] - Override config path
+ * @param {string} [options.dockerPath] - Docker CLI path
+ * @param {string} [options.dockerComposePath] - Docker Compose CLI path
  * @returns {string[]}
  */
 export function buildExecArgs(workspace, command, options = {}) {
@@ -120,6 +130,14 @@ export function buildExecArgs(workspace, command, options = {}) {
     args.push('--override-config', options.overridePath)
   }
 
+  if (options.dockerPath) {
+    args.push('--docker-path', options.dockerPath)
+  }
+
+  if (options.dockerComposePath) {
+    args.push('--docker-compose-path', options.dockerComposePath)
+  }
+
   // Use sh -c to properly handle commands with arguments, pipes, and redirects
   args.push('--', 'sh', '-c', command)
 
@@ -186,6 +204,9 @@ export async function up(workspaceOrBranch, options = {}) {
     throw new Error(`No devcontainer.json found in ${workspace}`)
   }
 
+
+  const config = await loadUserConfig()
+
   // Allocate port
   const portAllocation = await allocatePort(workspace, repoName, branch)
   const port = portAllocation.port
@@ -196,6 +217,8 @@ export async function up(workspaceOrBranch, options = {}) {
   // Build command args
   const args = buildUpArgs(workspace, overridePath, {
     removeExisting: options.removeExisting,
+    dockerPath: config.dockerPath,
+    dockerComposePath: config.dockerComposePath,
   })
 
   if (options.dryRun) {
@@ -377,11 +400,14 @@ function runUpInBackground(workspaceOrBranch, workspace, options) {
  * @returns {Promise<{stdout: string, stderr: string, exitCode: number}>}
  */
 export async function exec(workspace, command, options = {}) {
+  const config = await loadUserConfig()
   const overridePath = getOverridePath(workspace)
   const hasOverride = existsSync(overridePath)
 
   const args = buildExecArgs(workspace, command, {
     overridePath: hasOverride ? overridePath : undefined,
+    dockerPath: config.dockerPath,
+    dockerComposePath: config.dockerComposePath,
   })
 
   const result = await runCommand('devcontainer', args, {
@@ -400,11 +426,12 @@ export async function exec(workspace, command, options = {}) {
  * Find Docker container ID for a workspace (running or stopped)
  * 
  * @param {string} workspace - Workspace path
+ * @param {string} [dockerPath] - Path/command for docker CLI (defaults to 'docker')
  * @returns {Promise<string|null>} Container ID or null if not found
  */
-async function findContainerId(workspace) {
+async function findContainerId(workspace, dockerPath = 'docker') {
   try {
-    const result = await runCommand('docker', [
+    const result = await runCommand(dockerPath, [
       'ps', '-a',
       '--filter', `label=devcontainer.local_folder=${workspace}`,
       '--format', '{{.ID}}',
@@ -490,14 +517,17 @@ export async function remove(workspace, repo, branch) {
     errors: [],
   }
 
+  const config = await loadUserConfig()
+  const dockerPath = config.dockerPath || 'docker'
+
   // 1. Find Docker container
-  const containerId = await findContainerId(workspace)
+  const containerId = await findContainerId(workspace, dockerPath)
   if (containerId) {
     summary.containerFound = true
 
     // 2. Stop container (ignore error if already stopped)
     try {
-      await runCommand('docker', ['stop', containerId])
+      await runCommand(dockerPath, ['stop', containerId])
       summary.containerStopped = true
     } catch {
       // Container might not be running
@@ -506,7 +536,7 @@ export async function remove(workspace, repo, branch) {
     // 3. Get image ref before removing container
     let imageRef = null
     try {
-      const inspectResult = await runCommand('docker', [
+      const inspectResult = await runCommand(dockerPath, [
         'inspect', containerId,
         '--format', '{{.Image}}',
       ])
@@ -519,7 +549,7 @@ export async function remove(workspace, repo, branch) {
 
