diff --git a/pkg/compose/relay.go b/pkg/compose/relay.go
index 645763633..d2f851d87 100644
--- a/pkg/compose/relay.go
+++ b/pkg/compose/relay.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/sha256"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"fmt"
+	"net"
 	"os"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -50,6 +51,8 @@ func relayImage() string {
 
 // relayRoutesSpec renders endpoints as the relay's RELAY_ROUTES value,
 // canonically ordered so it doubles as the identity the relay label hashes.
+// Upstreams are rewritten for the relay's vantage point (relayUpstream)
+// before rendering, so the identity follows what the relay actually dials.
 func relayRoutesSpec(endpoints map[int]string) string {
 	ports := make([]int, 0, len(endpoints))
 	for port := range endpoints {
@@ -58,11 +61,35 @@ func relayRoutesSpec(endpoints map[int]string) string {
 	sort.Ints(ports)
 	routes := make([]string, 0, len(ports))
 	for _, port := range ports {
-		routes = append(routes, fmt.Sprintf("%d=%s", port, endpoints[port]))
+		routes = append(routes, fmt.Sprintf("%d=%s", port, relayUpstream(endpoints[port])))
 	}
 	return strings.Join(routes, ",")
 }
 
+// relayUpstream rewrites a host-relative upstream for the relay's vantage
+// point. Providers express endpoints from the host's perspective — a loopback
+// or unspecified address names the machine compose runs on — but the relay
+// dials from its own network namespace, where those addresses name the relay
+// container itself. host.docker.internal resolves natively on Docker Desktop
+// and is provisioned through ExtraHosts (host-gateway) on plain Linux
+// engines. Anything else (a LAN IP, a DNS name) is reachable as-is from the
+// relay and passes verbatim.
+func relayUpstream(endpoint string) string {
+	host, port, err := net.SplitHostPort(endpoint)
+	if err != nil {
+		// validated at parse time (parseEndpointMessage); keep verbatim
+		return endpoint
+	}
+	hostRelative := host == "" || strings.EqualFold(host, "localhost")
+	if ip := net.ParseIP(host); ip != nil && (ip.IsLoopback() || ip.IsUnspecified()) {
+		hostRelative = true
+	}
+	if !hostRelative {
+		return endpoint
+	}
+	return net.JoinHostPort("host.docker.internal", port)
+}
+
 func relayIdentity(routes string) string {
 	digest := sha256.Sum256([]byte(relayImage() + "|" + routes))
 	return hex.EncodeToString(digest[:])[:12]
diff --git a/pkg/compose/relay_test.go b/pkg/compose/relay_test.go
index 55767b22d..3b646afe6 100644
--- a/pkg/compose/relay_test.go
+++ b/pkg/compose/relay_test.go
@@ -67,6 +67,35 @@ func TestRelayRoutesSpec(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Assert(t, id1 != relayIdentity("80=host.docker.internal:49153"))
 }
 
+// Providers express endpoints from the host's perspective, the relay dials
+// from a container: host-relative addresses must be rewritten to
+// host.docker.internal, everything else passes verbatim.
+func TestRelayUpstream(t *testing.T) {
+	for endpoint, want := range map[string]string{
+		"localhost:5734":            "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"LOCALHOST:5734":            "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"127.0.0.1:5734":            "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"127.1.2.3:5734":            "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"[::1]:5734":                "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"0.0.0.0:5734":              "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"[::]:5734":                 "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		":5734":                     "host.docker.internal:5734",
+		"192.168.1.10:5734":         "192.168.1.10:5734",
+		"[fdcb::2]:5734":            "[fdcb::2]:5734",
+		"some.host.corp:5734":       "some.host.corp:5734",
+		"host.docker.internal:5734": "host.docker.internal:5734",
+	} {
+		assert.Equal(t, relayUpstream(endpoint), want, "endpoint %q", endpoint)
+	}
+}
+
+// The rewrite happens inside relayRoutesSpec, so the relay identity hashes
+// what the relay actually dials.
+func TestRelayRoutesSpecRewritesHostRelativeUpstreams(t *testing.T) {
+	routes := relayRoutesSpec(map[int]string{80: "localhost:5734"})
+	assert.Equal(t, routes, "80=host.docker.internal:5734")
+}
+
 // The relay joins the networks of the services depending on the provider —
 // its consumers — and falls back to the project default network.
 func TestRelayNetworks(t *testing.T) {