diff --git a/compose.yaml b/compose.yaml
index ea37317..19abcaf 100644
--- a/compose.yaml
+++ b/compose.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 services:
   db:
+    container_name: fluent-api-db
     image: postgres:16-alpine
     environment:
       POSTGRES_USER: postgres
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ services:
       retries: 5
 
   api:
+    container_name: fluent-api-api
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
@@ -54,6 +56,7 @@ services:
       start_period: 15s
 
   worker:
+    container_name: fluent-api-worker
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.dev
diff --git a/fapi.ps1 b/fapi.ps1
index 11d99ff..ac75199 100644
--- a/fapi.ps1
+++ b/fapi.ps1
@@ -197,10 +197,21 @@ function Invoke-Compose {
     else { & docker-compose @CmdArgs }
 }
 
+function Test-ContainerRunning {
+    param([string]$Name)
+    $runtime = if ($RuntimeMode -eq "podman-pod") { "podman" } else { "docker" }
+    $names = & $runtime ps --format "{{.Names}}" 2>$null
+    return $names -contains $Name
+}
+
 function Invoke-ExecApi {
     param([string[]]$CmdArgs)
+    if (-not (Test-ContainerRunning "fluent-api-api")) {
+        Write-Err "API container (fluent-api-api) is not running. Run '.\fapi.ps1 up' first."
+        exit 1
+    }
     if ($RuntimeMode -eq "podman-pod") { & podman exec fluent-api-api @CmdArgs }
-    else { Invoke-Compose (@("exec", "api") + $CmdArgs) }
+    else { & docker exec fluent-api-api @CmdArgs }
 }
 
 # ── Runtime mode display ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -290,8 +301,8 @@ switch ($Command) {
       if ($target -eq "db") { & podman exec -it fluent-api-db psql -U postgres -d fluent }
       else { & podman exec -it "fluent-api-$target" sh }
     } else {
-      if ($target -eq "db") { Invoke-Compose @("exec", "db", "psql", "-U", "postgres", "-d", "fluent") }
-      else { Invoke-Compose @("exec", $target, "sh") }
+      if ($target -eq "db") { & docker exec -it fluent-api-db psql -U postgres -d fluent }
+      else { & docker exec -it "fluent-api-$target" sh }
     }
   }
 
@@ -338,7 +349,7 @@ switch ($Command) {
 
   "db:psql" {
     if ($RuntimeMode -eq "podman-pod") { & podman exec -it fluent-api-db psql -U postgres -d fluent }
-    else { Invoke-Compose @("exec", "db", "psql", "-U", "postgres", "-d", "fluent") }
+    else { & docker exec -it fluent-api-db psql -U postgres -d fluent }
   }
 
   "clean" {
diff --git a/fapi.sh b/fapi.sh
index 9a49b50..b5d1609 100755
--- a/fapi.sh
+++ b/fapi.sh
@@ -319,11 +319,11 @@ podman_shell() {
 }
 
 podman_exec_api() {
-  if ! $RUNTIME container exists $API_CONTAINER 2>/dev/null; then
-    echo_error "API container is not running. Run './fapi.sh up api' first."
+  if ! $RUNTIME ps --format "{{.Names}}" 2>/dev/null | grep -qx "$API_CONTAINER"; then
+    echo_error "API container ($API_CONTAINER) is not running. Run './fapi.sh up' first."
     exit 1
   fi
-  $RUNTIME exec $API_CONTAINER "$@"
+  $RUNTIME exec "$API_CONTAINER" "$@"
 }
 
 podman_clean() {
@@ -401,14 +401,18 @@ compose_status() {
 compose_shell() {
   local service="${1:-api}"
   if [ "$service" = "db" ]; then
-    $COMPOSE_CMD exec db psql -U postgres -d fluent
+    docker exec -it "$DB_CONTAINER" psql -U postgres -d fluent
   else
-    $COMPOSE_CMD exec "$service" sh
+    docker exec -it "${CONTAINER_PREFIX}$service" sh
   fi
 }
 
 compose_exec_api() {
-  $COMPOSE_CMD exec api "$@"
+  if ! docker ps --format '{{.Names}}' 2>/dev/null | grep -qx "$API_CONTAINER"; then
+    echo_error "API container ($API_CONTAINER) is not running. Run './fapi.sh up' first."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  docker exec "$API_CONTAINER" "$@"
 }
 
 compose_clean() {
@@ -437,7 +441,7 @@ compose_build() {
 }
 
 compose_db_psql() {
-  $COMPOSE_CMD exec db psql -U postgres -d fluent
+  docker exec -it "$DB_CONTAINER" psql -U postgres -d fluent
 }
 
 # ── Runtime dispatch helpers ───────────────────────────────────────────────────