diff --git a/NGINX_SETUP.md b/NGINX_SETUP.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..474e517e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/NGINX_SETUP.md
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+# OpnForm Nginx Setup Guide
+
+This guide explains how to set up OpnForm with a host-level nginx configuration.
+
+## Architecture Overview
+
+The modified setup removes the main nginx ingress container and exposes services directly:
+
+- **UI Service**: Exposed on port 7655 (HTTP)
+- **API Service**: Exposed on port 7654 (HTTP via minimal nginx container)
+- **Database**: PostgreSQL (internal only)
+- **Redis**: Cache service (internal only)
+
+## Key Changes from Default Setup
+
+1. **Removed YAML anchors** - Each container now has its own explicit configuration to avoid conflicts
+2. **Removed main ingress container** - Your host nginx handles all routing
+3. **Added minimal api-nginx** - Small nginx container just to convert FastCGI to HTTP for the API
+4. **Custom ports** - Using 7654-7655 range to avoid conflicts
+
+## Setup Steps
+
+### 1. Stop any existing containers
+
+```bash
+docker compose down
+docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down
+```
+
+### 2. Run the setup script
+
+```bash
+./scripts/docker-setup.sh
+```
+
+### 3. Verify services are running
+
+```bash
+docker compose ps
+```
+
+You should see:
+- opnform-api (healthy)
+- opnform-api-nginx (healthy)
+- opnform-api-worker (running)
+- opnform-api-scheduler (running)
+- opnform-client (healthy)
+- opnform-redis (healthy)
+- opnform-db (healthy)
+
+### 4. Configure your host nginx
+
+Copy the example configuration:
+
+```bash
+sudo cp nginx-host-example.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/forms.portnimara.dev
+sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/forms.portnimara.dev /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
+```
+
+Edit the file to adjust:
+- SSL certificate paths
+- Server name if different
+- Any other site-specific settings
+
+### 5. Test nginx configuration
+
+```bash
+sudo nginx -t
+```
+
+### 6. Reload nginx
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl reload nginx
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Port already in use
+
+If you get "port already allocated" errors:
+
+1. Check what's using the ports:
+   ```bash
+   sudo lsof -i :7654
+   sudo lsof -i :7655
+   ```
+
+2. Stop conflicting services or change the ports in docker-compose.yml
+
+### API not responding
+
+1. Check the api-nginx logs:
+   ```bash
+   docker logs opnform-api-nginx
+   ```
+
+2. Verify the API container is running:
+   ```bash
+   docker logs opnform-api
+   ```
+
+### UI not loading
+
+1. Check the client logs:
+   ```bash
+   docker logs opnform-client
+   ```
+
+2. Ensure the client/.env file has correct API URL settings
+
+## Port Reference
+
+- **7654**: API (HTTP) - proxied through api-nginx to PHP-FPM
+- **7655**: UI (HTTP) - Nuxt.js frontend
+- **9000**: PHP-FPM (internal only, FastCGI protocol)
+- **5432**: PostgreSQL (internal only)
+- **6379**: Redis (internal only)
+
+## Security Notes
+
+1. Ports are bound to 127.0.0.1 only, not exposed to external network
+2. All traffic should go through your host nginx with SSL
+3. The minimal api-nginx container only handles FastCGI conversion, no SSL termination
+
+## Default Credentials
+
+- Email: admin@opnform.com
+- Password: password
+
+**Important**: Change these immediately after first login!
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index c1ca2438..13803b8e 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
----
 services:
-  api: &api-environment
+  api:
     image: jhumanj/opnform-api:latest
     container_name: opnform-api
-    volumes: &api-environment-volumes
+    volumes:
       - opnform_storage:/usr/share/nginx/html/storage:rw
-    environment: &api-env
+    environment:
       APP_ENV: production
       # Database settings
       DB_HOST: db
@@ -25,7 +24,7 @@ services:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
       redis:
-        condition: service_healthy # Depend on redis being healthy too
+        condition: service_healthy
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD-SHELL", "php /usr/share/nginx/html/artisan about || exit 1"]
       interval: 30s
@@ -33,13 +32,49 @@ services:
       retries: 3
       start_period: 60s
 
+  api-nginx:
+    image: nginx:alpine
+    container_name: opnform-api-nginx
+    volumes:
+      - ./docker/api-nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
+      - opnform_storage:/usr/share/nginx/html/storage:ro
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:7654:80"  # API on port 7654
+    depends_on:
+      - api
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "wget --spider -q http://localhost/ || exit 1"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+
   api-worker:
-    <<: *api-environment
+    image: jhumanj/opnform-api:latest
     container_name: opnform-api-worker
     command: ["php", "artisan", "queue:work"]
+    volumes:
+      - opnform_storage:/usr/share/nginx/html/storage:rw
     environment:
-      <<: *api-env
       APP_ENV: production
+      # Database settings
+      DB_HOST: db
+      REDIS_HOST: redis
+      DB_DATABASE: ${DB_DATABASE:-forge}
+      DB_USERNAME: ${DB_USERNAME:-forge}
+      DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-forge}
+      DB_CONNECTION: ${DB_CONNECTION:-pgsql}
+      # PHP Configuration
+      PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT: "1G"
+      PHP_MAX_EXECUTION_TIME: "600"
+      PHP_UPLOAD_MAX_FILESIZE: "64M"
+      PHP_POST_MAX_SIZE: "64M"
+    env_file:
+      - ./api/.env
+    depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_healthy
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pgrep -f 'php artisan queue:work' > /dev/null || exit 1"]
       interval: 60s
@@ -48,22 +83,44 @@ services:
       start_period: 30s
 
