diff --git a/podman/client.py b/podman/client.py
index f9a023e7..821e271d 100644
--- a/podman/client.py
+++ b/podman/client.py
@@ -69,8 +69,15 @@ def __init__(self, **kwargs) -> None:
             # Override configured identity, if provided in arguments
             api_kwargs["identity"] = kwargs.get("identity", str(connection.identity))
         elif "base_url" not in api_kwargs:
-            path = str(Path(get_runtime_dir()) / "podman" / "podman.sock")
-            api_kwargs["base_url"] = "http+unix://" + path
+            # Check if there's an active service configured and is a podman machine
+            active_service = config.active_service
+            if active_service and active_service.is_machine:
+                api_kwargs["base_url"] = active_service.url.geturl()
+                api_kwargs["identity"] = kwargs.get("identity", str(active_service.identity))
+            else:
+                # Fall back to local Unix socket
+                path = str(Path(get_runtime_dir()) / "podman" / "podman.sock")
+                api_kwargs["base_url"] = "http+unix://" + path
         self.api = APIClient(**api_kwargs)
 
     def __enter__(self) -> "PodmanClient":
diff --git a/podman/domain/config.py b/podman/domain/config.py
index 1d4e8bf7..bd60ca51 100644
--- a/podman/domain/config.py
+++ b/podman/domain/config.py
@@ -59,6 +59,11 @@ def identity(self):
             return Path(self.attrs.get("identity"))
         return Path(self.attrs.get("Identity"))
 
+    @cached_property
+    def is_machine(self) -> bool:
+        """bool: Returns True if connection is to a Podman machine."""
+        return self.attrs.get("IsMachine", False)
+
 
 class PodmanConfig:
     """PodmanConfig provides a representation of the containers.conf file."""
diff --git a/podman/tests/unit/test_podmanclient.py b/podman/tests/unit/test_podmanclient.py
index fdf8d344..78a7a84b 100644
--- a/podman/tests/unit/test_podmanclient.py
+++ b/podman/tests/unit/test_podmanclient.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 import requests_mock
 
+from podman.domain.config import PodmanConfig, ServiceConnection
 from podman import PodmanClient, tests
 from podman.api.path_utils import get_runtime_dir, get_xdg_config_home
 
@@ -108,6 +109,23 @@ def test_connect_default(self):
             expected = Path(get_xdg_config_home()) / "containers" / "containers.conf"
             PodmanClientTestCase.opener.assert_called_with(expected, encoding="utf-8")
 
+    def test_connect_with_connection_file(self):
+        mock_config = MagicMock(spec=PodmanConfig)
+        mock_service = MagicMock(spec=ServiceConnection)
+        mock_service.url.geturl.return_value = (
+            "http+ssh://core@127.0.0.1:58468/run/user/501/podman/podman.sock"
+        )
+        mock_service.identity = "/Users/test/.local/share/containers/podman/machine/machine"
+        mock_service.is_machine = True
+        mock_config.active_service = mock_service
+
+        with mock.patch('podman.client.PodmanConfig', return_value=mock_config):
+            # Mock pathlib.Path.exists to return True for the identity file
+            with mock.patch('pathlib.Path.exists', return_value=True):
+                with PodmanClient() as client:
+                    expected = "http+ssh://core@127.0.0.1:58468/run/user/501/podman/podman.sock"
+                    self.assertEqual(client.api.base_url.geturl(), expected)
+
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()