diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 3b473b9..b571799 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -24,8 +24,9 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,id=zeroclaw-cargo-registry,target=/usr/local/cargo/regist
     cargo build --release --locked
 RUN rm -rf src benches
 
-# 2. Copy source code
-COPY . .
+# 2. Copy only build-relevant source paths (avoid cache-busting on docs/tests/scripts)
+COPY src/ src/
+COPY firmware/ firmware/
 RUN --mount=type=cache,id=zeroclaw-cargo-registry,target=/usr/local/cargo/registry,sharing=locked \
     --mount=type=cache,id=zeroclaw-cargo-git,target=/usr/local/cargo/git,sharing=locked \
     --mount=type=cache,id=zeroclaw-target,target=/app/target,sharing=locked \
@@ -33,14 +34,10 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,id=zeroclaw-cargo-registry,target=/usr/local/cargo/regist
     cp target/release/zeroclaw /app/zeroclaw && \
     strip /app/zeroclaw
 
-# ── Stage 2: Permissions & Config Prep ───────────────────────
-FROM busybox:1.37@sha256:b3255e7dfbcd10cb367af0d409747d511aeb66dfac98cf30e97e87e4207dd76f AS permissions
-# Create directory structure (simplified workspace path)
-RUN mkdir -p /zeroclaw-data/.zeroclaw /zeroclaw-data/workspace
-
-# Create minimal config for PRODUCTION (allows binding to public interfaces)
-# NOTE: Provider configuration must be done via environment variables at runtime
-RUN cat > /zeroclaw-data/.zeroclaw/config.toml <<EOF
+# Prepare runtime directory structure and default config inline (no extra stage)
+RUN mkdir -p /zeroclaw-data/.zeroclaw /zeroclaw-data/workspace && \
+    cat > /zeroclaw-data/.zeroclaw/config.toml <<EOF && \
+    chown -R 65534:65534 /zeroclaw-data
 workspace_dir = "/zeroclaw-data/workspace"
 config_path = "/zeroclaw-data/.zeroclaw/config.toml"
 api_key = ""
@@ -54,22 +51,16 @@ host = "[::]"
 allow_public_bind = true
 EOF
 
-RUN chown -R 65534:65534 /zeroclaw-data
-
-# ── Stage 3: Development Runtime (Debian) ────────────────────
+# ── Stage 2: Development Runtime (Debian) ────────────────────
 FROM debian:trixie-slim@sha256:f6e2cfac5cf956ea044b4bd75e6397b4372ad88fe00908045e9a0d21712ae3ba AS dev
 
-# Install runtime dependencies + basic debug tools
+# Install essential runtime dependencies only (use docker-compose.override.yml for dev tools)
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
     ca-certificates \
-    openssl \
     curl \
-    git \
-    iputils-ping \
-    vim \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
-COPY --from=permissions /zeroclaw-data /zeroclaw-data
+COPY --from=builder /zeroclaw-data /zeroclaw-data
 COPY --from=builder /app/zeroclaw /usr/local/bin/zeroclaw
 
 # Overwrite minimal config with DEV template (Ollama defaults)
@@ -94,11 +85,11 @@ EXPOSE 3000
 ENTRYPOINT ["zeroclaw"]
 CMD ["gateway"]
 
-# ── Stage 4: Production Runtime (Distroless) ─────────────────
+# ── Stage 3: Production Runtime (Distroless) ─────────────────
 FROM gcr.io/distroless/cc-debian13:nonroot@sha256:84fcd3c223b144b0cb6edc5ecc75641819842a9679a3a58fd6294bec47532bf7 AS release
 
 COPY --from=builder /app/zeroclaw /usr/local/bin/zeroclaw
-COPY --from=permissions /zeroclaw-data /zeroclaw-data
+COPY --from=builder /zeroclaw-data /zeroclaw-data
 
 # Environment setup
 ENV ZEROCLAW_WORKSPACE=/zeroclaw-data/workspace
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d60274d..16a18f7 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -49,10 +49,11 @@ services:
           cpus: '0.5'
           memory: 512M
 
-    # Health check
+    # Health check — uses lightweight status instead of full diagnostics.
+    # For images with curl, prefer: curl -f http://localhost:3000/health
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "zeroclaw", "doctor"]
-      interval: 30s
+      test: ["CMD", "zeroclaw", "status"]
+      interval: 60s
       timeout: 10s
       retries: 3
       start_period: 10s