diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 321d874..a04823d 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -1,4 +1,16 @@
 node_modules
+npm-debug.log*
+coverage
+dist
+.git
+.github
+.env
+.env.local
+.env.*.local
+test
+docker-compose*.yml
+*.log
+.DS_Store
 npm-debug.log
 coverage
 .git
@@ -8,4 +20,4 @@ README.md
 .env
 .env.local
 docker-compose.override.yml
-.dockerignore
\ No newline at end of file
+.dockerignore
diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index d8ad42b..e8a9eb2 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ PORT=3000
 # REDIS_URL: URL. Required in production. Development/test default: redis://localhost:6379.
 REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379
 
+# PostgreSQL (used by the Docker local stack and future persistence features)
+DATABASE_URL=postgres://smartdrop:smartdrop@localhost:5432/smartdrop
+
+# Stellar Horizon
 # DATABASE_URL: URL. Required in production. Development default: postgres://localhost/smartdrop. Test default: postgres://localhost/smartdrop_test.
 DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost/smartdrop
 
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 35bd2d0..dfd5103 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ node_modules/
 .env
 .env.local
 .env.*.local
+docker-compose.override.yml
 dist/
 *.log
 .DS_Store
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 9ff0706..a3423f7 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
+
+WORKDIR /app
+ENV NODE_ENV=production
 # --- Base & Development Stage ---
 FROM node:20-alpine AS development
 WORKDIR /app
@@ -19,6 +23,8 @@ WORKDIR /app
 COPY package*.json ./
 RUN npm ci --omit=dev
 
+FROM node:20-alpine AS production
+
 COPY src ./src
 
 # --- Production Stage ---
@@ -27,8 +33,15 @@ WORKDIR /app
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
 
 COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
+COPY package*.json ./
+COPY src ./src
+
+USER node
+EXPOSE 3000
+
+CMD ["npm", "start"]
 COPY --from=builder /app/src ./src
 COPY package*.json ./
 
 EXPOSE 4000
-CMD ["node", "src/index.js"]
\ No newline at end of file
+CMD ["node", "src/index.js"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4e69aa5..c5c0d8b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -55,6 +55,31 @@ Registers subscriber endpoints for SmartDrop lifecycle events and delivers signe
 
 You can spin up the entire local development stack—including the API, PostgreSQL database, and Redis instance—using a single command.
 
+### Quick Start With Docker
+
+Run the local API, Redis, and Postgres stack with Docker Compose:
+
+```bash
+docker compose up --build
+```
+
+The API listens on port `4000` in the compose environment:
+
+```bash
+curl http://localhost:4000/health
+```
+
+The compose stack mounts `./src` into the API container and runs
+`npm run dev`, so source changes restart the Node process automatically. Redis
+and Postgres include health checks, and `docker-compose.override.yml` is ignored
+for local-only secrets or service tweaks.
+
+To remove containers and the local Postgres volume:
+
+```bash
+docker compose down -v
+```
+
 ### Prerequisites
 * Ensure you have [Docker and Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/) installed.
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 96d3886..72e3694 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,24 @@
 services:
   api:
+    build: .
+    command: npm run dev
+    environment:
+      NODE_ENV: development
+      PORT: 4000
+      REDIS_HOST: redis
+      REDIS_PORT: 6379
+      REDIS_PASSWORD: ''
+      DATABASE_URL: postgres://smartdrop:smartdrop@postgres:5432/smartdrop
+      STELLAR_HORIZON_URL: https://horizon.stellar.org
+      USDC_ISSUER: GA5ZSEJYB37JRC5AVCIA5MOP4RHTM335AX2OBFLDTQLNUEHRGPTM6RIA
+      PRICE_CACHE_TTL: 60
+      PRICE_REFRESH_INTERVAL: 30
+      PRICE_STALE_THRESHOLD: 5
+      PRICE_ANOMALY_THRESHOLD: 10
+      LOG_LEVEL: info
+      CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS: http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:3001,http://localhost:4000
+    ports:
+      - '4000:4000'
     build:
       context: .
       target: development
@@ -17,11 +36,18 @@ services:
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy
     volumes:
+      - ./src:/app/src
       - ./src:/app/src   # Hot reload en desarrollo
 
   redis:
     image: redis:7-alpine
     ports:
+      - '6379:6379'
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ['CMD', 'redis-cli', 'ping']
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 12
       - "6379:6379"
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
@@ -36,9 +62,20 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: smartdrop
       POSTGRES_DB: smartdrop
     ports:
+      - '5432:5432'
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'pg_isready -U smartdrop -d smartdrop']
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 12
+    volumes:
+      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+
+volumes:
+  postgres-data:
       - "5432:5432"
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "pg_isready", "-U", "smartdrop"]
       interval: 5s
       timeout: 3s
-      retries: 5
\ No newline at end of file
+      retries: 5