   api-scheduler:
-    <<: *api-environment
+    image: jhumanj/opnform-api:latest
     container_name: opnform-api-scheduler
     command: ["php", "artisan", "schedule:work"]
+    volumes:
+      - opnform_storage:/usr/share/nginx/html/storage:rw
     environment:
-      <<: *api-env
       APP_ENV: production
+      # Database settings
+      DB_HOST: db
+      REDIS_HOST: redis
+      DB_DATABASE: ${DB_DATABASE:-forge}
+      DB_USERNAME: ${DB_USERNAME:-forge}
+      DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-forge}
+      DB_CONNECTION: ${DB_CONNECTION:-pgsql}
+      # PHP Configuration
+      PHP_MEMORY_LIMIT: "1G"
+      PHP_MAX_EXECUTION_TIME: "600"
+      PHP_UPLOAD_MAX_FILESIZE: "64M"
+      PHP_POST_MAX_SIZE: "64M"
+    env_file:
+      - ./api/.env
+    depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_healthy
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD-SHELL", "php /usr/share/nginx/html/artisan app:scheduler-status --mode=check --max-minutes=3 || exit 1"]
       interval: 60s
       timeout: 30s
       retries: 3
-      start_period: 70s # Allow time for first scheduled run and cache write
+      start_period: 70s
 
   ui:
     image: jhumanj/opnform-client:latest
     container_name: opnform-client
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:7655:3000"  # UI on port 7655
     env_file:
       - ./client/.env
     healthcheck:
@@ -95,27 +152,6 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
 
-  ingress:
-    image: nginx:1
-    container_name: opnform-ingress
-    volumes:
-      - ./docker/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/templates/default.conf.template
-    ports:
-      - 80:80
-    environment:
-      - NGINX_MAX_BODY_SIZE=64m
-    depends_on:
-      api:
-        condition: service_started
-      ui:
-        condition: service_started
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nginx -t && curl -f http://localhost/ || exit 1"]
-      interval: 30s
-      timeout: 5s
-      retries: 3
-      start_period: 10s
-
 volumes:
   postgres-data:
-  opnform_storage:
\ No newline at end of file
+  opnform_storage:
diff --git a/docker/api-nginx.conf b/docker/api-nginx.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8294d37e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/api-nginx.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+events {
+    worker_connections 1024;
+}
+
+http {
+    include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
+    default_type application/octet-stream;
+
+    server {
+        listen 80;
+        server_name _;
+        root /usr/share/nginx/html/public;
+        index index.php;
+        
+        client_max_body_size 64M;
+        
+        # Logging
+        access_log /dev/stdout;
+        error_log /dev/stderr;
+
+        # Handle all requests through PHP
+        location / {
+            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
+        }
+
+        # PHP-FPM configuration
+        location ~ \.php$ {
+            fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
+            fastcgi_pass opnform-api:9000;
+            fastcgi_index index.php;
+            include fastcgi_params;
+            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /usr/share/nginx/html/public/index.php;
+            fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT /usr/share/nginx/html/public;
+            fastcgi_param REQUEST_URI $request_uri;
+            fastcgi_read_timeout 300;
+        }
+
+        # Deny access to . files
+        location ~ /\. {
+            deny all;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/nginx-host-example.conf b/nginx-host-example.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..680dde73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nginx-host-example.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# Example nginx configuration for forms.portnimara.dev
+# Place this in /etc/nginx/sites-available/forms.portnimara.dev
+# Then create a symlink: ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/forms.portnimara.dev /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
+
+server {
+    listen 80;
+    server_name forms.portnimara.dev;
+    
+    # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
+    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
+}
+
+server {
+    listen 443 ssl http2;
+    server_name forms.portnimara.dev;
+    
+    # SSL certificates - adjust paths as needed
+    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/forms.portnimara.dev/fullchain.pem;
+    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/forms.portnimara.dev/privkey.pem;
+    
+    # SSL configuration
+    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
+    ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;
+    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;
+    
+    # Client upload size
+    client_max_body_size 64M;
+    
+    # Logging
+    access_log /var/log/nginx/forms.portnimara.dev.access.log;
+    error_log /var/log/nginx/forms.portnimara.dev.error.log;
+    
+    # API routes - proxy to the api-nginx container
+    location ~ ^/(api|open|local/temp|forms/assets)/ {
+        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:7654;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
+        proxy_read_timeout 300s;
+        proxy_connect_timeout 75s;
+    }
+    
+    # Everything else goes to the UI container
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:7655;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
+        
+        # WebSocket support for hot reload and real-time features
+        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
+        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
+        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
+    }
+    
+    # Security headers
+    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
+    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
+    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
+}
diff --git a/scripts/docker-setup.sh b/scripts/docker-setup.sh
index 1f3b765f..ef5dc5fb 100755
--- a/scripts/docker-setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/docker-setup.sh
@@ -63,9 +63,12 @@ if [ "$DEV_MODE" = true ]; then
 else
     echo -e "${BLUE}Production environment setup complete!${NC}"
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Please wait a moment for all services to start${NC}"
-    echo -e "${GREEN}Then visit: http://localhost${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Services are available on:${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}- UI: http://localhost:7655${NC}"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}- API: http://localhost:7654${NC}"
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Note: Configure your host nginx to proxy to these ports${NC}"
 fi
 
 echo -e "${BLUE}Default admin credentials:${NC}"
 echo -e "${GREEN}Email: admin@opnform.com${NC}"
-echo -e "${GREEN}Password: password${NC}" 
+echo -e "${GREEN}Password: password${NC}"