diff --git a/src/Utils/HostResolver.php b/src/Utils/HostResolver.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c74dc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Utils/HostResolver.php
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Testcontainers\Utils;
+
+use Docker\API\Model\Network;
+use Docker\Docker;
+use RuntimeException;
+use Testcontainers\Container\GenericContainer;
+use Testcontainers\ContainerClient\DockerContainerClient;
+
+class HostResolver
+{
+    public function __construct(protected ?Docker $dockerClient = null)
+    {
+        $this->dockerClient = $dockerClient ?? DockerContainerClient::getDockerClient();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Resolves the host address for connecting to a container.
+     *
+     * The resolution process is as follows:
+     * 1. If user overrides are allowed and TESTCONTAINERS_HOST_OVERRIDE is set, its value is returned.
+     * 2. Otherwise, the DOCKER_HOST environment variable is parsed.
+     *    - If the scheme is one of http, https, or tcp, the hostname is used.
+     *    - If the scheme is unix or npipe and the process is running in a container, the network gateway
+     *      is determined by inspecting the relevant Docker network or running a temporary container.
+     * 3. If no other value can be determined, "localhost" is returned.
+     *
+     * @return string
+     * @throws RuntimeException If the DOCKER_HOST scheme is unsupported.
+     */
+    public function resolveHost(): string
+    {
+        if ($this->allowUserOverrides() && ($override = getenv('TESTCONTAINERS_HOST_OVERRIDE')) !== false) {
+            return $override;
+        }
+
+        // Get DOCKER_HOST URI, defaulting to a TCP endpoint if not set.
+        $dockerHostUri = getenv('DOCKER_HOST') ?: 'tcp://127.0.0.1:2375';
+        $parts = parse_url($dockerHostUri);
+        if ($parts === false || !isset($parts['scheme'])) {
+            return 'localhost';
+        }
+
+        $scheme = $parts['scheme'];
+
+        switch ($scheme) {
+            case 'http':
+            case 'https':
+            case 'tcp':
+                return $parts['host'] ?? 'localhost';
+
+            case 'unix':
+            case 'npipe':
+                if ($this->isInContainer()) {
+                    // If using podman, choose "podman" network; otherwise, use "bridge"
+                    $networkName = (str_contains($dockerHostUri, 'podman.sock')) ? 'podman' : 'bridge';
+                    if ($gateway = $this->findGateway($networkName)) {
+                        return $gateway;
+                    }
+                    if ($defaultGateway = $this->findDefaultGateway()) {
+                        return $defaultGateway;
+                    }
+                }
+                return 'localhost';
+
+            default:
+                throw new RuntimeException("Unsupported Docker host scheme: {$scheme}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected function allowUserOverrides(): bool
+    {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Determines if the code is running inside a container.
+     */
+    protected function isInContainer(): bool
+    {
+        return file_exists('/.dockerenv');
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Inspects the given network and returns its gateway IP address if found.
+     *
+     * @param string $networkName
+     * @return string|null
+     */
+    protected function findGateway(string $networkName): ?string
+    {
+        try {
+            /** @var Network|null $networkInspect */
+            $networkInspect = $this->dockerClient?->networkInspect($networkName);
+            $ipamConfig = $networkInspect?->getIPAM()?->getConfig();
+            if ($ipamConfig !== null) {
+                foreach ($ipamConfig as $config) {
+                    if ($config->getGateway() !== null) {
+                        return $config->getGateway();
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Runs a temporary container to determine the default gateway.
+     */
+    protected function findDefaultGateway(): ?string
+    {
+        $tmpContainer = null;
+        try {
+            // Create a temporary container using a lightweight Alpine image.
+            $tmpContainer = (new GenericContainer('alpine:3.14'))
+                ->withCommand(['tail', '-f', '/dev/null'])
+                ->start();
+            $result =  $tmpContainer->exec(['sh', '-c', "ip route | awk '/default/ { print $3 }'"]);
+            $tmpContainer->stop();
+            return $result;
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            return null;
+        } finally {
+            if ($tmpContainer !== null) {
+                try {
+                    $tmpContainer->stop();
+                } catch (\Throwable) {
+                    //
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}