diff --git a/cmd/explain.go b/cmd/explain.go
index 4f565ef..9a18e7e 100644
--- a/cmd/explain.go
+++ b/cmd/explain.go
@@ -48,14 +48,14 @@ Examples:
 }
 
 var (
-	explainManifestFile   string
-	explainExample        string
-	explainFormat         string
-	explainListExamples   bool
-	explainConfigPath     string
-	explainEnableSidecar  bool
-	explainSidecarPort    int
-	explainOutput         string
+	explainManifestFile  string
+	explainExample       string
+	explainFormat        string
+	explainListExamples  bool
+	explainConfigPath    string
+	explainEnableSidecar bool
+	explainSidecarPort   int
+	explainOutput        string
 )
 
 func init() {
diff --git a/cmd/init.go b/cmd/init.go
index 8a05565..9f1ccc8 100644
--- a/cmd/init.go
+++ b/cmd/init.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/confidential-devhub/cococtl/pkg/cluster"
 	"github.com/confidential-devhub/cococtl/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/confidential-devhub/cococtl/pkg/sidecar/certs"
 	"github.com/confidential-devhub/cococtl/pkg/trustee"
@@ -21,13 +22,14 @@ var initCmd = &cobra.Command{
 This command will:
   - Optionally deploy Trustee KBS to your cluster
   - Create configuration file with Trustee URL and other settings
+  - Auto-detect RuntimeClass with SNP or TDX support (falls back to kata-cc)
   - Optionally set up sidecar certificates (with --enable-sidecar):
     - Generate Client CA and upload to Trustee KBS
     - Generate client certificate for developer access
     - Save client certificate to ~/.kube/coco-sidecar/
   - Prompt for configuration values including:
     - Trustee server URL (or auto-deploy)
-    - Default RuntimeClass (default: kata-cc)
+    - Default RuntimeClass (auto-detected, can be overridden)
     - Trustee CA cert location (optional)
     - Kata-agent policy file path (optional)
     - Default init container image (optional)
@@ -109,9 +111,17 @@ func runInit(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Set runtime class from flag if provided
+	// Set runtime class from flag if provided, otherwise auto-detect
 	if runtimeClass != "" {
 		cfg.RuntimeClass = runtimeClass
+	} else {
+		// Auto-detect RuntimeClass with SNP or TDX support
+		cfg.RuntimeClass = cluster.DetectRuntimeClass(config.DefaultRuntimeClass)
+	}
+
+	// In non-interactive mode, show the RuntimeClass being used
+	if !interactive {
+		fmt.Printf("RuntimeClass: %s\n", cfg.RuntimeClass)
 	}
 
 	// Continue with other configuration prompts if interactive
diff --git a/cmd/init_test.go b/cmd/init_test.go
index ad8c154..c4d41aa 100644
--- a/cmd/init_test.go
+++ b/cmd/init_test.go
@@ -82,10 +82,14 @@ func TestInitCommand_WithoutRuntimeClassFlag(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to load config: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	// Verify default runtime class is used
-	if cfg.RuntimeClass != config.DefaultRuntimeClass {
-		t.Errorf("RuntimeClass = %q, want %q", cfg.RuntimeClass, config.DefaultRuntimeClass)
-	}
+	// Verify runtime class is set (either auto-detected or default)
+	// Auto-detection may succeed or fail depending on cluster state,
+	// but RuntimeClass should always be non-empty
+	if cfg.RuntimeClass == "" {
+		t.Errorf("RuntimeClass is empty, expected auto-detected or default value")
+	}
+	// Log what was detected for debugging
+	t.Logf("RuntimeClass set to: %q", cfg.RuntimeClass)
 }
 
 // TestInitCommand_RuntimeClassWithTrusteeURL tests runtime-class flag with trustee-url
diff --git a/pkg/cluster/runtimeclass.go b/pkg/cluster/runtimeclass.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad8156e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cluster/runtimeclass.go
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+// Package cluster provides utilities for interacting with Kubernetes clusters.
+package cluster
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// runtimeClassList represents the JSON response from kubectl get runtimeclasses
+type runtimeClassList struct {
+	Items []struct {
+		Metadata struct {
+			Name string `json:"name"`
+		} `json:"metadata"`
+		Handler string `json:"handler"`
+	} `json:"items"`
+}
+
+// DetectRuntimeClass attempts to auto-detect a RuntimeClass with SNP or TDX support.
+// It retrieves all RuntimeClasses from the cluster and selects the first one whose
+// handler contains "snp" or "tdx" (case-insensitive).
+// Returns the default RuntimeClass if:
+// - There's an error retrieving RuntimeClasses (permissions, kubectl not available, etc.)
+// - No RuntimeClasses have handlers containing "snp" or "tdx"
+func DetectRuntimeClass(defaultRuntimeClass string) string {
+	// #nosec G204 -- static command with no user-controlled input
+	cmd := exec.Command("kubectl", "get", "runtimeclasses", "-o", "json")
+
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+	cmd.Stdout = &stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
+
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		// Error retrieving RuntimeClasses (permissions, kubectl not available, etc.)
+		// Return default
+		fmt.Printf("Unable to detect RuntimeClasses: %v (stderr: %s) (using default: %s)\n", err, strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String()), defaultRuntimeClass)
+		return defaultRuntimeClass
+	}
+
+	var rcList runtimeClassList
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(stdout.Bytes(), &rcList); err != nil {
+		// Error parsing JSON, return default
+		fmt.Printf("Unable to parse RuntimeClasses: %v (using default: %s)\n", err, defaultRuntimeClass)
+		return defaultRuntimeClass
+	}
+
+	// Look for RuntimeClasses with handlers containing "snp" or "tdx"
+	for _, rc := range rcList.Items {
+		handler := strings.ToLower(rc.Handler)
+		if strings.Contains(handler, "snp") || strings.Contains(handler, "tdx") {
+			fmt.Printf("Detected RuntimeClass: %s\n", rc.Metadata.Name)
+			return rc.Metadata.Name
+		}
+	}
+
+	// No matching RuntimeClass found, return default
+	fmt.Printf("No SNP/TDX RuntimeClass found (using default: %s)\n", defaultRuntimeClass)
+	return defaultRuntimeClass
+}