diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..62c3a2639
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+.Python
+.venv/
+venv/
+env/
+
+.git/
+.DS_Store
+
+frontend/node_modules/
+frontend/dist/
+
+data/
+
+
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 23599b3cf..d765799b2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-...
 
 Get your API key at [openrouter.ai](https://openrouter.ai/). Make sure to purchase the credits you need, or sign up for automatic top up.
 
+If you want a starter template, copy `env.template` to `.env` and edit it.
+
 ### 3. Configure Models (Optional)
 
 Edit `backend/config.py` to customize the council:
@@ -64,6 +66,58 @@ CHAIRMAN_MODEL = "google/gemini-3-pro-preview"
 ./start.sh
 ```
 
+**Option 1b: Docker Compose**
+
+1. Provide `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` (either via a local `.env` file or your shell environment).
+
+Create a `.env` file in the project root (optional but recommended):
+
+```bash
+OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-...
+```
+
+If you want a starter template, copy `env.template` to `.env` and edit it.
+
+2. Build + run:
+
+```bash
+docker compose up --build
+```
+
+Then open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.
+
+Notes:
+- Data is persisted on the host at `./data/` (mounted into the backend container).
+- If you’re not accessing the app from the same machine (i.e. not `localhost`), set `VITE_API_BASE` to the correct reachable backend URL (e.g. `http://YOUR_HOST:8001`) in `docker-compose.yml` or your environment.
+
+**Podman (podman-compose)**
+
+If you're using Podman instead of Docker, you can run the same `docker-compose.yml` with `podman-compose`.
+
+- Detached mode (recommended):
+
+```bash
+podman-compose down && podman-compose build --no-cache && podman-compose up -d
+```
+
+- Foreground mode:
+
+```bash
+podman-compose down && podman-compose build --no-cache && podman-compose up
+```
+
+- Tail logs:
+
+```bash
+podman-compose logs -f
+```
+
+- Stop:
+
+```bash
+podman-compose down
+```
+
 **Option 2: Run manually**
 
 Terminal 1 (Backend):
diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e14ddf58b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+FROM python:3.11-slim
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
+    PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+
+# System deps for uv + httpx TLS
+RUN apt-get update \
+  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates curl \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Install uv (used by this repo)
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir uv
+
+# Install python deps
+COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock /app/
+RUN uv sync --frozen --no-dev
+
+# Copy backend code
+COPY backend/ /app/backend/
+
+EXPOSE 8001
+
+CMD ["uv", "run", "uvicorn", "backend.main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8001"]
+
+
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index e33ce59a6..197710811 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -17,7 +17,12 @@
 # Enable CORS for local development
 app.add_middleware(
     CORSMiddleware,
-    allow_origins=["http://localhost:5173", "http://localhost:3000"],
+    allow_origins=[
+        "http://localhost:5173",
+        "http://127.0.0.1:5173",
+        "http://localhost:3000",
+        "http://127.0.0.1:3000",
+    ],
     allow_credentials=True,
     allow_methods=["*"],
     allow_headers=["*"],
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e6e6918ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+services:
+  backend:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: backend/Dockerfile
+    environment:
+      # Compose will read a local .env automatically if present; this keeps podman-compose happy
+      # even when the file doesn't exist.
+      - OPENROUTER_API_KEY=${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}
+    ports:
+      - "8001:8001"
+    volumes:
+      - ./data:/app/data
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+  frontend:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: frontend/Dockerfile
+    environment:
+      # Optional; default in code is http://localhost:8001
+      - VITE_API_BASE=http://localhost:8001
+    ports:
+      - "5173:5173"
+    depends_on:
+      - backend
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+
diff --git a/env.template b/env.template
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3fcd77d82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/env.template
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Rename to `.env` (repo root) or export these variables in your shell.
+# Required for backend OpenRouter calls:
+OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-...
+
+
diff --git a/frontend/Dockerfile b/frontend/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d330b55a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+FROM node:20-alpine
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY frontend/package.json frontend/package-lock.json /app/
+RUN npm ci
+
+COPY frontend/ /app/
+
+EXPOSE 5173
+
+CMD ["npm", "run", "dev", "--", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "5173", "--strictPort"]
+
+
diff --git a/frontend/src/api.js b/frontend/src/api.js
index 87ec685ba..a103d6cdd 100644
--- a/frontend/src/api.js
+++ b/frontend/src/api.js
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
  * API client for the LLM Council backend.
  */
 
-const API_BASE = 'http://localhost:8001';
+// In Vite, only env vars prefixed with VITE_ are exposed to the browser.
+// Default keeps local dev + docker-compose (published backend port) working out of the box.
+const API_BASE = import.meta.env.VITE_API_BASE || 'http://localhost:8001';
 
 export const api = {
   /**
diff --git a/frontend/vite.config.js b/frontend/vite.config.js
index 8b0f57b91..19bb10ccc 100644
--- a/frontend/vite.config.js
+++ b/frontend/vite.config.js
@@ -4,4 +4,9 @@ import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
 // https://vite.dev/config/
 export default defineConfig({
   plugins: [react()],
+  server: {
+    host: true,
+    port: 5173,
+    strictPort: true,
+  },
 })