diff --git a/FULLSTACK_GUIDE.md b/FULLSTACK_GUIDE.md
index a72f300..e4c2e67 100644
--- a/FULLSTACK_GUIDE.md
+++ b/FULLSTACK_GUIDE.md
@@ -1,26 +1,22 @@
-# PayGuard Full Stack - API + Frontend Setup
+# PayGuard Full Stack - Docker-Complete Setup
 
-Complete guide for running the PayGuard fraud detection system with the React web interface.
+Complete guide for running the entire PayGuard fraud detection system in Docker.
 
-## 🎉 FASTEST START - Docker-Integrated Frontend
+## 🎉 COMPLETE DOCKER SETUP - Everything in Containers!
 
-**NEW**: The React frontend is now integrated into Docker Compose!
+**NEW**: All services now run in Docker (infrastructure + API + frontend)!
 
 ```bash
-# Start EVERYTHING (infrastructure + frontend) with ONE command
+# Start EVERYTHING with ONE command
 docker compose up
 
-# In another terminal, start the API
-source venv/bin/activate
-uvicorn api.main:app --reload
-
-# In another terminal, start the consumer
+# In another terminal, start just the consumer
 cd consumer && python pipeline.py
 
 # Open browser: http://localhost:3000
 ```
 
-✨ **No manual npm dev server needed!** The frontend runs as an optimized production build inside Docker.
+✨ **Perfect setup!** All services (Zookeeper, Kafka, Redis, API, Frontend) run in Docker. Only the Consumer (Python) runs on your machine for live development.
 
 For more details: See `DOCKER_QUICK_START.md`
 
diff --git a/api/.dockerignore b/api/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f79b062
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+__pycache__
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.egg-info
+.pytest_cache
+.coverage
+.env
+.venv
+venv
+.DS_Store
+.git
+.gitignore
+README.md
diff --git a/api/Dockerfile b/api/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38daf84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+FROM python:3.11-slim
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Install dependencies
+COPY requirements.txt .
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+# Copy API code
+COPY api/main.py .
+
+# Copy models
+COPY models/ ./models/
+
+# Expose port
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+# Health check
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=10s --timeout=5s --retries=5 \
+  CMD python -c "import requests; requests.get('http://localhost:8000/health')"
+
+# Run the application
+CMD ["uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 885d526..d9f944c 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -47,6 +47,29 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - redis_data:/data
 
+  api:
+    build:
+      context: ./api
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+    ports:
+      - "8000:8000"
+    networks:
+      - payguard-network
+    depends_on:
+      kafka:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    environment:
+      - KAFKA_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS=kafka:29092
+      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
+    healthcheck:
+      test: python -c "import requests; requests.get('http://localhost:8000/health')" || exit 1
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 5
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
   frontend:
     build:
       context: ./frontend
@@ -60,6 +83,8 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
       redis:
         condition: service_healthy
+      api:
+        condition: service_healthy
     healthcheck:
       test: wget --quiet --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:3000 || exit 1
       interval: 10s
@@ -67,11 +92,11 @@ services:
       retries: 5
     environment:
       - NODE_ENV=production
-      - VITE_API_URL=http://host.docker.internal:8000
+      - VITE_API_URL=http://api:8000
     restart: unless-stopped
-    # NOTE: Frontend connects to API running on host machine via host.docker.internal
-    # This allows docker compose up to start infrastructure + frontend,
-    # while API and Consumer run locally on the same machine
+    # NOTE: All services now run in Docker on the same network
+    # Frontend: http://api:8000 (Docker service name resolution)
+    # Consumer: Still runs on host, connects to kafka:29092
 
 volumes:
   redis_data:
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 5a10102..bceffdd 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ interface Result {
   timestamp: string;
 }
 
-// Use host.docker.internal when running in Docker, localhost when running locally
+// Use Docker service name when in Docker, localhost when running locally
 const API_BASE_URL = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' 
-  ? 'http://host.docker.internal:8000'
-  : 'http://localhost:8000';
+  ? 'http://api:8000'              // Docker: use service name (automatically resolves)
+  : 'http://localhost:8000';       // Dev: use localhost
 
 const App: React.FC = () => {
   const [auth, setAuth] = useState<AuthState>({