diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 8ca1290..d9550b3 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ jobs:
           MINIO_ROOT_USER: ${{ secrets.MINIO_ROOT_USER }}
           MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD }}
           POSTGREST_JWT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.POSTGREST_JWT_SECRET }}
+
+          # PostgREST — needs the DB URI at start time (it reads env
+          # from the container, not from .env.production which is
+          # written later by the Deploy step).
+          PGRST_DB_URI: ${{ secrets.PGRST_DB_URI }}
+          PGRST_DB_ANON_ROLE: ${{ secrets.PGRST_DB_ANON_ROLE }}
+          PGRST_SERVER_PORT: ${{ secrets.PGRST_SERVER_PORT }}
         run: |
           APP_DIR=/home/tyler/route-commerce
           mkdir -p $APP_DIR
@@ -92,15 +99,22 @@ jobs:
             echo "MINIO_ROOT_USER=${MINIO_ROOT_USER}"
             echo "MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD}"
             echo "POSTGREST_JWT_SECRET=${POSTGREST_JWT_SECRET}"
+            echo "PGRST_DB_URI=${PGRST_DB_URI}"
+            echo "PGRST_DB_ANON_ROLE=${PGRST_DB_ANON_ROLE:-anon}"
+            echo "PGRST_SERVER_PORT=${PGRST_SERVER_PORT:-3000}"
             echo "POSTGREST_HOST_PORT=$POSTGREST_HOST_PORT"
             echo "NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=$NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL"
           } >> .env
           # Bring the stack up fresh — --force-recreate ensures no stale
-          # network/container references from prior failed attempts
-          docker compose up -d --force-recreate db postgrest minio minio_init
-          # Wait for Postgres healthcheck
+          # network/container references from prior failed attempts.
+          # Only `postgrest` lives in docker; Postgres itself runs on the
+          # host (see the migrations step below, which uses
+          # `psql -h 127.0.0.1`).
+          docker compose up -d --force-recreate postgrest
+          # Wait for Postgres to accept connections on the host.
+          # The DB is on 127.0.0.1, not in a docker service.
           for i in $(seq 1 30); do
-            if docker compose exec -T db pg_isready -U "${POSTGRES_USER}" -d "${POSTGRES_DB}" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+            if PGPASSWORD="${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}" psql -h 127.0.0.1 -U "${POSTGRES_USER}" -d "${POSTGRES_DB}" -c "SELECT 1" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
               echo "Postgres is ready"
               break
             fi
diff --git a/deploy/docker-compose.yml b/deploy/docker-compose.yml
index 0dc22f1..27930f6 100644
--- a/deploy/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/deploy/docker-compose.yml
@@ -2,17 +2,14 @@
 # docker-compose.yml — production stack consumed by deploy.sh
 # =============================================================================
 #
-# The host-side ports (POSTGREST_HOST_PORT, NEXTJS_HOST_PORT) are written by
-# deploy.sh into .env.production. We interpolate from there with ${VAR:-3011}
-# so a manual `docker compose up` without the deploy script still works.
+# Only `postgrest` lives in docker. Postgres itself runs on the host
+# (the deploy workflow applies migrations via `psql -h 127.0.0.1`).
+# Next.js runs under PM2 on the host — it is NOT a docker service.
 #
-# Note on networking: the Next.js container calls PostgREST on
-# `host.docker.internal:POSTGREST_HOST_PORT` so the inlined
-# NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL (a localhost URL, per the deploy contract) resolves
-# correctly. On Linux you may need to add
-#   extra_hosts:
-#     - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
-# which is included below for that reason.
+# The host-side port (POSTGREST_HOST_PORT) is written by the deploy
+# workflow into $APP_DIR/.env. We interpolate from there with
+# ${VAR:-3011} so a manual `docker compose up` without the deploy
+# script still works.
 # =============================================================================
 
 name: prod-app  # default project name; deploy.sh overrides with -p
@@ -39,32 +36,3 @@ services:
       timeout: 3s
       retries: 6
 
-  nextjs:
-    # Build context is the workspace root (one level up from this file).
-    build:
-      context: ..
-      dockerfile: deploy/Dockerfile.nextjs
-    container_name: prod-app-nextjs
-    restart: unless-stopped
-    ports:
-      - "${NEXTJS_HOST_PORT:-3012}:3000"
-    environment:
-      # Runtime vars — these can change without rebuilding. NEXT_PUBLIC_*
-      # is also exported here for completeness, but the BROWSER's view of
-      # NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL is baked in at build time (see Dockerfile).
-      NODE_ENV: production
-      PORT: 3000
-      NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: ${NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL}
-    env_file:
-      - ../.env.production   # server-side secrets read at runtime
-    extra_hosts:
-      # Lets the container reach the host on the dynamically allocated port.
-      - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
-    depends_on:
-      postgrest:
-        condition: service_healthy
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health"]
-      interval: 10s
-      timeout: 3s
-      retries: 6