diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index f30c8f1..00fc2e3 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -204,6 +204,9 @@ ignore = [
     "TC003",  # collections.abc.AsyncIterator imported for return type
 ]
 # Custom Docker subclass duplicates parent body; some imports are for annotations.
+# Backend factories import their backend's deps lazily so deployments
+# that pick a different backend don't need every backend's libs installed.
+"strix/runtime/backends.py" = ["PLC0415"]
 "strix/runtime/docker_client.py" = [
     "TC002",  # Manifest, Container imported for annotations
     "TC003",  # uuid imported for annotation
diff --git a/strix/runtime/__init__.py b/strix/runtime/__init__.py
index d82ec7a..a468625 100644
--- a/strix/runtime/__init__.py
+++ b/strix/runtime/__init__.py
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
-"""Strix runtime — Docker-backed sandbox lifecycle on top of the Agents SDK.
+"""Strix runtime — pluggable sandbox lifecycle on top of the Agents SDK.
 
-- :class:`strix.runtime.docker_client.StrixDockerSandboxClient` —
-  ``DockerSandboxClient`` subclass that injects ``NET_ADMIN`` /
-  ``NET_RAW`` capabilities and ``host.docker.internal`` extra-hosts.
+- :mod:`.backends` — registry mapping ``STRIX_RUNTIME_BACKEND`` values
+  to async factories that bring up a ``(client, session)`` pair. Ships
+  with ``"docker"`` out of the box; ``register_backend`` lets downstream
+  users add Daytona / K8s / Modal / etc. without forking.
 - :mod:`.session_manager` — ``create_or_reuse`` / ``cleanup`` keyed
   by scan id; bundles the SDK session with a ready Caido client.
 - :mod:`.caido_bootstrap` — runtime-agnostic Caido auth dance via
   ``session.exec``.
+- :class:`strix.runtime.docker_client.StrixDockerSandboxClient` —
+  ``DockerSandboxClient`` subclass that injects ``NET_ADMIN`` /
+  ``NET_RAW`` capabilities and ``host.docker.internal`` extra-hosts
+  (used only by the Docker backend).
 """
diff --git a/strix/runtime/backends.py b/strix/runtime/backends.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8cb02bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/strix/runtime/backends.py
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+"""Sandbox backend registry — runtime-agnostic session bring-up.
+
+A *backend* is an async callable that takes an image tag + an SDK
+:class:`Manifest` + the ports to expose, and returns the matching
+``(client, session)`` pair. The caller owns lifecycle from there
+(``await client.delete(session)``).
+
+This keeps :mod:`strix.runtime.session_manager` free of any
+backend-specific imports — switching to Daytona / K8s / Modal /
+whatever is one new factory function plus one registry entry.
+
+Selection is driven by ``STRIX_RUNTIME_BACKEND`` (default: ``"docker"``).
+Unknown values raise :class:`ValueError` rather than silently falling
+back, so typos fail loudly.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
+
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from agents.sandbox.manifest import Manifest
+
+
+# A backend brings up a fresh session and returns the (client, session)
+# pair. The client is whatever object exposes ``await client.delete(session)``
+# for cleanup — typically an ``agents.sandbox.client.BaseSandboxClient``
+# subclass, but the protocol is duck-typed so non-SDK backends could
+# also plug in if they implement the same interface.
+SandboxBackend = Callable[..., Awaitable[tuple[Any, Any]]]
+
+
+async def _docker_backend(
+    *,
+    image: str,
+    manifest: Manifest,
+    exposed_ports: tuple[int, ...],
+) -> tuple[Any, Any]:
+    """Bring up a session backed by the local Docker daemon.
+
+    Uses :class:`StrixDockerSandboxClient` to inject NET_ADMIN /
+    NET_RAW caps + ``host.docker.internal`` host-gateway. Imports
+    ``docker`` lazily so deployments that target a non-Docker
+    backend don't need the docker-py library installed.
+    """
+    import docker
+    from agents.sandbox.sandboxes.docker import DockerSandboxClientOptions
+
+    from strix.runtime.docker_client import StrixDockerSandboxClient
+
+    client = StrixDockerSandboxClient(docker.from_env())
+    options = DockerSandboxClientOptions(image=image, exposed_ports=exposed_ports)
+    session = await client.create(options=options, manifest=manifest)
+    return client, session
+
+
+_BACKENDS: dict[str, SandboxBackend] = {
+    "docker": _docker_backend,
+}
+
+
+def get_backend(name: str) -> SandboxBackend:
+    """Return the backend factory for ``name`` or raise.
+
+    Args:
+        name: Backend identifier (e.g. ``"docker"``). Match is exact;
+            no fallback. Unknown values raise so config typos surface
+            immediately instead of silently picking a default.
+    """
+    backend = _BACKENDS.get(name)
+    if backend is None:
+        supported = ", ".join(sorted(_BACKENDS))
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Unknown STRIX_RUNTIME_BACKEND: {name!r} (supported: {supported})",
+        )
+    return backend
+
+
+def register_backend(name: str, backend: SandboxBackend) -> None:
+    """Register a custom backend under ``name``.
+
+    Intended for downstream users who ship their own runtime — register
+    before any ``session_manager.create_or_reuse`` call. Re-registering
+    an existing name overwrites the prior entry.
+    """
+    _BACKENDS[name] = backend
+
+
+def supported_backends() -> list[str]:
+    """Snapshot of registered backend names. Useful for ``--help`` text."""
+    return sorted(_BACKENDS)
diff --git a/strix/runtime/session_manager.py b/strix/runtime/session_manager.py
index ea3a13b..326da68 100644
--- a/strix/runtime/session_manager.py
+++ b/strix/runtime/session_manager.py
@@ -18,13 +18,12 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import logging
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
-import docker
 from agents.sandbox.entries import LocalDir
 from agents.sandbox.manifest import Environment, Manifest
-from agents.sandbox.sandboxes.docker import DockerSandboxClientOptions
 
+from strix.config.config import Config
+from strix.runtime.backends import get_backend
 from strix.runtime.caido_bootstrap import bootstrap_caido
-from strix.runtime.docker_client import StrixDockerSandboxClient
 
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -84,15 +83,21 @@ async def create_or_reuse(
         ),
     )
 
-    client = StrixDockerSandboxClient(docker.from_env())
-    options = DockerSandboxClientOptions(
+    backend_name = Config.get("strix_runtime_backend") or "docker"
+    backend = get_backend(backend_name)
+
+    logger.info(
+        "Creating sandbox session for scan %s (backend=%s, image=%s)",
+        scan_id,
+        backend_name,
+        image,
+    )
+    client, session = await backend(
         image=image,
+        manifest=manifest,
         exposed_ports=(_CONTAINER_CAIDO_PORT,),
     )
 
-    logger.info("Creating sandbox session for scan %s (image=%s)", scan_id, image)
-    session = await client.create(options=options, manifest=manifest)
-
     caido_endpoint = await session.resolve_exposed_port(_CONTAINER_CAIDO_PORT)
     host_caido_url = f"http://{caido_endpoint.host}:{caido_endpoint.port}"