diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index 8558d3f1..82c1cb66 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-# Stage 1: Build dependencies
 FROM python:3.12.1-alpine3.19
 
 ADD requirements.txt /app/requirements.txt
@@ -6,8 +5,11 @@ ADD constraints.txt /app/constraints.txt
 
 ENV PIP_CONSTRAINT=/app/constraints.txt
 
+# If set to true the Django database migrations needs be run externally 
+ENV EXTERNAL_MIGRATION=false
+
 RUN set -ex \
-    && apk add --no-cache --virtual .build-deps postgresql-dev build-base gcc musl-dev jpeg-dev zlib-dev libffi-dev cairo-dev pango-dev gdk-pixbuf-dev mariadb-dev python3-dev  \
+    && apk add --no-cache --virtual .build-deps postgresql-dev build-base gcc musl-dev jpeg-dev zlib-dev libffi-dev cairo-dev pango-dev gdk-pixbuf-dev mariadb-dev python3-dev \
     && python -m venv /env \
     && /env/bin/pip install --upgrade pip \
     && /env/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir -r /app/requirements.txt \
@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache curl
 RUN addgroup -S app && adduser -S app -G app
 ADD . /app
 WORKDIR /app
+RUN chmod 555 /app/scripts/*
 RUN chown -R app:app /app
 USER app
 
@@ -30,4 +33,4 @@ ENV VIRTUAL_ENV /env
 ENV PATH /env/bin:$PATH
 
 EXPOSE 8000
-CMD ["sh", "-c", "python manage.py migrate && gunicorn -b '[::]:8000' --workers 3 backend.wsgi:application"]
+CMD ["/app/scripts/start.sh"]
diff --git a/backend/scripts/start.sh b/backend/scripts/start.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3136efb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/scripts/start.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -e
+
+echo "Checking migration configuration..."
+if [ "$EXTERNAL_MIGRATION" = "true" ]; then
+    echo "EXTERNAL_MIGRATION flag is set to true. Skipping migrations as they will be handled externally."
+else
+    echo "EXTERNAL_MIGRATION flag is not set. Running migrations locally..."
+    python manage.py migrate
+fi
+
+echo "Starting gunicorn server..."
+exec gunicorn -b '[::]:8000' --workers 3 backend.wsgi:application
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index b51031ea..53f27794 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -31,10 +31,30 @@ services:
     networks:
       - phase-net
 
+  migrations:
+    container_name: phase-migrations
+    image: phasehq/backend:latest
+    command: python manage.py migrate
+    env_file: .env
+    environment:
+      OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
+      ALLOWED_HOSTS: "${HOST},backend"
+      ALLOWED_ORIGINS: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
+      SESSION_COOKIE_DOMAIN: "${HOST}"
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_started
+    networks:
+      - phase-net
+
   backend:
     container_name: phase-backend
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
+      migrations:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy
       redis:
@@ -46,6 +66,7 @@ services:
       ALLOWED_HOSTS: "${HOST},backend"
       ALLOWED_ORIGINS: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
       SESSION_COOKIE_DOMAIN: "${HOST}"
+      EXTERNAL_MIGRATION: "true"
     networks:
       - phase-net
 
@@ -53,8 +74,12 @@ services:
     container_name: phase-worker
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
-      - postgres
-      - redis
+      migrations:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_started
     image: phasehq/backend:latest
     command: python manage.py rqworker default
     env_file: .env
@@ -76,7 +101,6 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_USER: ${DATABASE_USER}
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DATABASE_PASSWORD}
       POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: "trust"
-
     volumes:
       - phase-postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     networks:
diff --git a/staging-docker-compose.yml b/staging-docker-compose.yml
index 01881dd0..cd5f8ee4 100644
--- a/staging-docker-compose.yml
+++ b/staging-docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-version: "3"
-
 services:
   nginx:
     container_name: phase-nginx-dev
@@ -36,10 +34,32 @@ services:
     networks:
       - phase-net-dev
 
+  migrations:
+    container_name: phase-migrations-staging
+    build:
+      context: ./backend
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+    command: python manage.py migrate
+    env_file: .env
+    environment:
+      ALLOWED_HOSTS: "${HOST},backend"
+      ALLOWED_ORIGINS: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
+      SESSION_COOKIE_DOMAIN: "${HOST}"
+      OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_started
+    networks:
+      - phase-net-dev
+
   backend:
     container_name: phase-backend-staging
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
+      migrations:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy
       redis:
@@ -53,6 +73,7 @@ services:
       ALLOWED_ORIGINS: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
       SESSION_COOKIE_DOMAIN: "${HOST}"
       OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI: "${HTTP_PROTOCOL}${HOST}"
+      EXTERNAL_MIGRATION: "true"
     networks:
       - phase-net-dev
 
@@ -60,8 +81,12 @@ services:
     container_name: phase-worker-staging
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
-      - postgres
-      - redis
+      migrations:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_started
     build:
       context: ./backend
       dockerfile: Dockerfile