diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 83f83de..4de2d6d 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -51,4 +51,7 @@ Thumbs.db
 
 # Temporary files
 *.tmp
-*.temp
\ No newline at end of file
+*.temp
+
+# Ignore the SQLite database directory
+data/
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b665f1f..3f88016 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ src/src
 
 # Environment variables
 .env
+
+# Data directory
+data/
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index b158d50..739b5e5 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,32 +1,40 @@
 # Build stage
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS builder
+FROM golang:1.25-bookworm AS builder
 
-# Install git and ca-certificates (needed for Go modules)
-RUN apk add --no-cache git ca-certificates
+# Install build dependencies (needed for CGO + sqlite3)
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    git \
+    ca-certificates \
+    build-essential \
+    libsqlite3-dev \
+    pkg-config \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Copy go mod files
+# Copy go mod files and download dependencies (cache layer)
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
-
-# Download dependencies
 RUN go mod download
 
-# Copy source code
-COPY src/ ./src/
+# Copy the full repository
+COPY . .
 
-# Build the application
-RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux go build -a -installsuffix cgo -o main ./src
+# Build the application with CGO enabled (sqlite requires cgo)
+RUN CGO_ENABLED=1 GOOS=linux go build -v -a -installsuffix cgo -o main ./src
 
 # Runtime stage
-FROM alpine:latest
+FROM debian:bookworm-slim
 
-# Install ca-certificates and curl for HTTPS requests and health checks
-RUN apk --no-cache add ca-certificates curl
+# Install runtime dependencies (sqlite library, certificates, curl)
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    ca-certificates \
+    libsqlite3-0 \
+    curl \
+  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Create non-root user
-RUN addgroup -S appgroup && adduser -S appuser -G appgroup
+RUN groupadd -r appgroup && useradd -r -g appgroup appuser
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /app
diff --git a/docker-compose.coolify.yml b/docker-compose.coolify.yml
index a15d138..a94e1ed 100644
--- a/docker-compose.coolify.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.coolify.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ services:
       context: .
     expose:
       - "8080"
+    environment:
+      - ENVIRONMENT=production
     volumes:
       - ./data:/app/data
     restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index ee5a352..4c6ac1f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ services:
     container_name: simple-sync
     ports:
       - "8765:8080"
+    environment:
+      - ENVIRONMENT=production
     volumes:
       - ./data:/app/data
     restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/src/main.go b/src/main.go
index babb22e..b636190 100644
--- a/src/main.go
+++ b/src/main.go
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"log"
+	"net/http"
 	"os"
+	"os/signal"
 	"strconv"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
 
 	"simple-sync/src/handlers"
 	"simple-sync/src/middleware"
@@ -39,7 +45,38 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	// Setup Gin router
-	router := gin.Default()
+	// Set Gin mode from environment configuration (production => Release mode)
+	if envConfig.IsProduction() {
+		gin.SetMode(gin.ReleaseMode)
+	} else {
+		gin.SetMode(gin.DebugMode)
+	}
+
+	var router *gin.Engine
+	if envConfig.IsProduction() {
+		// Production: use New() to control middleware and logging
+		router = gin.New()
+		// Recovery middleware to avoid panics crashing the process
+		router.Use(gin.Recovery())
+		// Minimal, structured-ish logger for production
+		router.Use(gin.LoggerWithConfig(gin.LoggerConfig{
+			Formatter: func(param gin.LogFormatterParams) string {
+				// timestamp, client ip, method, path, status, latency, error (if any)
+				return fmt.Sprintf("%s - %s \"%s %s\" %d %s %s\n",
+					param.TimeStamp.Format(time.RFC3339),
+					param.ClientIP,
+					param.Method,
+					param.Path,
+					param.StatusCode,
+					param.Latency,
+					param.ErrorMessage,
+				)
+			},
+		}))
+	} else {
+		// Development: defaults with logger + recovery
+		router = gin.Default()
+	}
 
 	// Configure trusted proxies (disable for security in development)
 	router.SetTrustedProxies([]string{})
@@ -66,9 +103,31 @@ func main() {
 	// Use port from environment configuration
 	port := envConfig.Port
 
