diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1db1815
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+.git
+.venv
+__pycache__
+*.pyc
+.pytest_cache
+.ruff_cache
+.mypy_cache
+tests
+docs
+.env
+.env.*
+.idea
+.vscode
+*.egg-info
+dist
+build
+.coverage
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 2221bf3..01483ee 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+# Local development only.
+# Production deployment goes via Coolify using docker/Dockerfile alone;
+# the compose file here is for booting up qdrant + ollama next to the
+# ingestor on a developer machine.
 services:
   ingestor:
     build: