diff --git a/cmd/osbuild-pipeline/main.go b/cmd/osbuild-pipeline/main.go
index 7ac3de033..579ff3461 100644
--- a/cmd/osbuild-pipeline/main.go
+++ b/cmd/osbuild-pipeline/main.go
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ func main() {
 		}
 	}
 
-	f30 := distro.New("fedora-30")
-	pipeline, err := f30.Pipeline(blueprint, format)
+	d := distro.New("")
+	pipeline, err := d.Pipeline(blueprint, format)
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err.Error())
 	}
diff --git a/internal/distro/distro.go b/internal/distro/distro.go
index 6ba2c385c..42bbd6dcf 100644
--- a/internal/distro/distro.go
+++ b/internal/distro/distro.go
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 package distro
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
+	"errors"
+	"io"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+
 	"github.com/osbuild/osbuild-composer/internal/blueprint"
 	"github.com/osbuild/osbuild-composer/internal/pipeline"
 )
@@ -33,16 +40,78 @@ func (e *InvalidOutputFormatError) Error() string {
 var registered = map[string]Distro{}
 
 func New(name string) Distro {
+	if name == "" {
+		distro, err := FromHost()
+		if err == nil {
+			return distro
+		} else {
+			log.Println("cannot detect distro from host: " + err.Error())
+			log.Println("falling back to 'fedora-30'")
+			return New("fedora-30")
+		}
+	}
+
 	distro, ok := registered[name]
 	if !ok {
 		panic("unknown distro: " + name)
 	}
+
 	return distro
 }
 
+func FromHost() (Distro, error) {
+	f, err := os.Open("/etc/os-release")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	osrelease, err := readOSRelease(f)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	name := osrelease["ID"] + "-" + osrelease["VERSION_ID"]
+
+	distro, ok := registered[name]
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, errors.New("unknown distro: " + name)
+	}
+	return distro, nil
+}
+
 func Register(name string, distro Distro) {
 	if _, exists := registered[name]; exists {
 		panic("a distro with this name already exists: " + name)
 	}
 	registered[name] = distro
 }
+
+func readOSRelease(r io.Reader) (map[string]string, error) {
+	osrelease := make(map[string]string)
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(r)
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := strings.TrimSpace(scanner.Text())
+		if len(line) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		parts := strings.SplitN(line, "=", 2)
+		if len(parts) != 2 {
+			return nil, errors.New("readOSRelease: invalid input")
+		}
+
+		key := strings.TrimSpace(parts[0])
+		value := strings.TrimSpace(parts[1])
+		if value[0] == '"' {
+			if len(value) < 2 || value[len(value) - 1] != '"' {
+				return nil, errors.New("readOSRelease: invalid input")
+			}
+			value = value[1:len(value) - 1]
+		}
+
+		osrelease[key] = value
+	}
+
+	return osrelease, nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/distro/osrelease_test.go b/internal/distro/osrelease_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..490040bf3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/distro/osrelease_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package distro
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestOSRelease(t *testing.T) {
+	var cases = []struct {
+		Input     string
+		OSRelease map[string]string
+	}{
+		{
+			``,
+			map[string]string{},
+		},
+		{
+			`NAME=Fedora
+VERSION="30 (Workstation Edition)"
+ID=fedora
+VERSION_ID=30
+VERSION_CODENAME=""
+PLATFORM_ID="platform:f30"
+PRETTY_NAME="Fedora 30 (Workstation Edition)"
+VARIANT="Workstation Edition"
+VARIANT_ID=workstation`,
+			map[string]string{
+				"NAME":             "Fedora",
+				"VERSION":          "30 (Workstation Edition)",
+				"ID":               "fedora",
+				"VERSION_ID":       "30",
+				"VERSION_CODENAME": "",
+				"PLATFORM_ID":      "platform:f30",
+				"PRETTY_NAME":      "Fedora 30 (Workstation Edition)",
+				"VARIANT":          "Workstation Edition",
+				"VARIANT_ID":       "workstation",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for i, c := range cases {
+		r := strings.NewReader(c.Input)
+
+		osrelease, err := readOSRelease(r)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%d: readOSRelease: %v", i, err)
+		}
+
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(osrelease, c.OSRelease) {
+			t.Fatalf("%d: readOSRelease returned unexpected result: %#v", i, osrelease)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/store/store.go b/internal/store/store.go
index 102dcd301..6816be987 100644
--- a/internal/store/store.go
+++ b/internal/store/store.go
@@ -396,8 +396,8 @@ func (s *Store) PushCompose(composeID uuid.UUID, bp *blueprint.Blueprint, compos
 	targets := []*target.Target{
 		target.NewLocalTarget(target.NewLocalTargetOptions("/var/lib/osbuild-composer/outputs/" + composeID.String())),
 	}
-	f30 := distro.New("fedora-30")
-	pipeline, err := f30.Pipeline(bp, composeType)
+	d := distro.New("")
+	pipeline, err := d.Pipeline(bp, composeType)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -475,8 +475,8 @@ func (s *Store) GetImage(composeID uuid.UUID) (*Image, error) {
 		if compose.QueueStatus != "FINISHED" {
 			return nil, &InvalidRequestError{"compose was not finished"}
 		}
-		f30 := distro.New("fedora-30")
-		name, mime, err := f30.FilenameFromType(compose.OutputType)
+		d := distro.New("")
+		name, mime, err := d.FilenameFromType(compose.OutputType)
 		if err != nil {
 			panic("invalid output type")
 		}
diff --git a/internal/weldr/api.go b/internal/weldr/api.go
index fb451547a..818c7c1c6 100644
--- a/internal/weldr/api.go
+++ b/internal/weldr/api.go
@@ -850,8 +850,8 @@ func (api *API) composeTypesHandler(writer http.ResponseWriter, request *http.Re
 		Types []composeType `json:"types"`
 	}
 
-	f30 := distro.New("fedora-30")
-	for _, format := range f30.ListOutputFormats() {
+	d := distro.New("")
+	for _, format := range d.ListOutputFormats() {
 		reply.Types = append(reply.Types, composeType{format, true})
 	}