diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 4640766..f92b861 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Pastel API Configuration
 # URL of the Pastel API instance
-NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
+# For Docker Compose: use http://pastel-api:3001
+# For local development: use http://localhost:3001
+NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3001
 
 # Application URL (used for sharing and OG images)
 NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 11bb799..aaa0a75 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ COPY . .
 ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
 
+# Accept build args for environment variables
+ARG NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL
+ARG NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL
+
+# Set environment variables for Next.js build
+ENV NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=${NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL}
+ENV NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=${NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL}
+
 # Build the application
 RUN pnpm build
 
@@ -40,6 +48,9 @@ WORKDIR /app
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
 ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
 
+# Install curl for health checks
+RUN apk add --no-cache curl
+
 # Create non-root user
 RUN addgroup --system --gid 1001 nodejs && \
     adduser --system --uid 1001 nextjs
@@ -58,6 +69,6 @@ ENV HOSTNAME="0.0.0.0"
 
 # Health check
 HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=40s --retries=3 \
-  CMD node -e "require('http').get('http://localhost:3000/api/health', (r) => {process.exit(r.statusCode === 200 ? 0 : 1)})"
+  CMD curl -f http://localhost:3000/ || exit 1
 
 CMD ["node", "server.js"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 3a5102d..a31a466 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ services:
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      args:
+        NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: ${NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL:-http://localhost:3001}
+        NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL: ${NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL:-http://localhost:3000}
     image: ghcr.io/valknarness/pastel-ui:latest
     container_name: pastel-ui
     ports:
@@ -15,7 +18,7 @@ services:
       - NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=${NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL:-http://localhost:3000}
     restart: unless-stopped
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "node", "-e", "require('http').get('http://localhost:3000/', (r) => {process.exit(r.statusCode === 200 ? 0 : 1)})"]
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/"]
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 10s
       retries: 3