diff --git a/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/DocumentationWebHost.cs b/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/DocumentationWebHost.cs
index 5466ee6d2..dfc0a9aef 100644
--- a/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/DocumentationWebHost.cs
+++ b/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/DocumentationWebHost.cs
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@
 using System.Text;
 using Documentation.Builder.Diagnostics.LiveMode;
 using Elastic.Documentation;
+#if DEBUG
 using Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure;
+#endif
 using Elastic.Documentation.Configuration;
 using Elastic.Documentation.ServiceDefaults;
 using Elastic.Documentation.Site.FileProviders;
@@ -42,8 +44,10 @@ IConfigurationContext configurationContext
 		_writeFileSystem = writeFs;
 		var builder = WebApplication.CreateSlimBuilder();
 		_ = builder.AddDocumentationServiceDefaults();
-
+#if DEBUG
 		builder.Services.AddElasticDocsApiUsecases("dev");
+#endif
+
 		_ = builder.Logging
 			.AddFilter("Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Diagnostics", LogLevel.Error)
 			.AddFilter("Microsoft.AspNetCore.StaticFiles.StaticFileMiddleware", LogLevel.Error)
@@ -136,7 +140,9 @@ private void SetUpRoutes()
 			ServeApiFile(holder, slug, ctx));
 
 		var apiV1 = _webApplication.MapGroup("/docs/_api/v1");
+#if DEBUG
 		apiV1.MapElasticDocsApiEndpoints();
+#endif
 
 		_ = _webApplication.MapGet("{**slug}", (string slug, ReloadableGeneratorState holder, Cancel ctx) =>
 			ServeDocumentationFile(holder, slug, ctx));
diff --git a/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/StaticWebHost.cs b/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/StaticWebHost.cs
index 8aca8327c..aae268b52 100644
--- a/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/StaticWebHost.cs
+++ b/src/tooling/docs-builder/Http/StaticWebHost.cs
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@
 // See the LICENSE file in the project root for more information
 
 using System.IO.Abstractions;
+#if DEBUG
 using Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure;
+#endif
 using Elastic.Documentation.Configuration;
 using Elastic.Documentation.Extensions;
 using Elastic.Documentation.ServiceDefaults;
@@ -35,8 +37,9 @@ public StaticWebHost(int port, string? path)
 		});
 
 		_ = builder.AddDocumentationServiceDefaults();
-
+#if DEBUG
 		builder.Services.AddElasticDocsApiUsecases("dev");
+#endif
 
 		_ = builder.Logging
 			.AddFilter("Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Diagnostics", LogLevel.Error)
@@ -63,7 +66,9 @@ private void SetUpRoutes()
 		_ = WebApplication.MapGet("{**slug}", ServeDocumentationFile);
 
 		var apiV1 = WebApplication.MapGroup("/docs/_api/v1");
+#if DEBUG
 		apiV1.MapElasticDocsApiEndpoints();
+#endif
 
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/tooling/docs-builder/docs-builder.csproj b/src/tooling/docs-builder/docs-builder.csproj
index 9aaf6a46d..432973fc4 100644
--- a/src/tooling/docs-builder/docs-builder.csproj
+++ b/src/tooling/docs-builder/docs-builder.csproj
@@ -25,10 +25,12 @@
     <PackageReference Include="System.IO.Abstractions.TestingHelpers" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
-  <ItemGroup>
+  <ItemGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug'">
     <ProjectReference Include="..\..\api\Elastic.Documentation.Api.Core\Elastic.Documentation.Api.Core.csproj" />
     <ProjectReference Include="..\..\api\Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure\Elastic.Documentation.Api.Infrastructure.csproj" />
-    
+  </ItemGroup>
+
+  <ItemGroup>
     <ProjectReference Include="..\..\Elastic.ApiExplorer\Elastic.ApiExplorer.csproj" />
     
     <ProjectReference Include="..\..\services\Elastic.Documentation.Assembler\Elastic.Documentation.Assembler.csproj" />