diff --git a/doc/release-notes/rl-2511.section.md b/doc/release-notes/rl-2511.section.md
index 3871e9ad9a57..29d96c28d80f 100644
--- a/doc/release-notes/rl-2511.section.md
+++ b/doc/release-notes/rl-2511.section.md
@@ -85,6 +85,9 @@
   and called `setup.py` from the source tree, which is deprecated.
   The modern alternative is to configure `pyproject = true` with `build-system = [ setuptools ]`.
 
+- `boot.enableContainers` is only turned on when a declarative NixOS container is defined in `containers`.
+  If you use the `nixos-container` tool for imperative container management, set `boot.enableContainers = true;` explicitly.
+
 ### Deprecations {#sec-nixpkgs-release-25.11-lib-deprecations}
 
 - Create the first release note entry in this section!
diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/nixos-containers.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/nixos-containers.nix
index d692da48e30b..c86cd36ca0a3 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/nixos-containers.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/nixos-containers.nix
@@ -518,10 +518,10 @@ in
 
     boot.enableContainers = mkOption {
       type = types.bool;
-      default = true;
+      default = config.containers != { };
+      defaultText = lib.literalExpression "config.containers != { }";
       description = ''
-        Whether to enable support for NixOS containers. Defaults to true
-        (at no cost if containers are not actually used).
+        Whether to enable support for NixOS containers.
       '';
     };
 
@@ -861,7 +861,8 @@ in
 
               # Removed option. See `checkAssertion` below for the accompanying error message.
               pkgs = mkOption { visible = false; };
-            } // networkOptions;
+            }
+            // networkOptions;
 
             config =
               let