diff --git a/Astrocore.Api/Dockerfile b/Astrocore.Api/Dockerfile
index 7351a05..20896e7 100644
--- a/Astrocore.Api/Dockerfile
+++ b/Astrocore.Api/Dockerfile
@@ -1,45 +1,41 @@
 # See https://aka.ms/customizecontainer to learn how to customize your debug container and how Visual Studio uses this Dockerfile to build your images for faster debugging.
 
-# This stage is used when running from VS in fast mode (Default for Debug configuration)
-FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0 AS base
+# Install ffmpeg in its own stage so it can be cached independently of your app code
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0 AS runtime-base
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Install ffmpeg before switching user
-RUN apt-get update && \
-    apt-get install -y ffmpeg && \
-    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-USER $APP_UID
+RUN apt-get update \
+ && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg \
+ && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 EXPOSE 8080
 EXPOSE 8081
 
-
-# This stage is used to build the service project
+# Build
 FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build
 ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
 WORKDIR /src
+
 COPY ["Astrocore.Api/Astrocore.Api.csproj", "Astrocore.Api/"]
 RUN dotnet restore "./Astrocore.Api/Astrocore.Api.csproj"
+
 COPY . .
-WORKDIR "/src/Astrocore.Api"
+WORKDIR /src/Astrocore.Api
 RUN dotnet build "./Astrocore.Api.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/build
 
-# This stage is used to publish the service project to be copied to the final stage
+# Publish
 FROM build AS publish
 ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
 RUN dotnet publish "./Astrocore.Api.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/publish /p:UseAppHost=false
 
-# This stage is used in production or when running from VS in regular mode (Default when not using the Debug configuration)
-FROM base AS final
+# Final
+FROM runtime-base AS final
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Install ffmpeg
-#RUN apt-get update && \
-    #apt-get install -y ffmpeg && \
-    #rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
 
+# Keep your existing behavior, but don't assume APP_UID always exists at build time
+ARG APP_UID
 USER $APP_UID
 
-COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
-ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Astrocore.Api.dll"]
+ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Astrocore.Api.dll"]
\ No newline at end of file