diff --git a/backend/docker/Dockerfile b/backend/docker/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..98545b02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+FROM python:3.11-slim
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Copy requirements first for better layer caching
+COPY requirements.txt .
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+# Copy the backend code
+COPY . .
+
+# Set environment variable
+ENV PYTHONPATH=/app
+
+# Expose the port the app runs on
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+# Command to run the application
+CMD ["python", "api.py"]
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