diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 0c88b49..df218c4 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2429,6 +2429,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "wayland-server",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "weft-runtime"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "anyhow",
+ "tracing",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "weft-servo-shell"
 version = "0.1.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 534e7d6..b0755ad 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ members = [
     "crates/weft-appd",
     "crates/weft-build-meta",
     "crates/weft-compositor",
+    "crates/weft-runtime",
     "crates/weft-servo-shell",
 ]
 resolver = "2"
diff --git a/crates/weft-runtime/Cargo.toml b/crates/weft-runtime/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..263b810
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/weft-runtime/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[package]
+name = "weft-runtime"
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+rust-version.workspace = true
+
+[[bin]]
+name = "weft-runtime"
+path = "src/main.rs"
+
+[dependencies]
+anyhow = "1.0"
+tracing = "0.1"
+tracing-subscriber = { version = "0.3", features = ["env-filter"] }
diff --git a/crates/weft-runtime/src/main.rs b/crates/weft-runtime/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf2065d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/weft-runtime/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+use anyhow::Context;
+
+fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+        .with_env_filter(
+            tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::try_from_default_env()
+                .unwrap_or_else(|_| tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::new("info")),
+        )
+        .init();
+
+    let args: Vec<String> = std::env::args().collect();
+    if args.len() < 3 {
+        anyhow::bail!("usage: weft-runtime <app_id> <session_id>");
+    }
+    let app_id = &args[1];
+    let session_id: u64 = args[2]
+        .parse()
+        .with_context(|| format!("invalid session_id: {}", args[2]))?;
+
+    tracing::info!(session_id, %app_id, "weft-runtime starting");
+
+    let pkg_dir = resolve_package(app_id)?;
+    tracing::info!(path = %pkg_dir.display(), "package resolved");
+
+    let wasm_path = pkg_dir.join("app.wasm");
+    if !wasm_path.exists() {
+        anyhow::bail!("app.wasm not found at {}", wasm_path.display());
+    }
+
+    // TODO: Load wasm_path into a Wasmtime Engine and run the module.
+    // Until Wasmtime is integrated, print READY and exit cleanly so that
+    // weft-appd can complete the session lifecycle in tests and development.
+    tracing::info!(session_id, %app_id, wasm = %wasm_path.display(), "Wasmtime integration pending");
+
+    println!("READY");
+
+    tracing::info!(session_id, %app_id, "exiting");
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn resolve_package(app_id: &str) -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
+    for store_root in package_store_roots() {
+        let pkg_dir = store_root.join(app_id);
+        let manifest = pkg_dir.join("wapp.toml");
+        if manifest.exists() {
+            return Ok(pkg_dir);
+        }
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!("package '{}' not found in any package store", app_id)
+}
+
+fn package_store_roots() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
+    if let Ok(explicit) = std::env::var("WEFT_APP_STORE") {
+        return vec![PathBuf::from(explicit)];
+    }
+
+    let mut roots = Vec::new();
+
+    if let Ok(home) = std::env::var("HOME") {
+        roots.push(
+            PathBuf::from(home)
+                .join(".local")
+                .join("share")
+                .join("weft")
+                .join("apps"),
+        );
+    }
+
+    roots.push(PathBuf::from("/usr/share/weft/apps"));
+
+    roots
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn package_store_roots_includes_system_path() {
+        let roots = package_store_roots();
+        assert!(
+            roots
+                .iter()
+                .any(|p| p == &PathBuf::from("/usr/share/weft/apps"))
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn package_store_roots_uses_weft_app_store_when_set() {
+        // SAFETY: test binary is single-threaded at this point.
+        unsafe { std::env::set_var("WEFT_APP_STORE", "/custom/store") };
+        let roots = package_store_roots();
+        assert_eq!(roots, vec![PathBuf::from("/custom/store")]);
+        unsafe { std::env::remove_var("WEFT_APP_STORE") };
+    }
+}
diff --git a/scripts/wsl-test.sh b/scripts/wsl-test.sh
index 67772d4..0935536 100644
--- a/scripts/wsl-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/wsl-test.sh
@@ -30,5 +30,9 @@ echo ""
 echo "==> cargo test -p weft-appd"
 cargo test -p weft-appd 2>&1
 
+echo ""
+echo "==> cargo test -p weft-runtime"
+cargo test -p weft-runtime 2>&1
+
 echo ""
 echo "ALL DONE"