diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 8c143ba905..712128f5a7 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -104,8 +104,7 @@ cargo 1.69.0 (6e9a83356 2023-04-12)
 Currently, iceberg-rust uses Docker to set up environment for integration tests. Native Docker has some limitations, please check (https://github.com/apache/iceberg-rust/pull/748). Please use Orbstack or Podman.
 
 For MacOS users, you can install [OrbStack as a docker alternative](docs/contributing/orbstack.md).
-
-For podman, refer to [Using Podman instead of Docker](docs/contributing/podman.md)
+For Podman users, refer to [Using Podman instead of Docker](docs/contributing/podman.md)
 
 ## Build
 
diff --git a/crates/integration_tests/testdata/docker-compose.yaml b/crates/integration_tests/testdata/docker-compose.yaml
index f9851f3c71..e2f9b7da36 100644
--- a/crates/integration_tests/testdata/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/crates/integration_tests/testdata/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -80,6 +80,3 @@ services:
       - AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=admin
       - AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=password
       - AWS_REGION=us-east-1
-    links:
-      - rest:rest
-      - minio:minio
diff --git a/crates/integration_tests/testdata/spark/provision.py b/crates/integration_tests/testdata/spark/provision.py
index 1929266b4a..899a49f6ac 100755
--- a/crates/integration_tests/testdata/spark/provision.py
+++ b/crates/integration_tests/testdata/spark/provision.py
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
         .getOrCreate()
 )
 
+spark.sql(f"""CREATE NAMESPACE IF NOT EXISTS rest.default""")
+
 spark.sql(
     f"""
 CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE rest.default.test_positional_merge_on_read_deletes (
diff --git a/docs/contributing/podman.md b/docs/contributing/podman.md
index 3281ad4da5..eee93a0b35 100644
--- a/docs/contributing/podman.md
+++ b/docs/contributing/podman.md
@@ -19,15 +19,16 @@
 
 # Using Podman instead of Docker
 
-Iceberg-rust does not require containerization, except for integration tests, where "docker" and "docker-compose" are used to start containers for minio and various catalogs. Below instructions setup "rootful podman" and docker's official docker-compose plugin to run integration tests as an alternative to docker or Orbstack. 
+Iceberg-rust does not require containerization, except for integration tests, where "docker" and "docker-compose" are used to start containers for minio and various catalogs. Below instructions setup "rootful podman" and docker's official docker-compose plugin to run integration tests as an alternative to docker or Orbstack.
 
 1. Have podman v4 or newer.
-    ```console
+    ```shell
     $ podman --version
     podman version 4.9.4-rhel
     ```
-
-2. Open file `/usr/bin/docker` and add the below contents:
+2. Create a docker wrapper script:
+   
+  * Create a fresh `/usr/bin/docker` file and add the below contents:
     ```bash
     #!/bin/sh
     [ -e /etc/containers/nodocker ] || \
@@ -35,8 +36,13 @@ Iceberg-rust does not require containerization, except for integration tests, wh
     exec sudo /usr/bin/podman "$@"
     ```
 
+  * Set new `/usr/bin/docker` file to executable.
+    ```shell
+    sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/docker
+    ```
+
 3. Install the [docker compose plugin](https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/linux). Check for successful installation.
-    ```console
+    ```shell
     $ docker compose version
     Docker Compose version v2.28.1
     ```
@@ -53,7 +59,7 @@ Iceberg-rust does not require containerization, except for integration tests, wh
     ```
 
 6. Check that the following symlink exists.
-    ```console
+    ```shell
     $ ls -al /var/run/docker.sock
     lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Jul 24 12:18 /var/run/docker.sock -> /var/run/podman/podman.sock
     ```
@@ -83,3 +89,12 @@ As of podman v4, ["To be succinct and simple, when running rootless containers,
 
 * <https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/container-ip-address-podman>
 * <https://github.com/containers/podman/blob/main/docs/tutorials/basic_networking.md>
+
+# Debugging Note:
+ - Fix for error: `Error: short-name "apache/iceberg-rest-fixture" did not resolve to an alias and no unqualified-search registries are defined in "/etc/containers/registries.conf"`
+    - Add or modify the `/etc/containers/registries.conf` file:
+    ```toml
+    [[registry]]
+    prefix = "docker.io"
+    location = "docker.io"
+    ```