     // 4. Remove container
     try {
-      await runCommand('docker', ['rm', containerId])
+      await runCommand(dockerPath, ['rm', containerId])
       summary.containerRemoved = true
     } catch (err) {
       summary.errors.push(`Failed to remove container: ${err.message}`)
@@ -528,7 +558,7 @@ export async function remove(workspace, repo, branch) {
     // 5. Remove image (after container is removed)
     if (imageRef) {
       try {
-        await runCommand('docker', ['rmi', imageRef])
+        await runCommand(dockerPath, ['rmi', imageRef])
         summary.imageRemoved = true
       } catch {
         // Image may be in use by other containers
@@ -654,8 +684,10 @@ export async function list(options = {}) {
  */
 export async function isContainerRunning(workspace) {
   try {
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
+    const dockerPath = config.dockerPath || 'docker'
     // Look for container with devcontainer.local_folder label
-    const result = await runCommand('docker', [
+    const result = await runCommand(dockerPath, [
       'ps',
       '--filter', `label=devcontainer.local_folder=${workspace}`,
       '--format', '{{.ID}}',
diff --git a/plugin/core/ports.js b/plugin/core/ports.js
index 8bdf281..c48bcaa 100644
--- a/plugin/core/ports.js
+++ b/plugin/core/ports.js
@@ -11,8 +11,9 @@ import { join } from 'path'
 import { mkdir, rmdir, readFile, writeFile, stat } from 'fs/promises'
 import { existsSync } from 'fs'
 import { createServer } from 'net'
-import { spawn } from 'child_process'
+import childProcess from 'child_process'
 import { PATHS } from './paths.js'
+import { loadUserConfig } from './config.js'
 
 /**
  * File-based locking using mkdir (atomic on all platforms)
@@ -90,26 +91,6 @@ export async function writePorts(ports) {
   await writeFile(PATHS.ports, content) // rename not available, just write
 }
 
-/**
- * Read config.json to get port range
- * 
- * @returns {Promise<{portRangeStart: number, portRangeEnd: number}>}
- */
-async function readConfig() {
-  try {
-    const content = await readFile(PATHS.configFile, 'utf-8')
-    const config = JSON.parse(content)
-    return {
-      portRangeStart: config.portRangeStart || 13000,
-      portRangeEnd: config.portRangeEnd || 13099,
-    }
-  } catch {
-    return {
-      portRangeStart: 13000,
-      portRangeEnd: 13099,
-    }
-  }
-}
 
 /**
  * Check if a port is free (not in use by any process)
@@ -156,7 +137,7 @@ export async function allocatePort(workspace, repo, branch) {
 
   return withLock(lockPath, async () => {
     const ports = await readPorts()
-    const config = await readConfig()
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
 
     // Check existing assignment
     if (ports[workspace]) {
@@ -224,7 +205,7 @@ export async function listPorts() {
  */
 async function runCommand(cmd, args) {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    const child = spawn(cmd, args, {
+    const child = childProcess.spawn(cmd, args, {
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
     })
 
@@ -263,8 +244,11 @@ async function runCommand(cmd, args) {
  */
 export async function getContainerPort(workspace) {
   try {
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
+    const dockerPath = config.dockerPath || 'docker'
+
     // Find container with matching workspace label
-    const result = await runCommand('docker', [
+    const result = await runCommand(dockerPath, [
       'ps',
       '--filter', `label=devcontainer.local_folder=${workspace}`,
       '--format', '{{.ID}}',
@@ -280,7 +264,7 @@ export async function getContainerPort(workspace) {
     }
 
     // Get port mappings from container
-    const inspectResult = await runCommand('docker', [
+    const inspectResult = await runCommand(dockerPath, [
       'inspect',
       '--format', '{{json .NetworkSettings.Ports}}',
       containerId,
diff --git a/test/unit/config.test.js b/test/unit/config.test.js
index 682c819..14ef0e2 100644
--- a/test/unit/config.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/config.test.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import assert from 'node:assert'
 import { join, basename } from 'path'
 import { homedir } from 'os'
 import { mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, readFileSync, existsSync } from 'fs'
+import childProcess from 'child_process'
+import { EventEmitter } from 'events'
 
 // Module under test
 import { 
@@ -270,4 +272,73 @@ describe('loadUserConfig', () => {
     assert.strictEqual(config.portRangeStart, 15000)
     assert.strictEqual(config.portRangeEnd, 13099) // Default
   })
+
+  test('selects podman-compose when Podman is auto-detected', async (t) => {
+    t.mock.method(childProcess, 'spawn', (command, [target]) => {
+      const child = new EventEmitter()
+      process.nextTick(() => child.emit('close', target === 'podman' || target === 'podman-compose' ? 0 : 1))
+      return child
+    })
+
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerPath, 'podman')
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerComposePath, 'podman-compose')
+  })
+
+  test('uses docker-compose when configured Podman lacks podman-compose', async (t) => {
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, 'config.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({ dockerPath: '/usr/bin/podman' })
+    )
+    t.mock.method(childProcess, 'spawn', (command, [target]) => {
+      const child = new EventEmitter()
+      process.nextTick(() => child.emit('close', target === 'docker-compose' ? 0 : 1))
+      return child
+    })
+
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
+
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerComposePath, 'docker-compose')
+  })
+
+  test('preserves explicit runtime executable paths', async () => {
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, 'config.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({ dockerPath: '/opt/bin/podman', dockerComposePath: '/opt/bin/podman-compose' })
+    )
+
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
+
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerPath, '/opt/bin/podman')
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerComposePath, '/opt/bin/podman-compose')
+  })
+
+  test('preserves explicitly configured Docker executables', async () => {
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, 'config.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({ dockerPath: 'custom-docker', dockerComposePath: 'custom-compose' })
+    )
+
+    const config = await loadUserConfig()
+
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerPath, 'custom-docker')
+    assert.strictEqual(config.dockerComposePath, 'custom-compose')
+  })
+
+  test('rejects Podman without an available Compose command', async (t) => {
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, 'config.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({ dockerPath: '/usr/bin/podman' })
+    )
+    t.mock.method(childProcess, 'spawn', () => {
+      const child = new EventEmitter()
+      process.nextTick(() => child.emit('close', 1))
+      return child
+    })
+
+    await assert.rejects(
+      loadUserConfig(),
+      /no compatible Compose command is available for Podman/
+    )
+  })
 })
diff --git a/test/unit/devcontainer.test.js b/test/unit/devcontainer.test.js
index 509500c..9b1927f 100644
--- a/test/unit/devcontainer.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/devcontainer.test.js
@@ -54,6 +54,18 @@ describe('buildUpArgs', () => {
     
