diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06cf516
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+.venv
+.vscode
+.idea
+.mypy_cache
+__pycache__
+LICENSE
+CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
+README.md
+.pre-commit-config.yaml
+mypy.ini
+ruff.toml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index e6dde27..d7acbf0 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,29 +1,68 @@
-FROM python:3.12-slim
+# --- STAGE 1: Builder ---
+# We use a specific SHA to ensure the build is deterministic and reproducible.
+FROM python:3.12.10-slim-bookworm@sha256:fd95fa221297a88e1cf49c55ec1828edd7c5a428187e67b5d1805692d11588db AS builder
 
 # Install uv directly from its official image
 COPY --from=ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.9.26 /uv /bin/uv
 
-# Set the working directory inside the container
+# UV Configuration:
+# 1. Compile to bytecode for faster startup
+# 2. Use 'copy' mode to avoid hardlink issues in some Docker filesystems
+# 3. Disable python downloads to force use of the base image's Python
+ENV UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE=1 \
+    UV_LINK_MODE=copy \
+    UV_PYTHON_DOWNLOADS=0 \
+    UV_NO_DEV=1
+
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Copy dependency files first.
-# This allows Docker to cache the installed packages layer.
-# If you change your code but not your dependencies, this step will be skipped.
+# Copy only dependency definitions to leverage Docker's layer caching.
+# If these files don't change, Docker skips the expensive 'uv sync' step.
 COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock ./
 
-# Install dependencies into the system python environment.
-RUN uv sync --frozen --no-dev
+# Install dependencies using a cache mount for the uv cache directory.
+# We use a bind mount for the lockfiles to avoid creating extra layers.
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
+    --mount=type=bind,source=uv.lock,target=uv.lock \
+    --mount=type=bind,source=pyproject.toml,target=pyproject.toml \
+    uv sync --locked --no-install-project --no-dev
+
+# Copy the actual application source code
+COPY . /app
+
+# Final sync to install the project itself into the virtual environment
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
+    uv sync --locked --no-dev
+
+
+# --- STAGE 2: Runtime ---
+# We use the exact same base image to ensure binary compatibility.
+FROM python:3.12.10-slim-bookworm@sha256:fd95fa221297a88e1cf49c55ec1828edd7c5a428187e67b5d1805692d11588db
 
-# This makes 'gunicorn' and 'flask' available globally in the container
-ENV PATH="/app/.venv/bin:$PATH"
+# Security: Create a non-privileged user to run the application.
+# Setup a non-root user
+RUN groupadd --system --gid 1000 nonroot \
+ && useradd --system --gid 1000 --uid 1000 --create-home nonroot
 
-# Copy the rest of the application code
-COPY . .
+# Copy only the necessary files from the builder (app + .venv)
+# This keeps the final image size small
+COPY --from=builder --chown=nonroot:nonroot /app /app
+
+# Use the non-root user for all subsequent operations
+USER nonroot
+
+# Environment Setup:
+# 1. Add the virtual environment's bin folder to the PATH
+# 2. Ensure Python logs are sent straight to the terminal without buffering
+ENV PATH="/app/.venv/bin:$PATH" \
+    PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+
+WORKDIR /app
 
-# Expose the port the app runs on
+# Expose the application port
 EXPOSE 5000
 
-# Run the production server
-# -w 4: Run 4 worker processes
-# -b 0.0.0.0:5000: Listen on all interfaces on port 5000
+# Run the application using Gunicorn.
+# -w 4: 4 worker processes for concurrency
+# -b 0.0.0.0: Listen on all network interfaces
 CMD ["gunicorn", "-w", "4", "-b", "0.0.0.0:5000", "application:app"]
\ No newline at end of file