-	// Start server
-	log.Printf("Starting server on port %d", port)
-	if err := router.Run(":" + strconv.Itoa(port)); err != nil {
-		log.Fatal("Failed to start server:", err)
+	// Start server with graceful shutdown
+	addr := ":" + strconv.Itoa(port)
+	srv := &http.Server{
+		Addr:    addr,
+		Handler: router,
+	}
+
+	// Start server in background
+	go func() {
+		log.Printf("Starting server on %s", addr)
+		if err := srv.ListenAndServe(); err != nil && err != http.ErrServerClosed {
+			log.Fatalf("listen: %s\n", err)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// Wait for interrupt signal to gracefully shutdown the server with a timeout
+	quit := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
+	signal.Notify(quit, os.Interrupt, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	<-quit
+	log.Printf("Shutting down server...")
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	if err := srv.Shutdown(ctx); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Server forced to shutdown: %v", err)
 	}
+	log.Printf("Server exiting")
 }
diff --git a/src/storage/interface.go b/src/storage/interface.go
index 771f880..9ce668f 100644
--- a/src/storage/interface.go
+++ b/src/storage/interface.go
@@ -52,8 +52,9 @@ func NewStorage() Storage {
 	}
 	// Initialize SQLiteStorage in non-test environments
 	sqlite := NewSQLiteStorage()
-	if err := sqlite.Initialize(getDefaultDBPath()); err != nil {
-		log.Fatalf("Failed to initialize SQLite storage: %v", err)
+	log.Println("Initializing...")
+	if err := sqlite.Initialize(""); err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Failed to initialize SQLite storage, error: %v", err)
 	}
 	return sqlite
 }
diff --git a/src/storage/sqlite_storage.go b/src/storage/sqlite_storage.go
index 33574f2..6a89341 100644
--- a/src/storage/sqlite_storage.go
+++ b/src/storage/sqlite_storage.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package storage
 import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
@@ -26,25 +27,22 @@ func NewSQLiteStorage() *SQLiteStorage {
 // Initialize opens a connection to the SQLite database at path
 func (s *SQLiteStorage) Initialize(path string) error {
 	if path == "" {
-		path = getDefaultDBPath()
-	}
-
-	// Determine and create parent directory unless using an in-memory DB
-	if path != "" {
-		isMemory := path == ":memory:" || (strings.HasPrefix(path, "file:") && strings.Contains(path, "memory"))
-		if !isMemory {
-			parent := filepath.Dir(path)
-			if parent != "" && parent != "." {
-				if err := os.MkdirAll(parent, 0o755); err != nil {
-					return fmt.Errorf("failed to create db dir: %w", err)
-				}
-			}
+		var err error
+		path, err = getDbPath()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to get database path")
 		}
 	}
 
 	db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", path)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to open SQLite file: %v, error: %v", path, err)
+	}
+
+	// Verify connection
+	if err := db.Ping(); err != nil {
+		defer db.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to ping database: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	// Set pragmas for safety/performance
@@ -52,36 +50,23 @@ func (s *SQLiteStorage) Initialize(path string) error {
 	// - Allows readers to run while a writer is writing
 	// - Better write throughput for many workloads
 	if _, err := db.Exec("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL;"); err != nil {
-		db.Close()
-		return err
+		defer db.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to set journal mode: %v", err)
 	}
 	// Enforce foreign key constraints at the SQLite level to maintain relational integrity.
 	if _, err := db.Exec("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON;"); err != nil {
-		db.Close()
-		return err
-	}
-	// Set synchronous to NORMAL to balance durability and performance:
-	// - FULL is the most durable (safer on power loss) but slower
-	// - NORMAL offers a good trade-off for many server environments
-	if _, err := db.Exec("PRAGMA synchronous=NORMAL;"); err != nil {
-		db.Close()
-		return err
+		defer db.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to enable foreign keys: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	// Configure connection pool defaults
 	db.SetMaxOpenConns(25)
 	db.SetMaxIdleConns(5)
 
-	// Verify connection
-	if err := db.Ping(); err != nil {
-		db.Close()
-		return err
-	}
-
 	// Apply migrations (idempotent)
 	if err := ApplyMigrations(db); err != nil {
-		db.Close()
-		return err
+		defer db.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to apply migrations: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	s.db = db
@@ -96,7 +81,10 @@ func (s *SQLiteStorage) Close() error {
 	// Close DB and clear pointer
 	err := s.db.Close()
 	s.db = nil
-	return err
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to close db: %v", err)
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (s *SQLiteStorage) AddEvents(events []models.Event) error {
@@ -412,9 +400,44 @@ func (s *SQLiteStorage) GetAclRules() ([]models.AclRule, error) {
 	return rules, nil
 }
 
-func getDefaultDBPath() string {
+// Get the DB path from the DB_PATH environment variable, if it exists.
+// Otherwise uses ./data/simple-sync.db
+// Returns an absolute filesystem path or ":memory:". The caller builds a
+// driver DSN/URI as needed (so callers that need a raw path still work).
+func getDbPath() (string, error) {
+	// Allow explicit in-memory DB
 	if p := os.Getenv("DB_PATH"); p != "" {
-		return p
+		if p == ":memory:" {
+			return p, nil
+		}
+		// If caller provided a file: URI, parse and return the path portion
+		if strings.HasPrefix(p, "file:") {
+			u, err := url.Parse(p)
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", err
+			}
+			if u.Path == "" {
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("file URI has empty path")
+			}
+			abs, err := filepath.Abs(u.Path)
+			if err != nil {
+				return "", err
+			}
+			return abs, nil
+		}
+
+		// Otherwise treat the value as a filesystem path
+		abs, err := filepath.Abs(p)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+		return abs, nil
+	}
+
+	// Default path
+	abs, err := filepath.Abs("./data/simple-sync.db")
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
 	}
-	return "./data/simple-sync.db"
+	return abs, nil
 }