diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile.unified b/docker/Dockerfile.unified
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0f1c31cf8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile.unified
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+# Unified Dockerfile - Frontend + Backend in single container
+# Supports MODE parameter: BOTH (default), FRONTEND, BACKEND
+
+# Stage 1: Build Frontend
+FROM node:20-alpine AS frontend-build
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY frontend/package.json frontend/package-lock.json ./
+RUN npm ci
+
+COPY frontend .
+RUN npm run build
+
+# Stage 2: Build Backend
+FROM gradle:8.14-jdk21 AS backend-build
+
+COPY build.gradle .
+COPY settings.gradle .
+COPY gradlew .
+COPY gradle gradle/
+COPY app/core/build.gradle core/.
+COPY app/common/build.gradle common/.
+COPY app/proprietary/build.gradle proprietary/.
+RUN ./gradlew build -x spotlessApply -x spotlessCheck -x test -x sonarqube || return 0
+
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY . .
+
+RUN DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false \
+    STIRLING_PDF_DESKTOP_UI=false \
+    ./gradlew clean build -x spotlessApply -x spotlessCheck -x test -x sonarqube
+
+# Stage 3: Final unified image
+FROM alpine:3.22.1
+
+ARG VERSION_TAG
+
+# Labels
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.title="Stirling-PDF Unified"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.description="Unified container for Stirling-PDF - Frontend + Backend with MODE parameter"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.source="https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.licenses="MIT"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.vendor="Stirling-Tools"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.url="https://www.stirlingpdf.com"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.documentation="https://docs.stirlingpdf.com"
+LABEL maintainer="Stirling-Tools"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.authors="Stirling-Tools"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.version="${VERSION_TAG}"
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.keywords="PDF, manipulation, unified, API, Spring Boot, React"
+
+# Copy backend files
+COPY scripts /scripts
+COPY app/core/src/main/resources/static/fonts/*.ttf /usr/share/fonts/opentype/noto/
+COPY --from=backend-build /app/app/core/build/libs/*.jar app.jar
+
+# Copy frontend files
+COPY --from=frontend-build /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html
+
+# Copy nginx configuration
+COPY docker/unified/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+COPY docker/unified/entrypoint.sh /entrypoint.sh
+
+# Environment Variables
+ENV DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false \
+    VERSION_TAG=$VERSION_TAG \
+    JAVA_BASE_OPTS="-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=75 -XX:InitiatingHeapOccupancyPercent=20 -XX:+G1PeriodicGCInvokesConcurrent -XX:G1PeriodicGCInterval=10000 -XX:+UseStringDeduplication -XX:G1PeriodicGCSystemLoadThreshold=70" \
+    JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS="" \
+    HOME=/home/stirlingpdfuser \
+    PUID=1000 \
+    PGID=1000 \
+    UMASK=022 \
+    PYTHONPATH=/usr/lib/libreoffice/program:/opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages \
+    UNO_PATH=/usr/lib/libreoffice/program \
+    URE_BOOTSTRAP=file:///usr/lib/libreoffice/program/fundamentalrc \
+    PATH=$PATH:/opt/venv/bin \
+    STIRLING_TEMPFILES_DIRECTORY=/tmp/stirling-pdf \
+    TMPDIR=/tmp/stirling-pdf \
+    TEMP=/tmp/stirling-pdf \
+    TMP=/tmp/stirling-pdf \
+    MODE=BOTH \
+    BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT=8081 \
+    VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
+
+# Install all dependencies
+RUN echo "@main https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/main" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories && \
+    echo "@community https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories && \
+    echo "@testing https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing" | tee -a /etc/apk/repositories && \
+    apk upgrade --no-cache -a && \
+    apk add --no-cache \
+    ca-certificates \
+    tzdata \
+    tini \
+    bash \
+    curl \
+    shadow \
+    su-exec \
+    openssl \
+    openssl-dev \
+    openjdk21-jre \
+    nginx \
+    # Doc conversion
