diff --git a/Sources/ContainerizationArchive/ArchiveWriter.swift b/Sources/ContainerizationArchive/ArchiveWriter.swift
index 7f446bbe..2d9cc89d 100644
--- a/Sources/ContainerizationArchive/ArchiveWriter.swift
+++ b/Sources/ContainerizationArchive/ArchiveWriter.swift
@@ -111,6 +111,34 @@ public class ArchiveWriterTransaction {
     }
 }
 
+/// Represents a host filesystem entry to be archived at a specific path.
+public struct ArchiveSourceEntry: Sendable {
+    /// Path to the item on the host filesystem.
+    public let pathOnHost: URL
+    /// Path to use for the entry inside the archive.
+    public let pathInArchive: String
+    /// Optional owner override for the archived entry.
+    public let owner: uid_t?
+    /// Optional group override for the archived entry.
+    public let group: gid_t?
+    /// Optional permissions override for the archived entry.
+    public let permissions: mode_t?
+
+    public init(
+        pathOnHost: URL,
+        pathInArchive: String,
+        owner: uid_t? = nil,
+        group: gid_t? = nil,
+        permissions: mode_t? = nil
+    ) {
+        self.pathOnHost = pathOnHost
+        self.pathInArchive = pathInArchive
+        self.owner = owner
+        self.group = group
+        self.permissions = permissions
+    }
+}
+
 extension ArchiveWriter {
     public func makeTransactionWriter() -> ArchiveWriterTransaction {
         ArchiveWriterTransaction(writer: self)
@@ -179,6 +207,16 @@ extension ArchiveWriter {
 }
 
 extension ArchiveWriter {
+    /// Archives an explicit, ordered list of host filesystem entries.
+    public func archiveEntries(_ entries: [ArchiveSourceEntry]) throws {
+        for source in entries {
+            guard let entry = try Self.makeEntry(from: source) else {
+                throw ArchiveError.failedToCreateArchive("unsupported file type at '\(source.pathOnHost.path)'")
+            }
+            try self.writeSourceEntry(entry: entry, sourcePath: source.pathOnHost.path)
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Recursively archives the content of a directory. Regular files, symlinks and directories are added into the archive.
     /// Note: Symlinks are added to the archive if both the source and target for the symlink are both contained in the top level directory.
     public func archiveDirectory(_ dir: URL) throws {
@@ -253,12 +291,16 @@ extension ArchiveWriter {
             let entry = WriteEntry()
             if type == .symbolicLink {
                 let targetPath = try fm.destinationOfSymbolicLink(atPath: fullPath.string)
-                // Resolve the target relative to the symlink's parent, not the archive root.
-                let symlinkParent = fullPath.removingLastComponent()
-                let resolvedFull = symlinkParent.appending(targetPath).lexicallyNormalized()
+                guard let resolvedFull = Self.resolveArchivedDirectorySymlinkTarget(
+                    targetPath,
+                    symlinkPath: fullPath
+                ) else {
+                    continue
+                }
                 guard resolvedFull.starts(with: dirPath) else {
                     continue
                 }
+                // Match Docker build-context semantics and preserve the original target verbatim.
                 entry.symlinkTarget = targetPath
             }
 
@@ -299,4 +341,203 @@ extension ArchiveWriter {
             }
         }
     }
+
+    private struct FileStatus {
+        enum EntryType {
+            case directory
+            case regular
+            case symbolicLink
+        }
+
+        let entryType: EntryType
+        let permissions: mode_t
+        let size: Int64
+        let owner: uid_t
+        let group: gid_t
+        let creationDate: Date?
+        let contentAccessDate: Date?
+        let modificationDate: Date?
+        let symlinkTarget: String?
