diff --git a/barkmanAPI/.dockerignore b/barkmanAPI/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38bece4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/barkmanAPI/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+**/.dockerignore
+**/.env
+**/.git
+**/.gitignore
+**/.project
+**/.settings
+**/.toolstarget
+**/.vs
+**/.vscode
+**/.idea
+**/*.*proj.user
+**/*.dbmdl
+**/*.jfm
+**/azds.yaml
+**/bin
+**/charts
+**/docker-compose*
+**/Dockerfile*
+**/node_modules
+**/npm-debug.log
+**/obj
+**/secrets.dev.yaml
+**/values.dev.yaml
+LICENSE
+README.md
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/barkmanAPI/Dockerfile b/barkmanAPI/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91a32f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/barkmanAPI/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:9.0 AS base
+USER $APP_UID
+WORKDIR /app
+EXPOSE 8080
+EXPOSE 8081
+
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:9.0 AS build
+ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
+WORKDIR /src
+COPY ["barkmanapi.csproj", "./"]
+RUN dotnet restore "barkmanapi.csproj"
+COPY . .
+WORKDIR "/src/"
+RUN dotnet build "barkmanapi.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/build
+
+FROM build AS publish
+ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
+RUN dotnet publish "barkmanapi.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/publish /p:UseAppHost=false
+
+FROM base AS final
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
+ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "barkmanapi.dll"]
diff --git a/barkmanAPI/barkmanAPI.csproj b/barkmanAPI/barkmanAPI.csproj
index f0007de..7b95621 100644
--- a/barkmanAPI/barkmanAPI.csproj
+++ b/barkmanAPI/barkmanAPI.csproj
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
         <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
         <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
         <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
+        <DockerDefaultTargetOS>Linux</DockerDefaultTargetOS>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
     <ItemGroup>