+    gcompat \
+    libc6-compat \
+    libreoffice \
+    # pdftohtml
+    poppler-utils \
+    # OCR MY PDF
+    unpaper \
+    tesseract-ocr-data-eng \
+    tesseract-ocr-data-chi_sim \
+    tesseract-ocr-data-deu \
+    tesseract-ocr-data-fra \
+    tesseract-ocr-data-por \
+    ocrmypdf \
+    # CV
+    py3-opencv \
+    python3 \
+    py3-pip \
+    py3-pillow@testing \
+    py3-pdf2image@testing && \
+    python3 -m venv /opt/venv && \
+    /opt/venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip setuptools && \
+    /opt/venv/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir --upgrade unoserver weasyprint && \
+    ln -s /usr/lib/libreoffice/program/uno.py /opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/ && \
+    ln -s /usr/lib/libreoffice/program/unohelper.py /opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/ && \
+    ln -s /usr/lib/libreoffice/program /opt/venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/LibreOffice && \
+    mv /usr/share/tessdata /usr/share/tessdata-original && \
+    mkdir -p $HOME /configs /logs /customFiles /pipeline/watchedFolders /pipeline/finishedFolders /tmp/stirling-pdf /pipeline/watchedFolders /pipeline/finishedFolders && \
+    mkdir -p /var/lib/nginx/tmp /var/log/nginx && \
+    fc-cache -f -v && \
+    chmod +x /scripts/* && \
+    chmod +x /entrypoint.sh && \
+    # User permissions
+    addgroup -S stirlingpdfgroup && adduser -S stirlingpdfuser -G stirlingpdfgroup && \
+    chown -R stirlingpdfuser:stirlingpdfgroup $HOME /scripts /pipeline /usr/share/fonts/opentype/noto /configs /customFiles /pipeline /tmp/stirling-pdf /var/lib/nginx /var/log/nginx /usr/share/nginx && \
+    chown stirlingpdfuser:stirlingpdfgroup /app.jar
+
+EXPOSE 8080/tcp
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["tini", "--", "/entrypoint.sh"]
diff --git a/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-backend.yml b/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-backend.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b8ebfd42b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-backend.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Example Docker Compose for Unified Stirling-PDF Container
+# MODE=BACKEND: Backend API only (no frontend)
+
+services:
+  stirling-pdf-backend-only:
+    container_name: Stirling-PDF-Backend-Only
+    build:
+      context: ../..
+      dockerfile: docker/Dockerfile.unified
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    volumes:
+      - ./stirling/data:/usr/share/tessdata:rw
+      - ./stirling/config:/configs:rw
+      - ./stirling/logs:/logs:rw
+      - ./stirling/customFiles:/customFiles:rw
+      - ./stirling/pipeline:/pipeline:rw
+    environment:
+      # MODE parameter: BACKEND only
+      MODE: BACKEND
+
+      # Standard Stirling-PDF configuration
+      DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES: "false"
+      DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY: "false"
+      PUID: 1000
+      PGID: 1000
+      UMASK: "022"
+
+      # Application settings
+      SYSTEM_DEFAULTLOCALE: en-US
+      UI_APPNAME: Stirling-PDF
+      SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE: "100"
+      METRICS_ENABLED: "true"
+
+      # Optional: Add OCR languages (comma-separated)
+      # TESSERACT_LANGS: "deu,fra,spa"
+
+      # Optional: Java memory settings
+      # JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS: "-Xmx4g"
+
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status || exit 1"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+      start_period: 40s
+
+    deploy:
+      resources:
+        limits:
+          memory: 4G
+        reservations:
+          memory: 2G
+
+# Access the API at: http://localhost:8080/api
+# Swagger UI at: http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html
diff --git a/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-both.yml b/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-both.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..92e08e4aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-both.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# Example Docker Compose for Unified Stirling-PDF Container
+# MODE=BOTH (default): Frontend + Backend in single container on port 8080
+
+services:
+  stirling-pdf-unified:
+    container_name: Stirling-PDF-Unified-Both
+    build:
+      context: ../..
