diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 878a9f9..7cc01d0 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -8,12 +8,12 @@ RUN apt-get update \
   && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nodejs \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-ENV NODE_ENV=production
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# 1) Build frontend
+# 1) Build frontend (devDeps incl. vite are required to build;
+#    NODE_ENV must NOT be production yet or npm skips devDependencies)
 COPY frontend/package.json frontend/package-lock.json* ./frontend/
-RUN cd frontend && npm install
+RUN cd frontend && npm ci || npm install
 COPY frontend/ ./frontend/
 RUN cd frontend && npm run build