diff --git a/.codacy.yml b/.codacy.yml
index 4875560..2c9ccd2 100644
--- a/.codacy.yml
+++ b/.codacy.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 exclude_paths:
   - "assets/**/*"
-  - "data/**/*"
+  - "database/**/*"
   - "models/**/*"
   - "postman_collections/**/*"
   - "schemas/**/*"
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index c1ed918..19c6f8a 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-# - Stage 1: Builder -----------------------------------------------------------
-
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Stage 1: Builder
+# This stage builds the application and its dependencies.
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 FROM python:3.13.3-slim-bookworm AS builder
 WORKDIR /app
 
@@ -12,8 +14,10 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
 COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=644 requirements.txt .
 RUN pip wheel --no-cache-dir --wheel-dir=/app/wheelhouse -r requirements.txt
 
-# - Stage 2: Runtime -----------------------------------------------------------
-
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Stage 2: Runtime
+# This stage creates the final, minimal image to run the application.
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 FROM python:3.13.3-slim-bookworm AS runtime
 WORKDIR /app
 
@@ -24,25 +28,32 @@ LABEL org.opencontainers.image.licenses="MIT"
 LABEL org.opencontainers.image.source="https://github.com/nanotaboada/python-samples-fastapi-restful"
 
 # Copy prebuilt wheels and install dependencies
-COPY --from=builder --chown=root:root --chmod=755 /app/wheelhouse /app/wheelhouse
 COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=644 requirements.txt .
+COPY --from=builder --chown=root:root --chmod=755 /app/wheelhouse /app/wheelhouse
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir --no-index --find-links /app/wheelhouse -r requirements.txt && \
     rm -rf /app/wheelhouse
 
 # Copy application code (read-only)
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=644 main.py          ./
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755 models           ./models
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755 routes           ./routes
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755 schemas          ./schemas
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755 services         ./services
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755 data             ./data
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=644      main.py     ./
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      database    ./database
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      models      ./models
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      routes      ./routes
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      schemas     ./schemas
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      services    ./services
 
 # Copy metadata for GHCR (read-only)
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=644 README.md        ./
-COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755 assets           ./assets
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=644      README.md   ./
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      assets      ./assets
+
+# Copy entrypoint sctipt and SQLite database
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      scripts/entrypoint.sh       ./entrypoint.sh
+COPY --chown=root:root --chmod=755      sqlite3-db                  ./docker-compose
 
-# Create a non-root user for running the app
-RUN adduser --system --disabled-password --gecos '' fastapi
+# Create non-root user and make volume mount point writable
+RUN groupadd --system fastapi && \
+    adduser --system --ingroup fastapi --disabled-password --gecos '' fastapi && \
+    mkdir -p /sqlite3-db && \
+    chown fastapi:fastapi /sqlite3-db
 
 # Drop privileges
 USER fastapi
@@ -52,4 +63,5 @@ ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 
 EXPOSE 9000
 
+ENTRYPOINT ["./entrypoint.sh"]
 CMD ["uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "9000"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c5ab57e..7bd31b2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -41,22 +41,41 @@ http://localhost:9000/docs
 
 ![API Documentation](assets/images/swagger.png)
 
-## Docker
+## Container
 
-This project includes a multi-stage `Dockerfile` for local development and production builds.
+### Docker Compose
 
-### Build the image
+This setup uses [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/) to build and run the app and manage a persistent SQLite database stored in a Docker volume.
+
+#### Build the image
+
+```bash
+docker compose build
+```
+
+#### Start the app
 
 ```bash
-docker build -t python-samples-fastapi-restful .
+docker compose up
 ```
 
-### Run the container
+> On first run, the container copies a pre-seeded SQLite database into a persistent volume
+> On subsequent runs, that volume is reused and the data is preserved
+
+#### Stop the app
 
 ```bash
-docker run -p 9000:9000 python-samples-fastapi-restful:latest
+docker compose down
 ```
 
