diff --git a/pkg/compose/model.go b/pkg/compose/model.go
index 12b7c73e4..0b225609c 100644
--- a/pkg/compose/model.go
+++ b/pkg/compose/model.go
@@ -169,7 +169,8 @@ func (m *modelAPI) ConfigureModel(ctx context.Context, config types.ModelConfig,
 		args = append(args, "--context-size", strconv.Itoa(config.ContextSize))
 	}
 	args = append(args, config.Model)
-	if len(config.RuntimeFlags) != 0 {
+	// Only append RuntimeFlags if docker model CLI version is >= v1.0.6
+	if len(config.RuntimeFlags) != 0 && m.supportsRuntimeFlags(ctx) {
 		args = append(args, "--")
 		args = append(args, config.RuntimeFlags...)
 	}
@@ -277,3 +278,114 @@ func (m *modelAPI) ListModels(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
 	}
 	return availableModels, nil
 }
+
+// getModelVersion retrieves the docker model CLI version
+func (m *modelAPI) getModelVersion(ctx context.Context) (string, error) {
+	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, m.path, "version")
+	err := m.prepare(ctx, cmd)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("error getting docker model version: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Parse output like: "Docker Model Runner version v1.0.4"
+	// We need to extract the version string (e.g., "v1.0.4")
+	lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(string(output)), "\n")
+	for _, line := range lines {
+		if strings.Contains(line, "version") {
+			parts := strings.Fields(line)
+			for i, part := range parts {
+				if part == "version" && i+1 < len(parts) {
+					return parts[i+1], nil
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("could not parse docker model version from output: %s", string(output))
+}
+
+// supportsRuntimeFlags checks if the docker model version supports runtime flags
+// Runtime flags are supported in version >= v1.0.6
+func (m *modelAPI) supportsRuntimeFlags(ctx context.Context) bool {
+	versionStr, err := m.getModelVersion(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		// If we can't determine the version, don't append runtime flags to be safe
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Parse version strings
+	currentVersion, err := parseVersion(versionStr)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	minVersion, err := parseVersion("1.0.6")
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	return !currentVersion.LessThan(minVersion)
+}
+
+// parseVersion parses a semantic version string
+// Strips build metadata and prerelease suffixes (e.g., "1.0.6-dirty" or "1.0.6+build")
+func parseVersion(versionStr string) (*semVersion, error) {
+	// Remove 'v' prefix if present
+	versionStr = strings.TrimPrefix(versionStr, "v")
+
+	// Strip build metadata or prerelease suffix after "-" or "+"
+	// Examples: "1.0.6-dirty" -> "1.0.6", "1.0.6+build" -> "1.0.6"
+	if idx := strings.IndexAny(versionStr, "-+"); idx != -1 {
+		versionStr = versionStr[:idx]
+	}
+
+	parts := strings.Split(versionStr, ".")
+	if len(parts) < 2 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid version format: %s", versionStr)
+	}
+
+	var v semVersion
+	var err error
+
+	v.major, err = strconv.Atoi(parts[0])
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid major version: %s", parts[0])
+	}
+
+	v.minor, err = strconv.Atoi(parts[1])
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid minor version: %s", parts[1])
+	}
+
+	if len(parts) > 2 {
+		v.patch, err = strconv.Atoi(parts[2])
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid patch version: %s", parts[2])
+		}
+	}
+
+	return &v, nil
+}
+
+// semVersion represents a semantic version
+type semVersion struct {
+	major int
+	minor int
+	patch int
+}
+
+// LessThan compares two semantic versions
+func (v *semVersion) LessThan(other *semVersion) bool {
+	if v.major != other.major {
+		return v.major < other.major
+	}
+	if v.minor != other.minor {
+		return v.minor < other.minor
+	}
+	return v.patch < other.patch
+}