diff --git a/apps/frontend/Dockerfile b/apps/frontend/Dockerfile
index 1a7758d..f443b22 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/Dockerfile
+++ b/apps/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -7,4 +7,12 @@ COPY . .
 RUN pnpm install
 RUN pnpm --filter @streamclipper/db exec prisma generate
 
-CMD ["pnpm", "--filter", "@streamclipper/frontend", "dev"]
+# DATABASE_URL isn't needed for real at build time (all pages are
+# force-dynamic — nothing queries the DB during `next build`), but
+# Prisma's client validates the connection string format at import, so a
+# well-formed placeholder keeps the build step from failing. Coolify's
+# actual DATABASE_URL is supplied as a runtime env var and overrides this.
+ENV DATABASE_URL="postgresql://build:build@localhost:5432/build"
+RUN pnpm --filter @streamclipper/frontend build
+
+CMD ["pnpm", "--filter", "@streamclipper/frontend", "start"]