+    }
+
+    private func writeSourceEntry(entry: WriteEntry, sourcePath: String) throws {
+        guard entry.fileType == .regular else {
+            try self.writeEntry(entry: entry, data: nil)
+            return
+        }
+
+        let writer = self.makeTransactionWriter()
+        let buffer = UnsafeMutableRawBufferPointer.allocate(byteCount: Self.chunkSize, alignment: 1)
+        guard let baseAddress = buffer.baseAddress else {
+            buffer.deallocate()
+            throw ArchiveError.failedToCreateArchive("cannot create temporary buffer of size \(Self.chunkSize)")
+        }
+        defer { buffer.deallocate() }
+
+        let fd = Foundation.open(sourcePath, O_RDONLY)
+        guard fd >= 0 else {
+            let err = POSIXErrorCode(rawValue: errno) ?? .EINVAL
+            throw ArchiveError.failedToCreateArchive("cannot open file \(sourcePath) for reading: \(err)")
+        }
+        defer { close(fd) }
+
+        try writer.writeHeader(entry: entry)
+        while true {
+            let bytesRead = read(fd, baseAddress, Self.chunkSize)
+            if bytesRead == 0 {
+                break
+            }
+            if bytesRead < 0 {
+                let err = POSIXErrorCode(rawValue: errno) ?? .EIO
+                throw ArchiveError.failedToCreateArchive("failed to read from file \(sourcePath): \(err)")
+            }
+            try writer.writeChunk(data: UnsafeRawBufferPointer(start: baseAddress, count: bytesRead))
+        }
+        try writer.finish()
+    }
+
+    private static func makeEntry(
+        from source: ArchiveSourceEntry
+    ) throws -> WriteEntry? {
+        guard let status = try Self.fileStatus(atPath: source.pathOnHost.path) else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        let entry = WriteEntry()
+
+        switch status.entryType {
+        case .directory:
+            entry.fileType = .directory
+            entry.size = 0
+        case .regular:
+            entry.fileType = .regular
+            entry.size = status.size
+        case .symbolicLink:
+            entry.fileType = .symbolicLink
+            entry.size = 0
+            // Match Docker build-context semantics and preserve the original target verbatim.
+            entry.symlinkTarget = status.symlinkTarget
+        }
+
+        entry.path = source.pathInArchive
+        entry.permissions = source.permissions ?? status.permissions
+        entry.owner = source.owner ?? status.owner
+        entry.group = source.group ?? status.group
+        entry.creationDate = status.creationDate
+        entry.contentAccessDate = status.contentAccessDate
+        entry.modificationDate = status.modificationDate
+        return entry
+    }
+
+    private static func fileStatus(atPath path: String) throws -> FileStatus? {
+        try path.withCString { fileSystemPath in
+            var status = stat()
+            guard lstat(fileSystemPath, &status) == 0 else {
+                let err = POSIXErrorCode(rawValue: errno) ?? .EINVAL
+                throw ArchiveError.failedToCreateArchive("lstat failed for '\(path)': \(POSIXError(err))")
+            }
+
+            let mode = status.st_mode & S_IFMT
+            let entryType: FileStatus.EntryType
+            let symlinkTarget: String?
+
+            switch mode {
+            case S_IFDIR:
+                entryType = .directory
+                symlinkTarget = nil
+            case S_IFREG:
+                entryType = .regular
+                symlinkTarget = nil
+            case S_IFLNK:
+                entryType = .symbolicLink
+                symlinkTarget = try Self.symlinkTarget(fileSystemPath: fileSystemPath, path: path, sizeHint: Int(status.st_size))
+            default:
+                return nil
+            }
+
+            return FileStatus(
+                entryType: entryType,
+                permissions: status.st_mode & 0o7777,
+                size: Int64(status.st_size),
+                owner: status.st_uid,
+                group: status.st_gid,
+                creationDate: Self.creationDate(from: status),
+                contentAccessDate: Self.contentAccessDate(from: status),
+                modificationDate: Self.modificationDate(from: status),
+                symlinkTarget: symlinkTarget
+            )
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static func symlinkTarget(fileSystemPath: UnsafePointer<CChar>, path: String, sizeHint: Int) throws -> String {
+        let capacity = max(sizeHint + 1, Int(PATH_MAX))
+        let buffer = UnsafeMutablePointer<CChar>.allocate(capacity: capacity)
+        defer { buffer.deallocate() }
+
+        let count = readlink(fileSystemPath, buffer, capacity - 1)
+        guard count >= 0 else {
+            let err = POSIXErrorCode(rawValue: errno) ?? .EINVAL
+            throw ArchiveError.failedToCreateArchive("readlink failed for '\(path)': \(POSIXError(err))")
+        }
+
+        buffer[count] = 0
+        return String(cString: buffer)
+    }
+
+    private static func creationDate(from status: stat) -> Date? {
+        #if os(macOS)
+        return Date(
+            timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(status.st_ctimespec.tv_sec)
