diff --git a/pkg/bridge/convert.go b/pkg/bridge/convert.go
index adf676eab4b..bdb48465aed 100644
--- a/pkg/bridge/convert.go
+++ b/pkg/bridge/convert.go
@@ -166,19 +166,34 @@ func LoadAdditionalResources(ctx context.Context, dockerCLI command.Cli, project
 	for name, service := range project.Services {
 		imageName := api.GetImageNameOrDefault(service, project.Name)
 
-		inspect, err := inspectWithPull(ctx, dockerCLI, imageName)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
+		var inspect image.InspectResponse
+		if service.Build != nil && service.Image == "" {
+			result, err := dockerCLI.Client().ImageInspect(ctx, imageName)
+			if err != nil {
+				if !errdefs.IsNotFound(err) {
+					return nil, err
+				}
+				logrus.Warnf("image %s for service %s not found locally; Dockerfile-exposed ports will not be included — run `docker compose build` first to include them", imageName, name)
+			}
+			inspect = result.InspectResponse
+		} else {
+			var err error
+			inspect, err = inspectWithPull(ctx, dockerCLI, imageName)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
 		}
 		service.Image = imageName
 		exposed := utils.Set[string]{}
 		exposed.AddAll(service.Expose...)
-		for port := range inspect.Config.ExposedPorts {
-			p, err := network.ParsePort(port)
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
+		if inspect.Config != nil {
+			for port := range inspect.Config.ExposedPorts {
+				p, err := network.ParsePort(port)
+				if err != nil {
+					return nil, err
+				}
+				exposed.Add(strconv.Itoa(int(p.Num())))
 			}
-			exposed.Add(strconv.Itoa(int(p.Num())))
 		}
 		for _, port := range service.Ports {
 			exposed.Add(strconv.Itoa(int(port.Target)))
diff --git a/pkg/bridge/convert_test.go b/pkg/bridge/convert_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6f90bd0415e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/bridge/convert_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+   Copyright 2026 Docker Compose CLI authors
+
+   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.
+*/
+
+package bridge
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/compose-spec/compose-go/v2/types"
+	"github.com/containerd/errdefs"
+	"github.com/moby/moby/client"
+	"go.uber.org/mock/gomock"
+	"gotest.tools/v3/assert"
+
+	"github.com/docker/compose/v5/pkg/mocks"
+)
+
+func TestLoadAdditionalResources_BuildOnlySkipsPull(t *testing.T) {
+	mockCtrl := gomock.NewController(t)
+	dockerCLI := mocks.NewMockCli(mockCtrl)
+	apiClient := mocks.NewMockAPIClient(mockCtrl)
+	dockerCLI.EXPECT().Client().Return(apiClient).AnyTimes()
+	apiClient.EXPECT().ImageInspect(gomock.Any(), "test-api").
+		Return(client.ImageInspectResult{}, errdefs.ErrNotFound)
+
+	project := &types.Project{
+		Name: "test",
+		Services: types.Services{
+			"api": {
+				Name:   "api",
+				Build:  &types.BuildConfig{Context: "."},
+				Expose: []string{"8080"},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	actual, err := LoadAdditionalResources(t.Context(), dockerCLI, project)
+	assert.NilError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, actual.Services["api"].Image, "test-api")
+	assert.DeepEqual(t, actual.Services["api"].Expose, types.StringOrNumberList{"8080"})
+}
diff --git a/pkg/e2e/bridge_test.go b/pkg/e2e/bridge_test.go
index c4c99b8d292..7212bcaf2c0 100644
--- a/pkg/e2e/bridge_test.go
+++ b/pkg/e2e/bridge_test.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package e2e
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -25,11 +26,12 @@ import (
 	"gotest.tools/v3/assert"
 )
 
+const bridgeImageVersion = "v0.0.3"
+
 func TestConvertAndTransformList(t *testing.T) {
 	c := NewParallelCLI(t)
 
 	const projectName = "bridge"
-	const bridgeImageVersion = "v0.0.3"
 	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
 
 	t.Run("kubernetes manifests", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -59,3 +61,17 @@ func TestConvertAndTransformList(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Assert(t, strings.Contains(res.Stdout(), "docker/compose-bridge-kubernetes"), res.Combined())
 	})
 }
+
+func TestConvertBuildOnlyService(t *testing.T) {
+	c := NewParallelCLI(t)
+	outDir := t.TempDir()
+
+	res := c.RunDockerComposeCmd(t, "-f", "./fixtures/bridge-build-only/compose.yaml", "--project-name", "bridge-build-only", "bridge", "convert",
+		"--output", outDir, "--transformation", fmt.Sprintf("docker/compose-bridge-kubernetes:%s", bridgeImageVersion))
+	assert.NilError(t, res.Error)
+	assert.Equal(t, res.ExitCode, 0)
+
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(outDir)
+	assert.NilError(t, err)
+	assert.Assert(t, len(entries) > 0, "expected bridge conversion to produce output")
+}
diff --git a/pkg/e2e/fixtures/bridge-build-only/Dockerfile b/pkg/e2e/fixtures/bridge-build-only/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..be33c1c5a91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/e2e/fixtures/bridge-build-only/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#   Copyright 2026 Docker Compose CLI authors
+
+#   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.
+
+FROM alpine
+EXPOSE 8080
+CMD ["echo", "Hello from Dockerfile"]
diff --git a/pkg/e2e/fixtures/bridge-build-only/compose.yaml b/pkg/e2e/fixtures/bridge-build-only/compose.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4d9019e602c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/e2e/fixtures/bridge-build-only/compose.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+services:
+  app:
+    build: .
+    expose:
+      - "8080"