diff --git a/dankclaw/loki/Containerfile b/dankclaw/loki/Containerfile
index b14626c..a0ef4b7 100644
--- a/dankclaw/loki/Containerfile
+++ b/dankclaw/loki/Containerfile
@@ -10,7 +10,12 @@
 # container report its own health instead of looking merely "Up" while wedged.
 #
 # Build on dankclaw:
-#   podman build -t franksdank/loki:latest -f dankclaw/loki/Containerfile .
+#   podman build --format docker -t franksdank/loki:latest \
+#       -f dankclaw/loki/Containerfile .
+#
+# --format docker is required: podman's default OCI image format has no
+# HEALTHCHECK field, so a default-format build warns and silently discards the
+# one below, leaving a container that reports no health at all.
 
 FROM docker.io/library/alpine:latest AS tools
 # busybox-static is statically linked: the target images have no dynamic
diff --git a/scripts/deploy-remote.sh b/scripts/deploy-remote.sh
index 7a67348..4fff48c 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy-remote.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy-remote.sh
@@ -456,7 +456,12 @@ build_compose_image() {
     cfhash="$(sha256sum "$containerfile" | cut -d' ' -f1)"
     oldhash="$(podman image inspect "$image" --format '{{index .Config.Labels "cfhash"}}' 2>/dev/null || echo none)"
     if [[ "$oldhash" != "$cfhash" ]]; then
-        podman build --no-cache --label "cfhash=$cfhash" -t "$image" -f "$containerfile" .
+        # --format docker is required, not cosmetic: podman defaults to the OCI
+        # image format, which has no HEALTHCHECK field at all, so a build in
+        # the default format silently drops the loki image's healthcheck and
+        # the container then reports no health instead of failing loudly.
+        podman build --format docker --no-cache --label "cfhash=$cfhash" \
+            -t "$image" -f "$containerfile" .
     fi
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/observability_quadlet.bats b/tests/observability_quadlet.bats
index aeb0a5f..38d209b 100755
--- a/tests/observability_quadlet.bats
+++ b/tests/observability_quadlet.bats
@@ -161,6 +161,13 @@ service_section() {
     grep -q 'COPY --from=tools /bin/busybox.static /usr/local/bin/busybox' "$cf"
 }
 
+@test "the loki/alloy/comfyui build uses the docker image format" {
+    # Without --format docker the loki healthcheck is silently discarded (OCI
+    # has no HEALTHCHECK field) and the container stops reporting health.
+    grep -q -- '--format docker' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    grep -q 'podman build --format docker --no-cache' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+}
+
 @test "grafana gets its OAuth client secret without getting a whole env file" {
     # systemd expands ${GRAFANA_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET} for the [Container]
     # Environment= line from the [Service] EnvironmentFile, which keeps the