diff --git a/Femto.Api/Dockerfile b/Femto.Api/Dockerfile
index 131e508..097b28f 100644
--- a/Femto.Api/Dockerfile
+++ b/Femto.Api/Dockerfile
@@ -20,24 +20,54 @@ USER appuser
 FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:9.0 AS build
 ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
 WORKDIR /src
+
+# Copy csproj files for all projects
 COPY ["Femto.Api/Femto.Api.csproj", "Femto.Api/"]
 COPY ["Femto.Modules.Blog/Femto.Modules.Blog.csproj", "Femto.Modules.Blog/"]
 COPY ["Femto.Common/Femto.Common.csproj", "Femto.Common/"]
 COPY ["Femto.Modules.Auth.Contracts/Femto.Modules.Auth.Contracts.csproj", "Femto.Modules.Auth.Contracts/"]
 COPY ["Femto.Modules.Auth/Femto.Modules.Auth.csproj", "Femto.Modules.Auth/"]
 COPY ["Femto.Modules.Media/Femto.Modules.Media.csproj", "Femto.Modules.Media/"]
+COPY ["Femto.Database/Femto.Database.csproj", "Femto.Database/"]
+
+# Restore all dependencies
 RUN dotnet restore "Femto.Api/Femto.Api.csproj"
+
+# Copy everything
 COPY . .
+
+# Build the API
 WORKDIR "/src/Femto.Api"
 RUN dotnet build "Femto.Api.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/build
 
+# Build and publish both API and Database CLI
 FROM build AS publish
 ARG BUILD_CONFIGURATION=Release
+
+# Publish API
 RUN dotnet publish "Femto.Api.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/publish /p:UseAppHost=false
 
+# Publish Database CLI
+WORKDIR "/src/Femto.Database"
+RUN dotnet publish "Femto.Database.csproj" -c $BUILD_CONFIGURATION -o /app/femto-db /p:UseAppHost=false
+
+# Final runtime image
 FROM base AS final
 WORKDIR /app
-COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
 
-# Entrypoint
+# Copy published API and DB CLI
+COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
+COPY --from=publish /app/femto-db /app/femto-db
+
+# Add a wrapper script to launch the DB CLI
+RUN mkdir -p /app/scripts && \
+    echo '#!/bin/sh\nexec dotnet /app/femto-db/Femto.Database.dll "$@"' > /app/scripts/femto-db && \
+    chmod +x /app/scripts/femto-db
+
+# (Optional) Add script dir to PATH for easier access
+ENV PATH="/app/scripts:${PATH}"
+
+
+# Entrypoint for the API
 ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "Femto.Api.dll"]
+
diff --git a/Femto.Database/Femto.Database.csproj b/Femto.Database/Femto.Database.csproj
index acb7f32..d8d3289 100644
--- a/Femto.Database/Femto.Database.csproj
+++ b/Femto.Database/Femto.Database.csproj
@@ -14,7 +14,10 @@
     </ItemGroup>
 
     <ItemGroup>
-      <Folder Include="Migrations\" />
+        <Folder Include="Migrations\" />
+        <None Update="Migrations\**\*.sql">
+            <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
+        </None>
     </ItemGroup>
 
 </Project>
diff --git a/Femto.Database/Program.cs b/Femto.Database/Program.cs
index 3af67fb..ba182d5 100644
--- a/Femto.Database/Program.cs
+++ b/Femto.Database/Program.cs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ using Npgsql;
 var nameArg = new Argument<string>("name", "the name of the migration");
 var migrationsDirectoryOption = new Option<string>(
     ["--migrations-directory"],
-    () => "./Migrations",
+    () => System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("MigrationsDirectory") ?? "./Migrations",
     "the directory where the migrations are stored"
 );
 
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ var newCommand = new Command("new", "creates a new migrations")
     nameArg,
     migrationsDirectoryOption,
 };
+
 newCommand.SetHandler(MakeNewMigration, nameArg, migrationsDirectoryOption);
 
 var connectionStringArg = new Argument<string>(
@@ -22,30 +23,53 @@ var connectionStringArg = new Argument<string>(
     "the connection string to the database"
 );
 
+var connectionStringOption = new Option<string?>(
+    ["-c", "--connection-string"],
+    () => System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ConnectionStrings__Database") ?? null,
+    "the connection string to the database"
+);
+
 var upCommand = new Command("up", "update the database to the most current migration")
 {
     migrationsDirectoryOption,
     connectionStringArg,
 };
-upCommand.SetHandler(MigrateUp, migrationsDirectoryOption, connectionStringArg);
+
+upCommand.SetHandler(
+    async (directory, connectionString) =>
+    {
+        if (connectionString is null)
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentException("Connection string is required.");
+        }
+
+        await MigrateUp(directory, connectionString);
+    },
+    migrationsDirectoryOption,
+    connectionStringOption
+);
 
 var seedCommand = new Command("seed", "seed the database with test data") { connectionStringArg };
 seedCommand.SetHandler(Seed, connectionStringArg);
 
 // Add these near the top with other command definitions
-var yesOption = new Option<bool>(
-    ["-y", "--yes"],
-    "Skip confirmation prompt"
-);
+var yesOption = new Option<bool>(["-y", "--yes"], "Skip confirmation prompt");
 
-var resetCommand = new Command("reset", "drops the existing database, runs migrations, and seeds test data")
+var resetCommand = new Command(
+    "reset",
+    "drops the existing database, runs migrations, and seeds test data"
+)
 {
     connectionStringArg,
     migrationsDirectoryOption,
-    yesOption
+    yesOption,
 };
-resetCommand.SetHandler(CreateTestDatabase, connectionStringArg, migrationsDirectoryOption, yesOption);
-
+resetCommand.SetHandler(
+    CreateTestDatabase,
+    connectionStringArg,
+    migrationsDirectoryOption,
+    yesOption
+);
 
 var rootCommand = new RootCommand("migrator") { newCommand, upCommand, seedCommand, resetCommand };
 
@@ -85,19 +109,23 @@ static async Task Seed(string connectionString)
     await TestDataSeeder.Seed(dataSource);
 }
 
-static async Task CreateTestDatabase(string connectionString, string migrationsDirectory, bool skipConfirmation)
+static async Task CreateTestDatabase(
+    string connectionString,
+    string migrationsDirectory,
+    bool skipConfirmation
+)
 {
     var builder = new NpgsqlConnectionStringBuilder(connectionString);
     if (!skipConfirmation)
     {
         builder.Database = "postgres";
-    
+
         try
         {
             await using var dataSource = NpgsqlDataSource.Create(builder.ConnectionString);
             await using var conn = await dataSource.OpenConnectionAsync();
             await using var cmd = conn.CreateCommand();
-    
+
             cmd.CommandText = $"SELECT 1 FROM pg_database WHERE datname = '{builder.Database}'";
             var exists = await cmd.ExecuteScalarAsync();
             if (exists is true)
@@ -128,7 +156,7 @@ static async Task CreateTestDatabase(string connectionString, string migrationsD
         await using var dataSource = NpgsqlDataSource.Create(builder.ConnectionString);
         await using var conn = await dataSource.OpenConnectionAsync();
         await using var cmd = conn.CreateCommand();
-        
+
         // Drop database if it exists
         cmd.CommandText = $"DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS {databaseName} WITH (FORCE)";
         await cmd.ExecuteNonQueryAsync();