diff --git a/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java b/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java
index e619d165..fb0a2f71 100644
--- a/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/io/openliberty/tools/common/plugins/util/BaseDevUtilTest.java
@@ -57,6 +57,14 @@ public DevTestUtil(File serverDirectory, File buildDir, boolean container) {
                     container, null, null, null, 0, false, null, false, null, null, false, null, null, null, false, false, null, null, null, Collections.emptyMap());
         }
 
+        /**
+         * Returns null for all container CLI commands to avoid requiring a running container engine.
+         */
+        @Override
+        protected String execContainerCmdWithPrefix(String command, int timeout, boolean throwExceptionOnError) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
         /**
          * Sets the container port fields without going through findLocalPort (which calls Docker).
          * Only meaningful when container=true.