+                + TimeInterval(status.st_ctimespec.tv_nsec) / 1_000_000_000
+        )
+        #else
+        return Date(
+            timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(status.st_ctim.tv_sec)
+                + TimeInterval(status.st_ctim.tv_nsec) / 1_000_000_000
+        )
+        #endif
+    }
+
+    private static func contentAccessDate(from status: stat) -> Date? {
+        #if os(macOS)
+        return Date(
+            timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(status.st_atimespec.tv_sec)
+                + TimeInterval(status.st_atimespec.tv_nsec) / 1_000_000_000
+        )
+        #else
+        return Date(
+            timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(status.st_atim.tv_sec)
+                + TimeInterval(status.st_atim.tv_nsec) / 1_000_000_000
+        )
+        #endif
+    }
+
+    private static func modificationDate(from status: stat) -> Date? {
+        #if os(macOS)
+        return Date(
+            timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(status.st_mtimespec.tv_sec)
+                + TimeInterval(status.st_mtimespec.tv_nsec) / 1_000_000_000
+        )
+        #else
+        return Date(
+            timeIntervalSince1970: TimeInterval(status.st_mtim.tv_sec)
+                + TimeInterval(status.st_mtim.tv_nsec) / 1_000_000_000
+        )
+        #endif
+    }
+
+    private static func resolveArchivedDirectorySymlinkTarget(
+        _ symlinkTarget: String,
+        symlinkPath: FilePath
+    ) -> FilePath? {
+        if symlinkTarget.hasPrefix("/") {
+            let resolvedTargetPath = URL(fileURLWithPath: symlinkTarget)
+                .standardizedFileURL
+                .resolvingSymlinksInPath()
+                .path
+            return FilePath(resolvedTargetPath)
+        }
+
+        let symlinkParent = symlinkPath.removingLastComponent()
+        return symlinkParent.appending(symlinkTarget).lexicallyNormalized()
+    }
 }
diff --git a/Tests/ContainerizationArchiveTests/ArchiveTests.swift b/Tests/ContainerizationArchiveTests/ArchiveTests.swift
index c94d5ab0..b18e4537 100644
--- a/Tests/ContainerizationArchiveTests/ArchiveTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/ContainerizationArchiveTests/ArchiveTests.swift
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ struct ArchiveTests {
         return entry
     }
 
+    func archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: URL, pathInArchive: String) -> ArchiveSourceEntry {
+        ArchiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: pathOnHost, pathInArchive: pathInArchive)
+    }
+
     @Test func createTemporaryDirectorySuccess() throws {
         // Test that createTemporaryDirectory creates a directory with randomized suffix
         let baseName = "ArchiveTests.testTempDir"
@@ -350,6 +354,35 @@ struct ArchiveTests {
         #expect(linkDest == "target.txt")
     }
 
+    @Test func archiveDirectoryPreservesInternalAbsoluteSymlink() throws {
+        let testDir = createTemporaryDirectory(baseName: "ArchiveTests.archiveDirAbsoluteSymlink")!
+        defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: testDir) }
+
+        let sourceDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("source")
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: sourceDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        let targetURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("target.txt")
+        try "target content".write(to: targetURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
+        try FileManager.default.createSymbolicLink(
+            atPath: sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("link.txt").path,
+            withDestinationPath: targetURL.path
+        )
+
+        let archiveURL = testDir.appendingPathComponent("test.tar.gz")
+        let writer = try ArchiveWriter(format: .pax, filter: .gzip, file: archiveURL)
+        try writer.archiveDirectory(sourceDir)
+        try writer.finishEncoding()
+
+        let extractDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("extract")
+        let reader = try ArchiveReader(file: archiveURL)
+        let rejected = try reader.extractContents(to: extractDir)
+
+        #expect(rejected.isEmpty)
+        let extractedLink = extractDir.appendingPathComponent("link.txt")
+        let linkDest = try FileManager.default.destinationOfSymbolicLink(atPath: extractedLink.path)
+        #expect(linkDest == targetURL.path)
+        #expect(try String(contentsOf: extractedLink, encoding: .utf8) == "target content")
+    }
+
     @Test func archiveDirectorySymlinkOutsideExcluded() throws {
         let testDir = createTemporaryDirectory(baseName: "ArchiveTests.archiveDirSymlinkOutside")!
         defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: testDir) }
@@ -595,6 +628,105 @@ struct ArchiveTests {
         let content = try String(contentsOf: extractDir.appendingPathComponent("b/link.txt"), encoding: .utf8)
         #expect(content == "in a")
     }
+
+    @Test func archiveEntriesPreservesInternalAbsoluteSymlink() throws {
+        let testDir = createTemporaryDirectory(baseName: "ArchiveTests.archiveEntriesInternalAbsolute")!
