diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-ec2.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-ec2.yml
index e0899c2..c2994e4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-ec2.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-ec2.yml
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ jobs:
 
           # Rolling update with docker compose (app + Postgres)
           echo "=== ROLLING UPDATE (docker compose up -d) ==="
-          if ! docker compose -f docker-compose.yml --env-file .env up -d --remove-orphans; then
+          if ! docker compose -f docker-compose.yml --env-file .env up -d --no-build --remove-orphans; then
             echo "ERROR: Deployment failed"
             docker compose -f docker-compose.yml down || true
             exit 1
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 1a374f5..99fa89e 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ services:
       retries: 5
 
   app:
+    # Use pre-built image on deploy (EC2 loads tar only; no Dockerfile on server). Local: docker compose up --build
+    image: ${IMAGE_NAME:-junohub-app}:latest
     build:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile