diff --git a/internal/app/wwctl/container/shell/main.go b/internal/app/wwctl/container/shell/main.go
index 89fa0058..04a095ec 100644
--- a/internal/app/wwctl/container/shell/main.go
+++ b/internal/app/wwctl/container/shell/main.go
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ func CobraRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	c.Stdout = os.Stdout
 	c.Stderr = os.Stderr
 
-	os.Setenv("WW_CONTAINER_SHELL", "1")
+	os.Setenv("WW_CONTAINER_SHELL", containerName)
 
 	if err := c.Run(); err != nil {
 		fmt.Println(err)