diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
index 80864a29fd..db9a5acc46 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ jobs:
           # hebben geen outbound internet (npm/pnpm zouden hangen).
           DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
             --network=host \
+            --progress=plain \
             --build-arg NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=1536" \
             --cache-from epicnext-cms:latest \
             -t epicnext-cms:latest .
@@ -160,18 +161,15 @@ jobs:
           docker compose -f /var/www/atom-nexst/docker-compose.yml up -d --no-build 2>&1 || true
           exit 1
 
-      - name: Prune Docker cache
+      - name: Prune old Docker cache
         if: always()
         run: |
-          # Ruim de self-hosted runner op zodat de Docker daemon niet
-          # volloopt. Draaiende containers/images (o.a. de net-deployed
-          # epicnext-cms-app) worden nooit geraakt, alleen ongebruikte
-          # images, build-cache, volumes en networks verdwijnen.
-          docker image prune -af || true
-          docker container prune -f || true
-          docker volume prune -f || true
-          docker network prune -f || true
-          docker builder prune -af --keep-storage=2g || true
+          # Keep recently used layers and cache mounts for subsequent deploys.
+          # The age filter preserves the last 72 hours; keep-storage is a
+          # cleanup target, not a hard limit on recent cache disk usage.
+          docker builder prune -af --filter "until=72h" --keep-storage=2g || true
+          # Only old dangling images; application volumes and networks persist.
+          docker image prune -f --filter "until=168h" || true
 
   # ─────────────────────────────────────────────
   # E2E smoke against the freshly deployed container.
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 252eb24392..ef30344992 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
 # ==============================================================================
 # EpicNext-CMS — Docker image (Node 26.8.1, multi-package-manager, Next.js standalone)
 # ==============================================================================
@@ -19,21 +20,19 @@ RUN npm install -g pnpm@11.25.0 yarn
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# First copy only the manifests so dependency layers are cached when using pnpm.
-# For npm/yarn the full context is copied below before install.
-COPY package.json pnpm-workspace.yaml .npmrc ./
-
-# Copy the rest of the source (brings in whichever lockfile your project uses).
-COPY . .
+# Lockfiles and installer settings are the only inputs to the dependency layer.
+# The wildcard supports pnpm-lock.yaml, package-lock.json and yarn.lock.
+COPY package.json *lock* pnpm-workspace.yaml .npmrc ./
 
 # --- Detect package manager & install dependencies ---
 # Priority: pnpm > yarn > npm
 # Build arg lets the user force a manager; otherwise it is auto-detected.
 ARG PACKAGE_MANAGER=
 
-RUN if [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "pnpm" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f pnpm-lock.yaml ]; }; then \
+RUN --mount=type=cache,id=epicnext-pnpm,target=/pnpm/store,sharing=locked \
+    if [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "pnpm" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f pnpm-lock.yaml ]; }; then \
       echo ">> Using pnpm" && \
-      pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts; \
+      pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts --store-dir=/pnpm/store; \
     elif [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "yarn" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f yarn.lock ]; }; then \
       echo ">> Using yarn" && \
       yarn install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts; \
@@ -45,12 +44,16 @@ RUN if [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "pnpm" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f pn
       npm install --ignore-scripts; \
     fi
 
+# Source changes invalidate compilation, but keep the installed dependencies.
+COPY . .
+
 # Build the production bundle.
 # The .env file is loaded ONLY inside this RUN layer (not persisted as ENV, so no
 # secrets end up in the image) — Next.js needs NEXT_PUBLIC_* + validated build-time
 # values (HOTEL_NAME, DATABASE_URL, AUTH_SECRET, ...) at build time.
 ENV NODE_ENV=production
-RUN if [ -f .env ]; then set -a && . ./.env && set +a; fi && \
+RUN --mount=type=cache,id=epicnext-next,target=/app/.next/cache,sharing=locked \
+    if [ -f .env ]; then set -a && . ./.env && set +a; fi && \
     if [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "yarn" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f yarn.lock ]; }; then \
       yarn build; \
     elif [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "npm" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f package-lock.json ]; }; then \
@@ -59,14 +62,8 @@ RUN if [ -f .env ]; then set -a && . ./.env && set +a; fi && \
       pnpm build; \
     fi
 
-# Prune dev dependencies for the runtime image.
-RUN if [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "yarn" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f yarn.lock ]; }; then \
-      yarn install --production --ignore-scripts && rm -rf node_modules/.cache; \
-    elif [ "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" = "npm" ] || { [ -z "$PACKAGE_MANAGER" ] && [ -f package-lock.json ]; }; then \
-      npm prune --production; \
-    else \
-      pnpm prune --prod; \
-    fi
+# Standalone output already contains the traced runtime dependencies.
+# Pruning builder/node_modules here would not shrink the final image.
 
 # --- Runtime stage ---
 FROM node:26.8.1-bookworm-slim AS runner
diff --git a/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts b/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts
index a412b46434..f441d59373 100644
--- a/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/deploy-workflow-contract.test.ts
@@ -79,13 +79,15 @@ describe("deploy job", () => {
 		expect(deployJob).toContain('"database":true');
 	});
 
-	it("prunes old images, containers, volumes, networks and build cache", () => {
-		expect(deployJob).toContain("docker image prune -af");
-		expect(deployJob).toContain("docker container prune -f");
-		expect(deployJob).toContain("docker volume prune -f");
-		expect(deployJob).toContain("docker network prune -f");
-		expect(deployJob).toContain("docker builder prune");
-		expect(deployJob).toContain("Prune Docker cache");
+	it("preserves recent build cache and avoids pruning application volumes", () => {
+		expect(deployJob).toContain(
+			'docker builder prune -af --filter "until=72h" --keep-storage=2g',
+		);
+		expect(deployJob).toContain('docker image prune -f --filter "until=168h"');
+		expect(deployJob).not.toContain("docker volume prune");
+		expect(deployJob).not.toContain("docker network prune");
+		expect(deployJob).not.toContain("docker container prune");
+		expect(deployJob).not.toContain("docker image prune -af");
 	});
 
 	it("does not run pnpm test in deploy", () => {
diff --git a/src/lib/docker-build-contract.test.ts b/src/lib/docker-build-contract.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..db8d718d81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/docker-build-contract.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const dockerfile = readFileSync("Dockerfile", "utf8");
+
+describe("Docker build cache", () => {
+	it("installs frozen dependencies before copying application source", () => {
+		const manifests = dockerfile.indexOf(
+			"COPY package.json *lock* pnpm-workspace.yaml .npmrc ./",
+		);
+		const install = dockerfile.indexOf("pnpm install --frozen-lockfile");
+		const source = dockerfile.indexOf("COPY . .");
+		expect(manifests).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
+		expect(install).toBeGreaterThan(manifests);
+		expect(source).toBeGreaterThan(install);
+	});
+	it("retains the package store and Next compiler cache across source changes", () => {
+		expect(dockerfile).toContain("id=epicnext-pnpm,target=/pnpm/store");
+		expect(dockerfile).toContain("--store-dir=/pnpm/store");
+		expect(dockerfile).toContain("id=epicnext-next,target=/app/.next/cache");
+	});
+	it("ships standalone output without a redundant dependency pruning step", () => {
+		expect(dockerfile).toContain("/app/.next/standalone ./");
+		expect(dockerfile).not.toContain("pnpm prune --prod");
+		expect(dockerfile).not.toContain("npm prune --production");
+		expect(dockerfile).not.toContain("yarn install --production");
+	});
+});