diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e2154eb..95966a6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -47,6 +47,81 @@ $ python3 sf.py inventory ls
 
 ---
 
+## 🐳 Docker Setup
+
+For easy deployment and consistent environments, smallFactory can be run using Docker:
+
+### Quick Start with Docker Compose
+
+1. **Clone the repository**:
+   ```bash
+   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/smallfactory.git
+   cd smallfactory
+   ```
+
+2. **Configure your environment** (optional):
+   ```bash
+   cp docker/.env.example .env
+   # Edit .env to set your git repository and user details
+   ```
+
+3. **Start with docker-compose**:
+   ```bash
+   docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up -d
+   ```
+
+4. **Access the web interface**:
+   Open `http://localhost:8080` in your browser
+
+### Configuration Options
+
+The Docker setup supports several configuration options via environment variables:
+
+- **`SF_DATAREPO_PATH`**: Path to your local data repository (default: `./data`)
+- **`SF_GIT_REPO_URL`**: Git repository URL for automatic cloning (optional)
+- **`SF_GIT_USER_NAME`**: Git user name for commits (default: "SmallFactory Docker")
+- **`SF_GIT_USER_EMAIL`**: Git user email for commits (default: "docker@smallfactory.local")
+
+### Usage Scenarios
+
+**Scenario 1: Using an existing local git repository**
+```bash
+SF_DATAREPO_PATH=/path/to/your/existing/plm-repo docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up
+```
+
+**Scenario 2: Clone from a remote repository**
+```bash
+echo "SF_GIT_REPO_URL=https://github.com/yourusername/plm-data.git" > .env
+docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up
+```
+
+**Scenario 3: Start fresh**
+```bash
+# Just run with defaults - creates ./data directory
+docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up
+# Initialize repository via web interface or CLI
+```
+
+### Docker Features
+
+The Docker container includes:
+- **Production-ready web server** (Gunicorn)
+- **Ollama with qwen2.5vl:3b model** for AI-powered image recognition
+- **Git integration** with automatic repository setup
+- **Persistent data** via volume mounts
+- **Security**: Non-root user for web application
+
+### Data Persistence
+
+Your PLM data is stored outside the container in the mounted volume, so it persists when you:
+- Stop/start containers
+- Update the Docker image
+- Recreate containers
+
+Simply backup your local data directory to preserve all your PLM data and git history.
+
+---
+
 ## 🧠 Philosophy
 
 Every decision in smallfactory is guided by this rule:
diff --git a/docker/.env.example b/docker/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3635966
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# SmallFactory Docker Configuration
+
+# Path to your local data repository (will be mounted into container)
+SF_DATAREPO_PATH=./data
+
+# Optional: Git repository URL for automatic cloning/syncing
+# SF_GIT_REPO_URL=https://github.com/yourusername/your-plm-data.git
+
+# Git configuration for commits made from within the container
+SF_GIT_USER_NAME=Your Name
+SF_GIT_USER_EMAIL=your.email@example.com
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diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile b/docker/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7a49c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Multi-stage build for smallfactory PLM/BOM management tool
+FROM python:3.11-slim as base
+
+# Install system dependencies including curl for Ollama
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
+    git \
+    curl \
+    su-exec \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Install Ollama
+RUN curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
+
+# Pre-download the vision model during build to avoid runtime download
+RUN ollama serve & \
+    server_pid=$! && \
+    sleep 5 && \
+    ollama pull qwen2.5vl:3b && \
+    kill $server_pid && \
+    wait
+
+# Set working directory
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Copy requirements and install Python dependencies
+COPY requirements.txt ./
+COPY web/requirements.txt ./web/
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r web/requirements.txt
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir gunicorn
+
+# Copy application code
+COPY . .
+
+# Copy and set permissions for entrypoint script
+COPY docker-entrypoint.sh /usr/local/bin/
+RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh
+
+# Create a non-root user for security (but don't switch to it yet, Ollama needs root)
+RUN groupadd -r appuser && useradd -r -g appuser appuser
+RUN chown -R appuser:appuser /app
+
+# Expose port for web interface only (Ollama is internal)
+EXPOSE 8080
+
+# Environment variables
+ENV PYTHONPATH=/app
+ENV FLASK_ENV=production
+ENV SF_OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434
+ENV SF_VISION_MODEL=qwen2.5vl:3b
+
+# Health check
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=5s --retries=3 \
+  CMD python -c "import requests; requests.get('http://localhost:8080')" || exit 1
+
+# Set entrypoint to start Ollama and then run Gunicorn
+ENTRYPOINT ["docker-entrypoint.sh"]
+CMD ["gunicorn", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8080", "--workers", "4", "--timeout", "120", "web.app:app"]
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diff --git a/docker/docker-compose.yml b/docker/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..02ae22d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+version: '3.8'
+
+services:
+  smallfactory:
+    build: .
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    volumes:
+      # Mount external data repository directory
+      - "${SF_DATAREPO_PATH:-./data}:/app/data"
+    environment:
+      # Git repository URL (optional - for cloning/syncing)
+      - SF_GIT_REPO_URL=${SF_GIT_REPO_URL:-}
+      # Data repository path inside container
+      - SF_DATAREPO_PATH=/app/data
+      # Git configuration for commits
+      - SF_GIT_USER_NAME=${SF_GIT_USER_NAME:-SmallFactory Docker}
+      - SF_GIT_USER_EMAIL=${SF_GIT_USER_EMAIL:-docker@smallfactory.local}
+    restart: unless-stopped
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diff --git a/docker/docker-entrypoint.sh b/docker/docker-entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..906925f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+# Start Ollama in the background as root (required)
+echo "Starting Ollama server..."
+ollama serve &
+
+# Wait for Ollama to be ready
+echo "Waiting for Ollama to be ready..."
+max_attempts=15
+attempt=0
+while ! curl -s http://localhost:11434/api/tags > /dev/null; do
+    if [ $attempt -ge $max_attempts ]; then
+        echo "ERROR: Ollama failed to start within 30 seconds"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    sleep 2
+    attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+done
+
+echo "Ollama is ready! Model ${SF_VISION_MODEL} is available."
+
+# Handle git repository setup
+if [ ! -z "$SF_GIT_REPO_URL" ] && [ ! -d "/app/data/.git" ]; then
+    echo "Cloning git repository from $SF_GIT_REPO_URL..."
+    git clone "$SF_GIT_REPO_URL" /app/data
+elif [ -d "/app/data" ] && [ ! -d "/app/data/.git" ]; then
+    echo "No git repository found in /app/data. You may want to initialize one or set SF_GIT_REPO_URL."
+fi
+
+# Set git configuration if provided
+if [ ! -z "$SF_GIT_USER_NAME" ] && [ ! -z "$SF_GIT_USER_EMAIL" ]; then
+    echo "Configuring git user..."
+    git config --global user.name "$SF_GIT_USER_NAME"
+    git config --global user.email "$SF_GIT_USER_EMAIL"
+fi
+
+echo "Starting smallFactory web application as appuser..."
+# Switch to non-root user for the web application
+cd /app
+exec su-exec appuser "$@"
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