diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 5c57897f5..6934bb7c3 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,27 +1,44 @@
-FROM debian:13.4
+FROM ghcr.io/astral-sh/uv:0.11.6-python3.13-trixie@sha256:b3c543b6c4f23a5f2df22866bd7857e5d304b67a564f4feab6ac22044dde719b AS uv_source
+FROM tianon/gosu:1.19-trixie@sha256:3b176695959c71e123eb390d427efc665eeb561b1540e82679c15e992006b8b9 AS gosu_source
+FROM debian:13.4-slim
 
 # Disable Python stdout buffering to ensure logs are printed immediately
 ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
 
+# Store Playwright browsers outside the volume mount so the build-time
+# install survives the /opt/data volume overlay at runtime.
+ENV PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH=/opt/hermes/.playwright
+
 # Install system dependencies in one layer, clear APT cache
 RUN apt-get update && \
     apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-        build-essential nodejs npm python3 python3-pip ripgrep ffmpeg gcc python3-dev libffi-dev procps && \
+        build-essential nodejs npm python3 ripgrep ffmpeg gcc python3-dev libffi-dev procps && \
     rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
+# Non-root user for runtime; UID can be overridden via HERMES_UID at runtime
+RUN useradd -u 10000 -m -d /opt/data hermes
+
+COPY --chmod=0755 --from=gosu_source /gosu /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --chmod=0755 --from=uv_source /usr/local/bin/uv /usr/local/bin/uvx /usr/local/bin/
+
 COPY . /opt/hermes
 WORKDIR /opt/hermes
 
-# Install Python and Node dependencies in one layer, no cache
-RUN pip install --no-cache-dir uv --break-system-packages && \
-    uv pip install --system --break-system-packages --no-cache -e ".[all]" && \
-    npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit && \
+# Install Node dependencies and Playwright as root (--with-deps needs apt)
+RUN npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit && \
     npx playwright install --with-deps chromium --only-shell && \
     cd /opt/hermes/scripts/whatsapp-bridge && \
     npm install --prefer-offline --no-audit && \
     npm cache clean --force
 
-WORKDIR /opt/hermes
+# Hand ownership to hermes user, then install Python deps in a virtualenv
+RUN chown -R hermes:hermes /opt/hermes
+USER hermes
+
+RUN uv venv && \
+    uv pip install --no-cache-dir -e ".[all]"
+
+USER root
 RUN chmod +x /opt/hermes/docker/entrypoint.sh
 
 ENV HERMES_HOME=/opt/data
diff --git a/docker/entrypoint.sh b/docker/entrypoint.sh
index 68e3b79c1..dc1edd32c 100644
--- a/docker/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/docker/entrypoint.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,33 @@ set -e
 HERMES_HOME="/opt/data"
 INSTALL_DIR="/opt/hermes"
 
+# --- Privilege dropping via gosu ---
+# When started as root (the default), optionally remap the hermes user/group
+# to match host-side ownership, fix volume permissions, then re-exec as hermes.
+if [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ]; then
+    if [ -n "$HERMES_UID" ] && [ "$HERMES_UID" != "$(id -u hermes)" ]; then
+        echo "Changing hermes UID to $HERMES_UID"
+        usermod -u "$HERMES_UID" hermes
+    fi
+
+    if [ -n "$HERMES_GID" ] && [ "$HERMES_GID" != "$(id -g hermes)" ]; then
+        echo "Changing hermes GID to $HERMES_GID"
+        groupmod -g "$HERMES_GID" hermes
+    fi
+
+    actual_hermes_uid=$(id -u hermes)
+    if [ "$(stat -c %u "$HERMES_HOME" 2>/dev/null)" != "$actual_hermes_uid" ]; then
+        echo "$HERMES_HOME is not owned by $actual_hermes_uid, fixing"
+        chown -R hermes:hermes "$HERMES_HOME"
+    fi
+
+    echo "Dropping root privileges"
+    exec gosu hermes "$0" "$@"
+fi
+
+# --- Running as hermes from here ---
+source "${INSTALL_DIR}/.venv/bin/activate"
+
 # Create essential directory structure.  Cache and platform directories
 # (cache/images, cache/audio, platforms/whatsapp, etc.) are created on
 # demand by the application — don't pre-create them here so new installs