diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index e1747a4d..fe2058c5 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -1,12 +1,21 @@
-node_modules
-build
-.svelte-kit
-.git
+node_modules/
+build/
+.svelte-kit/
+.git/
 .env
 .env.*
 !.env.staging
 !.env.prod
-npm_deploy
-test-results
-test_results
-documentation
+npm_deploy/
+test-results/
+test_results/
+documentation/
+backups/
+*.log
+*.bak
+.claude/
+.vscode/
+npm-debug.log*
+yarn-debug.log*
+yarn-error.log*
+.pnpm-debug.log*
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index fec7afe7..827ca905 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 # Stage 1: Build the application
-# node:22-alpine — Node 22 is the current Active LTS (supported through April 2027).
-FROM node:22-alpine AS builder
+FROM node:24-alpine AS builder
 WORKDIR /app
 
 # Install dependencies first for better Docker layer caching.
-# This step only reruns if package.json or package-lock.json changes.
 COPY package*.json ./
 RUN npm install
 
@@ -12,17 +10,13 @@ RUN npm install
 COPY . .
 
 # Build Argument to determine build environment (staging, prod, or production).
-# Defaults to "staging".
 ARG BUILD_MODE=staging
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
 
 # Sync the SvelteKit project to generate ./.svelte-kit/tsconfig.json
-# and other required files, which avoids the build warning.
 RUN npx svelte-kit sync
 
 # Perform the build based on the BUILD_MODE argument.
-# This runs the existing scripts in package.json, which already
-# handle copying the correct .env file to .env.production for Vite.
 RUN if [ "$BUILD_MODE" = "prod" ] || [ "$BUILD_MODE" = "production" ]; then \
         npm run build:prod; \
     else \
@@ -30,18 +24,18 @@ RUN if [ "$BUILD_MODE" = "prod" ] || [ "$BUILD_MODE" = "production" ]; then \
     fi
 
 # Stage 2: Final runtime image
-FROM node:22-alpine AS deploy-node
+FROM node:24-alpine AS deploy-node
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Copy only the built files and necessary scripts from the builder stage.
+# Copy built files and package info.
 COPY --from=builder /app/build .
 COPY --from=builder /app/package.json .
+COPY --from=builder /app/package-lock.json .
 
-# Install only production dependencies for a smaller, cleaner image.
+# Install only production dependencies.
 RUN npm install --omit=dev
 
 # Copy the resulting .env.production file to .env.
-# adapter-node reads from .env at runtime for non-PUBLIC_ variables.
 COPY --from=builder /app/.env.production .env
 
 # SvelteKit (via adapter-node) defaults to port 3000.