diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8cc85d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Git
+.git
+.gitignore
+
+# Docker
+Dockerfile
+docker-compose.yml
+.dockerignore
+
+# Python
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+venv/
+*.egg-info/
+
+# IDE files
+.vscode/
+.idea/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index cc2afd8..472fb5f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 # Dockerfile
 FROM python:3.13.7-slim
 
+ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
 
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     tesseract-ocr \
+    tesseract-ocr-eng \
+    tesseract-ocr-deu \
     ghostscript \
     poppler-utils \
     libreoffice \
@@ -14,6 +18,8 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     libheif-examples \
     inkscape \
     calibre \
+    pngquant \
+    libvips-tools \
     build-essential \
     pkg-config \
     git \
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 28f5839..d8adb5d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
 version: "3.9"
 services:
+  # The FastAPI Web Server
   web:
     build: .
+    env_file:
+      - .env 
     ports:
-      - "5000:5000"
+      - "8000:8000"
     volumes:
-      - .:/app  # optional: mount code for live changes
-    environment:
-      - FLASK_ENV=development
+      # Mount local directories and files into the container for persistence
+      - ./uploads:/app/uploads
+      - ./processed:/app/processed
+      - ./settings.yml:/app/settings.yml
+      - ./jobs.db:/app/jobs.db
+      - ./huey.db:/app/huey.db
+