diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 1a8a094..3aa18fb 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -6,11 +6,12 @@ DATABASE_URL=postgres://surprise:surprise_dev_password@localhost:5432/surprise?s
 # SQLITE_PATH=./data/surprise.db
 
 PORT=8080
-API_URL=http://localhost:8080
 CORS_ORIGIN=http://localhost:5173,http://127.0.0.1:5173
+
 SESSION_SECRET=local-development-session-secret-change-me
 COOKIE_SECURE=false
 
+# ── MinIO / Storage ──
 STORAGE_ENDPOINT=localhost:9000
 STORAGE_PUBLIC_ENDPOINT=
 STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin
@@ -19,5 +20,12 @@ STORAGE_BUCKET=gallery-media
 STORAGE_USE_SSL=false
 MINIO_API_PORT=9000
 MINIO_CONSOLE_PORT=9001
+NGINX_PORT=8099
 
-VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
\ No newline at end of file
+# ── Frontend (when running dev, not behind the nginx proxy) ──
+# VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
+
+# ── Production ──
+# NPM points to the nginx container (sndit-nginx:8099) which proxies:
+#   /api/* → sndit-api:8080
+#   /*     → sndit-frontend:80
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 4e2eb80..b6a14d4 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ services:
     image: postgres:16-alpine
     container_name: sndit-postgres
     restart: unless-stopped
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
     environment:
       POSTGRES_DB: surprise
       POSTGRES_USER: surprise
@@ -22,6 +24,8 @@ services:
     image: minio/minio:latest
     container_name: sndit-minio
     restart: unless-stopped
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
     command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
     environment:
       MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY:-minioadmin}
@@ -42,13 +46,14 @@ services:
     build: ./backend
     container_name: sndit-api
     restart: unless-stopped
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
     ports:
       - "${PORT:-8080}:8080"
     environment:
       DB_DRIVER: postgres
       DATABASE_URL: postgres://surprise:surprise_dev_password@postgres:5432/surprise?sslmode=disable
       PORT: "8080"
-      CORS_ORIGIN: "http://localhost:8081"
       SESSION_SECRET: "${SESSION_SECRET:-docker-compose-session-secret-change-me}"
       COOKIE_SECURE: "${COOKIE_SECURE:-false}"
       STORAGE_ENDPOINT: "minio:9000"
@@ -66,6 +71,8 @@ services:
   migrate:
     build: ./backend
     container_name: sndit-migrate
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
     command: ["migrate", "-dir", "/migrations"]
     environment:
       DB_DRIVER: postgres
@@ -79,6 +86,8 @@ services:
   seed:
     build: ./backend
     container_name: sndit-seed
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
     command: ["seed"]
     environment:
       DB_DRIVER: postgres
@@ -91,14 +100,32 @@ services:
     build:
       context: ./frontend
       args:
-        VITE_API_BASE_URL: ""
+        VITE_API_BASE_URL: "${VITE_API_BASE_URL}"
     container_name: sndit-frontend
     restart: unless-stopped
-    ports:
-      - "${FRONTEND_PORT:-8081}:80"
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
     depends_on:
       - api
 
+  nginx:
+    image: nginx:alpine
+    container_name: sndit-nginx
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    networks:
+      - scoobydoo
+    ports:
+      - "${NGINX_PORT:-8099}:80"
+    volumes:
+      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro
+    depends_on:
+      - frontend
+      - api
+
 volumes:
   postgres_data:
-  minio_data:
\ No newline at end of file
+  minio_data:
+
+networks:
+  scoobydoo:
+    external: true
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/frontend/nginx.conf b/frontend/nginx.conf
index d738586..6d396d0 100644
--- a/frontend/nginx.conf
+++ b/frontend/nginx.conf
@@ -2,24 +2,6 @@ server {
     listen 80;
     root /usr/share/nginx/html;
 
-    location /api/ {
-        proxy_pass http://api:8080/api/;
-        proxy_set_header Host $host;
-        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
-        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
-        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
-    }
-
-    location /swagger/ {
-        proxy_pass http://api:8080/swagger/;
-        proxy_set_header Host $host;
-    }
-
-    location /health {
-        proxy_pass http://api:8080/health;
-        proxy_set_header Host $host;
-    }
-
     location / {
         try_files $uri /index.html;
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
index f6d93a2..038092a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,7 @@ import type {
   PublicGallery,
 } from '../types/gallery';
 
-const apiBaseUrl = (import.meta.env.VITE_API_BASE_URL || 'http://localhost:8080').replace(
-  /\/$/,
-  '',
-);
+const apiBaseUrl = (import.meta.env.VITE_API_BASE_URL || '').replace(/\/$/, '');
 
 export class ApiError extends Error {
   readonly status: number;
diff --git a/nginx/nginx.conf b/nginx/nginx.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc0fc2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nginx/nginx.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+server {
+    listen 80;
+
+    location /api/ {
+        proxy_pass http://sndit-api:8080/api/;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+    }
+
+    location /swagger/ {
+        proxy_pass http://sndit-api:8080/swagger/;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+    }
+
+    location /health {
+        proxy_pass http://sndit-api:8080/health;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+    }
+
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://sndit-frontend:80/;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file