Abstract: A manifest file from a container image for a cross-platform application that has been containerized for execution on a source platform specifies image layers for the cross-platform application within the container image and are ordered from a first image layer through a last image layer. The manifest file specifies exclusion/inclusion directories related to containerized execution of the cross-platform application on a target platform different than the source platform. Starting with the first image layer and ending at the last image layer, each image layer is unpacked at the target platform by copying files from the image layer to a directory at the target platform in accordance with the identified exclusion/inclusion directories. A version of the cross-platform application corresponding to the image layers as unpacked at the target platform is executed in a containerized manner.