diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d7bd8cb5..363f2006 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "5000:5000"
     depends_on:
-      backend:
-        condition: service_started
+      - backend
+    restart: unless-stopped
     env_file:
       - ./worklenz-frontend/.env.production
     networks:
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
       minio:
         condition: service_started
+    restart: unless-stopped
     env_file:
       - ./worklenz-backend/.env
     networks:
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "9000:9000"
       - "9001:9001"
+    restart: unless-stopped
     environment:
       MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID:-minioadmin}
       MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY:-minioadmin}
@@ -52,6 +54,7 @@ services:
     container_name: worklenz_createbuckets
     depends_on:
       - minio
+    restart: on-failure
     entrypoint: >
       /bin/sh -c '
         echo "Waiting for MinIO to start...";
@@ -84,6 +87,7 @@ services:
       interval: 10s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
+    restart: unless-stopped
     networks:
       - worklenz
     volumes:
diff --git a/worklenz-backend/.dockerignore b/worklenz-backend/.dockerignore
index 263e9ac4..fdfab06a 100644
--- a/worklenz-backend/.dockerignore
+++ b/worklenz-backend/.dockerignore
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 node_modules
 npm-debug.log
-build
 .scannerwork
 coverage
+.dockerignore
+.git
+*.md
+tests
+
diff --git a/worklenz-backend/Dockerfile b/worklenz-backend/Dockerfile
index f381e37e..244b7cf8 100644
--- a/worklenz-backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/worklenz-backend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,26 +1,39 @@
-# Use the official Node.js 20 image as a base
-FROM node:20
+# --- Stage 1: Build ---
+FROM node:20-slim AS builder
+
+ARG RELEASE_VERSION
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
+    python3 \
+    make \
+    g++ \
+    curl \
+    postgresql-server-dev-all \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-# Create and set the working directory
 WORKDIR /usr/src/app
 
-# Install global dependencies
-RUN npm install -g ts-node typescript grunt grunt-cli
-
-# Copy package.json and package-lock.json (if available)
 COPY package*.json ./
-
-# Install app dependencies
 RUN npm ci
 
-# Copy the rest of the application code
 COPY . .
-
-# Run the build script to compile TypeScript to JavaScript
 RUN npm run build
 
-# Expose the port the app runs on
-EXPOSE 3000
+RUN echo "$RELEASE_VERSION" > release
+
+# --- Stage 2: Production Image ---
+FROM node:20-slim
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y libpq5 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/package*.json ./
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/build ./build
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/node_modules ./node_modules
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/release ./release
+COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/worklenz-email-templates ./worklenz-email-templates
+
+
+EXPOSE 3000
+CMD ["node", "build/bin/www"]
 
-# Start the application
-CMD ["npm", "start"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/worklenz-frontend/.dockerignore b/worklenz-frontend/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6a9920e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/worklenz-frontend/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+node_modules
+npm-debug.log
+.git
+.gitignore
+.dockerignore
+README.md