+#### Optional: database reset
+
+```bash
+docker compose down -v
+```
+
+> This removes the volume and will reinitialize the database from the built-in seed file the next time you `up`.
+
 ## Credits
 
 The solution has been coded using [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) with the official [Python](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-python.python) extension.
diff --git a/codecov.yml b/codecov.yml
index cdb57d2..e58090c 100644
--- a/codecov.yml
+++ b/codecov.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ comment:
 # https://docs.codecov.com/docs/ignoring-paths
 ignore:
   - "^assets/.*"
-  - "^data/.*"
+  - "^database/.*"
   - "^models/.*"
   - "^postman_collections/.*"
   - "^schemas/.*"
diff --git a/data/player_database.py b/database/player_database.py
similarity index 87%
rename from data/player_database.py
rename to database/player_database.py
index f8f9051..dbe96b5 100644
--- a/data/player_database.py
+++ b/database/player_database.py
@@ -3,11 +3,13 @@
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 import logging
+import os
 from typing import AsyncGenerator
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine, AsyncSession
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, declarative_base
 
-DATABASE_URL = "sqlite+aiosqlite:///./data/players-sqlite3.db"
+database_file_path = os.getenv("DATABASE_FILE_PATH", "./sqlite3-db/players-sqlite3.db")
+DATABASE_URL = f"sqlite+aiosqlite:///{database_file_path}"
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("uvicorn")
 logging.getLogger("sqlalchemy.engine.Engine").handlers = logger.handlers
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71f4d58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+services:
+  api:
+    image: python-samples-fastapi-restful
+    container_name: fastapi-app
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+    ports:
+      - "9000:9000"
+    volumes:
+      - sqlite3-db:/sqlite3-db/
+    environment:
+      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+      - DATABASE_FILE_PATH=/sqlite3-db/players-sqlite3.db
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+volumes:
+  sqlite3-db:
diff --git a/routes/player_route.py b/routes/player_route.py
index 3afd562..e570bba 100644
--- a/routes/player_route.py
+++ b/routes/player_route.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from aiocache import SimpleMemoryCache
 
-from data.player_database import generate_async_session
+from database.player_database import generate_async_session
 from models.player_model import PlayerModel
 from services import player_service
 
diff --git a/schemas/player_schema.py b/schemas/player_schema.py
index 3c34a03..857997c 100644
--- a/schemas/player_schema.py
+++ b/schemas/player_schema.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 from sqlalchemy import Column, String, Integer, Boolean
-from data.player_database import Base
+from database.player_database import Base
 
 
 class Player(Base):
diff --git a/scripts/entrypoint.sh b/scripts/entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..642f010
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+
+IMAGE_DATABASE_FILE_PATH="/app/docker-compose/players-sqlite3.db"
+VOLUME_DATABASE_FILE_PATH="/sqlite3-db/players-sqlite3.db"
+
+echo "✔ Starting container..."
+
+if [ ! -f "$VOLUME_DATABASE_FILE_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "⚠️ No existing database file found in volume."
+    if [ -f "$IMAGE_DATABASE_FILE_PATH" ]; then
+        echo "Copying database file to writable volume..."
+        cp "$IMAGE_DATABASE_FILE_PATH" "$VOLUME_DATABASE_FILE_PATH"
+        echo "✔ Database initialized at $VOLUME_DATABASE_FILE_PATH"
+    else
+        echo "⚠️ Database file missing at $IMAGE_DATABASE_FILE_PATH"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+else
+    echo "✔ Existing database file found. Skipping seed copy."
+fi
+
+echo "✔ Ready!"
+echo "🚀 Launching app..."
+exec "$@"
diff --git a/data/players-sqlite3.db b/sqlite3-db/players-sqlite3.db
similarity index 99%
rename from data/players-sqlite3.db
rename to sqlite3-db/players-sqlite3.db
index 8d6a986..07bb620 100644
Binary files a/data/players-sqlite3.db and b/sqlite3-db/players-sqlite3.db differ