diff --git a/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/Service.swift b/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/Service.swift
index 8e84cb09..f796bc23 100644
--- a/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/Service.swift	
+++ b/Sources/Container-Compose/Codable Structs/Service.swift	
@@ -196,10 +196,12 @@ public struct Service: Codable, Hashable {
         ports = try container.decodeIfPresent([String].self, forKey: .ports)
 
         // Decode 'command' which can be either a single string or an array of strings.
+        // Per Compose semantics the string form is shell-lexed into argv
+        // (e.g. `sh -c "npm install"` -> ["sh", "-c", "npm install"]), not passed as one argument.
         if let cmdArray = try? container.decodeIfPresent([String].self, forKey: .command) {
             command = cmdArray
         } else if let cmdString = try? container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .command) {
-            command = [cmdString]
+            command = shellLex(cmdString)
         } else {
             command = nil
         }
@@ -222,10 +224,11 @@ public struct Service: Codable, Hashable {
         hostname = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .hostname)
         
         // Decode 'entrypoint' which can be either a single string or an array of strings.
+        // The string form is shell-lexed into argv, matching Compose semantics.
         if let entrypointArray = try? container.decodeIfPresent([String].self, forKey: .entrypoint) {
             entrypoint = entrypointArray
         } else if let entrypointString = try? container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .entrypoint) {
-            entrypoint = [entrypointString]
+            entrypoint = shellLex(entrypointString)
         } else {
             entrypoint = nil
         }
diff --git a/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift b/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift
index 371d135b..4a5c8790 100644
--- a/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift	
+++ b/Sources/Container-Compose/Helper Functions.swift	
@@ -110,6 +110,57 @@ public func deriveProjectName(cwd: String) -> String {
     return projectName
 }
 
+/// Splits a shell-style command string into arguments: whitespace separation,
+/// single/double quotes, and backslash escapes. No expansion is performed —
+/// this matches how Docker Compose parses string-form `command:` and
+/// `entrypoint:` (shellwords), e.g.
+/// `sh -c "npm install && npm run build"` -> ["sh", "-c", "npm install && npm run build"].
+func shellLex(_ input: String) -> [String] {
+    var args: [String] = []
+    var current = ""
+    var hasToken = false
+    var inSingleQuotes = false
+    var inDoubleQuotes = false
+    var escaped = false
+
+    for character in input {
+        if escaped {
+            current.append(character)
+            escaped = false
+            hasToken = true
+            continue
+        }
+        if character == "\\" && !inSingleQuotes {
+            escaped = true
+            continue
+        }
+        if character == "'" && !inDoubleQuotes {
+            inSingleQuotes.toggle()
+            hasToken = true
+            continue
+        }
+        if character == "\"" && !inSingleQuotes {
+            inDoubleQuotes.toggle()
+            hasToken = true
+            continue
+        }
+        if character.isWhitespace && !inSingleQuotes && !inDoubleQuotes {
+            if hasToken {
+                args.append(current)
+                current = ""
+                hasToken = false
+            }
+            continue
+        }
+        current.append(character)
+        hasToken = true
+    }
+    if hasToken {
+        args.append(current)
+    }
+    return args
+}
+
 /// Converts Docker Compose port specification into a container run -p format.
 /// Handles various formats: "PORT", "HOST:PORT", "IP:HOST:PORT", and optional protocol.
 /// - Parameter portSpec: The port specification string from docker-compose.yml.
diff --git a/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/DockerComposeParsingTests.swift b/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/DockerComposeParsingTests.swift
index 1418a214..e65bc527 100644
--- a/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/DockerComposeParsingTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/DockerComposeParsingTests.swift
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ struct DockerComposeParsingTests {
         #expect(compose.services["app"]??.command?.first == "sh")
     }
     
-    @Test("Parse compose with command as string")
+    @Test("Parse compose with command as string is shell-lexed")
     func parseComposeWithCommandString() throws {
         let yaml = """
         version: '3.8'
@@ -251,12 +251,31 @@ struct DockerComposeParsingTests {
             image: alpine:latest
             command: "echo hello"
         """
-        
+
         let decoder = YAMLDecoder()
         let compose = try decoder.decode(DockerCompose.self, from: yaml)
-        
-        #expect(compose.services["app"]??.command?.count == 1)
-        #expect(compose.services["app"]??.command?.first == "echo hello")
+
+        #expect(compose.services["app"]??.command == ["echo", "hello"])
+    }
+
+    @Test("Parse compose with quoted string command preserves quoted argument")
+    func parseComposeWithQuotedStringCommand() throws {
+        // Regression: the whole string was passed as a single argument,
+        // producing 'Cannot find module .../sh -c "npm install && npm run build:watch"'.
+        let yaml = """
+        version: '3.8'
+        services:
+          app:
+            image: node:18-alpine
+            command: sh -c "npm install && npm run build:watch"
+            entrypoint: /bin/sh -c
+        """
+
+        let decoder = YAMLDecoder()
+        let compose = try decoder.decode(DockerCompose.self, from: yaml)
+
+        #expect(compose.services["app"]??.command == ["sh", "-c", "npm install && npm run build:watch"])
+        #expect(compose.services["app"]??.entrypoint == ["/bin/sh", "-c"])
     }
     
     @Test("Parse compose with restart policy")
diff --git a/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/HelperFunctionsTests.swift b/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/HelperFunctionsTests.swift
index be2ec08f..35b1a548 100644
--- a/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/HelperFunctionsTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/Container-Compose-StaticTests/HelperFunctionsTests.swift
@@ -98,6 +98,36 @@ struct HelperFunctionsTests {
         #expect(result == "0.0.0.0:3000:3000")
     }
 
+    @Test("Shell lex - plain words")
+    func testShellLexPlainWords() throws {
+        #expect(shellLex("echo hello world") == ["echo", "hello", "world"])
+    }
+
+    @Test("Shell lex - double-quoted argument kept as one token")
+    func testShellLexDoubleQuotes() throws {
+        #expect(shellLex("sh -c \"npm install && npm run build:watch\"") == ["sh", "-c", "npm install && npm run build:watch"])
+    }
+
+    @Test("Shell lex - single-quoted argument kept as one token")
+    func testShellLexSingleQuotes() throws {
+        #expect(shellLex("sh -c 'echo \"nested\" done'") == ["sh", "-c", "echo \"nested\" done"])
+    }
+
+    @Test("Shell lex - escaped space joins token")
+    func testShellLexEscapedSpace() throws {
+        #expect(shellLex("cat my\\ file.txt") == ["cat", "my file.txt"])
+    }
+
+    @Test("Shell lex - empty quoted string produces empty token")
+    func testShellLexEmptyQuotes() throws {
+        #expect(shellLex("env VAR= \"\"") == ["env", "VAR=", ""])
+    }
+
+    @Test("Shell lex - collapses repeated whitespace")
+    func testShellLexWhitespaceRuns() throws {
+        #expect(shellLex("  npm   run    dev  ") == ["npm", "run", "dev"])
+    }
+
 }
 
 /// Trait that creates a unique temporary directory before a test runs and removes it after.