diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 6337b9aed..8b9b5e3ca 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ VITE_IS_DEMO="false"
 # DATABASE
 DATABASE_URL="postgres://${DOCKER_DATABASE_USERNAME}:${DOCKER_DATABASE_PASSWORD}@localhost:${DOCKER_DATABASE_PORT}/${DOCKER_DATABASE_NAME}"
 
+# for docker build use:
+# DATABASE_URL="postgres://${DOCKER_DATABASE_USERNAME}:${DOCKER_DATABASE_PASSWORD}start-ui-web-postgres-1/${DOCKER_DATABASE_NAME}"
+
 # AUTH
 AUTH_SECRET="REPLACE ME" # You can use `npx @better-auth/cli@latest secret` to a generated secret
 AUTH_SESSION_EXPIRATION_IN_SECONDS=2592000 # 30 days
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e06baa885
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+# Builder Stage
+FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# install tools
+RUN npm install -g pnpm && \
+    apk add --no-cache git && \
+    git init
+
+# copy files needed for installing dependencies
+COPY package.json pnpm-lock.yaml ./
+COPY prisma/schema.prisma ./prisma/
+COPY run-jiti.js ./
+COPY src/features/build-info/script-to-generate-json.ts ./src/features/build-info/
+
+# install dependencies
+RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+
+ARG VITE_BASE_URL
+ARG VITE_ENV_NAME
+ARG VITE_ENV_EMOJI
+ARG VITE_ENV_COLOR
+ARG VITE_IS_DEMO
+ARG DATABASE_URL
+ARG AUTH_SECRET
+ARG GITHUB_CLIENT_ID
+ARG GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET
+ARG EMAIL_SERVER
+ARG EMAIL_FROM
+
+ENV VITE_BASE_URL=${VITE_BASE_URL} \
+    VITE_ENV_NAME=${VITE_ENV_NAME} \
+    VITE_ENV_EMOJI=${VITE_ENV_EMOJI} \
+    VITE_ENV_COLOR=${VITE_ENV_COLOR} \
+    VITE_IS_DEMO=${VITE_IS_DEMO} \
+    DATABASE_URL=${DATABASE_URL} \
+    AUTH_SECRET=${AUTH_SECRET} \
+    GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=${GITHUB_CLIENT_ID} \
+    GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=${GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET} \
+    EMAIL_SERVER=${EMAIL_SERVER} \
+    EMAIL_FROM=${EMAIL_FROM}
+
+# copy source code
+COPY . .
+
+# build the application
+ENV NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096
+RUN pnpm build
+
+
+# Runtime Stage
+FROM node:22-alpine
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# install pnpm
+RUN npm install -g pnpm npm-run-all
+
+
+ARG VITE_BASE_URL
+ARG VITE_ENV_NAME
+ARG VITE_ENV_EMOJI
+ARG VITE_ENV_COLOR
+ARG VITE_IS_DEMO
+ARG DATABASE_URL
+ARG AUTH_SECRET
+ARG GITHUB_CLIENT_ID
+ARG GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET
+ARG EMAIL_SERVER
+ARG EMAIL_FROM
+
+ENV VITE_BASE_URL=${VITE_BASE_URL} \
+    VITE_ENV_NAME=${VITE_ENV_NAME} \
+    VITE_ENV_EMOJI=${VITE_ENV_EMOJI} \
+    VITE_ENV_COLOR=${VITE_ENV_COLOR} \
+    VITE_IS_DEMO=${VITE_IS_DEMO} \
+    DATABASE_URL=${DATABASE_URL} \
+    AUTH_SECRET=${AUTH_SECRET} \
+    GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=${GITHUB_CLIENT_ID} \
+    GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=${GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET} \
+    EMAIL_SERVER=${EMAIL_SERVER} \
+    EMAIL_FROM=${EMAIL_FROM}
+
+## copy output build and package.json from builder
+COPY --from=builder /app/.output ./.output
+COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./package.json
+COPY --from=builder /app/pnpm-lock.yaml ./pnpm-lock.yaml
+COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
+
+EXPOSE 3000
+
+# start the application
+CMD ["pnpm", "start"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 43c523cb0..f295d8c9d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -54,7 +54,34 @@ pnpm dev
 >
 > Setup a PostgreSQL database (locally or online) and replace the **DATABASE_URL** environment variable. Then you can run `pnpm db:push` to update your database schema and then run `pnpm db:seed` to seed your database.
 
+## Dockerfile 
 
+Build the image using the following command 
+
+```bash
+docker build -t start-ui-web \
+  --build-arg VITE_BASE_URL="http://localhost:3000" \
+  --build-arg VITE_ENV_NAME="DOCKER" \
+  --build-arg VITE_ENV_EMOJI="🐋" \
+  --build-arg VITE_ENV_COLOR="blue" \
+  --build-arg VITE_IS_DEMO="true" \
+  --build-arg DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:pass@host:5432/db" \
+  --build-arg AUTH_SECRET="change-me" \
+  --build-arg GITHUB_CLIENT_ID="" \
+  --build-arg GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET="" \
+  --build-arg EMAIL_SERVER="smtp://user:pass@0.0.0.0:1025" \
+  --build-arg EMAIL_FROM="Start UI <noreply@example.com>" \
+  .
+```
+Then, you can run it with this example command:
+```bash
+docker run -d --network start-ui-web_default -p 3000:3000 --name start-ui-web-container start-ui-web
+```
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> The network name `start-ui-web_default` is created by Docker Compose when you run `pnpm dk:start`. If you're running Docker without Docker Compose, use `--network bridge` or omit the `--network` flag.
+
+During the build process, it automatically uses your project’s .env file.
 
 
 ### Emails in development