+      dockerfile: docker/Dockerfile.unified
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    volumes:
+      - ./stirling/data:/usr/share/tessdata:rw
+      - ./stirling/config:/configs:rw
+      - ./stirling/logs:/logs:rw
+      - ./stirling/customFiles:/customFiles:rw
+      - ./stirling/pipeline:/pipeline:rw
+    environment:
+      # MODE parameter: BOTH (default), FRONTEND, or BACKEND
+      MODE: BOTH
+
+      # Backend runs internally on this port when MODE=BOTH
+      BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT: 8081
+
+      # Standard Stirling-PDF configuration
+      DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES: "false"
+      DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY: "false"
+      PUID: 1000
+      PGID: 1000
+      UMASK: "022"
+
+      # Application settings
+      SYSTEM_DEFAULTLOCALE: en-US
+      UI_APPNAME: Stirling-PDF
+      UI_HOMEDESCRIPTION: Your locally hosted one-stop-shop for all your PDF needs
+      SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE: "100"
+      METRICS_ENABLED: "true"
+
+      # Optional: Add OCR languages (comma-separated)
+      # TESSERACT_LANGS: "deu,fra,spa"
+
+      # Optional: Java memory settings
+      # JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS: "-Xmx4g"
+
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status || exit 1"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+      start_period: 40s
+
+    deploy:
+      resources:
+        limits:
+          memory: 4G
+        reservations:
+          memory: 2G
diff --git a/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-frontend.yml b/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-frontend.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c7d217b34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-frontend.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Example Docker Compose for Unified Stirling-PDF Container
+# MODE=FRONTEND: Frontend only, connects to separate backend
+
+services:
+  stirling-pdf-backend:
+    container_name: Stirling-PDF-Backend
+    build:
+      context: ../..
+      dockerfile: docker/Dockerfile.unified
+    ports:
+      - "8081:8080"
+    volumes:
+      - ./stirling/data:/usr/share/tessdata:rw
+      - ./stirling/config:/configs:rw
+      - ./stirling/logs:/logs:rw
+      - ./stirling/customFiles:/customFiles:rw
+      - ./stirling/pipeline:/pipeline:rw
+    environment:
+      MODE: BACKEND
+      DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES: "false"
+      DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY: "false"
+      PUID: 1000
+      PGID: 1000
+      UMASK: "022"
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status || exit 1"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+    deploy:
+      resources:
+        limits:
+          memory: 4G
+
+  stirling-pdf-frontend:
+    container_name: Stirling-PDF-Frontend
+    build:
+      context: ../..
+      dockerfile: docker/Dockerfile.unified
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    environment:
+      MODE: FRONTEND
+
+      # Point to the backend service
+      VITE_API_BASE_URL: http://stirling-pdf-backend:8080
+
+      # Minimal config needed for frontend
+      PUID: 1000
+      PGID: 1000
+    depends_on:
+      - stirling-pdf-backend
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/ || exit 1"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+    deploy:
+      resources:
+        limits:
+          memory: 512M
diff --git a/docker/unified/README.md b/docker/unified/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f0488aa2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/unified/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,458 @@
+# Stirling-PDF Unified Container
+
+Single Docker container that can run as **frontend + backend**, **frontend only**, or **backend only** using the `MODE` environment variable.
