diff --git a/commands.go b/commands.go
index 0dca488cf..b127106ea 100644
--- a/commands.go
+++ b/commands.go
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@ import (
 	"github.com/dotcloud/docker/auth"
 	"github.com/dotcloud/docker/rcli"
 	"io"
+	"log"
 	"math/rand"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/url"
 	"path"
+	"runtime"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -789,6 +791,9 @@ func (srv *Server) CmdRun(stdin io.ReadCloser, stdout io.Writer, args ...string)
 
 func NewServer() (*Server, error) {
 	rand.Seed(time.Now().UTC().UnixNano())
+	if runtime.GOARCH != "amd64" {
+		log.Fatalf("The docker runtime currently only supports amd64 (not %s). This will change in the future. Aborting.", runtime.GOARCH)
+	}
 	// if err != nil {
 	// 	return nil, err
 	// }