diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 966e0fa7..41041fa9 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -1,24 +1,24 @@
-**/node_modules
-.git
-.github
-.husky
-payment_router
-*.md
-.env
-**/.env
-*.db
-
-# Backend test files & artifacts — never needed inside an image
-# (CI runs tests on the runner; docker-compose.test.yml builds from the
-# stellar-payment-platform context, which has its own .dockerignore)
-stellar-payment-platform/tests
-stellar-payment-platform/*.test.js
-stellar-payment-platform/test_*.txt
-stellar-payment-platform/test_output.txt
-stellar-payment-platform/data
-stellar-payment-platform/artillery.yml
-
-# Root-level files not referenced by any image build
-docs
-tmp_server.js
+**/node_modules
+.git
+.github
+.husky
+payment_router
+*.md
+.env
+**/.env
+*.db
+
+# Backend test files & artifacts — never needed inside an image
+# (CI runs tests on the runner; the api-test service builds from the
+# stellar-payment-platform context, which has its own .dockerignore)
+stellar-payment-platform/tests
+stellar-payment-platform/*.test.js
+stellar-payment-platform/test_*.txt
+stellar-payment-platform/test_output.txt
+stellar-payment-platform/data
+stellar-payment-platform/artillery.yml
+
+# Root-level files not referenced by any image build
+docs
+tmp_server.js
 artillery.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 758122f6..817c187c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -64,6 +64,47 @@ The following diagram maps exactly how data flows between the user, Render, and
 
 > These steps are split by module so you can run only what you need.
 
+### Docker Compose profiles
+
+Every service in `docker-compose.yml` belongs to a profile, so
+`docker compose up` on its own starts nothing and you always say which stack
+you want:
+
+| Command | Starts |
+| --- | --- |
+| `docker compose --profile dev up` | backend, postgres, redis |
+| `docker compose --profile full up` | the same, plus the built frontend on :3000 |
+| `docker compose --profile test up` | the API under test on :5001 and its own database |
+| `docker compose --profile integration up` | a local standalone Stellar network on :8000 |
+
+`dev` is the everyday one. `full` adds the frontend, which is the slowest
+thing in the file to build and is not needed for backend work.
+
+The dev and test stacks use separate databases on separate host ports (5432
+and 5433), so you can run both at once:
+
+```bash
+docker compose --profile dev --profile test up -d
+```
+
+`COMPOSE_PROFILES` works too, if you would rather not repeat the flag:
+
+```bash
+export COMPOSE_PROFILES=dev
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+Stop a stack with the same profile you started it with, otherwise Compose
+will not know which services it is meant to remove:
+
+```bash
+docker compose --profile dev down
+```
+
+The `integration` profile pulls `stellar/quickstart`, a multi-gigabyte image
+used only by the Soroban contract tests in `tests/integration/`. It is kept
+out of `test` so the API tests do not drag it in.
+
 ### Frontend dashboard
 
 ```bash
@@ -111,7 +152,14 @@ For a typical local install that becomes, for example:
 DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/stellar_tags?schema=public"
 ```
 
-The quickest way to get a local database is Docker:
+The quickest way to get a local database is the dev profile, which also
+brings up Redis:
+
+```bash
+docker compose --profile dev up -d postgres redis
+```
+
+Or a single container, if you want nothing else:
 
 ```bash
 docker run --name stellar-postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres \
diff --git a/docker-compose.test.yml b/docker-compose.test.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 2b86e8c3..00000000
--- a/docker-compose.test.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-services:
-  postgres-test:
-    image: postgres:16-alpine
-    environment:
-      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
-      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
-      POSTGRES_DB: stellar_tags_test
-    ports:
-      - "5433:5432"
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
-      interval: 5s
-      timeout: 3s
-      retries: 5
-
-  api-test:
-    build:
-      context: ./stellar-payment-platform
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile.test
-    environment:
-      PORT: "5001"
-      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres-test:5432/stellar_tags_test?schema=public
-    ports:
-      - "5001:5001"
-    depends_on:
-      postgres-test:
-        condition: service_healthy
-    networks:
-      - stellar-test-net
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://localhost:5001/health"]
-      interval: 5s
-      timeout: 3s
-      retries: 5
-      start_period: 10s
-
-  # Standalone Stellar network (Soroban-enabled) used by the contract
-  # integration tests. Exposes both the Horizon REST API (8000) and the
-  # Soroban RPC endpoint (8000/rpc) so the Rust SDK can submit real
-  # transactions against a local network.
