diff --git a/Sources/ContainerCommands/Image/ImageLoad.swift b/Sources/ContainerCommands/Image/ImageLoad.swift
index a70d127e4..64af770f2 100644
--- a/Sources/ContainerCommands/Image/ImageLoad.swift
+++ b/Sources/ContainerCommands/Image/ImageLoad.swift
@@ -50,30 +50,25 @@ extension Application {
                 try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempFile)
             }
 
-            // Read from stdin; otherwise read from the input file
+            // Stage inputs that cannot be reopened by the image service process.
             let resolvedPath: FilePath
             if let input {
                 guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: input.string) else {
                     log.error("file does not exist", metadata: ["path": "\(input)"])
                     Application.exit(withError: ArgumentParser.ExitCode(1))
                 }
-                resolvedPath = input
-            } else {
-                guard FileManager.default.createFile(atPath: tempFile.path(), contents: nil) else {
-                    throw ContainerizationError(.internalError, message: "unable to create temporary file")
-                }
-
-                guard let fileHandle = try? FileHandle(forWritingTo: tempFile) else {
-                    throw ContainerizationError(.internalError, message: "unable to open temporary file for writing")
-                }
-
-                let bufferSize = 4096
-                while true {
-                    let chunk = FileHandle.standardInput.readData(ofLength: bufferSize)
-                    if chunk.isEmpty { break }
-                    fileHandle.write(chunk)
+                if try Self.shouldStageInput(input) {
+                    let fileHandle = try FileHandle(forReadingFrom: URL(fileURLWithPath: input.string))
+                    defer {
+                        try? fileHandle.close()
+                    }
+                    try Self.copyArchive(from: fileHandle, to: tempFile)
+                    resolvedPath = FilePath(tempFile.path())
+                } else {
+                    resolvedPath = input
                 }
-                try fileHandle.close()
+            } else {
+                try Self.copyArchive(from: .standardInput, to: tempFile)
                 resolvedPath = FilePath(tempFile.path())
             }
 
@@ -109,5 +104,34 @@ extension Application {
                 print(image.reference)
             }
         }
+
+        static func shouldStageInput(_ input: FilePath) throws -> Bool {
+            if input.string.hasPrefix("/dev/fd/") || input.string == "/dev/stdin" {
+                return true
+            }
+
+            let attributes = try FileManager.default.attributesOfItem(atPath: input.string)
+            return attributes[.type] as? FileAttributeType != .typeRegular
+        }
+
+        static func copyArchive(from input: FileHandle, to outputURL: URL) throws {
+            guard FileManager.default.createFile(atPath: outputURL.path(), contents: nil) else {
+                throw ContainerizationError(.internalError, message: "unable to create temporary file")
+            }
+
+            guard let output = try? FileHandle(forWritingTo: outputURL) else {
+                throw ContainerizationError(.internalError, message: "unable to open temporary file for writing")
+            }
+            defer {
+                try? output.close()
+            }
+
+            let bufferSize = 1024 * 1024
+            while true {
+                let chunk = input.readData(ofLength: bufferSize)
+                if chunk.isEmpty { break }
+                output.write(chunk)
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/Tests/ContainerCommandsTests/ImageLoadTests.swift b/Tests/ContainerCommandsTests/ImageLoadTests.swift
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..da8427675
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Tests/ContainerCommandsTests/ImageLoadTests.swift
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+// 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 Darwin
+import Foundation
+import SystemPackage
+import Testing
+
+@testable import ContainerCommands
+
+struct ImageLoadTests {
+    @Test
+    func regularInputDoesNotNeedStaging() throws {
+        let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory.appendingPathComponent(UUID().uuidString)
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: tempDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        defer {
+            try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempDir)
+        }
+
+        let input = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("image.tar")
+        try Data("archive".utf8).write(to: input)
+
+        #expect(try Application.ImageLoad.shouldStageInput(FilePath(input.path)) == false)
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func nonRegularInputNeedsStaging() throws {
+        let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory.appendingPathComponent(UUID().uuidString)
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: tempDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        defer {
+            try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempDir)
+        }
+
+        let input = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("image.tar")
+        try #require(mkfifo(input.path, 0o600) == 0)
+
+        #expect(try Application.ImageLoad.shouldStageInput(FilePath(input.path)))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func fileDescriptorInputNeedsStaging() throws {
+        let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory.appendingPathComponent(UUID().uuidString)
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: tempDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        defer {
+            try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempDir)
+        }
+
+        let input = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("image.tar")
+        try Data("archive".utf8).write(to: input)
+
+        let inputHandle = try FileHandle(forReadingFrom: input)
+        defer {
+            try? inputHandle.close()
+        }
+
+        let descriptorPath = "/dev/fd/\(inputHandle.fileDescriptor)"
+
+        #expect(try Application.ImageLoad.shouldStageInput(FilePath(descriptorPath)))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    func copyArchivePreservesBytes() throws {
+        let tempDir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory.appendingPathComponent(UUID().uuidString)
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: tempDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        defer {
+            try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: tempDir)
+        }
+
+        let input = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("input.tar")
+        let output = tempDir.appendingPathComponent("output.tar")
+        let payload = Data((0..<8192).map { UInt8($0 % 251) })
+        try payload.write(to: input)
+
+        let inputHandle = try FileHandle(forReadingFrom: input)
+        defer {
+            try? inputHandle.close()
+        }
+
+        try Application.ImageLoad.copyArchive(from: inputHandle, to: output)
+
+        #expect(try Data(contentsOf: output) == payload)
+    }
+}