diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 0771aee5..c35383ab 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
+.git
 .env
+.env.*
 *.cpuprofile
 *.swp
+*.log
+node_modules
+cov_profile
 deno-test.xml
 
-/data
\ No newline at end of file
+/data
+Dockerfile
+Dockerfile.*
+.dockerignore
+.gitlab-ci.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 2b9f0555..8548a947 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ default:
 
 stages:
   - test
+  - e2e-setup
+  - e2e-test
 
+# Original test stage
 test:
   stage: test
   timeout: 2 minutes
@@ -29,3 +32,55 @@ test:
       - deno-test.xml
     reports:
       junit: deno-test.xml
+
+# Start E2E environment
+e2e-environment:
+  stage: e2e-setup
+  image: docker/compose:latest
+  services:
+    - docker:dind
+  variables:
+    DOCKER_HOST: tcp://docker:2375
+    DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR: ""
+    DOCKER_DRIVER: overlay2
+  script:
+    - docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d --build
+    # Wait for ditto instance to become active
+    - end=$((SECONDS + 30)); while [[ $SECONDS -lt $end ]] && ! curl http://localhost:4036; do echo "Waiting for localhost:4036..."; sleep 1; echo $SECONDS ; done
+    # Generate dynamic child pipeline configuration
+    - |
+      cat > child-pipeline.yml << EOF
+      playwright-tests:
+        trigger:
+          project: soapbox-pub/ditto-playwright
+          strategy: depend
+          variables:
+            BASE_URL: http://localhost:4036
+            CI_PROJECT_ID: ${CI_PROJECT_ID}
+            CI_MERGE_REQUEST_IID: ${CI_MERGE_REQUEST_IID}
+            CI_COMMIT_SHA: ${CI_COMMIT_SHA}
+            CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA: ${CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA}
+            CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME}
+      EOF
+  artifacts:
+    paths:
+      - child-pipeline.yml
+  only:
+    - merge_requests
+
+# Trigger child pipeline
+e2e-test:
+  stage: e2e-test
+  trigger:
+    include:
+      - artifact: child-pipeline.yml
+        job: e2e-environment
+    strategy: depend
+  needs:
+    - e2e-environment
+  variables:
+    BASE_URL: http://localhost:4036
+  # after_script:
+  #   - docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v
+  only:
+    - merge_requests
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile.test b/Dockerfile.test
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..002f564d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile.test
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+FROM denoland/deno:2.2.2
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+# Install curl and Rust for nak installation
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
+    curl \
+    jq \
+    unzip \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Copy the application files
+COPY . .
+
+# Install soapbox
+RUN deno task soapbox
+
+# Generate NSEC at build time
+RUN export DITTO_NSEC=$(deno task nsec) && \
+    echo "export DITTO_NSEC=$DITTO_NSEC" > /app/nsec.env
+
+ENV DATABASE_URL=""
+
+EXPOSE 4036
+
+# Use array form with shell -c to properly handle the command
+CMD ["/bin/sh", "-c", ". /app/nsec.env && deno run -A /app/packages/ditto/server.ts"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.test.yml b/docker-compose.test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e09a98ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+version: '3.8'
+
+services:
+  postgres:
+    image: postgres:16
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
+      POSTGRES_DB: postgres
+      POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: trust
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 5
+
+  ditto:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile.test
+    environment:
+      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@postgres:5432/postgres
+      - RUST_BACKTRACE=1
+    ports:
+      - "4036:4036"
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
\ No newline at end of file