diff --git a/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/shared.ts b/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/shared.ts
index 249e3ed60..1dc537072 100644
--- a/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/shared.ts
+++ b/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/shared.ts
@@ -16,10 +16,30 @@ export function isActionCatalogInstalled(fromDir: string): boolean {
     }
 }
 
+/** Check if the Datadog Apps backend runtime integration is installed. */
+export function isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled(fromDir: string): boolean {
+    try {
+        require.resolve('@datadog/apps/backend/_runtime', { paths: [fromDir] });
+        return true;
+    } catch {
+        return false;
+    }
+}
+
 /** The import line to pull action-catalog's setExecuteActionImplementation into bundles. */
 export const ACTION_CATALOG_IMPORT =
     "import { setExecuteActionImplementation } from '@datadog/action-catalog/action-execution';";
 
+/** The import line that lets @datadog/apps install its backend runtime provider. */
+export const DATADOG_APPS_BACKEND_RUNTIME_IMPORT =
+    "import { setBackendRuntimeFallback } from '@datadog/apps/backend/_runtime';";
+
+/** Script snippet that installs the SDK-provided runtime when the host has not installed one. */
+export const SET_DATADOG_APPS_BACKEND_RUNTIME_SNIPPET = `\
+    if (typeof setBackendRuntimeFallback === 'function') {
+        setBackendRuntimeFallback($);
+    }`;
+
 /** Script snippet that registers the $.Actions-based executeAction implementation at runtime. */
 export const SET_EXECUTE_ACTION_SNIPPET = `\
     if (typeof setExecuteActionImplementation === 'function') {
diff --git a/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.test.ts b/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.test.ts
index 376b15a3c..f5df31b06 100644
--- a/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.test.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ describe('Backend Functions - generateVirtualEntryContent', () => {
     describe('without action-catalog', () => {
         beforeEach(() => {
             jest.spyOn(shared, 'isActionCatalogInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
+            jest.spyOn(shared, 'isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
         });
 
         test('Should import the function by name from the entry path', () => {
@@ -89,11 +90,21 @@ describe('Backend Functions - generateVirtualEntryContent', () => {
             );
             expect(result).not.toContain('@datadog/action-catalog');
         });
+
+        test('Should not include the Datadog Apps backend runtime import', () => {
+            const result = generateVirtualEntryContent(
+                'myHandler',
+                '/src/handler.ts',
+                PROJECT_ROOT,
+            );
+            expect(result).not.toContain('@datadog/apps/backend/_runtime');
+        });
     });
 
     describe('with action-catalog', () => {
         beforeEach(() => {
             jest.spyOn(shared, 'isActionCatalogInstalled').mockReturnValue(true);
+            jest.spyOn(shared, 'isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
         });
 
         test('Should include action-catalog import', () => {
@@ -117,8 +128,34 @@ describe('Backend Functions - generateVirtualEntryContent', () => {
         });
     });
 
+    describe('with the Datadog Apps backend runtime', () => {
+        beforeEach(() => {
+            jest.spyOn(shared, 'isActionCatalogInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
+            jest.spyOn(shared, 'isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled').mockReturnValue(true);
+        });
+
+        test('Should import and install the SDK-provided runtime before calling the handler', () => {
+            const result = generateVirtualEntryContent(
+                'myHandler',
+                '/src/handler.ts',
+                PROJECT_ROOT,
+            );
+
+            expect(result).toContain(
+                "import { setBackendRuntimeFallback } from '@datadog/apps/backend/_runtime'",
+            );
+            expect(result.indexOf('setBackendRuntimeFallback($)')).toBeGreaterThan(
+                result.indexOf('globalThis.$ = $'),
+            );
+            expect(result.indexOf('await myHandler(...args)')).toBeGreaterThan(
+                result.indexOf('setBackendRuntimeFallback($)'),
+            );
+        });
+    });
+
     test('Should escape entry paths with special characters', () => {
         jest.spyOn(shared, 'isActionCatalogInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
+        jest.spyOn(shared, 'isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
         const result = generateVirtualEntryContent(
             'handler',
             '/path/with "quotes"/handler.ts',
@@ -132,6 +169,7 @@ describe('Backend Functions - generateDevVirtualEntryContent', () => {
     beforeEach(() => {
         jest.restoreAllMocks();
         jest.spyOn(shared, 'isActionCatalogInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
+        jest.spyOn(shared, 'isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
     });
 
     test('Should produce identical output to generateVirtualEntryContent', () => {
@@ -162,6 +200,7 @@ describe('Backend Functions - args round-trip via $.backendFunctionArgs', () =>
     beforeEach(() => {
         jest.restoreAllMocks();
         jest.spyOn(shared, 'isActionCatalogInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
+        jest.spyOn(shared, 'isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled').mockReturnValue(false);
     });
 
     // Extract the body of the generated `main($)` function so we can eval it
diff --git a/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.ts b/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.ts
index 235d9b1a5..22d3947bb 100644
--- a/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.ts
+++ b/packages/plugins/apps/src/backend/virtual-entry.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,11 @@
 
 import {
     ACTION_CATALOG_IMPORT,
+    DATADOG_APPS_BACKEND_RUNTIME_IMPORT,
+    SET_DATADOG_APPS_BACKEND_RUNTIME_SNIPPET,
     SET_EXECUTE_ACTION_SNIPPET,
     isActionCatalogInstalled,
+    isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled,
 } from './shared';
 
 /**
@@ -21,6 +24,10 @@ export function generateVirtualEntryContent(
 
     lines.push(`import { ${functionName} } from ${JSON.stringify(entryPath)};`);
 
+    if (isDatadogAppsBackendRuntimeInstalled(projectRoot)) {
+        lines.push(DATADOG_APPS_BACKEND_RUNTIME_IMPORT);
+    }
+
     if (isActionCatalogInstalled(projectRoot)) {
         lines.push(ACTION_CATALOG_IMPORT);
     }
@@ -30,6 +37,9 @@ export function generateVirtualEntryContent(
     lines.push('export async function main($) {');
     lines.push('    globalThis.$ = $;');
     lines.push('');
+    lines.push('    // Install the @datadog/apps backend runtime provider');
+    lines.push(SET_DATADOG_APPS_BACKEND_RUNTIME_SNIPPET);
+    lines.push('');
     lines.push(`    // Register the $.Actions-based implementation for executeAction`);
     lines.push(SET_EXECUTE_ACTION_SNIPPET);
     lines.push('');