+
+## Quick Start
+
+### MODE=BOTH (Default)
+Single container with both frontend and backend on port 8080:
+
+```bash
+docker run -p 8080:8080 \
+  -e MODE=BOTH \
+  stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+```
+
+Access at: `http://localhost:8080`
+
+### MODE=FRONTEND
+Frontend only, connecting to separate backend:
+
+```bash
+docker run -p 8080:8080 \
+  -e MODE=FRONTEND \
+  -e VITE_API_BASE_URL=http://backend:8080 \
+  stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+```
+
+### MODE=BACKEND
+Backend API only:
+
+```bash
+docker run -p 8080:8080 \
+  -e MODE=BACKEND \
+  stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+```
+
+Access API at: `http://localhost:8080/api`
+Swagger UI at: `http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html`
+
+---
+
+## Architecture
+
+### MODE=BOTH (Default)
+```
+┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
+│     Port 8080 (External)            │
+│  ┌───────────────────────────────┐  │
+│  │         Nginx                 │  │
+│  │  • Serves frontend (/)        │  │
+│  │  • Proxies /api/* → backend   │  │
+│  └───────────┬───────────────────┘  │
+│              │                       │
+│  ┌───────────▼───────────────────┐  │
+│  │    Backend (Internal 8081)    │  │
+│  │  • Spring Boot                │  │
+│  │  • PDF Processing             │  │
+│  │  • UnoServer                  │  │
+│  └───────────────────────────────┘  │
+└─────────────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+### MODE=FRONTEND
+```
+┌─────────────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────┐
+│   Frontend Container        │      │  Backend         │
+│   Port 8080                 │      │  (External)      │
+│  ┌───────────────────────┐  │      │                  │
+│  │       Nginx           │  │──────▶  :8080/api       │
+│  │  • Serves frontend    │  │      │                  │
+│  │  • Proxies to backend │  │      │                  │
+│  └───────────────────────┘  │      └──────────────────┘
+└─────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+### MODE=BACKEND
+```
+┌─────────────────────────────┐
+│   Backend Container         │
+│   Port 8080                 │
+│  ┌───────────────────────┐  │
+│  │   Spring Boot         │  │
+│  │  • API Endpoints      │  │
+│  │  • PDF Processing     │  │
+│  │  • UnoServer          │  │
+│  └───────────────────────┘  │
+└─────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+---
+
+## Environment Variables
+
+### MODE Configuration
+
+| Variable | Values | Default | Description |
+|----------|--------|---------|-------------|
+| `MODE` | `BOTH`, `FRONTEND`, `BACKEND` | `BOTH` | Container operation mode |
+
+### MODE=BOTH Specific
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT` | `8081` | Internal port for backend when MODE=BOTH |
+
+### MODE=FRONTEND Specific
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `VITE_API_BASE_URL` | `http://backend:8080` | Backend URL for API proxying |
+
+### Standard Configuration
+
+All modes support standard Stirling-PDF environment variables:
+
+- `DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES` - Enable/disable OCR and LibreOffice features
+- `DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY` - Enable authentication
+- `PUID` / `PGID` - User/Group IDs
+- `SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE` - Max upload size (MB)
+- `TESSERACT_LANGS` - Comma-separated OCR language codes
+- `JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS` - Additional JVM options
+
+See full configuration docs at: https://docs.stirlingpdf.com
+
+---
+
+## Docker Compose Examples
+
+### Example 1: All-in-One (MODE=BOTH)
+
+**File:** `docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-both.yml`
+
+```yaml
+services:
+  stirling-pdf:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    volumes:
+      - ./data:/usr/share/tessdata:rw
+      - ./config:/configs:rw
+    environment:
+      MODE: BOTH
+    restart: unless-stopped
+```
+
+### Example 2: Separate Frontend & Backend
+
+**File:** `docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-frontend.yml`
+
+```yaml
+services:
+  backend:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+    ports:
+      - "8081:8080"
+    environment:
+      MODE: BACKEND
+    volumes:
+      - ./data:/usr/share/tessdata:rw
+      - ./config:/configs:rw
+
+  frontend:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    environment:
+      MODE: FRONTEND
+      VITE_API_BASE_URL: http://backend:8080
+    depends_on:
+      - backend
+```
+
+### Example 3: Backend API Only
+
+**File:** `docker/compose/docker-compose-unified-backend.yml`
+
+```yaml
+services:
+  stirling-pdf-api:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    environment:
+      MODE: BACKEND
+    volumes:
+      - ./data:/usr/share/tessdata:rw
+      - ./config:/configs:rw
+    restart: unless-stopped
+```
+
+---
+
+## Building the Image
+
+```bash
+# From repository root
+docker build -t stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified -f docker/Dockerfile.unified .
+```
+
+### Build Arguments
+
+| Argument | Description |
+|----------|-------------|
+| `VERSION_TAG` | Version tag for the image |
+
+Example:
+```bash
+docker build \
+  --build-arg VERSION_TAG=v1.0.0 \
+  -t stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified \
+  -f docker/Dockerfile.unified .
