diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..255f49d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+.env
+.git
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index e8d961c..96f20fc 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ FROM python:3.10
 # Set the working directory in the container to /app
 WORKDIR /app
 
+# Use ARG to accept the API key as a build argument
+ARG API_KEY
+
+# Use ENV to set the API key as an environment variable
+ENV API_KEY=$API_KEY
+
 # Copy the poetry files
 COPY pyproject.toml poetry.lock /app/
 
@@ -14,9 +20,6 @@ RUN pip install poetry
 RUN poetry lock
 RUN poetry install
 
-# Copy the .env file
-COPY .env .env
-
 # Copy the rest of the project
 COPY . .