diff --git a/frontend/Dockerfile b/frontend/Dockerfile
index db153277..c6de77ee 100644
--- a/frontend/Dockerfile
+++ b/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 FROM node:20-alpine AS deps
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY package.json package-lock.json* ./
-# --legacy-peer-deps allows install to succeed despite peer dep mismatches
-# (Tailwind 4 alpha + React 19 peer deps tend to be strict).
-RUN npm ci --legacy-peer-deps || npm install --legacy-peer-deps
+# --legacy-peer-deps bypasses peer dep mismatches (Tailwind 4 alpha + React 19).
+# We use `npm install` instead of `npm ci` because we don't commit package-lock.json yet.
+# Once `npm install` runs locally and a lockfile is committed, switch back to `npm ci`.
+RUN npm install --legacy-peer-deps --no-audit --no-fund
 
 FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
 WORKDIR /app
diff --git a/frontend/public/.gitkeep b/frontend/public/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b