diff --git a/crates/integration-tests/src/tests/run_ephemeral_ssh.rs b/crates/integration-tests/src/tests/run_ephemeral_ssh.rs
index c257bbc..7470bbe 100644
--- a/crates/integration-tests/src/tests/run_ephemeral_ssh.rs
+++ b/crates/integration-tests/src/tests/run_ephemeral_ssh.rs
@@ -70,6 +70,22 @@ fn build_broken_image() -> anyhow::Result<String> {
     Ok(image_name)
 }
 
+/// Test the `ephemeral test-basic` subcommand
+///
+/// Verifies that `bcvk ephemeral test-basic` boots a VM and confirms
+/// systemd reached a healthy "running" state via `systemctl is-system-running`.
+fn test_ephemeral_test_basic() -> TestResult {
+    let sh = shell()?;
+    let bck = get_bck_command()?;
+    let image = get_test_image();
+    let label = INTEGRATION_TEST_LABEL;
+
+    cmd!(sh, "{bck} ephemeral test-basic --label {label} {image}").run()?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+integration_test!(test_ephemeral_test_basic);
+
 /// Test running a non-interactive command via SSH
 fn test_run_ephemeral_ssh_command() -> TestResult {
     let sh = shell()?;
diff --git a/crates/kit/src/ephemeral.rs b/crates/kit/src/ephemeral.rs
index 652a335..79b9794 100644
--- a/crates/kit/src/ephemeral.rs
+++ b/crates/kit/src/ephemeral.rs
@@ -62,6 +62,13 @@ pub struct ContainerListEntry {
     pub command: Vec<String>,
 }
 
+/// Options for the test-basic subcommand
+#[derive(clap::Parser, Debug)]
+pub struct TestBasicOpts {
+    #[command(flatten)]
+    pub run_opts: run_ephemeral::RunEphemeralOpts,
+}
+
 /// Ephemeral VM operations
 #[derive(Debug, Subcommand)]
 pub enum EphemeralCommands {
@@ -73,6 +80,10 @@ pub enum EphemeralCommands {
     #[clap(name = "run-ssh")]
     RunSsh(run_ephemeral_ssh::RunEphemeralSshOpts),
 
+    /// Boot an ephemeral VM and verify systemd is healthy
+    #[clap(name = "test-basic")]
+    TestBasic(TestBasicOpts),
+
     /// Connect to running VMs via SSH
     #[clap(name = "ssh")]
     Ssh(SshOpts),
@@ -100,6 +111,17 @@ impl EphemeralCommands {
         match self {
             EphemeralCommands::Run(opts) => run_ephemeral::run(opts),
             EphemeralCommands::RunSsh(opts) => run_ephemeral_ssh::run_ephemeral_ssh(opts),
+            EphemeralCommands::TestBasic(opts) => {
+                let ssh_opts = run_ephemeral_ssh::RunEphemeralSshOpts {
+                    run_opts: opts.run_opts,
+                    ssh_args: vec![
+                        "systemctl".to_string(),
+                        "is-system-running".to_string(),
+                        "--wait".to_string(),
+                    ],
+                };
+                run_ephemeral_ssh::run_ephemeral_ssh(ssh_opts)
+            }
             EphemeralCommands::Ssh(opts) => {
                 // Create progress bar if stderr is a terminal
                 let progress_bar = crate::boot_progress::create_boot_progress_bar();
diff --git a/docs/src/SUMMARY.md b/docs/src/SUMMARY.md
index 7b5b317..c69ec36 100644
--- a/docs/src/SUMMARY.md
+++ b/docs/src/SUMMARY.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
     - [ephemeral run](./man/bcvk-ephemeral-run.md)
     - [ephemeral ssh](./man/bcvk-ephemeral-ssh.md)
     - [ephemeral run-ssh](./man/bcvk-ephemeral-run-ssh.md)
+    - [ephemeral test-basic](./man/bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic.md)
   - [to-disk](./man/bcvk-to-disk.md)
   - [images](./man/bcvk-images.md)
     - [images list](./man/bcvk-images-list.md)
diff --git a/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic.md b/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2af4446
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic.md
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# NAME
+
+bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic - Boot an ephemeral VM and verify systemd is healthy
+
+# SYNOPSIS
+
+**bcvk ephemeral test-basic** \[*OPTIONS*\] *IMAGE*
+
+# DESCRIPTION
+
+Boot an ephemeral VM from **IMAGE** and verify that systemd reached a healthy
+state by running **systemctl is-system-running --wait** via SSH.
+
+This is a quick smoke test for bootc container images. The **--wait** flag
+ensures systemd has finished booting before reporting status. The command
+exits 0 if systemd reports "running" (all units healthy), or non-zero if
+the system is degraded or failed.
+
+Internally this is equivalent to:
+
+    bcvk ephemeral run-ssh IMAGE -- systemctl is-system-running --wait
+
+The VM is automatically cleaned up after the check completes.
+
+# OPTIONS
+
+<!-- BEGIN GENERATED OPTIONS -->
+Accepts the same options as **bcvk-ephemeral-run**(8).
+<!-- END GENERATED OPTIONS -->
+
+# EXAMPLES
+
+Smoke test a Fedora bootc image:
+
+    bcvk ephemeral test-basic quay.io/fedora/fedora-bootc:42
+
+Test a locally built image:
+
+    podman build -t localhost/mybootc .
+    bcvk ephemeral test-basic localhost/mybootc
+
+Test with custom resources:
+
+    bcvk ephemeral test-basic --memory 4096 --vcpus 2 localhost/mybootc
+
+# SEE ALSO
+
+**bcvk-ephemeral**(8), **bcvk-ephemeral-run-ssh**(8)
+
+# VERSION
+
+<!-- VERSION PLACEHOLDER -->
diff --git a/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral.md b/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral.md
index d1d27a4..2f9a2f5 100644
--- a/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral.md
+++ b/docs/src/man/bcvk-ephemeral.md
@@ -54,6 +54,10 @@ bcvk-ephemeral-ps(8)
 
 :   List running ephemeral VMs
 
+bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic(8)
+
+:   Boot an ephemeral VM and verify systemd is healthy
+
 bcvk-ephemeral-rm-all(8)
 
 :   Remove all ephemeral VM containers
@@ -123,7 +127,7 @@ Or use instance types:
 # SEE ALSO
 
 **bcvk**(8), **bcvk-ephemeral-run**(8), **bcvk-ephemeral-run-ssh**(8),
-**bcvk-ephemeral-ssh**(8), **bcvk-libvirt**(8)
+**bcvk-ephemeral-test-basic**(8), **bcvk-ephemeral-ssh**(8), **bcvk-libvirt**(8)
 
 # VERSION