diff --git a/docker/start.sh b/docker/start.sh
index 20a5b0e..070129f 100755
--- a/docker/start.sh
+++ b/docker/start.sh
@@ -7,15 +7,20 @@ ROOT_PASSWORD="ewc2025root"
 DATABASE="ewc2025"
 PORT="13306"
 
+RUNTIME="docker"
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--podman" ]]; then
+    RUNTIME="podman"
+fi
+
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 SQL_DIR="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../sql" && pwd)"
 
-if docker ps -a --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^${CONTAINER}$"; then
+if ${RUNTIME} ps -a --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^${CONTAINER}$"; then
     echo "Container '${CONTAINER}' already exists — starting it."
-    docker start "${CONTAINER}"
+    ${RUNTIME} start "${CONTAINER}"
 else
-    echo "Creating and starting '${CONTAINER}'."
-    docker run -d \
+    echo "Creating and starting '${CONTAINER}' using ${RUNTIME}."
+    ${RUNTIME} run -d \
         --name "${CONTAINER}" \
         -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD="${ROOT_PASSWORD}" \
         -e MYSQL_DATABASE="${DATABASE}" \
@@ -26,7 +31,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 echo "Waiting for MySQL to be ready..."
-until docker exec "${CONTAINER}" mysqladmin ping -uroot -p"${ROOT_PASSWORD}" --silent 2>/dev/null; do
+until ${RUNTIME} exec "${CONTAINER}" mysqladmin ping -uroot -p"${ROOT_PASSWORD}" --silent 2>/dev/null; do
     sleep 1
 done
 
diff --git a/docker/stop.sh b/docker/stop.sh
index 365ec45..cfda095 100755
--- a/docker/stop.sh
+++ b/docker/stop.sh
@@ -3,10 +3,15 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 CONTAINER="ewc2025-mysql"
 
-if ! docker ps -a --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^${CONTAINER}$"; then
+RUNTIME="docker"
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--podman" ]]; then
+    RUNTIME="podman"
+fi
+
+if ! ${RUNTIME} ps -a --format '{{.Names}}' | grep -q "^${CONTAINER}$"; then
     echo "Container '${CONTAINER}' does not exist."
     exit 0
 fi
 
-docker stop "${CONTAINER}"
+${RUNTIME} stop "${CONTAINER}"
 echo "Container '${CONTAINER}' stopped. Data volume preserved."