diff --git a/cmd/skopeo/completions.go b/cmd/skopeo/completions.go
index fc323a19..a50fadbc 100644
--- a/cmd/skopeo/completions.go
+++ b/cmd/skopeo/completions.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"github.com/containers/image/v5/tarball"
 	"github.com/containers/image/v5/transports"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -10,7 +11,12 @@ func autocompleteSupportedTransports(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, toComple
 	tps := transports.ListNames()
 	suggestions := make([]string, 0, len(tps))
 	for _, tp := range tps {
-		suggestions = append(suggestions, tp+":")
+		// ListNames is generally expected to filter out deprecated transports.
+		// tarball: is not deprecated, but it is only usable from a Go caller (using tarball.ConfigUpdater),
+		// so don’t offer it on the CLI.
+		if tp != tarball.Transport.Name() {
+			suggestions = append(suggestions, tp+":")
+		}
 	}
 	return suggestions, cobra.ShellCompDirectiveNoFileComp
 }