+```
+
+---
+
+## Use Cases
+
+### 1. Simple Deployment (MODE=BOTH)
+- **Best for:** Personal use, small teams, simple deployments
+- **Pros:** Single container, easy setup, minimal configuration
+- **Cons:** Frontend and backend scale together
+
+### 2. Scaled Frontend (MODE=FRONTEND + BACKEND)
+- **Best for:** High traffic, need to scale frontend independently
+- **Pros:** Scale frontend containers separately, CDN-friendly
+- **Example:**
+  ```yaml
+  services:
+    backend:
+      image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+      environment:
+        MODE: BACKEND
+      deploy:
+        replicas: 1
+
+    frontend:
+      image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+      environment:
+        MODE: FRONTEND
+        VITE_API_BASE_URL: http://backend:8080
+      deploy:
+        replicas: 5  # Scale frontend independently
+  ```
+
+### 3. API-Only (MODE=BACKEND)
+- **Best for:** Headless deployments, custom frontends, API integrations
+- **Pros:** Minimal resources, no nginx overhead
+- **Example:** Use with external frontend or API consumers
+
+### 4. Multi-Backend Setup
+- **Best for:** Load balancing, high availability
+- **Example:**
+  ```yaml
+  services:
+    backend-1:
+      image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+      environment:
+        MODE: BACKEND
+
+    backend-2:
+      image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+      environment:
+        MODE: BACKEND
+
+    frontend:
+      image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+      environment:
+        MODE: FRONTEND
+        VITE_API_BASE_URL: http://load-balancer:8080
+  ```
+
+---
+
+## Port Configuration
+
+All modes use **port 8080** by default:
+
+- **MODE=BOTH**: Nginx listens on 8080, proxies to backend on internal 8081
+- **MODE=FRONTEND**: Nginx listens on 8080
+- **MODE=BACKEND**: Spring Boot listens on 8080
+
+**Expose port 8080** in all configurations:
+```yaml
+ports:
+  - "8080:8080"
+```
+
+---
+
+## Health Checks
+
+### MODE=BOTH and MODE=BACKEND
+```yaml
+healthcheck:
+  test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status || exit 1"]
+  interval: 30s
+  timeout: 10s
+  retries: 3
+```
+
+### MODE=FRONTEND
+```yaml
+healthcheck:
+  test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/ || exit 1"]
+  interval: 30s
+  timeout: 10s
+  retries: 3
+```
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Check logs
+```bash
+docker logs stirling-pdf-container
+```
+
+Look for the startup banner:
+```
+===================================
+Stirling-PDF Unified Container
+MODE: BOTH
+===================================
+```
+
+### Invalid MODE error
+```
+ERROR: Invalid MODE 'XYZ'. Must be BOTH, FRONTEND, or BACKEND
+```
+**Fix:** Set `MODE` to one of the three valid values.
+
+### Frontend can't connect to backend (MODE=FRONTEND)
+**Check:**
+1. `VITE_API_BASE_URL` points to correct backend URL
+2. Backend container is running and accessible
+3. Network connectivity between containers
+
+### Backend not starting (MODE=BOTH or BACKEND)
+**Check:**
+1. Sufficient memory allocated (4GB recommended)
+2. Java heap size (`JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS`)
+3. Volume permissions for `/tmp/stirling-pdf`
+
+---
+
+## Migration Guide
+
+### From Separate Containers → MODE=BOTH
+
+**Before:**
+```yaml
+services:
+  frontend:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:frontend
+    ports: ["80:80"]
+
+  backend:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:backend
+    ports: ["8080:8080"]
+```
+
+**After:**
+```yaml
+services:
+  stirling-pdf:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+    ports: ["8080:8080"]
+    environment:
+      MODE: BOTH
+```
+
+### From Legacy → MODE=BACKEND
+```yaml
+services:
+  stirling-pdf:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest
+    ports: ["8080:8080"]
+```
+
+**Becomes:**
+```yaml
+services:
+  stirling-pdf:
+    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified
+    ports: ["8080:8080"]
+    environment:
+      MODE: BACKEND
+```
+
+---
+
+## Performance Tuning
+
+### MODE=BOTH
+```yaml
+environment:
+  JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS: "-Xmx4g -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=75"