+        defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: testDir) }
+
+        let sourceDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("source")
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: sourceDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        let targetURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("target.txt")
+        try "hello".write(to: targetURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
+        let linkURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("link.txt")
+        try FileManager.default.createSymbolicLink(atPath: linkURL.path, withDestinationPath: targetURL.path)
+
+        let archiveURL = testDir.appendingPathComponent("test.tar.gz")
+        let writer = try ArchiveWriter(format: .pax, filter: .gzip, file: archiveURL)
+        try writer.archiveEntries([
+            archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: targetURL, pathInArchive: "target.txt"),
+            archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: linkURL, pathInArchive: "link.txt"),
+        ])
+        try writer.finishEncoding()
+
+        let extractDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("extract")
+        let reader = try ArchiveReader(file: archiveURL)
+        let rejected = try reader.extractContents(to: extractDir)
+
+        #expect(rejected.isEmpty)
+        let extractedLink = extractDir.appendingPathComponent("link.txt")
+        let linkDest = try FileManager.default.destinationOfSymbolicLink(atPath: extractedLink.path)
+        #expect(linkDest == targetURL.path)
+        #expect(try String(contentsOf: extractedLink, encoding: .utf8) == "hello")
+    }
+
+    @Test func archiveEntriesPreservesExternalAbsoluteSymlink() throws {
+        let testDir = createTemporaryDirectory(baseName: "ArchiveTests.archiveEntriesExternalAbsolute")!
+        defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: testDir) }
+
+        let sourceDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("source")
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: sourceDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        let externalTargetURL = testDir.appendingPathComponent("external-target.txt")
+        try "external".write(to: externalTargetURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
+        let linkURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("absolute-link.txt")
+        try FileManager.default.createSymbolicLink(atPath: linkURL.path, withDestinationPath: externalTargetURL.path)
+
+        let archiveURL = testDir.appendingPathComponent("test.tar.gz")
+        let writer = try ArchiveWriter(format: .pax, filter: .gzip, file: archiveURL)
+        try writer.archiveEntries([
+            archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: linkURL, pathInArchive: "absolute-link.txt")
+        ])
+        try writer.finishEncoding()
+
+        let extractDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("extract")
+        let reader = try ArchiveReader(file: archiveURL)
+        let rejected = try reader.extractContents(to: extractDir)
+
+        #expect(rejected.isEmpty)
+        let extractedLink = extractDir.appendingPathComponent("absolute-link.txt")
+        let linkDest = try FileManager.default.destinationOfSymbolicLink(atPath: extractedLink.path)
+        #expect(linkDest == externalTargetURL.path)
+    }
+
+    @Test func archiveEntriesPreservesAbsoluteSymlinkThroughAncestorSymlink() throws {
+        let testDir = createTemporaryDirectory(baseName: "ArchiveTests.archiveEntriesCanonicalAbsolute")!
+        defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: testDir) }
+
+        let sourceDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("source")
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: sourceDir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+
+        let realDirURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("real")
+        try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: realDirURL, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
+        let targetURL = realDirURL.appendingPathComponent("target.txt")
+        try "hello".write(to: targetURL, atomically: true, encoding: .utf8)
+
+        let aliasURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("alias")
+        try FileManager.default.createSymbolicLink(atPath: aliasURL.path, withDestinationPath: "real")
+
+        let linkURL = sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("link.txt")
+        try FileManager.default.createSymbolicLink(
+            atPath: linkURL.path,
+            withDestinationPath: sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("alias/target.txt").path
+        )
+
+        let archiveURL = testDir.appendingPathComponent("test.tar.gz")
+        let writer = try ArchiveWriter(format: .pax, filter: .gzip, file: archiveURL)
+        try writer.archiveEntries([
+            archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: realDirURL, pathInArchive: "real"),
+            archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: targetURL, pathInArchive: "real/target.txt"),
+            archiveSourceEntry(pathOnHost: linkURL, pathInArchive: "link.txt"),
+        ])
+        try writer.finishEncoding()
+
+        let extractDir = testDir.appendingPathComponent("extract")
+        let reader = try ArchiveReader(file: archiveURL)
+        let rejected = try reader.extractContents(to: extractDir)
+
+        #expect(rejected.isEmpty)
+        let extractedLink = extractDir.appendingPathComponent("link.txt")
+        let linkDest = try FileManager.default.destinationOfSymbolicLink(atPath: extractedLink.path)
+        #expect(linkDest == sourceDir.appendingPathComponent("alias/target.txt").path)
+        #expect(try String(contentsOf: extractedLink, encoding: .utf8) == "hello")
+    }
 }
 
 private let surveyBundleBase64Encoded = """