diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index f30b0a2..abaf955 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,22 +1,22 @@
 # Stage 1: Build backend
 FROM node:20-alpine AS backend-builder
 WORKDIR /app/backend
-# Force dev deps install regardless of any injected NODE_ENV
-ENV NODE_ENV=development
 COPY backend/package*.json ./
-RUN npm ci --legacy-peer-deps --include=dev
+# Use inline NODE_ENV=development so devDeps (nest CLI) are installed
+# but the global NODE_ENV stays production for the actual build
+RUN NODE_ENV=development npm ci --legacy-peer-deps --include=dev
 COPY backend/ .
 RUN ./node_modules/.bin/nest build
 
 # Stage 2: Build frontend
 FROM node:20-alpine AS frontend-builder
 WORKDIR /app/frontend
-ENV NODE_ENV=development
 COPY frontend/package*.json ./
-RUN npm ci --legacy-peer-deps --include=dev
+RUN NODE_ENV=development npm ci --legacy-peer-deps --include=dev
 COPY frontend/ .
 ENV NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=/api-backend
 ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
+ENV NODE_ENV=production
 RUN npm run build
 
 # Stage 3: Runtime