     assert.ok(!args.includes('--remove-existing-container'))
   })
+
+  test('includes configured container runtime paths', () => {
+    const args = buildUpArgs('/workspace', '/override.json', {
+      dockerPath: '/usr/bin/podman',
+      dockerComposePath: '/usr/bin/podman-compose',
+    })
+
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      args.slice(-4),
+      ['--docker-path', '/usr/bin/podman', '--docker-compose-path', '/usr/bin/podman-compose']
+    )
+  })
 })
 
 describe('buildExecArgs', () => {
@@ -93,6 +105,18 @@ describe('buildExecArgs', () => {
     assert.strictEqual(args[dashIndex + 2], '-c')
     assert.strictEqual(args[dashIndex + 3], 'npm test')
   })
+
+  test('includes configured container runtime paths', () => {
+    const args = buildExecArgs('/workspace', 'npm test', {
+      dockerPath: '/usr/bin/podman',
+      dockerComposePath: '/usr/bin/podman-compose',
+    })
+
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      args.slice(3, 7),
+      ['--docker-path', '/usr/bin/podman', '--docker-compose-path', '/usr/bin/podman-compose']
+    )
+  })
 })
 
 describe('checkDevcontainerCli', () => {
diff --git a/test/unit/ports.test.js b/test/unit/ports.test.js
index b8890ad..48cb8e6 100644
--- a/test/unit/ports.test.js
+++ b/test/unit/ports.test.js
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import assert from 'node:assert'
 import { join } from 'path'
 import { homedir } from 'os'
 import { mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, readFileSync, existsSync } from 'fs'
+import childProcess from 'child_process'
+import { EventEmitter } from 'events'
 
 // Module under test
 import { 
@@ -311,6 +313,56 @@ describe('getContainerPort', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('getContainerPort with a configured runtime', () => {
+  const testDir = join(homedir(), '.cache/ocdc-test-runtime-port-' + Date.now())
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    process.env.OCDC_CACHE_DIR = testDir
+    process.env.OCDC_CONFIG_DIR = join(testDir, 'config')
+    mkdirSync(join(testDir, 'config'), { recursive: true })
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, 'config', 'config.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({
+        dockerPath: '/usr/bin/podman',
+        dockerComposePath: '/usr/bin/podman-compose',
+      })
+    )
+  })
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    delete process.env.OCDC_CACHE_DIR
+    delete process.env.OCDC_CONFIG_DIR
+    rmSync(testDir, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  })
+
+  test('inspects containers through the configured runtime', async (t) => {
+    const commands = []
+    t.mock.method(childProcess, 'spawn', (command, args) => {
+      commands.push({ command, args })
+      const child = new EventEmitter()
+      child.stdout = new EventEmitter()
+      child.stderr = new EventEmitter()
+      process.nextTick(() => {
+        if (args[0] === 'ps') {
+          child.stdout.emit('data', 'container-id\n')
+        } else {
+          child.stdout.emit('data', '{"3000/tcp":[{"HostPort":"13042"}]}')
+        }
+        child.emit('close', 0)
+      })
+      return child
+    })
+
+    const port = await getContainerPort('/workspace/test')
+
+    assert.strictEqual(port, 13042)
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      commands.map(({ command }) => command),
+      ['/usr/bin/podman', '/usr/bin/podman']
+    )
+  })
+})
+
 describe('updatePortAllocation', () => {
   const testDir = join(homedir(), '.cache/ocdc-test-update-' + Date.now())