diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..707ba52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+FROM python:3.9-slim-buster
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY script.py ./
+
+RUN pip install flask pyyaml
+
+CMD ["python", "script.py"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f22eac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+services:
+  api:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+    environment:
+      - PORT=5000
+      - CONFIG_FILE=/app/config.yml
+    ports:
+      - "5003:5000"
+    volumes:
+      - ./config.yml:/app/config.yml
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index ca74269..3abd008 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -7,14 +7,16 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 )
 
-func NewClient(url string) *Client {
-	return &Client{
-		url: url,
-	}
+type Client struct {
+	url    string
+	client *http.Client
 }
 
-type Client struct {
-	url string
+func NewClient(url string) *Client {
+	return &Client{
+		url:    url,
+		client: &http.Client{}, //optional, use for custom timeouts etc
+	}
 }
 
 type Route struct {
@@ -22,55 +24,49 @@ type Route struct {
 	Backend string   `json:"backend"`
 }
 
-func (c *Client) listRoutes() ([]Route, error) {
-	body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"action": "ListRoutes"}`)
-	resp, err := http.Post(c.url, "application/json", body)
+type apiResponse struct {
+	Routes  []Route `json:"routes"`
+	Message string  `json:"message"`
+	Error   string  `json:"error"`
+}
+
+func (c *Client) doRequest(action string, payload interface{}) (*apiResponse, error) {
+	data, err := json.Marshal(map[string]interface{}{
+		"action": action,
+		"routes": payload,
+	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed marshalling payload: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	resp, err := c.client.Post(c.url, "application/json", bytes.NewBuffer(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to send request: %w", err)
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
-	var response struct {
-		Routes []Route `json:"routes"`
-		Error  string  `json:"error"`
+	var apiResp apiResponse
+	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&apiResp); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to decode response: %w", err)
 	}
-	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&response); err != nil {
+
+	if apiResp.Error != "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("API error: %s", apiResp.Error)
+	}
+
+	return &apiResp, nil
+}
+
+func (c *Client) ListRoutes() ([]Route, error) {
+	resp, err := c.doRequest("ListRoutes", nil)
+	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	if response.Error != "" {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error listing routes: %s", response.Error)
-	}
-	return response.Routes, nil
-
+	return resp.Routes, nil
 }
 
-func (c *Client) updateRoutes(routes []Route) error {
-	payload := struct {
-		Action string  `json:"action"`
-		Routes []Route `json:"routes"`
-	}{
-		Action: "UpdateRoutes",
-		Routes: routes,
-	}
-	payloadBytes, err := json.Marshal(payload)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	resp, err := http.Post(c.url, "application/json", bytes.NewBuffer(payloadBytes))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer resp.Body.Close()
-
-	var response struct {
-		Message string `json:"message"`
-		Error   string `json:"error"`
-	}
-	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&response); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if response.Error != "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error updating routes: %s", response.Error)
-	}
-	return nil
+func (c *Client) UpdateRoutes(routes []Route) error {
+	_, err := c.doRequest("UpdateRoutes", routes)
+	return err
 }
+
diff --git a/script.py b/script.py
index 13a9170..39e3cd6 100644
--- a/script.py
+++ b/script.py
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
+import os
 import yaml
 from flask import Flask, request, jsonify
+from werkzeug.exceptions import HTTPException
 
 app = Flask(__name__)
 
 CONFIG_FILE = "config.yml"
 
+# Load config from environment variable or default to config.yml
+CONFIG_FILE = os.environ.get('CONFIG_FILE', 'config.yml')
+
 
 def load_config():
     with open(CONFIG_FILE, "r") as f:
@@ -29,21 +34,32 @@ def api_endpoint():
         elif action == "UpdateRoutes":
             new_routes = data.get('routes')
             if not isinstance(new_routes, list):
-                return jsonify({"error": "Invalid routes format"}), 400
+                # More specific exception
+                raise ValueError("Invalid routes format")
             config['config']['lite']['routes'] = new_routes
             save_config(config)
             return jsonify({"message": "Routes updated successfully"})
         else:
-            return jsonify({"error": "Invalid action"}), 400
+            raise ValueError("Invalid action")  # More specific exception
 
     except FileNotFoundError:
         return jsonify({"error": "Config file not found"}), 500
     except yaml.YAMLError as e:
         return jsonify({"error": f"Error parsing YAML: {e}"}), 500
+    except ValueError as e:
+        # Return 400 for client-side errors
+        return jsonify({"error": str(e)}), 400
+    except HTTPException as e:
+        # Handle HTTP exceptions gracefully
+        return jsonify({"error": str(e)}), e.code
     except Exception as e:
-        return jsonify({"error": f"An error occurred: {e}"}), 500
+        # Log unexpected error for debugging
+        return jsonify({"error": f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}"}), 500
+
+    # This is to ensure you handle all scenarios
+    finally:
+        pass
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    app.run(debug=True, host='0.0.0.0', port=5000)
-
+    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=int(os.environ.get('PORT', 5000)))