diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6aee601
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+node_modules
+npm-debug.log
+.env.local
+.env.development.local
+.env.test.local
+.env.production.local
+.git
+.gitignore
+README.md
+LICENSE
+.vscode
+.nyc_output
+coverage
+.coverage
+dist
+build
+*.log
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 81eddda..5844c1e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,28 +1,77 @@
-FROM node:20-alpine
+# Build stage
+FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
 
-# Install build dependencies for node-gyp
-RUN apk add --no-cache python3 make g++
+# Install build dependencies for node-gyp and native modules
+RUN apk add --no-cache \
+    python3 \
+    py3-pip \
+    make \
+    g++ \
+    sqlite-dev \
+    pkgconfig
 
 # Set environment variable for node-gyp to find Python
 ENV PYTHON=/usr/bin/python3
 
+# Install distutils for Python (required by node-gyp)
+RUN pip3 install --break-system-packages setuptools
+
 # Create working directory
 WORKDIR /opt/app
 
 # Copy dependency files
 COPY package*.json ./
 COPY babel.config.js tsconfig.json ./
-COPY .env ./
 
-# Install dependencies
-RUN npm install
+# Configure npm for better Docker builds
+RUN npm config set unsafe-perm true
+
+# Install all dependencies (including dev dependencies for build)
+RUN npm ci
 
-# Copy source
+# Copy source code
 COPY src ./src
 
-# Build project
+# Build the project
 RUN npm run build
 
+# Runtime stage  
+FROM node:20-alpine AS runtime
+
+# Install runtime dependencies only
+RUN apk add --no-cache \
+    python3 \
+    py3-pip \
+    sqlite
+
+# Set environment variable for node-gyp to find Python
+ENV PYTHON=/usr/bin/python3
+
+# Install distutils for Python (required by some runtime native modules)
+RUN pip3 install --break-system-packages setuptools
+
+# Create working directory
+WORKDIR /opt/app
+
+# Copy package files
+COPY package*.json ./
+
+# Configure npm
+RUN npm config set unsafe-perm true
+
+# Install only production dependencies
+RUN npm ci --only=production && npm cache clean --force
+
+# Copy built application from builder stage
+COPY --from=builder /opt/app/dist ./dist
+
+# Copy other necessary files
+COPY src/views ./src/views
+COPY src/public ./src/public
+
+# Copy .env file if it exists
+COPY .env* ./
+
 EXPOSE 3000
 
 CMD ["npm", "start"]
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 3c49198..a3def09 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@
     "start": "node dist/index.js",
     "build": "tsc",
     "dev": "nodemon --exec ts-node src/index.ts",
-    "test": "tsc --noEmit && jest"
+    "test": "tsc --noEmit && jest",
+    "rebuild": "npm rebuild"
   },
   "author": "Emmo00",
   "license": "MIT",