diff --git a/mujoco_ros2_control/src/mujoco_simulation.cpp b/mujoco_ros2_control/src/mujoco_simulation.cpp
index fc3f058c..965853b2 100644
--- a/mujoco_ros2_control/src/mujoco_simulation.cpp
+++ b/mujoco_ros2_control/src/mujoco_simulation.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include "mujoco_ros2_control/mujoco_simulation.hpp"
 #include "array_safety.h"
 #include "mujoco_ros2_control/sim_display_text.hpp"
+#include "mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/glfw_platform.hpp"
 
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <cerrno>
@@ -555,6 +556,8 @@ bool MujocoSimulation::initialize(rclcpp::Node::SharedPtr node, const std::strin
   sim_speed_factor_ = sim_speed_factor;
   headless_ = headless;
 
+  mujoco_ros2_control_plugins::prefer_x11_without_wayland_display();
+
   if (sim_speed_factor_ > 0)
   {
     RCLCPP_INFO(get_logger(), "Running the simulation at %.2f percent speed", sim_speed_factor_ * 100.0);
diff --git a/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/include/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/glfw_platform.hpp b/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/include/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/glfw_platform.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dd9f068d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/include/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/glfw_platform.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#ifndef MUJOCO_ROS2_CONTROL_PLUGINS__GLFW_PLATFORM_HPP_
+#define MUJOCO_ROS2_CONTROL_PLUGINS__GLFW_PLATFORM_HPP_
+
+#include <cstdlib>
+
+#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
+
+namespace mujoco_ros2_control_plugins
+{
+
+/**
+ * GLFW >= 3.4 built with both Wayland and X11 probes Wayland first unless XDG_SESSION_TYPE says otherwise. Without
+ * a Wayland compositor (e.g. inside Docker) libwayland prints "XDG_RUNTIME_DIR is invalid or not set" before GLFW
+ * falls back to X11. Skip the probe when no Wayland display is advertised. Must run before glfwInit().
+ *
+ * Static so that each shared library calls the GLFW it links against; a statically linked GLFW has per-library state.
+ */
+static inline void prefer_x11_without_wayland_display()
+{
+#if GLFW_VERSION_MAJOR > 3 || (GLFW_VERSION_MAJOR == 3 && GLFW_VERSION_MINOR >= 4)
+  if (std::getenv("WAYLAND_DISPLAY") == nullptr && glfwPlatformSupported(GLFW_PLATFORM_X11))
+  {
+    glfwInitHint(GLFW_PLATFORM, GLFW_PLATFORM_X11);
+  }
+#endif
+}
+
+}  // namespace mujoco_ros2_control_plugins
+
+#endif  // MUJOCO_ROS2_CONTROL_PLUGINS__GLFW_PLATFORM_HPP_
diff --git a/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/src/camera_plugin.cpp b/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/src/camera_plugin.cpp
index 3a20e2f9..2e1f38da 100644
--- a/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/src/camera_plugin.cpp
+++ b/mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/src/camera_plugin.cpp
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 #include "camera_plugin.hpp"
 
+#include "mujoco_ros2_control_plugins/glfw_platform.hpp"
+
 namespace mujoco_ros2_control_plugins
 {
 
@@ -51,6 +53,7 @@ bool CameraPlugin::init(rclcpp::Node::SharedPtr node, const mjModel* model, mjDa
 
   // Start the rendering thread process
   // Try GLFW first, fall back to EGL for headless environments
+  prefer_x11_without_wayland_display();
   if (glfw_init_fn())
   {
     use_egl_ = false;