diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6fad477
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+node_modules
+dist
+.git
+.env
+data/browser-session
+data/reddit-bot.db
+data/reddit-bot.db-journal
+test-results
+playwright-report
+blob-report
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bf3609
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# Use the official Playwright image which includes all browser dependencies
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.57.0-jammy
+
+# Set working directory
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Copy package files
+COPY package*.json ./
+
+# Install dependencies (including devDependencies for building)
+RUN npm ci
+
+# Copy source code
+COPY . .
+
+# Build the TypeScript project
+RUN npm run build
+
+# Prune dev dependencies to reduce image size (optional, but good practice)
+# Note: we need to keep some deps if they are runtime requirements
+# npm prune --production
+
+# Create data directory
+RUN mkdir -p data
+
+# Expose the port defined in config (default 3000)
+EXPOSE 3000
+
+# Start the application using the compiled code
+CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5cd5fe9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+version: '3.8'
+
+services:
+  reddit-bot:
+    build: .
+    container_name: reddit-bot
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    # Mount the data directory to persist the database and browser session
+    volumes:
+      - ./data:/app/data
+    # Environment variables
+    environment:
+      - OPENROUTER_API_KEY=${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}
+      # You can add other overrides if supported by the app or if you modify config loading
+      # - HEADLESS=true 
+    ports:
+      - "3000:3000"
diff --git a/src/config/index.ts b/src/config/index.ts
index e70ea6a..2d74556 100644
--- a/src/config/index.ts
+++ b/src/config/index.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,12 @@ export function loadConfig(): Config {
   }
   rawConfig.openrouter.apiKey = process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY || rawConfig.openrouter.apiKey;
 
+  // Override browser settings from environment
+  if (process.env.BROWSER_HEADLESS !== undefined) {
+    if (!rawConfig.browser) rawConfig.browser = {};
+    rawConfig.browser.headless = process.env.BROWSER_HEADLESS === 'true';
+  }
+
   if (!rawConfig.openrouter.apiKey) {
     throw new Error('OPENROUTER_API_KEY environment variable is required');
   }
diff --git a/src/web/server.ts b/src/web/server.ts
index ce73d58..41a1458 100644
--- a/src/web/server.ts
+++ b/src/web/server.ts
@@ -30,10 +30,8 @@ export class WebServer {
   private app: express.Application;
   private server: Server | null = null;
   private activityLog: ActivityItem[] = [];
-  private botStats = {
-    isRunning: true,
-    messagesThisHour: 0,
-  };
+  private botRunning = false; // Start stopped
+  private messagesThisHour = 0;
 
   constructor(
     private port: number,
@@ -75,25 +73,45 @@ export class WebServer {
       res.json(successful);
     });
 
+    // API: Start bot
+    this.app.post('/api/start', (req, res) => {
+      this.botRunning = true;
+      this.logActivity('sent', 'Bot started by user');
+      this.logger.info('Bot started via web UI');
+      res.json({ success: true, running: true });
+    });
+
+    // API: Stop bot
+    this.app.post('/api/stop', (req, res) => {
+      this.botRunning = false;
+      this.logActivity('skipped', 'Bot stopped by user');
+      this.logger.info('Bot stopped via web UI');
+      res.json({ success: true, running: false });
+    });
+
     // Serve dashboard for all other routes
     this.app.get('*', (req, res) => {
       res.sendFile(path.join(process.cwd(), 'public', 'index.html'));
     });
   }
 
+  isRunning(): boolean {
+    return this.botRunning;
+  }
+
   private getStats(): BotStats {
     const messages = this.messagesRepo.getRecent(1000);
     const totalSent = messages.length;
     const totalResponses = messages.filter((m) => m.gotResponse).length;
 
     return {
-      isRunning: this.botStats.isRunning,
+      isRunning: this.botRunning,
       dryRunMode: this.config.browser.dryRun,
       totalProcessed: this.getTotalProcessed(),
       totalMessagesSent: totalSent,
       totalResponses,
       responseRate: totalSent > 0 ? Math.round((totalResponses / totalSent) * 100) : 0,
-      messagesThisHour: this.botStats.messagesThisHour,
+      messagesThisHour: this.messagesThisHour,
       maxMessagesPerHour: this.config.rateLimit.maxMessagesPerHour,
       subreddits: this.config.reddit.subreddits,
       targetGenders: this.config.reddit.targetGenders,
@@ -122,7 +140,7 @@ export class WebServer {
   }
 
   updateStats(messagesThisHour: number): void {
-    this.botStats.messagesThisHour = messagesThisHour;
+    this.messagesThisHour = messagesThisHour;
   }
 
   start(): void {