+  BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT: 8081
+deploy:
+  resources:
+    limits:
+      memory: 4G
+    reservations:
+      memory: 2G
+```
+
+### MODE=FRONTEND (Lightweight)
+```yaml
+deploy:
+  resources:
+    limits:
+      memory: 512M
+    reservations:
+      memory: 256M
+```
+
+### MODE=BACKEND (Heavy Processing)
+```yaml
+environment:
+  JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS: "-Xmx8g"
+deploy:
+  resources:
+    limits:
+      memory: 10G
+    reservations:
+      memory: 4G
+```
+
+---
+
+## Security Considerations
+
+1. **MODE=BOTH**: Backend not exposed externally (runs on internal port)
+2. **MODE=BACKEND**: API exposed directly - consider API authentication
+3. **MODE=FRONTEND**: Only serves static files - minimal attack surface
+
+Enable security features:
+```yaml
+environment:
+  DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY: "true"
+  SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN: "true"
+```
+
+---
+
+## Support
+
+- Documentation: https://docs.stirlingpdf.com
+- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/issues
+- Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/stirlingtools/stirling-pdf
+
+---
+
+## License
+
+MIT License - See repository for full details
diff --git a/docker/unified/build.sh b/docker/unified/build.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5dd59d668
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/unified/build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Build script for Stirling-PDF Unified Container
+# Usage: ./build.sh [version-tag]
+
+set -e
+
+VERSION_TAG=${1:-latest}
+IMAGE_NAME="stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:unified-${VERSION_TAG}"
+
+echo "==================================="
+echo "Building Stirling-PDF Unified Container"
+echo "Version: $VERSION_TAG"
+echo "Image: $IMAGE_NAME"
+echo "==================================="
+
+# Navigate to repository root (assuming script is in docker/unified/)
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+REPO_ROOT="$SCRIPT_DIR/../.."
+
+cd "$REPO_ROOT"
+
+# Build the image
+docker build \
+  --build-arg VERSION_TAG="$VERSION_TAG" \
+  -t "$IMAGE_NAME" \
+  -f docker/Dockerfile.unified \
+  .
+
+echo "==================================="
+echo "✓ Build complete!"
+echo "Image: $IMAGE_NAME"
+echo ""
+echo "Test the image:"
+echo "  MODE=BOTH:     docker run -p 8080:8080 -e MODE=BOTH $IMAGE_NAME"
+echo "  MODE=FRONTEND: docker run -p 8080:8080 -e MODE=FRONTEND $IMAGE_NAME"
+echo "  MODE=BACKEND:  docker run -p 8080:8080 -e MODE=BACKEND $IMAGE_NAME"
+echo "==================================="
diff --git a/docker/unified/entrypoint.sh b/docker/unified/entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..92075ff3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/unified/entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+# Default MODE to BOTH if not set
+MODE=${MODE:-BOTH}
+
+echo "==================================="
+echo "Stirling-PDF Unified Container"
+echo "MODE: $MODE"
+echo "==================================="
+
+# Function to setup OCR (from init.sh)
+setup_ocr() {
+    echo "Setting up OCR languages..."
+
+    # Copy tessdata
+    mkdir -p /usr/share/tessdata
+    cp -rn /usr/share/tessdata-original/* /usr/share/tessdata 2>/dev/null || true
+
+    if [ -d /usr/share/tesseract-ocr/4.00/tessdata ]; then
+        cp -r /usr/share/tesseract-ocr/4.00/tessdata/* /usr/share/tessdata 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+
+    if [ -d /usr/share/tesseract-ocr/5/tessdata ]; then
+        cp -r /usr/share/tesseract-ocr/5/tessdata/* /usr/share/tessdata 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+
+    # Install additional languages if specified
+    if [[ -n "$TESSERACT_LANGS" ]]; then
+        SPACE_SEPARATED_LANGS=$(echo $TESSERACT_LANGS | tr ',' ' ')
+        pattern='^[a-zA-Z]{2,4}(_[a-zA-Z]{2,4})?$'
+        for LANG in $SPACE_SEPARATED_LANGS; do
+            if [[ $LANG =~ $pattern ]]; then
+                apk add --no-cache "tesseract-ocr-data-$LANG" 2>/dev/null || true
+            fi
+        done
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function to setup user permissions (from init-without-ocr.sh)
+setup_permissions() {
+    echo "Setting up user permissions..."
