diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a1ca13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+.venv
+__pycache__
+.pytest_cache
+.git
+test/
+*.db
+server.log
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..966d31d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+FROM python:3.11-slim
+
+# Set the working directory
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Copy the requirements file and install dependencies
+COPY requirements.txt .
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+# Copy the rest of the application code
+COPY . .
+
+# Ensure the database directory exists for SQLite persistence
+RUN mkdir -p /app/db
+
+# Expose the application port
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+# Command to start the application
+CMD ["uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]
diff --git a/cache/__init__.py b/cache/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/cache/redis_client.py b/cache/redis_client.py
index b54de85..259f03c 100644
--- a/cache/redis_client.py
+++ b/cache/redis_client.py
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
 import redis
+import os
 
-redis_client = redis.Redis(host="localhost", port=6379, decode_responses=True)
+redis_host = os.getenv("REDIS_HOST", "localhost")
+redis_port = int(os.getenv("REDIS_PORT", 6379))
+
+redis_client = redis.Redis(host=redis_host, port=redis_port, decode_responses=True)
diff --git a/db/__init__.py b/db/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/db/urls.db b/db/urls.db
index dc569a6..d41cbb0 100644
Binary files a/db/urls.db and b/db/urls.db differ
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c7bf36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+services:
+  web:
+    build: .
+    ports:
+      - "8000:8000"
+    volumes:
+      - ./db:/app/db
+    environment:
+      - REDIS_HOST=redis
+      - REDIS_PORT=6379
+    depends_on:
+      - redis
+
+  redis:
+    image: "redis:alpine"
+    ports:
+      - "6379:6379"
diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index e4186f4..dcb9bfc 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -37,19 +37,24 @@ def shorten_url(request: schemas.URLCreate, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
 
     crud.create_url(db, short_code, request.long_url)
 
-    # set it in cache for a hour
-    redis_client.set(short_code, request.long_url, ex=3600)
+    # set it in cache for a hour, but don't fail if redis is down
+    try:
+        redis_client.set(short_code, request.long_url, ex=3600)
+    except Exception:
+        print("Redis is unavailable, skipping cache set")
 
     return {"short_url": f"http://localhost:8000/{short_code}"}
 
 
 @app.get("/{short_code}")
 def redirect_url(short_code: str, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
-    # check the redis
-    check_url = redis_client.get(short_code)
-
-    if check_url:
-        return RedirectResponse(url=check_url)
+    # check the redis, but don't fail if redis is down
+    try:
+        check_url = redis_client.get(short_code)
+        if check_url:
+            return RedirectResponse(url=check_url)
+    except Exception:
+        print("Redis is unavailable, skipping cache check")
 
     # get url from the db
     db_url = crud.get_url(db, short_code)
@@ -57,5 +62,10 @@ def redirect_url(short_code: str, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     if not db_url:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="URL not found")
 
-    redis_client.set(short_code, db_url.long_url)
+    # update cache if possible
+    try:
+        redis_client.set(short_code, db_url.long_url)
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
     return RedirectResponse(url=db_url.long_url)
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index f3770a4..f87e051 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -2,3 +2,7 @@ fastapi
 uvicorn
 sqlalchemy
 redis
+pydantic
+pytest
+httpx
+pytest-mock