diff --git a/src/apphosting/backend.spec.ts b/src/apphosting/backend.spec.ts
index 13495dabd2d..89856904935 100644
--- a/src/apphosting/backend.spec.ts
+++ b/src/apphosting/backend.spec.ts
@@ -120,10 +120,43 @@ describe("apphosting setup functions", () => {
         labels: deploymentTool.labels(),
         serviceAccount: "custom-service-account",
         appId: webAppId,
+        runtime: undefined,
       };
-      expect(createBackendStub).to.be.calledWith(projectId, location, backendInput);
+      expect(createBackendStub).to.be.calledWith(projectId, location, backendInput, backendId);
     });
 
+    const runtimes = ["nodejs22", ""];
+    for (const runtime of runtimes) {
+      it(`should create a new backend with runtime ${runtime}`, async () => {
+        createBackendStub.resolves(op);
+        pollOperationStub.resolves(completeBackend);
+
+        await createBackend(
+          projectId,
+          location,
+          backendId,
+          "custom-service-account",
+          cloudBuildConnRepo,
+          webAppId,
+          "/",
+          runtime,
+        );
+
+        const backendInput: Omit<apphosting.Backend, apphosting.BackendOutputOnlyFields> = {
+          servingLocality: "GLOBAL_ACCESS",
+          codebase: {
+            repository: cloudBuildConnRepo.name,
+            rootDirectory: "/",
+          },
+          labels: deploymentTool.labels(),
+          serviceAccount: "custom-service-account",
+          appId: webAppId,
+          runtime: runtime ? { value: runtime } : undefined,
+        };
+        expect(createBackendStub).to.be.calledWith(projectId, location, backendInput, backendId);
+      });
+    }
+
     it("should set default rollout policy to 100% all at once", async () => {
       const completeTraffic: apphosting.Traffic = {
         name: `projects/${projectId}/locations/${location}/backends/${backendId}/traffic`,
diff --git a/src/apphosting/backend.ts b/src/apphosting/backend.ts
index c3320c9cf12..bfcb037a00b 100644
--- a/src/apphosting/backend.ts
+++ b/src/apphosting/backend.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ import fetch from "node-fetch";
 import { orchestrateRollout } from "./rollout";
 import * as fuzzy from "fuzzy";
 
+const DEFAULT_RUNTIME = "nodejs";
+
 const DEFAULT_COMPUTE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME = "firebase-app-hosting-compute";
 
 const apphostingPollerOptions: Omit<poller.OperationPollerOptions, "operationResourceName"> = {
@@ -79,6 +81,7 @@ export async function doSetup(
   serviceAccount?: string,
   primaryRegion?: string,
   rootDir?: string,
+  runtime?: string,
 ): Promise<void> {
   await ensureRequiredApisEnabled(projectId);
 
@@ -125,6 +128,21 @@ export async function doSetup(
     throw new FirebaseError("Internal error: location or backendId is not defined.");
   }
 
+  if (!runtime) {
+    if (nonInteractive) {
+      runtime = DEFAULT_RUNTIME;
+    } else {
+      runtime = await select({
+        message: "Which runtime do you want to use?",
+        choices: [
+          { name: "Node.js (default)", value: DEFAULT_RUNTIME },
+          { name: "Node.js 22", value: "nodejs22" },
+        ],
+        default: DEFAULT_RUNTIME,
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
   const webApp = await webApps.getOrCreateWebApp(
     projectId,
     webAppName ? webAppName : null,
@@ -143,6 +161,7 @@ export async function doSetup(
     gitRepositoryLink,
     webApp?.id,
     rootDir,
+    runtime,
   );
   createBackendSpinner.succeed(`Successfully created backend!\n\t${backend.name}\n`);
 
@@ -352,6 +371,7 @@ export async function createBackend(
   repository: GitRepositoryLink | undefined,
   webAppId: string | undefined,
   rootDir = "/",
+  runtime?: string,
 ): Promise<Backend> {
   const defaultServiceAccount = defaultComputeServiceAccountEmail(projectId);
   const backendReqBody: Omit<Backend, BackendOutputOnlyFields> = {
@@ -365,6 +385,7 @@ export async function createBackend(
     labels: deploymentTool.labels(),
     serviceAccount: serviceAccount || defaultServiceAccount,
     appId: webAppId,
+    runtime: runtime ? { value: runtime } : undefined,
   };
 
   async function createBackendAndPoll(): Promise<apphosting.Backend> {
diff --git a/src/commands/apphosting-backends-create.ts b/src/commands/apphosting-backends-create.ts
index b09a02d585c..3f962c7e37f 100644
--- a/src/commands/apphosting-backends-create.ts
+++ b/src/commands/apphosting-backends-create.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export const command = new Command("apphosting:backends:create")
     "specify the primary region for the backend. Required with --non-interactive.",
   )
   .option("--root-dir <rootDir>", "specify the root directory for the backend.")
+  .option("--runtime <runtime>", "specify the runtime for the backend (e.g., nodejs, nodejs22)")
   .before(requireAuth)
   .before(ensureApiEnabled)
   .before(requireTosAcceptance(APPHOSTING_TOS_ID))
@@ -45,5 +46,6 @@ export const command = new Command("apphosting:backends:create")
       options.serviceAccount as string | undefined,
       options.primaryRegion as string | undefined,
       options.rootDir as string | undefined,
+      options.runtime as string | undefined,
     );
   });
diff --git a/src/gcp/apphosting.ts b/src/gcp/apphosting.ts
index 57c02079b0d..b92aff1d319 100644
--- a/src/gcp/apphosting.ts
+++ b/src/gcp/apphosting.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ interface Codebase {
  */
 export type ServingLocality = "GLOBAL_ACCESS" | "REGIONAL_STRICT";
 
+export interface Runtime {
+  value: string;
+}
+
 /** A Backend, the primary resource of Frameworks. */
 export interface Backend {
   name: string;
@@ -43,6 +47,7 @@ export interface Backend {
   serviceAccount?: string;
   appId?: string;
   managedResources?: ManagedResource[];
+  runtime?: Runtime;
 }
 
 export interface ManagedResource {