diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2030405..7c64d59 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@ COPY . .
 # Port will be set via environment variable
 EXPOSE 8000
 
-CMD ["uvicorn", "app.main:app", "--proxy-headers", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "${PORT:-8000}", "--workers", "1"]
\ No newline at end of file
+CMD ["sh", "-c", "uvicorn app.main:app --proxy-headers --host 0.0.0.0 --port ${PORT:-8000} --workers 1"]
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ffe2a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+.PHONY := help install run start stop docker-build docker-rebuild docker-run docker-stop docker-logs docker-shell clean
+
+PROJECT_NAME ?= lifefaq
+IMAGE_NAME ?= $(PROJECT_NAME):latest
+CONTAINER_NAME ?= $(PROJECT_NAME)-app
+PYTHON ?= python3
+UVICORN ?= uvicorn
+APP_MODULE ?= app.main:app
+PORT ?= 8000
+HOST_PORT ?= $(PORT)
+
+help:
+	@printf "Available targets:\n"
+	@grep -E '^[a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?##' $(MAKEFILE_LIST) | awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*?## "} {printf "  %-18s %s\n", $$1, $$2}' | sort
+
+install: ## Install Python dependencies
+	$(PYTHON) -m pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+run: ## Run the FastAPI app using app.py (no auto-reload)
+	$(PYTHON) app.py
+
+start: ## Start the FastAPI app with uvicorn auto-reload (foreground)
+	$(UVICORN) $(APP_MODULE) --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port $(PORT)
+
+stop: ## Stop local uvicorn processes started via make start (best effort)
+	-pkill -f "$(UVICORN).*$(APP_MODULE)"
+
+docker-build: ## Build the Docker image
+	docker build -t $(IMAGE_NAME) .
+
+docker-rebuild: ## Rebuild the Docker image without cache
+	docker build --no-cache -t $(IMAGE_NAME) .
+
+docker-run: ## Run the Docker container in the background
+	docker run --rm -d -p $(HOST_PORT):$(PORT) --name $(CONTAINER_NAME) -e PORT=$(PORT) $(IMAGE_NAME)
+
+docker-stop: ## Stop the running Docker container
+	-docker stop $(CONTAINER_NAME)
+
+docker-logs: ## Tail logs from the Docker container
+	docker logs -f $(CONTAINER_NAME)
+
+docker-shell: ## Open a shell inside the running Docker container
+	docker exec -it $(CONTAINER_NAME) /bin/sh
+
+clean: ## Remove Python cache artifacts
+	find . -name '__pycache__' -type d -prune -exec rm -rf {} +