diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 38b0c6f..d191eaf 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -28,14 +28,36 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           APP_DIR=/home/tyler/route-commerce
           mkdir -p $APP_DIR
-          # Free port 3001 if anything is still on it (stale container, leftover dev process)
-          if ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q ':3001 '; then
-            echo "Port 3001 in use, attempting to free it..."
-            fuser -k 3001/tcp 2>/dev/null || true
-            docker ps -aq --filter "publish=3001" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r docker rm -f 2>/dev/null || true
-            docker compose -f $APP_DIR/docker-compose.yml down --remove-orphans 2>/dev/null || true
-            sleep 3
-          fi
+
+          # Free the dev-stack port (3001) and the port the previous deploy used
+          # (so a new deploy can pick it back up if it's the lowest free port)
+          PREV_PORT=$(cat .postgrest-port 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+          for port in 3001 $PREV_PORT; do
+            if [ -n "$port" ] && ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":$port "; then
+              echo "Port $port in use, freeing..."
+              fuser -k -9 $port/tcp 2>/dev/null || true
+              docker ps -aq --filter "publish=$port" 2>/dev/null | xargs -r docker rm -f 2>/dev/null || true
+            fi
+          done
+          docker compose -f $APP_DIR/docker-compose.yml down --remove-orphans 2>/dev/null || true
+          sleep 3
+
+          # Find the first free host port starting from 3011. Persist the choice
+          # so the Build and Deploy steps below can use the same URL.
+          POSTGREST_HOST_PORT=3011
+          while ss -tln 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":$POSTGREST_HOST_PORT "; do
+            echo "Port $POSTGREST_HOST_PORT in use, trying next..."
+            POSTGREST_HOST_PORT=$((POSTGREST_HOST_PORT + 1))
+            if [ $POSTGREST_HOST_PORT -gt 30200 ]; then
+              echo "ERROR: no free port in 3011-30200 range"
+              exit 1
+            fi
+          done
+          echo "Using PostgREST host port: $POSTGREST_HOST_PORT"
+          echo "$POSTGREST_HOST_PORT" > .postgrest-port
+          export NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL="http://localhost:$POSTGREST_HOST_PORT"
+          export POSTGREST_HOST_PORT
+
           # Seed config files into APP_DIR if missing (they live in the repo, not in APP_DIR)
           [ -f $APP_DIR/.env.example ] || cp .env.example $APP_DIR/.env.example
           [ -f $APP_DIR/docker-compose.yml ] || cp docker-compose.yml $APP_DIR/docker-compose.yml
@@ -49,7 +71,8 @@ jobs:
             echo "MINIO_ROOT_USER=${MINIO_ROOT_USER}"
             echo "MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD}"
             echo "POSTGREST_JWT_SECRET=${POSTGREST_JWT_SECRET}"
-            echo "NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:3011"
+            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
@@ -86,7 +109,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build
         env:
           NODE_ENV: production
-          NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: http://localhost:3011
           DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}
           BETTER_AUTH_SECRET: ${{ secrets.BETTER_AUTH_SECRET }}
           BETTER_AUTH_URL: ${{ secrets.BETTER_AUTH_URL }}
@@ -107,11 +129,13 @@ jobs:
           MINIMAX_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.MINIMAX_API_KEY }}
           MINIMAX_BASE_URL: ${{ secrets.MINIMAX_BASE_URL }}
           FROM_EMAIL: ${{ secrets.FROM_EMAIL }}
-        run: npm run build
+        run: |
+          POSTGREST_HOST_PORT=$(cat .postgrest-port)
+          export NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL="http://localhost:$POSTGREST_HOST_PORT"
+          npm run build
 
       - name: Deploy
         env:
-          NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: http://localhost:3011
           DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }}
           POSTGRES_USER: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_USER }}
           POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }}
@@ -145,6 +169,9 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           APP_DIR=/home/tyler/route-commerce
           mkdir -p $APP_DIR
+          # Use the port chosen by Start Docker stack (persisted to .postgrest-port)
+          POSTGREST_HOST_PORT=$(cat .postgrest-port)
+          export NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL="http://localhost:$POSTGREST_HOST_PORT"
 
           # Write env file from secrets (preserves existing .env for docker compose)
           {
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index e38d11e..69da5e5 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ services:
       PGRST_OPENAPI_MODE: disabled
       PGRST_DB_EXTRA_SEARCH_PATH: public,extensions
     ports:
-      - "127.0.0.1:3011:3001"
+      - "127.0.0.1:${POSTGREST_HOST_PORT:-3011}:3001"
 
   minio:
     image: minio/minio:latest