diff --git a/.claude/settings.local.json b/.claude/settings.local.json
index 8afdd36..418eb14 100644
--- a/.claude/settings.local.json
+++ b/.claude/settings.local.json
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@
       "Bash(git push:*)",
       "Bash(Start-Sleep -Seconds 10)",
       "Bash(npm install:*)",
-      "Bash(npm config get:*)"
+      "Bash(npm config get:*)",
+      "Bash(test:*)"
     ],
     "deny": [],
     "ask": []
diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 6b02f27..befb348 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ __pycache__
 env/
 venv/
 
-# Node modules (critical for fixing esbuild platform issue)
+# Node modules - installed inside Docker to ensure correct platform binaries
 node_modules
 frontend/node_modules
 */node_modules
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index de7a141..aa3cb77 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,24 +1,18 @@
 # Multi-stage build: First stage builds Angular frontend
 FROM node:18-alpine as frontend-builder
 
-# Install dependencies for native modules
-RUN apk add --no-cache python3 make g++
-
 WORKDIR /frontend
 
-# Copy package files
+# Copy package files first
 COPY frontend/package*.json ./
 
-# Copy .npmrc from frontend directory if it exists (using glob pattern to avoid errors)
-# This allows different environments to use different npm registries
-# To use: copy your user-level .npmrc to frontend/.npmrc before building
-#   Unix/Mac: cp ~/.npmrc frontend/.npmrc
-#   Windows: copy %USERPROFILE%\.npmrc frontend\.npmrc
-COPY frontend/.npmr[c] ./ 2>/dev/null || :
+# Copy .npmrc if it exists (allows using custom npm registry)
+# The quickstart scripts will create this from user's .npmrc
+# Using a conditional copy approach
+RUN --mount=type=bind,source=frontend,target=/tmp/frontend \
+    if [ -f /tmp/frontend/.npmrc ]; then cp /tmp/frontend/.npmrc ./; fi
 
-# Install dependencies using npm install
-# This will use the .npmrc configuration if present and generate a package-lock.json
-# appropriate for the configured registry (Artifactory or public npm)
+# Install dependencies inside Docker (ensures correct platform binaries)
 RUN npm install
 
 # Copy frontend source
diff --git a/quickstart.ps1 b/quickstart.ps1
index 63ee5b9..4a98bc5 100644
--- a/quickstart.ps1
+++ b/quickstart.ps1
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ if ($Help) {
     Write-Host "  -Help         Show this help message" -ForegroundColor White
     Write-Host ""
     Write-Host "NPM Registry:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
-    Write-Host "  Create frontend/.npmrc to configure custom npm registry" -ForegroundColor White
-    Write-Host "  The Docker build will use this file if present" -ForegroundColor White
+    Write-Host "  Uses your machine's npm configuration automatically" -ForegroundColor White
+    Write-Host "  npm install runs on host before Docker build" -ForegroundColor White
     Write-Host ""
     Write-Host "Brings up the complete stack: database, backend API, and frontend" -ForegroundColor Green
     Write-Host ""
@@ -31,24 +31,19 @@ Write-Host "Obsidian - Quick Start" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 Write-Host "=========================================" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 Write-Host ""
 
-# Copy user's .npmrc to frontend directory if it exists and frontend/.npmrc doesn't
+# Copy user's .npmrc to frontend directory if it exists
 $UserNpmrc = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ".npmrc"
 $FrontendNpmrc = "frontend\.npmrc"
 
 if (Test-Path $UserNpmrc) {
-    if (-not (Test-Path $FrontendNpmrc)) {
-        Write-Host "[INFO] Copying npm registry config from $UserNpmrc" -ForegroundColor Yellow
-        Copy-Item $UserNpmrc $FrontendNpmrc
-        Write-Host "[OK] Using custom npm registry configuration" -ForegroundColor Green
-    } else {
-        Write-Host "[OK] Using existing frontend\.npmrc" -ForegroundColor Green
-    }
+    Write-Host "Copying npm registry config for Docker build..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Copy-Item $UserNpmrc $FrontendNpmrc -Force
+    Write-Host "[OK] Using custom npm registry configuration" -ForegroundColor Green
 } else {
     if (Test-Path $FrontendNpmrc) {
-        Write-Host "[OK] Using frontend\.npmrc" -ForegroundColor Green
-    } else {
-        Write-Host "[INFO] Using default npm registry (no .npmrc found)" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+        Remove-Item $FrontendNpmrc -Force
     }
+    Write-Host "[INFO] Using default npm registry" -ForegroundColor Yellow
 }
 Write-Host ""
 
diff --git a/quickstart.sh b/quickstart.sh
index fcc41d3..8cb54a4 100644
--- a/quickstart.sh
+++ b/quickstart.sh
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
             echo "  --help         Show this help message"
             echo ""
             echo "NPM Registry:"
-            echo "  Create frontend/.npmrc to configure custom npm registry"
-            echo "  The Docker build will use this file if present"
+            echo "  Uses your machine's npm configuration automatically"
+            echo "  npm install runs on host before Docker build"
             echo ""
             echo "Brings up the complete stack: database, backend API, and frontend"
             echo ""
@@ -56,24 +56,19 @@ while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
     esac
 done
 
-# Copy user's .npmrc to frontend directory if it exists and frontend/.npmrc doesn't
+# Copy user's .npmrc to frontend directory if it exists
 USER_NPMRC="${HOME}/.npmrc"
 FRONTEND_NPMRC="frontend/.npmrc"
 
 if [ -f "$USER_NPMRC" ]; then
-    if [ ! -f "$FRONTEND_NPMRC" ]; then
-        echo "ℹ Copying npm registry config from $USER_NPMRC"
-        cp "$USER_NPMRC" "$FRONTEND_NPMRC"
-        echo "✓ Using custom npm registry configuration"
-    else
-        echo "✓ Using existing frontend/.npmrc"
-    fi
+    echo "Copying npm registry config for Docker build..."
+    cp "$USER_NPMRC" "$FRONTEND_NPMRC"
+    echo "✓ Using custom npm registry configuration"
 else
     if [ -f "$FRONTEND_NPMRC" ]; then
-        echo "✓ Using frontend/.npmrc"
-    else
-        echo "ℹ Using default npm registry (no .npmrc found)"
+        rm -f "$FRONTEND_NPMRC"
     fi
+    echo "ℹ Using default npm registry"
 fi
 echo ""