diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c9f04da2..1fc27205 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -33,4 +33,5 @@ logs/*
 # deployment
 proof_backups
 
-*.todo
\ No newline at end of file
+*.todo
+ui_out
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 082a9d78..3a2f605c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ else
     ALEMBIC := alembic
 endif
 
-.PHONY: help setup test test-unit test-integration test-integration-docker test-all test-fast test-performance clean docker-up docker-down lint format type-check dev-setup check-deps db-upgrade db-downgrade db-current db-history db-migrate db-revision db-heads db-clean
+.PHONY: help setup test test-unit test-integration test-integration-docker test-all test-fast test-performance clean docker-up docker-down lint format type-check dev-setup check-deps db-upgrade db-downgrade db-current db-history db-migrate db-revision db-heads db-clean ui-build ui-build-docker ui-dev
 
 # Default target
 help:
@@ -40,8 +40,10 @@ help:
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "UI targets:"
 	@echo "  make ui-build           - Build UI for production (static export)"
+	@echo "  make ui-build-docker    - Build UI using Docker (no Node.js needed)"
 	@echo "  make ui-dev             - Start UI development server"
 	@echo ""
+	@echo "Docker UI build requires only Docker, no local Node.js installation needed."
 	@echo "Database migration shortcuts:"
 	@echo "  make create-migration   - Auto-generate new migration"
 	@echo "  make db-upgrade         - Apply all pending migrations"
@@ -271,6 +273,13 @@ ui-build:
 	@echo "🎨 Building UI for static deployment..."
 	./scripts/build-ui.sh
 
+ui-build-docker:
+	@echo "🐳 Building UI using Docker (no Node.js installation required)..."
+	@echo "Building UI with environment variables from .env..."
+	docker build -f ui/Dockerfile.build -t routstr-ui-build --build-arg NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=$(NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL) --build-arg NEXT_PUBLIC_ADMIN_API_KEY=$(NEXT_PUBLIC_ADMIN_API_KEY) .
+	docker run --rm -v $(PWD)/ui_out:/output routstr-ui-build cp -r /ui_out /output/
+	@echo "✅ UI build complete! Static files available in ui_out/"
+
 ui-dev:
 	@echo "🎨 Starting UI development server..."
 	cd ui && (command -v pnpm >/dev/null 2>&1 && pnpm run dev || npm run dev)
diff --git a/scripts/build-ui.sh b/scripts/build-ui.sh
index 9429100e..557c26db 100755
--- a/scripts/build-ui.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-ui.sh
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ else
     npm run build
 fi
 
-mkdir ../ui_out
+mkdir -p ../ui_out
 mv out/* ../ui_out
 
 # Clean up the temporary .env.local file
diff --git a/ui/Dockerfile.build b/ui/Dockerfile.build
index 11a5f6ab..484a64f5 100644
--- a/ui/Dockerfile.build
+++ b/ui/Dockerfile.build
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ RUN npm run build && \
 
 # Copy built files to the output directory
 RUN mkdir -p /output && \
-    cp -r /app/out/* /output/
+    cp -r /app/out/. /output/
 
 # Use the builder stage as the final stage
 FROM node:23-alpine