diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2c6c724..c21540f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ EXPOSE 8502 5055
 
 RUN mkdir -p /app/data
 
+# Copy and make executable the wait-for-api script
+COPY scripts/wait-for-api.sh /app/scripts/wait-for-api.sh
+RUN chmod +x /app/scripts/wait-for-api.sh
+
 # Copy supervisord configuration
 COPY supervisord.conf /etc/supervisor/conf.d/supervisord.conf
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile.single b/Dockerfile.single
index 47ce210..86f98b5 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.single
+++ b/Dockerfile.single
@@ -77,6 +77,10 @@ COPY --from=builder /app/frontend/public /app/frontend/public
 # Create directories for data persistence
 RUN mkdir -p /app/data /mydata
 
+# Copy and make executable the wait-for-api script
+COPY scripts/wait-for-api.sh /app/scripts/wait-for-api.sh
+RUN chmod +x /app/scripts/wait-for-api.sh
+
 # Expose ports for Frontend and API
 EXPOSE 8502 5055
 
diff --git a/scripts/wait-for-api.sh b/scripts/wait-for-api.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2848cd4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/wait-for-api.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Wait for the API to be healthy before starting the frontend
+# This prevents the "Unable to Connect to API Server" error during startup
+
+API_URL="${INTERNAL_API_URL:-http://localhost:5055}"
+MAX_RETRIES=60  # 60 retries * 5 seconds = 5 minutes max wait
+RETRY_INTERVAL=5
+
+echo "Waiting for API to be ready at ${API_URL}/health..."
+
+for i in $(seq 1 $MAX_RETRIES); do
+    if curl -s -f "${API_URL}/health" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo "API is ready! Starting frontend..."
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    echo "Attempt $i/$MAX_RETRIES: API not ready yet, waiting ${RETRY_INTERVAL}s..."
+    sleep $RETRY_INTERVAL
+done
+
+echo "ERROR: API did not become ready within $((MAX_RETRIES * RETRY_INTERVAL)) seconds"
+echo "Starting frontend anyway - users may see connection errors initially"
+exit 0  # Exit 0 so frontend still starts (better than nothing)
diff --git a/supervisord.conf b/supervisord.conf
index f98be12..ea4d1cf 100644
--- a/supervisord.conf
+++ b/supervisord.conf
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ autostart=true
 startsecs=3
 
 [program:frontend]
-command=bash -c "sleep 5 && npm run start"
+command=bash -c "/app/scripts/wait-for-api.sh && npm run start"
 directory=/app/frontend
 environment=NODE_ENV="production",PORT="8502"
 passenv=API_URL,NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL,INTERNAL_API_URL
@@ -37,4 +37,4 @@ stderr_logfile_maxbytes=0
 autorestart=true
 priority=30
 autostart=true
-startsecs=5
+startsecs=10
diff --git a/supervisord.single.conf b/supervisord.single.conf
index afb9067..345d37b 100644
--- a/supervisord.single.conf
+++ b/supervisord.single.conf
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ autostart=true
 startsecs=3
 
 [program:frontend]
-command=bash -c "sleep 5 && npm run start"
+command=bash -c "/app/scripts/wait-for-api.sh && npm run start"
 directory=/app/frontend
 environment=NODE_ENV="production",PORT="8502"
 passenv=API_URL,NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL,INTERNAL_API_URL
@@ -49,4 +49,4 @@ stderr_logfile_maxbytes=0
 autorestart=true
 priority=30
 autostart=true
-startsecs=5
\ No newline at end of file
+startsecs=10
\ No newline at end of file