diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index ad528d107..fd48a1954 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ jobs:
         
       - name: Run Container
         if: ${{ matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest' }}
-        run: docker run elastic/docs-builder:ci-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} --help
+        run: dotnet run --project build -c release -- runlocalcontainer
         
 
   integration:
diff --git a/build/CommandLine.fs b/build/CommandLine.fs
index 87feb1d96..94b13bade 100644
--- a/build/CommandLine.fs
+++ b/build/CommandLine.fs
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ type Build =
 
     | [<CliPrefix(CliPrefix.None);SubCommand>] Publish
     | [<CliPrefix(CliPrefix.None);Hidden;SubCommand>] PublishBinaries
+    | [<CliPrefix(CliPrefix.None);Hidden;SubCommand>] RunLocalContainer
     | [<CliPrefix(CliPrefix.None);Hidden;SubCommand>] PublishContainers
     | [<CliPrefix(CliPrefix.None);Hidden;SubCommand>] PublishZip
 
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ with
             | PristineCheck
             | PublishBinaries
             | PublishContainers
+            | RunLocalContainer
             | PublishZip
             | ValidateLicenses
             | Compile
diff --git a/build/Targets.fs b/build/Targets.fs
index 547b21dad..f9c04512b 100644
--- a/build/Targets.fs
+++ b/build/Targets.fs
@@ -73,37 +73,51 @@ let private publishZip _ =
             ]
     zip "docs-builder"
     zip "docs-assembler"
+    
+let private prNumber () =
+    match Environment.environVarOrNone "GITHUB_REF_NAME" with
+    | None -> None 
+    | Some s when s.EndsWith "/merge"  -> Some (s.Split('/') |> Seq.head)
+    | _ -> None
+
+let private imageTags () = 
+    let pr = prNumber()
+    let exitCode = exec {
+        validExitCode (fun _ -> true)
+        exit_code_of "git" "describe" "--tags" "--exact-match" "HEAD"
+    }
+    match (exitCode, pr) with
+    | 0, _ -> "edge;latest"
+    | _, None -> "edge"
+    | _, Some pr -> $"ci-%s{pr}"
+    
+let private runLocalContainer _ =
+    let tag =
+        match imageTags() with
+        | ci when ci.StartsWith("ci-") -> ci
+        | _ -> "edge"
+    let image = $"elastic/docs-builder:%s{tag}"
+    exec { run "docker" ["docker"; "run"; image; "--help"] }
 
 let private publishContainers _ =
 
     let createImage project =
         let ci = Environment.environVarOrNone "GITHUB_ACTIONS"
-        let pr =
-            match Environment.environVarOrNone "GITHUB_REF_NAME" with
-            | None -> None 
-            | Some s when s.EndsWith "/merge"  -> Some (s.Split('/') |> Seq.head)
-            | _ -> None
-        let imageTag =
+        let pr = prNumber()
+        let baseImageTag =
             match project with
             | _ -> "9.0-noble-chiseled-aot"
-        let labels =
-            let exitCode = exec {
-                validExitCode (fun _ -> true)
-                exit_code_of "git" "describe" "--tags" "--exact-match" "HEAD"
-            }
-            match (exitCode, pr) with
-            | 0, _ -> "edge;latest"
-            | _, None -> "edge"
-            | _, Some pr -> $"ci-%s{pr}"
+        let labels = imageTags()
         let args =
             ["publish"; $"src/tooling/%s{project}/%s{project}.csproj"]
             @ [
                 "/t:PublishContainer";
                 "-p"; "DebugType=none";
-                "-p"; $"ContainerBaseImage=mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/nightly/runtime-deps:%s{imageTag}";
+                "-p"; $"ContainerBaseImage=mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/nightly/runtime-deps:%s{baseImageTag}";
                 "-p"; $"ContainerImageTags=\"%s{labels};%s{Software.Version.Normalize()}\""
                 "-p"; $"ContainerRepository=elastic/%s{project}"
             ]
+            
         let noPublish = Environment.environVarOrNone "DOCKER_NO_PUBLISH"
         let registry =
             match (ci, pr, noPublish) with
@@ -172,6 +186,7 @@ let Setup (parsed:ParseResults<Build>) =
         | PristineCheck -> Build.Step pristineCheck
         | PublishBinaries -> Build.Step publishBinaries
         | PublishContainers -> Build.Step publishContainers
+        | RunLocalContainer -> Build.Step runLocalContainer
         | PublishZip -> Build.Step publishZip
         | ValidateLicenses -> Build.Step validateLicenses