diff --git a/templates/pds-operator-compose.yaml.j2 b/templates/pds-operator-compose.yaml.j2
index 1b58c1d..29875d7 100644
--- a/templates/pds-operator-compose.yaml.j2
+++ b/templates/pds-operator-compose.yaml.j2
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@ services:
       - AUDIT_LOG_PATH=/data/audit.log
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:8787:8787"
+    # the host's /etc/hosts maps the PDS hostname to 127.0.1.1 (cloud-init
+    # manage_etc_hosts), which Docker propagates to container DNS — pin the
+    # real address so the operator can reach the PDS
+    extra_hosts:
+      - "{{ pds_hostname }}:{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname].ansible_default_ipv4.address }}"
     volumes:
       # bind mount keeps data under /pds — captured by the backup tarball
       - ./data:/data