diff --git a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/ClientImage.swift b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/ClientImage.swift
index 8b3a4d966..56e0c2683 100644
--- a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/ClientImage.swift
+++ b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/ClientImage.swift
@@ -54,7 +54,11 @@ public struct ClientImage: Sendable {
             desc.platform == platform
         }
         guard let desc else {
-            throw ContainerizationError(.unsupported, message: "platform \(platform.description)")
+            throw ContainerizationError(
+                .unsupported,
+                message: Self.unsupportedPlatformMessage(
+                    reference: reference, requested: platform, available: Self.availablePlatforms(in: index))
+            )
         }
         guard let content: Content = try await contentStore.get(digest: desc.digest) else {
             throw ContainerizationError(.notFound, message: "content with digest \(desc.digest)")
@@ -62,6 +66,27 @@ public struct ClientImage: Sendable {
         return try content.decode()
     }
 
+    package static func availablePlatforms(in index: Index) -> [Platform] {
+        var seen: Set<Platform> = []
+        return index.manifests.compactMap { desc in
+            guard let platform = desc.platform else {
+                return nil
+            }
+            guard desc.annotations?[Self.referenceTypeAnnotation] != Self.attestationManifestReferenceType else {
+                return nil
+            }
+            guard seen.insert(platform).inserted else {
+                return nil
+            }
+            return platform
+        }
+    }
+
+    package static func unsupportedPlatformMessage(reference: String, requested: Platform, available: [Platform]) -> String {
+        let list = available.isEmpty ? "none" : available.map(\.description).joined(separator: ", ")
+        return "image \(reference) has no \(requested.description) variant (available: \(list))"
+    }
+
     /// Returns the OCI config for the specified platform.
     public func config(for platform: Platform) async throws -> ContainerizationOCI.Image {
         let manifest = try await self.manifest(for: platform)
@@ -109,6 +134,8 @@ extension ClientImage {
 // MARK: Static methods
 
 extension ClientImage {
+    private static let referenceTypeAnnotation = "vnd.docker.reference.type"
+    private static let attestationManifestReferenceType = "attestation-manifest"
     private static let legacyDockerRegistryHost = "docker.io"
     private static let dockerRegistryHost = "registry-1.docker.io"
     private static let defaultDockerRegistryRepo = "library"
@@ -196,8 +223,8 @@ extension ClientImage {
     /// - Throws: An error if the image cannot be retrieved.
     public static func getFullImageSize(image: ClientImage) async throws -> Int64 {
         for descriptor in try await image.index().manifests {
-            if let referenceType = descriptor.annotations?["vnd.docker.reference.type"],
-                referenceType == "attestation-manifest"
+            if let referenceType = descriptor.annotations?[Self.referenceTypeAnnotation],
+                referenceType == Self.attestationManifestReferenceType
             {
                 continue
             }
diff --git a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift
index f6329c35a..9a3a9e4bf 100644
--- a/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift
+++ b/Sources/Services/ContainerAPIService/Client/Utility.swift
@@ -64,6 +64,16 @@ public struct Utility {
         }
     }
 
+    package static func platformHint(requested: Platform, available: [Platform]) -> String? {
+        if requested.architecture != "amd64", let amd64 = available.first(where: { $0.os == requested.os && $0.architecture == "amd64" }) {
+            return "Use --arch amd64 or --platform \(amd64.description) to run it with Rosetta."
+        }
+        guard let first = available.first else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        return "Use --platform \(first.description) to select one of the available variants."
+    }
+
     public static func containerConfigFromFlags(
         id: String,
         image: String,
@@ -91,14 +101,24 @@ public struct Utility {
         ])
         let taskManager = ProgressTaskCoordinator()
         let fetchTask = await taskManager.startTask()
-        let img = try await ClientImage.fetch(
-            reference: image,
-            platform: requestedPlatform,
-            scheme: scheme,
-            containerSystemConfig: containerSystemConfig,
-            progressUpdate: ProgressTaskCoordinator.handler(for: fetchTask, from: progressUpdate),
-            maxConcurrentDownloads: imageFetch.maxConcurrentDownloads
-        )
+        let img: ClientImage
+        do {
+            img = try await ClientImage.fetch(
+                reference: image,
+                platform: requestedPlatform,
+                scheme: scheme,
+                containerSystemConfig: containerSystemConfig,
+                progressUpdate: ProgressTaskCoordinator.handler(for: fetchTask, from: progressUpdate),
+                maxConcurrentDownloads: imageFetch.maxConcurrentDownloads
+            )
+        } catch let error as ContainerizationError where error.isCode(.unsupported) {
+            let index = try? await ClientImage.get(reference: image, containerSystemConfig: containerSystemConfig).index()
+            let available = index.map { ClientImage.availablePlatforms(in: $0) } ?? []
+            guard let hint = Self.platformHint(requested: requestedPlatform, available: available) else {
+                throw error
+            }
+            throw ContainerizationError(.unsupported, message: "\(error.message). \(hint)", cause: error.cause)
+        }
 
         // Unpack a fetched image before use
         await progressUpdate([
diff --git a/Tests/ContainerAPIClientTests/ClientImagePlatformTests.swift b/Tests/ContainerAPIClientTests/ClientImagePlatformTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..257a2e8d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Tests/ContainerAPIClientTests/ClientImagePlatformTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+// Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. and the container project authors.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//   https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+import ContainerizationOCI
+import Testing
+
+@testable import ContainerAPIClient
+
+struct ClientImagePlatformTests {
+    private let amd64 = Platform(arch: "amd64", os: "linux")
+    private let arm64 = Platform(arch: "arm64", os: "linux")
+
+    private func descriptor(_ platform: Platform?, digest: String, annotations: [String: String]? = nil) -> Descriptor {
+        Descriptor(mediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json", digest: digest, size: 1, annotations: annotations, platform: platform)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func availablePlatformsSkipsAttestationsMissingPlatformsAndDuplicates() {
+        let index = Index(manifests: [
+            descriptor(amd64, digest: "sha256:a"),
+            descriptor(Platform(arch: "unknown", os: "unknown"), digest: "sha256:b", annotations: ["vnd.docker.reference.type": "attestation-manifest"]),
+            descriptor(nil, digest: "sha256:c"),
+            descriptor(amd64, digest: "sha256:d"),
+        ])
+        #expect(ClientImage.availablePlatforms(in: index) == [amd64])
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func unsupportedPlatformMessageListsAvailablePlatforms() {
+        let message = ClientImage.unsupportedPlatformMessage(reference: "docker.io/mailhog/mailhog:v1.0.1", requested: arm64, available: [amd64])
+        #expect(message == "image docker.io/mailhog/mailhog:v1.0.1 has no linux/arm64 variant (available: linux/amd64)")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func unsupportedPlatformMessageWithoutPlatforms() {
+        let message = ClientImage.unsupportedPlatformMessage(reference: "example/empty:latest", requested: arm64, available: [])
+        #expect(message == "image example/empty:latest has no linux/arm64 variant (available: none)")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func platformHintSuggestsRosettaWhenAmd64IsAvailable() {
+        #expect(Utility.platformHint(requested: arm64, available: [amd64]) == "Use --arch amd64 or --platform linux/amd64 to run it with Rosetta.")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func platformHintSuggestsFirstAvailableVariantOtherwise() {
+        #expect(Utility.platformHint(requested: amd64, available: [arm64]) == "Use --platform linux/arm64 to select one of the available variants.")
+        #expect(Utility.platformHint(requested: arm64, available: []) == nil)
+    }
+}