diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
index a0ed3d1..6c12200 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ jobs:
           tags: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}/werkzeugkiste-frontend:latest
           build-args: |
             NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL=${{ secrets.NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL }}
+            NODE_ENV=${{ secrets.NODE_ENV }}
 
       - name: Build and Push Backend
         uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@ jobs:
           tags: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}/werkzeugkiste-backend:latest
           build-args: |
             CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGIN=${{ secrets.CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGIN }}
+            NODE_ENV=${{ secrets.NODE_ENV }}
 
   deploy-on-server:
     needs: docker-build-push
diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index c6a7478..03e81f9 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -48,7 +48,8 @@ RUN \
 FROM base AS runner
 WORKDIR /app
 
-ENV NODE_ENV=production
+ARG NODE_ENV
+ENV NODE_ENV=$NODE_ENV
 
 RUN addgroup --system --gid 1001 nodejs
 RUN adduser --system --uid 1001 fastify
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
index aeb5cd4..1d47473 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ services:
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
       args:
         NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL: ${NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL}
+        NODE_ENV: ${NODE_ENV}
     container_name: werkzeugkiste-frontend
     environment:
       - NODE_ENV=${NODE_ENV}
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ services:
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
       args:
         CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGIN: ${CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGIN}
+        NODE_ENV: ${NODE_ENV}
     container_name: werkzeugkiste-backend
     environment:
       - NODE_ENV=${NODE_ENV}
diff --git a/frontend/Dockerfile b/frontend/Dockerfile
index 6261969..7aae739 100644
--- a/frontend/Dockerfile
+++ b/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ WORKDIR /app
 COPY --from=deps /app/node_modules ./node_modules
 COPY . .
 
-ENV NODE_ENV=production
+ARG NODE_ENV
+ENV NODE_ENV=$NODE_ENV
 ARG NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL
 ENV NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL=$NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL
 
@@ -44,7 +45,8 @@ RUN \
 FROM base AS runner
 WORKDIR /app
 
-ENV NODE_ENV=production
+ARG NODE_ENV
+ENV NODE_ENV=$NODE_ENV
 # Uncomment the following line in case you want to disable telemetry during runtime.
 # ENV NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1