diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b17657e..a101333 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-.env
-backend/qlockify-backend/
-frontend/qlockify-frontend/
+.env
+backend/logs/
+backend/.pytest_cache/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1fb0d85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Qlockify Deployment
+
+This repository is the deployment layer only.
+
+It does not contain application source copies. Docker builds read directly from the sibling repositories:
+
+- `../qlockify-backend`
+- `../qlockify-frontend`
+
+## Local structure
+
+The expected directory layout is:
+
+```text
+Qlockify/
+  qlockify-backend/
+  qlockify-frontend/
+  qlockify-deployment/
+```
+
+## Deployment flow
+
+1. Configure deployment env files:
+   - `./.env`
+   - `./backend/.env`
+   - `./frontend/.env`
+2. From `qlockify-deployment`, build and start the stack:
+
+```powershell
+docker compose up --build
+```
+
+The backend container runs database migrations and `collectstatic` on startup, then serves Django with Gunicorn using `config.wsgi:application`.
diff --git a/backend/.env.sample b/backend/.env.sample
index 45fa934..eb55a22 100644
--- a/backend/.env.sample
+++ b/backend/.env.sample
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ DJANGO_ALLOWED_HOSTS=
 POSTGRES_DB=app_db
 POSTGRES_USER=app_user
 POSTGRES_PASSWORD=app_password
-POSTGRES_HOST=localhost
+POSTGRES_HOST=db
 POSTGRES_PORT=5432
 
 # CORS / CSRF
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@ JWT_ALGORITHM=HS256
 
 # Redis / Celery
 REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
-REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
+REDIS_HOST=redis
 REDIS_PORT=6379
 REDIS_PASSWORD=
-CELERY_BROKER_URL=
-CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=
+CELERY_BROKER_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
+CELERY_RESULT_BACKEND=redis://redis:6379/0
 
 # Timzone / Language
 LANGUAGE_CODE=en-us
diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index 93c95c4..9948a8c 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get install -y gcc libpq-dev \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-COPY qlockify-backend/requirements/ /app/requirements/
-RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements/base.txt \
-    && pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements/prod.txt
-
-COPY qlockify-backend/ .
-
-CMD ["gunicorn", "core.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000"]
+COPY qlockify-backend/requirements/ /app/requirements/
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements/base.txt \
+    && pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements/prod.txt
+
+COPY qlockify-backend/ .
+
+CMD ["gunicorn", "config.wsgi:application", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8000"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 4e63ff1..c817788 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
-version: '3.8'
-
-services:
-  db:
+services:
+  db:
     image: postgres:18-alpine
     restart: always
     env_file:
@@ -26,34 +24,38 @@ services:
     ports:
       - "127.0.0.1:6379:6379"
 
-  backend:
-    build:
-      context: ./backend
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+  backend:
+    build:
+      context: ..
+      dockerfile: qlockify-deployment/backend/Dockerfile
     restart: always
     env_file:
       - ./backend/.env
-    volumes:
-      - static_data:/app/staticfiles
-      - media_data:/app/mediafiles
-    expose:
-      - "8000"
+    volumes:
+      - static_data:/app/staticfiles
+      - media_data:/app/mediafiles
+    command: >
+      sh -c "python manage.py migrate &&
+      python manage.py collectstatic --noinput &&
+      gunicorn config.wsgi:application --bind 0.0.0.0:8000"
+    expose:
+      - "8000"
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
       redis:
         condition: service_started
 
-  celery:
-    build:
-      context: ./backend
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+  celery:
+    build:
+      context: ..
+      dockerfile: qlockify-deployment/backend/Dockerfile
     restart: always
     env_file:
       - ./backend/.env
     volumes:
       - media_data:/app/mediafiles
-    command: celery -A core worker -l INFO
+    command: celery -A config worker -l INFO
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -62,10 +64,10 @@ services:
       backend:
         condition: service_started
 
-  frontend:
-    build:
-      context: ./frontend
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+  frontend:
+    build:
+      context: ..
+      dockerfile: qlockify-deployment/frontend/Dockerfile
     restart: always
     env_file:
       - ./frontend/.env
@@ -87,7 +89,7 @@ services:
       - backend
       - frontend
 
-volumes:
-  postgres_data:
-  static_data:
-  media_data:
+volumes:
+  postgres_data:
+  static_data:
+  media_data:
diff --git a/frontend/.env.sample b/frontend/.env.sample
index de4c9d5..77ce981 100644
--- a/frontend/.env.sample
+++ b/frontend/.env.sample
@@ -1 +1 @@
-VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost/api
+VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost/api
diff --git a/frontend/Dockerfile b/frontend/Dockerfile
index a29e6b4..7d9aa5e 100644
--- a/frontend/Dockerfile
+++ b/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ WORKDIR /app
 
 RUN npm config set registry https://package-mirror.liara.ir/repository/npm/ --global
 
-COPY qlockify-frontend/package*.json ./
-RUN npm install
-
-COPY qlockify-frontend/ .
-RUN npm run build 
+COPY qlockify-frontend/package*.json ./
+RUN npm install
+
+COPY qlockify-frontend/ .
+RUN npm run build 
 
 FROM nginx:alpine