diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4b399b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+.git
+.github
+__pycache__
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+.Python
+*.egg-info
+.venv
+venv
+.env
+.pytest_cache
+.mypy_cache
+.ruff_cache
+.coverage
+dist
+build
+*.log
+terminals
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e398ab5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker-publish.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+name: Build and publish Docker image
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: ["main"]
+    tags: ["v*"]
+  workflow_dispatch: {}
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  packages: write
+
+jobs:
+  docker:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+
+      - name: Log in to GHCR
+        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        with:
+          registry: ghcr.io
+          username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Extract Docker metadata
+        id: meta
+        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
+        with:
+          images: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/light-object-detect
+          tags: |
+            type=raw,value=latest,enable={{is_default_branch}}
+            type=ref,event=branch
+            type=ref,event=tag
+            type=sha
+
+      - name: Build and push
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
+        with:
+          context: .
+          push: true
+          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
+          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac2c5a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+FROM python:3.11-slim
+
+ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
+    PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
+    PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK=1 \
+    PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR=1
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Minimal runtime libs for opencv-python on slim images
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        libgl1 \
+        libglib2.0-0 \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Install Python deps (keeps this image self-contained for Unraid)
+COPY Pipfile Pipfile.lock ./
+RUN python -m pip install --upgrade pip \
+    && python -m pip install \
+        fastapi \
+        uvicorn \
+        python-multipart \
+        pydantic \
+        pydantic-settings \
+        pillow \
+        exceptiongroup \
+        numpy \
+        tensorflow \
+        onnxruntime==1.23.2 \
+        opencv-python \
+        scipy \
+        shapely
+
+COPY . .
+
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+# .env is optional; Unraid can mount it to /app/.env
+CMD ["uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 97ef1a9..2c8583b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -49,9 +49,51 @@ A lightweight Python API for object detection with pluggable backends. This API
 
 3. Access the API documentation at http://localhost:9001/docs
 
+## Docker (z.B. Unraid / lightNVR)
+
+### Build
+
+```bash
+docker build -t light-object-detect:local .
+```
+
+### Run
+
+Option A: ohne `.env` (Defaults aus `config.py`):
+
+```bash
+docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 --name light-object-detect light-object-detect:local
+```
+
+Option B: mit `.env` (empfohlen, z.B. Backend/Model-Pfade):
+
+```bash
+docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 --name light-object-detect \
+  -v "$(pwd)/.env:/app/.env:ro" \
+  light-object-detect:local
+```
+
+PowerShell:
+
+```powershell
+docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 --name light-object-detect `
+  -v "${PWD}\.env:/app/.env:ro" `
+  light-object-detect:local
+```
+
+- **Healthcheck**: `GET /health`
+- **Swagger UI**: `GET /docs`
+
+### lightNVR Integration
+
+In lightNVR als API-URL typischerweise:
+
+- `http://<docker-host>:8000/api/v1/detect`
+
 ## API Endpoints
 
 - `GET /` - Root endpoint with API information
+- `GET /health` - Health check endpoint (useful for Docker/Unraid)
 - `GET /api/v1/backends` - List available detection backends
 - `POST /api/v1/detect` - Detect objects in an uploaded image
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b575cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+services:
+  light-object-detect:
+    build: .
+    container_name: light-object-detect
+    ports:
+      - "8000:8000"
+    # Optional: provide config via a bind-mounted .env file
+    # volumes:
+    #   - ./docker.env:/app/.env:ro
+    restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index 5630fc1..1057f26 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -63,5 +63,10 @@ async def root():
         "available_backends": settings.AVAILABLE_BACKENDS,
     }
 
+@app.get("/health")
+async def health():
+    """Health check endpoint for container orchestrators."""
+    return {"status": "ok"}
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     uvicorn.run("main:app", host="0.0.0.0", port=9001, reload=True)