+
+    export JAVA_TOOL_OPTIONS="${JAVA_BASE_OPTS} ${JAVA_CUSTOM_OPTS}"
+
+    # Update user and group IDs
+    if [ ! -z "$PUID" ] && [ "$PUID" != "$(id -u stirlingpdfuser)" ]; then
+        usermod -o -u "$PUID" stirlingpdfuser || true
+    fi
+
+    if [ ! -z "$PGID" ] && [ "$PGID" != "$(getent group stirlingpdfgroup | cut -d: -f3)" ]; then
+        groupmod -o -g "$PGID" stirlingpdfgroup || true
+    fi
+
+    umask "$UMASK" || true
+
+    # Install fonts if needed
+    if [[ -n "$LANGS" ]]; then
+        /scripts/installFonts.sh $LANGS
+    fi
+
+    # Ensure directories exist with correct permissions
+    mkdir -p /tmp/stirling-pdf || true
+
+    # Set ownership and permissions
+    chown -R stirlingpdfuser:stirlingpdfgroup \
+        $HOME /logs /scripts /usr/share/fonts/opentype/noto \
+        /configs /customFiles /pipeline /tmp/stirling-pdf \
+        /var/lib/nginx /var/log/nginx /usr/share/nginx \
+        /app.jar 2>/dev/null || echo "[WARN] Some chown operations failed, may run as host user"
+
+    chmod -R 755 /logs /scripts /usr/share/fonts/opentype/noto \
+        /configs /customFiles /pipeline /tmp/stirling-pdf 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+
+# Function to configure nginx
+configure_nginx() {
+    local backend_url=$1
+    echo "Configuring nginx with backend URL: $backend_url"
+    sed -i "s|\${BACKEND_URL}|${backend_url}|g" /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+}
+
+# Function to run as user or root depending on permissions
+run_as_user() {
+    if [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ]; then
+        # Running as root, use su-exec
+        su-exec stirlingpdfuser "$@"
+    else
+        # Already running as non-root
+        exec "$@"
+    fi
+}
+
+# Setup OCR and permissions
+setup_ocr
+setup_permissions
+
+# Handle different modes
+case "$MODE" in
+    BOTH)
+        echo "Starting in BOTH mode: Frontend + Backend on port 8080"
+
+        # Configure nginx to proxy to internal backend
+        configure_nginx "http://localhost:${BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT:-8081}"
+
+        # Start backend on internal port
+        echo "Starting backend on port ${BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT:-8081}..."
+        run_as_user sh -c "java -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 \
+            -Djava.io.tmpdir=/tmp/stirling-pdf \
+            -Dserver.port=${BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT:-8081} \
+            -jar /app.jar" &
+        BACKEND_PID=$!
+
+        # Start unoserver for document conversion
+        run_as_user /opt/venv/bin/unoserver --port 2003 --interface 127.0.0.1 &
+        UNO_PID=$!
+
+        # Wait for backend to start
+        sleep 3
+
+        # Start nginx on port 8080
+        echo "Starting nginx on port 8080..."
+        run_as_user nginx -g "daemon off;" &
+        NGINX_PID=$!
+
+        echo "==================================="
+        echo "✓ Frontend available at: http://localhost:8080"
+        echo "✓ Backend API at: http://localhost:8080/api"
+        echo "✓ Backend running internally on port ${BACKEND_INTERNAL_PORT:-8081}"
+        echo "==================================="
+        ;;
+
+    FRONTEND)
+        echo "Starting in FRONTEND mode: Frontend only on port 8080"
+
+        # Configure nginx with external backend URL
+        BACKEND_URL=${VITE_API_BASE_URL:-http://backend:8080}
+        configure_nginx "$BACKEND_URL"
+
+        # Start nginx on port 8080
+        echo "Starting nginx on port 8080..."
