diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 16a71dc9f6..c7e4911e4a 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ INITIAL_PASSWORD=CHANGEME
 # Base directory for all persistent data (SQLite DB, logs, backups).
 # Used by: src/lib/db/core.ts — resolves the SQLite database file path.
 # Default: ~/.omniroute/  |  Override for Docker or custom installations.
+# Hint: When running in Docker, consider mounting a host directory here for data persistence across container restarts
+#       also if you want to share the same database as "npm run dev" use "./data"
 # DATA_DIR=/var/lib/omniroute
 
 # Encryption key for SQLite database encryption at rest.
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 853d9dc4e9..56a95c5e5e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,10 +1,22 @@
-FROM node:24-trixie-slim AS builder
+# ── Common base with runtime deps ──────────────────────────────────────────
+FROM node:26-trixie-slim AS base
 WORKDIR /app
 
-RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/var/cache/apt,sharing=locked \
-  --mount=type=cache,target=/var/lib/apt/lists,sharing=locked \
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/var/cache/apt,sharing=shared \
+  --mount=type=cache,target=/var/lib/apt/lists,sharing=shared \
   apt-get update \
-  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libsecret-1-0 ca-certificates python3 make g++ \
+  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libsecret-1-0 ca-certificates \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# ── Builder ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+FROM base AS builder
+
+# Build tools for native module compilation
+# apt-get update needed here because base's rm -rf clears the shared cache
+RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/var/cache/apt,sharing=shared \
+  --mount=type=cache,target=/var/lib/apt/lists,sharing=shared \
+  apt-get update \
+  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 make g++ \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 COPY package*.json ./
@@ -26,12 +38,15 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.npm \
   && npm rebuild better-sqlite3 \
   && node -e "require('better-sqlite3')(':memory:').close()"
 
+# Use Turbopack for significant build speedup
+ENV OMNIROUTE_USE_TURBOPACK=1
+
 COPY . ./
 RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/app/.next/cache \
-  mkdir -p /app/data && npm run build -- --webpack
+  mkdir -p /app/data && npm run build
 
-FROM node:24-trixie-slim AS runner-base
-WORKDIR /app
+# ── Runner base ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+FROM base AS runner-base
 
 LABEL org.opencontainers.image.title="omniroute" \
   org.opencontainers.image.description="Unified AI proxy — route any LLM through one endpoint" \
@@ -46,15 +61,11 @@ ENV NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=256"
 
 # Data directory inside Docker — must match the volume mount in docker-compose.yml
 ENV DATA_DIR=/app/data
-RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/var/cache/apt,sharing=locked \
-  --mount=type=cache,target=/var/lib/apt/lists,sharing=locked \
-  apt-get update \
-  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libsecret-1-0 ca-certificates \
-  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 RUN mkdir -p /app/data
 
-COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
-COPY --from=builder /app/.next/static ./.next/static
+# The standalone build + syncStandaloneExtraModules bundles all runtime files
+# (.next, node_modules, migrations, scripts, docs, etc.) into .next/standalone/.
+# Explicit overrides below cover modules that NFT tracing may miss.
 COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone ./
 # Explicitly copy @swc/helpers — not always traced by standalone output but needed at runtime
 COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules/@swc/helpers ./node_modules/@swc/helpers
@@ -70,18 +81,6 @@ COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules/split2 ./node_modules/split2
 # traced by Next.js standalone output — copy them explicitly.
 COPY --from=builder /app/src/lib/db/migrations ./migrations
 ENV OMNIROUTE_MIGRATIONS_DIR=/app/migrations
-# MITM server.cjs is spawned at runtime via child_process — not traced by nft
-COPY --from=builder /app/src/mitm/server.cjs ./src/mitm/server.cjs
-# Runtime docs are pruned by .dockerignore to English markdown + OpenAPI.
-# Next.js standalone tracing does not include docs read via fs.
-COPY --from=builder /app/.next/standalone/docs ./docs
-
-COPY --from=builder /app/scripts/dev/run-standalone.mjs ./dev/run-standalone.mjs
-COPY --from=builder /app/scripts/build/runtime-env.mjs ./build/runtime-env.mjs
-COPY --from=builder /app/scripts/build/bootstrap-env.mjs ./build/bootstrap-env.mjs
-COPY --from=builder /app/scripts/dev/healthcheck.mjs ./healthcheck.mjs
-
-RUN node -e "require('better-sqlite3')(':memory:').close()"
 