-  stellar-standalone:
-    image: stellar/quickstart:latest
-    command: [
-      "--standalone",
-      "--enable-soroban-rpc",
-      "--enable-core-artifacts",
-      "--local",
-    ]
-    environment:
-      ENABLE_LOGS: "true"
-    ports:
-      - "8000:8000"
-    networks:
-      - stellar-test-net
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-sf", "http://localhost:8000/"]
-      interval: 5s
-      timeout: 5s
-      retries: 20
-      start_period: 30s
-
-networks:
-  stellar-test-net:
-    driver: bridge
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 104fb311..04b7c3a5 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,64 +1,146 @@
-services:
-  postgres:
-    image: postgres:16-alpine
-    environment:
-      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
-      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
-      POSTGRES_DB: stellar_tags
-    ports:
-      - "5432:5432"
-    volumes:
-      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
-      interval: 5s
-      timeout: 3s
-      retries: 5
-
-  redis:
-    image: redis:7-alpine
-    ports:
-      - "6379:6379"
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
-      interval: 5s
-      timeout: 3s
-      retries: 5
-
-  backend:
-    build:
-      context: .
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile
-      target: backend
-    ports:
-      - "5000:5000"
-    environment:
-      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres:5432/stellar_tags?schema=public
-      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
-      PORT: "5000"
-      LOG_DIR: /app/logs
-    volumes:
-      # Keep rotated logs across container restarts. The transports cap the
-      # volume's growth by rotating daily / at 20MB and pruning old archives.
-      - backendlogs:/app/logs
-    depends_on:
-      postgres:
-        condition: service_healthy
-      redis:
-        condition: service_healthy
-
-  frontend:
-    build:
-      context: .
-      dockerfile: Dockerfile
-      target: frontend
-      args:
-        VITE_API_BASE: http://localhost:5000
-    ports:
-      - "3000:80"
-    depends_on:
-      - backend
-
-volumes:
-  pgdata:
-  backendlogs:
+# Every service belongs to a profile, so `docker compose up` on its own starts
+# nothing and you always say which stack you want:
+#
+#   docker compose --profile dev up          backend + postgres + redis
+#   docker compose --profile full up         the same, plus the built frontend
+#   docker compose --profile test up         API under test + its own database
+#   docker compose --profile integration up  local standalone Stellar network
+#
+# dev and test use separate databases on separate host ports, so both can run
+# at once without colliding.
+
+services:
+  # ── dev ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  postgres:
+    profiles: ["dev", "full"]
+    image: postgres:16-alpine
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
+      POSTGRES_DB: stellar_tags
+    ports:
+      - "5432:5432"
+    volumes:
+      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 5
+
+  redis:
+    profiles: ["dev", "full"]
+    image: redis:7-alpine
+    ports:
+      - "6379:6379"
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 5
+
+  backend:
+    profiles: ["dev", "full"]
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      target: backend
+    ports:
+      - "5000:5000"
+    environment:
+      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres:5432/stellar_tags?schema=public
+      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
+      PORT: "5000"
+      LOG_DIR: /app/logs
+    volumes:
+      # Keep rotated logs across container restarts. The transports cap the
+      # volume's growth by rotating daily / at 20MB and pruning old archives.
+      - backendlogs:/app/logs
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      redis:
+        condition: service_healthy
+
+  # Only in full, not dev: the Vite build is the slowest thing here and backend
+  # work does not need it. full is dev plus this.
+  frontend:
+    profiles: ["full"]
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      target: frontend
+      args:
+        VITE_API_BASE: http://localhost:5000
+    ports:
+      - "3000:80"
+    depends_on:
+      - backend
+
+  # ── test ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  postgres-test:
+    profiles: ["test"]
+    image: postgres:16-alpine
+    environment:
+      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
+      POSTGRES_DB: stellar_tags_test
+    # 5433 on the host so a dev postgres can stay up on 5432.
+    ports:
+      - "5433:5432"
+    # No volume: a test database should start empty every time.
