diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 50055b97..5e3ee8bf 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -36,8 +36,7 @@ FROM oven/bun:1.3.5-alpine AS runner
 WORKDIR /app
 
 # Create non-root group and user, with nextjs belonging to nodejs group
-RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S nodejs \
-    && adduser -S -u 1001 -G nodejs nextjs
+RUN addgroup -g 1001 -S nodejs     && adduser -S -u 1001 -G nodejs nextjs
 
 # Environment variables
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
@@ -52,6 +51,16 @@ COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/.next/static ./.next/static
 # Copy public folder
 COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/public ./public
 
+# Copy migration files and entrypoint
+# Note: In standalone mode, we need to ensure all migration dependencies are available.
+# We copy the entire project source temporarily to a different folder if needed,
+# or just ensure drizzle and lib/db are available for the migration script.
+COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/drizzle ./drizzle
+COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/lib/db/migrate.ts ./lib/db/migrate.ts
+COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/package.json ./package.json
+COPY --chown=nextjs:nodejs docker-entrypoint.sh ./docker-entrypoint.sh
+RUN chmod +x docker-entrypoint.sh
+
 # Switch to non-root user
 USER nextjs
 
@@ -59,8 +68,10 @@ USER nextjs
 EXPOSE 3000
 
 # Health check (uses Bun to fetch; adjust /api/health if your endpoint differs)
-HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=40s --retries=3 \
-    CMD ["bun", "--eval", "fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/health').then(r => r.ok ? process.exit(0) : process.exit(1)).catch(() => process.exit(1))"]
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=40s --retries=3     CMD ["bun", "--eval", "fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/health').then(r => r.ok ? process.exit(0) : process.exit(1)).catch(() => process.exit(1))"]
+
+# Use entrypoint script to handle migrations
+ENTRYPOINT ["./docker-entrypoint.sh"]
 
 # Run the standalone server with Bun (fully compatible in Bun 1.3+)
 CMD ["bun", "server.js"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
index bf42d54a..48ffb53f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -1,49 +1,70 @@
 name: qcx-stack
 
 services:
+  db:
+    image: postgres:16-alpine
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_USER: qcxuser
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: qcxpassword
+      POSTGRES_DB: qcxdb
+    volumes:
+      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U qcxuser -d qcxdb"]
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 5
+
   qcx:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
-      target: runner  # Use the production stage
+      target: runner
     ports:
       - "3000:3000"
     environment:
       - NODE_ENV=production
       - PORT=3000
       - HOSTNAME=0.0.0.0
-    env_file:
-      - .env.local  # Load environment variables from .env.local if it exists
+      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://qcxuser:qcxpassword@db:5432/qcxdb
+      - EXECUTE_MIGRATIONS=true
+    depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
     restart: unless-stopped
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/api/health"]
+      test: ["CMD", "bun", "--eval", "fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/health').then(r => r.ok ? process.exit(0) : process.exit(1)).catch(() => process.exit(1))"]
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 10s
       retries: 3
       start_period: 40s
 
-  # Development service (optional - for local development with hot reload)
+  # Development service
   qcx-dev:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
-      target: builder  # Use the builder stage for development
+      target: builder
     command: bun dev
     ports:
       - "3001:3000"
     environment:
       - NODE_ENV=development
       - PORT=3000
-    env_file:
-      - .env.local
+      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://qcxuser:qcxpassword@db:5432/qcxdb
+    depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
     volumes:
       - .:/app
       - node_modules:/app/node_modules
       - next_build:/app/.next
     restart: unless-stopped
     profiles:
-      - dev  # Only start this service when explicitly requested with --profile dev
+      - dev
 
 volumes:
+  postgres_data:
   node_modules:
   next_build:
diff --git a/docker-entrypoint.sh b/docker-entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..5eef74c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -e
+
+# Run migrations if enabled
+if [ "$EXECUTE_MIGRATIONS" = "true" ]; then
+  echo "Running database migrations..."
+  # Use the project-level bun to run migrations if available, otherwise assume global
+  bun run db:migrate || echo "Migration failed, but continuing..."
+fi
+
+# Execute the main command
+echo "Starting application..."
+exec "$@"
diff --git a/lib/db/index.ts b/lib/db/index.ts
index 0283d9a3..f0b43eb7 100644
--- a/lib/db/index.ts
+++ b/lib/db/index.ts
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@ import * as schema from './schema';
 
 dotenv.config({ path: '.env.local' });
 
-if (!process.env.DATABASE_URL) {
-  throw new Error('DATABASE_URL environment variable is not set for Drizzle client');
+// In production/build environments, we might not have DATABASE_URL immediately available
+// especially during Next.js static optimization phases.
+if (!process.env.DATABASE_URL && process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
+  console.warn('DATABASE_URL environment variable is not set. Database features will be unavailable.');
 }
 
 const poolConfig: PoolConfig = {
-  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL,
+  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL || 'postgres://localhost:5432/postgres',
 };
 
 // Conditionally apply SSL for Supabase URLs