diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3e0d99e..2f40096 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -236,7 +236,17 @@ The application automatically selects the appropriate database strategy:
 
 ## 🐳 Docker Development
 
-### **Build and Run**
+### **Docker Compose Quickstart**
+
+```bash
+docker compose up --build
+```
+
+- Serves the production build at [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080)
+- Spins up CouchDB at [http://localhost:5984](http://localhost:5984) using credentials from `.env`
+- Applies CORS settings from `couchdb-config/cors.ini` (update the allowed `origins` for custom domains)
+
+### **Manual Build and Run**
 
 ```bash
 # Build Docker image
diff --git a/couchdb-config/cors.ini b/couchdb-config/cors.ini
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ec275c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/couchdb-config/cors.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[chttpd]
+enable_cors = true
+
+[cors]
+origins = http://localhost:8080, http://localhost:5173
+credentials = true
+methods = GET, PUT, POST, HEAD, DELETE, OPTIONS
+headers = accept, authorization, content-type, origin, referer, cache-control, x-requested-with
diff --git a/couchdb-config/docker.ini b/couchdb-config/docker.ini
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fadf33f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/couchdb-config/docker.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+
+[admins]
+admin = -pbkdf2:sha256-c9a393efac86b8a234ad91c5f7dd5a3d057ea7b76aad8b0194b41ff64ee80ec5,cab6f942a2c7d4ff7e5d54010475b7a2,600000
+
+[couchdb]
+uuid = 2083849204f5378942a1abfff8ef20cf
+
+[chttpd_auth]
+secret = 4e4abcc9cae38e179910098ad7f2f2e4
+
+[chttpd]
+bind_address = 0.0.0.0
+port = 5984
+
+[cluster]
+n = 1
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..382b3bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+version: '3.8'
+
+services:
+  couchdb:
+    image: couchdb:3
+    container_name: meds-couchdb
+    env_file:
+      - .env
+    environment:
+      COUCHDB_USER: ${COUCHDB_USER:-admin}
+      COUCHDB_PASSWORD: ${COUCHDB_PASSWORD:-change-this-secure-password}
+    ports:
+      - '5984:5984'
+    volumes:
+      - couchdb-data:/opt/couchdb/data
+      - ./couchdb-config:/opt/couchdb/etc/local.d
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+  frontend:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      args:
+        NODE_ENV: ${NODE_ENV:-production}
+        VITE_COUCHDB_URL: ${VITE_COUCHDB_URL:-http://localhost:5984}
+        VITE_COUCHDB_USER: ${VITE_COUCHDB_USER:-admin}
+        VITE_COUCHDB_PASSWORD: ${VITE_COUCHDB_PASSWORD:-change-this-secure-password}
+        VITE_ADMIN_EMAIL: ${VITE_ADMIN_EMAIL:-admin@localhost}
+        VITE_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${VITE_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-admin123!}
+    env_file:
+      - .env
+    depends_on:
+      - couchdb
+    ports:
+      - '8080:80'
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+volumes:
+  couchdb-data:
+    name: meds-couchdb-data
diff --git a/docs/setup/ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.md b/docs/setup/ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.md
index 6a5102c..9695a12 100644
--- a/docs/setup/ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.md
+++ b/docs/setup/ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.md
@@ -225,6 +225,8 @@ DEV_API_URL=http://localhost:5984
 | `CERT_MANAGER_ISSUER` | `letsencrypt-prod`   | Certificate issuer   |
 | `CORS_ORIGIN`         | `*`                  | CORS allowed origins |
 
+> When running via `docker compose up --build`, CouchDB CORS settings are sourced from `couchdb-config/cors.ini`. Update the `origins` list in that file to add additional frontend domains.
+
 ### Performance Variables
 
 | Variable            | Default | Description                     |