+        run_as_user nginx -g "daemon off;" &
+        NGINX_PID=$!
+
+        echo "==================================="
+        echo "✓ Frontend available at: http://localhost:8080"
+        echo "✓ Proxying API calls to: $BACKEND_URL"
+        echo "==================================="
+        ;;
+
+    BACKEND)
+        echo "Starting in BACKEND mode: Backend only on port 8080"
+
+        # Start backend on port 8080
+        echo "Starting backend on port 8080..."
+        run_as_user sh -c "java -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 \
+            -Djava.io.tmpdir=/tmp/stirling-pdf \
+            -Dserver.port=8080 \
+            -jar /app.jar & /opt/venv/bin/unoserver --port 2003 --interface 127.0.0.1" &
+        BACKEND_PID=$!
+
+        echo "==================================="
+        echo "✓ Backend API available at: http://localhost:8080/api"
+        echo "✓ Swagger UI at: http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html"
+        echo "==================================="
+        ;;
+
+    *)
+        echo "ERROR: Invalid MODE '$MODE'. Must be BOTH, FRONTEND, or BACKEND"
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+esac
+
+# Wait for all background processes
+wait
diff --git a/docker/unified/nginx.conf b/docker/unified/nginx.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..77ee17f89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/unified/nginx.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+events {
+    worker_connections 1024;
+}
+
+http {
+    include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
+    default_type application/octet-stream;
+
+    # Add .mjs MIME type mapping
+    types {
+        text/javascript mjs;
+    }
+
+    # Gzip compression
+    gzip on;
+    gzip_vary on;
+    gzip_min_length 1024;
+    gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml text/javascript application/javascript application/xml+rss application/json;
+
+    server {
+        listen 8080;
+        server_name _;
+        root /usr/share/nginx/html;
+        index index.html index.htm;
+
+        # Global settings for file uploads
+        client_max_body_size 100m;
+
+        # Handle client-side routing - support subpaths
+        location / {
+            try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
+        }
+
+        # Proxy API calls to backend
+        location /api/ {
+            proxy_pass ${BACKEND_URL}/api/;
+            proxy_set_header Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
+
+            # Additional headers for proper API proxying
+            proxy_set_header Connection '';
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_buffering off;
+            proxy_cache off;
+
+            # Timeout settings for large file uploads
+            proxy_connect_timeout 60s;
+            proxy_send_timeout 60s;
+            proxy_read_timeout 60s;
+
+            # Request size limits for file uploads
+            client_max_body_size 100m;
+            proxy_request_buffering off;
+        }
+
+        # Proxy Swagger UI to backend (including versioned paths)
+        location ~ ^/swagger-ui(.*)$ {
+            proxy_pass ${BACKEND_URL}/swagger-ui$1;
+            proxy_set_header Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
+
+            proxy_set_header Connection '';
+            proxy_http_version 1.1;
+            proxy_buffering off;
+            proxy_cache off;
+        }
+
+        # Proxy API docs to backend (with query parameters and sub-paths)
+        location ~ ^/v3/api-docs(.*)$ {
+            proxy_pass ${BACKEND_URL}/v3/api-docs$1;
+            proxy_set_header Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
+        }
+
+        # Proxy v1 API docs to backend (with query parameters and sub-paths)
+        location ~ ^/v1/api-docs(.*)$ {
+            proxy_pass ${BACKEND_URL}/v1/api-docs$1;
+            proxy_set_header Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
+            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port;
+        }
+
+        # Serve .mjs files with correct MIME type (must come before general static assets)
+        location ~* \.mjs$ {
+            try_files $uri =404;
+            add_header Content-Type "text/javascript; charset=utf-8" always;
+            expires 1y;
+            add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
+        }
+
+        # Cache static assets
+        location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico|svg|woff|woff2|ttf|eot)$ {
+            expires 1y;
+            add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
+        }
+
+        # Security headers
+        add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
+        add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
+        add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
+        add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;
+    }
+}