diff --git a/.github/DEPLOYMENT.md b/.github/DEPLOYMENT.md
index f68269d..b6b4709 100644
--- a/.github/DEPLOYMENT.md
+++ b/.github/DEPLOYMENT.md
@@ -49,9 +49,10 @@ Your production server should have:
 
 3. **Environment file configured**
    ```bash
+   # Create and configure .env.docker with your production values
+   # The docker-compose.yml already references this file
    cp .env.docker.example .env.docker
    nano .env.docker
-   # Set your domain and email
    ```
 
 ## Workflow Features
@@ -85,7 +86,7 @@ Your production server should have:
    # On server
    cd /opt/quixotic
    git pull origin main
-   docker-compose --env-file .env.docker up -d --build
+   docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d --pull always
    ```
 
 ## Monitoring
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 1f9602c..436aea4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -105,36 +105,13 @@ jobs:
           cd /opt/quixotic
           git pull origin main
           
-          # Create production environment file from secrets
-          cat > .env.docker << EOF
-          NODE_ENV=production
-          PORT=3000
-          POSTGRES_DB=${{ secrets.POSTGRES_DB }}
-          POSTGRES_USER=${{ secrets.POSTGRES_USER }}  
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }}
-          DOMAIN=${{ secrets.DOMAIN }}
-          ACME_EMAIL=${{ secrets.ACME_EMAIL }}
-          TRAEFIK_AUTH=${{ secrets.TRAEFIK_AUTH }}
-          TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=${{ secrets.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN }}
-          WEB_APP_URL=https://${{ secrets.DOMAIN }}
-          DATABASE_URL=postgresql://${{ secrets.POSTGRES_USER }}:${{ secrets.POSTGRES_PASSWORD }}@postgres:5432/${{ secrets.POSTGRES_DB }}
-          EOF
-          
           # Login to GitHub Container Registry
           echo ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} | docker login ghcr.io -u ${{ github.actor }} --password-stdin
           
-          # Pull latest image
-          docker pull ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:latest
-          
-          # Deploy with zero downtime using production override
-          docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml --env-file .env.docker pull
-          
-          # Stop existing containers if they exist
-          if docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml --env-file .env.docker ps -q | grep -q .; then
-            docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml --env-file .env.docker down --remove-orphans
-          fi
-          
-          docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml --env-file .env.docker up -d
+          # Deploy using production compose
+          docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml pull
+          docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml down --remove-orphans
+          docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
           
           # Cleanup old images
           docker image prune -f
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index daa9117..c930e70 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -75,11 +75,6 @@ build/
 out/
 coverage/
 
-# Docker
-.dockerignore.local
-docker-compose.override.yml
-docker-compose.local.yml
-
 # Backup files
 *.bak
 *.backup
diff --git a/.serena/memories/ci_cd_simplification_complete.md b/.serena/memories/ci_cd_simplification_complete.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59e3917
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.serena/memories/ci_cd_simplification_complete.md
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# CI/CD Simplification Complete
+
+## Changes Made
+
+### 1. Simplified docker-compose.prod.yml
+- Removed complex environment variable substitution
+- Now simply uses `ghcr.io/andrewkozin/quixotic:latest` image
+- Only sets `NODE_ENV: production`
+
+### 2. Simplified CI/CD Pipeline (.github/workflows/ci.yml)
+- Removed complex `.env.docker` file creation with secrets substitution
+- Deploy step now simply:
+  - Pulls latest code
+  - Logs into GHCR
+  - Uses standard docker-compose commands
+  - No more environment variable manipulation
+
+### 3. Updated package.json Scripts
+- Removed `--env-file .env.docker` from all docker commands
+- Added production-specific commands:
+  - `docker:prod` - Run production setup
+  - `docker:prod:down` - Stop production setup
+- Simplified existing commands to use default docker-compose behavior
+
+### 4. Updated Documentation
+- Updated DEPLOYMENT.md with new simple approach
+- Manual deployment now uses: `docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d --pull always`
+
+## Benefits
+- Much simpler deployment process
+- No complex environment variable manipulation in CI
+- Environment variables are loaded from `.env.docker` file on server (as configured in docker-compose.yml)
+- Cleaner separation between development and production configs
+- Easier to debug and maintain
+
+## Usage
+For production deployment:
+```bash
+docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d
+```
+
+For development:
+```bash
+docker-compose up -d
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.prod.yml b/docker-compose.prod.yml
index c7ff262..cf8731d 100644
--- a/docker-compose.prod.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.prod.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 services:
   quixotic-app:
-    build: null
-    image: ${APP_IMAGE}
+    image: ghcr.io/andrewkozin/quixotic:latest
+    environment:
+      NODE_ENV: production
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 60976d7..7919f81 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -18,12 +18,14 @@
     "validate": "yarn lint && yarn build && echo '✅ All checks passed!'",
     "pretest": "yarn validate",
     "docker:build": "docker-compose build",
-    "docker:up": "docker-compose --env-file .env.docker up -d",
+    "docker:up": "docker-compose up -d",
     "docker:down": "docker-compose down",
     "docker:logs": "docker-compose logs -f",
     "docker:restart": "docker-compose restart",
-    "docker:rebuild": "docker-compose down && docker-compose build --no-cache && docker-compose --env-file .env.docker up -d",
-    "docker:dev": "docker-compose --env-file .env.docker up --build"
+    "docker:rebuild": "docker-compose down && docker-compose build --no-cache && docker-compose up -d",
+    "docker:dev": "docker-compose up --build",
+    "docker:prod": "docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d",
+    "docker:prod:down": "docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml down"
   },
   "packageManager": "yarn@1.22.19",
   "dependencies": {