diff --git a/runpod/apps/build.py b/runpod/apps/build.py
index c9cb31e0..b72c152b 100644
--- a/runpod/apps/build.py
+++ b/runpod/apps/build.py
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@
 MAX_ARTIFACT_MB = 1500
 
 _REQ_NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^\s*([A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*)")
+# same rule as pip: "#" at line start or after whitespace starts a comment
+_REQ_COMMENT_RE = re.compile(r"(^|\s+)#.*$")
 
 
 class BuildError(AppError):
@@ -97,8 +99,8 @@ def _requirements_txt(project_root: Path) -> List[str]:
     req_file = project_root / "requirements.txt"
     if req_file.exists():
         for line in req_file.read_text().splitlines():
-            line = line.strip()
-            if line and not line.startswith("#") and not line.startswith("-"):
+            line = _REQ_COMMENT_RE.sub("", line).strip()
+            if line and not line.startswith("-"):
                 requirements.append(line)
     return requirements
 
diff --git a/tests/test_apps/test_build.py b/tests/test_apps/test_build.py
index b100387b..e8d452c8 100644
--- a/tests/test_apps/test_build.py
+++ b/tests/test_apps/test_build.py
@@ -62,6 +62,24 @@ def q():
         # numpy deduped by name, requirements.txt wins on order
         assert reqs == ["numpy==1.26", "pandas", "requests"]
 
+    def test_strips_inline_comments(self, tmp_path):
+        (tmp_path / "requirements.txt").write_text(
+            "requests==2.32.3  # http client\n"
+            "numpy==1.26\t# tab before the comment\n"
+            "pkg @ https://example.com/pkg-1.0-py3-none-any.whl#sha256=abc\n"
+        )
+        app = App("a")
+
+        @app.queue(name="q", cpu="cpu3c-1-2")
+        def q():
+            pass
+
+        assert collect_requirements(tmp_path, app) == [
+            "requests==2.32.3",
+            "numpy==1.26",
+            "pkg @ https://example.com/pkg-1.0-py3-none-any.whl#sha256=abc",
+        ]
+
     def test_no_requirements_file(self, tmp_path):
         app = App("a")