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 5
+
+  api-test:
+    profiles: ["test"]
+    build:
+      context: ./stellar-payment-platform
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile.test
+    environment:
+      PORT: "5001"
+      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres-test:5432/stellar_tags_test?schema=public
+    ports:
+      - "5001:5001"
+    depends_on:
+      postgres-test:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://localhost:5001/health"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 3s
+      retries: 5
+      start_period: 10s
+
+  # ── integration ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # Standalone Stellar network (Soroban-enabled) used by the contract
+  # integration tests. Exposes both the Horizon REST API (8000) and the
+  # Soroban RPC endpoint (8000/rpc) so the Rust SDK can submit real
+  # transactions against a local network. Kept out of the test profile
+  # because it pulls a multi-gigabyte image the API tests never touch.
+  stellar-standalone:
+    profiles: ["integration"]
+    image: stellar/quickstart:latest
+    command: [
+      "--standalone",
+      "--enable-soroban-rpc",
+      "--enable-core-artifacts",
+      "--local",
+    ]
+    environment:
+      ENABLE_LOGS: "true"
+    ports:
+      - "8000:8000"
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-sf", "http://localhost:8000/"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 20
+      start_period: 30s
+
+volumes:
+  pgdata:
+  backendlogs:
diff --git a/stellar-payment-platform/Dockerfile.test b/stellar-payment-platform/Dockerfile.test
index b5d6b349..de514bcd 100644
--- a/stellar-payment-platform/Dockerfile.test
+++ b/stellar-payment-platform/Dockerfile.test
@@ -3,10 +3,14 @@ FROM node:20-alpine
 WORKDIR /app
 
 COPY package*.json ./
+# Before npm ci: the postinstall hook runs `prisma generate`, which fails
+# unless the schema is already present.
+COPY prisma ./prisma
 RUN npm ci --omit=dev
 
 COPY . .
 
-EXPOSE 5000
+# Matches PORT in the api-test service and its healthcheck.
+EXPOSE 5001
 
 CMD ["node", "server.js"]
diff --git a/tests/integration/README.md b/tests/integration/README.md
index 9e092fac..6584101d 100644
--- a/tests/integration/README.md
+++ b/tests/integration/README.md
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ observe the resulting network state.
 
 ```
 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
-│  docker-compose.test.yml                                    │
+│  docker compose --profile integration                       │
 │                                                             │
 │  stellar-standalone (stellar/quickstart)                    │
 │    ├── Horizon REST API  ──►  http://localhost:8000         │
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ smart contracts out of the box.
 
 ```bash
 # 1. Start the standalone Stellar network
-docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d stellar-standalone
+docker compose --profile integration up -d stellar-standalone
 
 # 2. Wait for Horizon to be ready (healthcheck handles this automatically)
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/deploy.sh b/tests/integration/deploy.sh
index e578751c..f83566fa 100644
--- a/tests/integration/deploy.sh
+++ b/tests/integration/deploy.sh
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
 # Deploys the payment_router Soroban contract to the local standalone
-# Stellar network started by docker-compose.test.yml.
+# Stellar network started by docker-compose.yml's integration profile.
 #
 # Prerequisites:
 #   - Docker running with the standalone network up:
-#       docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d stellar-standalone
+#       docker compose --profile integration up -d stellar-standalone
 #   - The `soroban` CLI installed (https://soroban.stellar.org/docs/reference/cli)
 #   - Rust toolchain with the `wasm32-unknown-unknown` target:
 #       rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown
diff --git a/tests/integration/run.sh b/tests/integration/run.sh
index 402e8d55..19b5cfc7 100644
--- a/tests/integration/run.sh
+++ b/tests/integration/run.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 #
 # End-to-end integration test for the payment_router Soroban contract
-# against a local standalone Stellar network (docker-compose.test.yml).
+# against a local standalone Stellar network (the integration profile in
+# docker-compose.yml).
 #
 # Verifies:
 #   1. The contract can be deployed to the local network.
@@ -10,7 +11,7 @@
 #      fee and crediting the recipient, as observed through local Horizon.
 #
 # Prerequisites:
-#   - docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d stellar-standalone
+#   - docker compose --profile integration up -d stellar-standalone
 #   - soroban CLI installed
 #   - rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown
 #