diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2323d68..3886cca 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ COPY . .
 ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
 RUN npx prisma generate && npm run build
 
+# Standalone prisma install for runtime db push
+FROM base AS prisma-cli
+WORKDIR /tmp/prisma
+RUN npm init -y > /dev/null 2>&1 && npm install --ignore-scripts prisma dotenv @prisma/adapter-pg 2>/dev/null
+
 FROM base AS runner
 WORKDIR /app
 
@@ -32,11 +37,11 @@ COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/.next/standalone ./
 COPY --from=builder --chown=nextjs:nodejs /app/.next/static ./.next/static
 COPY --from=builder /app/prisma ./prisma
 COPY --from=builder /app/prisma.config.ts ./prisma.config.ts
-COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules/prisma ./node_modules/prisma
-COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules/@prisma ./node_modules/@prisma
-COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules/dotenv ./node_modules/dotenv
 COPY --from=builder /app/start.sh ./start.sh
 
+# Merge prisma CLI + deps into node_modules (alongside standalone deps)
+COPY --chown=nextjs:nodejs --from=prisma-cli /tmp/prisma/node_modules ./node_modules
+
 RUN mkdir -p /data/watch && chown -R nextjs:nodejs /data
 
 USER nextjs
diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index e39b135..a296e96 100755
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 set -e
 
 echo "Running database migrations..."
-npx prisma db push --skip-generate 2>&1 || echo "Warning: prisma db push failed, tables may already exist"
+node node_modules/prisma/build/index.js db push --skip-generate 2>&1 || echo "Warning: prisma db push failed, tables may already exist"
 
 echo "Starting server..."
 exec node server.js