 # Hand /app over to the baked-in `node` non-root user (UID/GID 1000) so the
 # runtime process never holds root privileges. The chown happens after all
diff --git a/scripts/build/build-next-isolated.mjs b/scripts/build/build-next-isolated.mjs
index 97e6792d7e..c251de747e 100644
--- a/scripts/build/build-next-isolated.mjs
+++ b/scripts/build/build-next-isolated.mjs
@@ -147,6 +147,18 @@ export async function syncStandaloneNativeAssets(
       sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "wreq-js", "rust"),
       destinationPath: path.join(rootDir, ".next", "standalone", "node_modules", "wreq-js", "rust"),
     },
+    {
+      label: "better-sqlite3 native binary",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "better-sqlite3", "build"),
+      destinationPath: path.join(
+        rootDir,
+        ".next",
+        "standalone",
+        "node_modules",
+        "better-sqlite3",
+        "build"
+      ),
+    },
   ];
 
   let changed = false;
@@ -171,6 +183,90 @@ export async function syncStandaloneNativeAssets(
   return changed;
 }
 
+export async function syncStandaloneExtraModules(
+  rootDir = projectRoot,
+  fsImpl = fs,
+  log = console
+) {
+  const entries = [
+    {
+      label: "@swc/helpers",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "@swc", "helpers"),
+      destRelative: path.join("node_modules", "@swc", "helpers"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "pino-abstract-transport",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "pino-abstract-transport"),
+      destRelative: path.join("node_modules", "pino-abstract-transport"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "pino-pretty",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "pino-pretty"),
+      destRelative: path.join("node_modules", "pino-pretty"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "split2",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "split2"),
+      destRelative: path.join("node_modules", "split2"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "migrations",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "src", "lib", "db", "migrations"),
+      destRelative: "migrations",
+    },
+    {
+      label: "MITM server",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "src", "mitm", "server.cjs"),
+      destRelative: path.join("src", "mitm", "server.cjs"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "run-standalone script",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "scripts", "dev", "run-standalone.mjs"),
+      destRelative: path.join("dev", "run-standalone.mjs"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "runtime-env script",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "scripts", "build", "runtime-env.mjs"),
+      destRelative: path.join("build", "runtime-env.mjs"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "bootstrap-env script",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "scripts", "build", "bootstrap-env.mjs"),
+      destRelative: path.join("build", "bootstrap-env.mjs"),
+    },
+    {
+      label: "healthcheck script",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "scripts", "dev", "healthcheck.mjs"),
+      destRelative: "healthcheck.mjs",
+    },
+    {
+      label: "public directory",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "public"),
+      destRelative: "public",
+    },
+    {
+      label: "playwright-core (dynamic import by gemini-web executor)",
+      sourcePath: path.join(rootDir, "node_modules", "playwright-core"),
+      destRelative: path.join("node_modules", "playwright-core"),
+    },
+  ];
+
+  let changed = false;
+  const standaloneRoot = path.join(rootDir, ".next", "standalone");
+
+  for (const entry of entries) {
+    if (!(await exists(entry.sourcePath))) continue;
+
+    const destPath = path.join(standaloneRoot, entry.destRelative);
+    await fsImpl.mkdir(path.dirname(destPath), { recursive: true });
+    await fsImpl.cp(entry.sourcePath, destPath, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    log.log(`[build-next-isolated] Synced standalone module: ${entry.label}`);
+    changed = true;
+  }
+
+  return changed;
+}
+
 export async function main() {
   const movedPaths = [];
   const transientBuildPaths = getTransientBuildPaths();
@@ -225,6 +321,15 @@ export async function main() {
           nativeAssetErr
         );
       }
+
+      try {
+        await syncStandaloneExtraModules(projectRoot);
+      } catch (extraModuleErr) {
+        console.warn(
+          "[build-next-isolated] Non-fatal error syncing extra modules:",
+          extraModuleErr
+        );
+      }
     }
     process.exitCode = result.code;
   } catch (error) {