diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db2b3b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# Ignore node_modules, git, logs, and other local/development artifacts
+node_modules/
+.git/
+*.log
+Dockerfiles/Dockerfile.devenv
+.vscode/
+.env
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.swp
+# macOS and OS-specific files
+.DS_Store
+.AppleDouble
+.LSOverride
+Icon?
+._*
+Thumbs.db
+ehthumbs.db
+Desktop.ini
diff --git a/.github/workflows/github-actions-demo.yml b/.github/workflows/github-actions-demo.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b00f8e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/github-actions-demo.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+name: GitHub Actions Demo
+run-name: ${{ github.actor }} is testing out GitHub Actions 🚀
+on: [push]
+jobs:
+  Explore-GitHub-Actions:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - run: echo "🎉 The job was automatically triggered by a ${{ github.event_name }} event."
+      - run: echo "🐧 This job is now running on a ${{ runner.os }} server hosted by GitHub!"
+      - run: echo "🔎 The name of your branch is ${{ github.ref }} and your repository is ${{ github.repository }}."
+      - name: Check out repository code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v5
+      - run: echo "💡 The ${{ github.repository }} repository has been cloned to the runner."
+      - run: echo "🖥️ The workflow is now ready to test your code on the runner."
+      - name: List files in the repository
+        run: |
+          ls ${{ github.workspace }}
+      - run: echo "🍏 This job's status is ${{ job.status }}."
diff --git a/Dockerfiles/Dockerfile b/Dockerfiles/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de92721
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfiles/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+
+# ---------- Base Stage ----------
+FROM ubuntu:22.04-slim AS base
+SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-o", "pipefail", "-c"]
+RUN apt-get update -y && apt-get upgrade -y && \
+	apt-get install -y curl sudo && \
+	useradd -ms /bin/bash ubuntu && \
+	usermod -aG sudo ubuntu && \
+	chown -R ubuntu:ubuntu /home/ubuntu && \
+	apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+ENV HOME=/home/ubuntu
+WORKDIR $HOME
+
+# ---------- Standard Environment ----------
+FROM base AS standard
+USER ubuntu
+RUN curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash && \
+	. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh" && nvm install --lts && npm install -g @haxtheweb/create
+CMD ["/bin/bash"]
+
+# ---------- Dev Environment ----------
+FROM base AS dev
+USER ubuntu
+RUN curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash && \
+	. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh" && nvm install --lts && npm install -g @haxtheweb/create yarn && \
+	yarn global add symlink-dir @web/test-runner @web/test-runner-commands \
+	@web/test-runner-puppeteer @web/test-runner-playwright lerna web-component-analyzer && \
+	npm completion >> ~/.bashrc
+CMD ["/bin/bash"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5e75b15..cc00cb9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,2 +1,53 @@
 # containers
-containers in hax land
+
+Containerization of HAXTheWeb dev environments and deployments — containers in hax land
+
+## Project Overview
+
+This repository provides Docker Compose configurations for both a simple hosting environment and a full-featured development environment for HAXTheWeb.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/)
+- [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/)
+
+## Usage
+
+### Simple Host
+
+To run a single, unmanaged site:
+
+```sh
+docker compose up -d simplehost
+```
+
+- Access your site at [http://localhost:8000](http://localhost:8000)
+- Data is persisted in the `simplehost_data` volume.
+
+### Developer Environment
+
+To start the full-featured dev environment:
+
+```sh
+docker compose up -d devenv
+```
+
+- Access your dev environment at [http://localhost:8001](http://localhost:8001)
+- Data is persisted in the `devenv_data` volume.
+
+### Stopping and Removing Containers
+
+```sh
+docker compose down
+```
+
+## Services
+
+- **simplehost**: Minimal environment for hosting a single site.
+- **devenv**: Full dev environment with extra tools and utilities.
+
+## Example Commands
+
+- Build images: `docker compose build`
+- View running containers: `docker compose ps`
+- View logs: `docker compose logs <service>`
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1888785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+services:
+  # Simple host: for running a single, unmanaged site
+  simplehost:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: ./Dockerfiles/Dockerfile
+      target: standard
+    ports:
+      - "8000:3000"
+    tty: true
+    container_name: simplehost
+    volumes:
+      - simplehost_data:/data
+
+  # Dev environment: for full-featured development
+  devenv:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: ./Dockerfiles/Dockerfile
+      target: dev
+    ports:
+      - "8001:3000"
+    tty: true
+    container_name: devenv
+    volumes:
+      - devenv_data:/data
+# Named volumes for persistent data
+volumes:
+  simplehost_data:
+  devenv_data:
\ No newline at end of file