diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index cc77f12..00546bc 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -287,7 +287,11 @@ RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/smoke.sh
 # 21. Application — FastAPI + async runner (wave 1: steps 2+3+4)
 # ============================================================
 COPY pyproject.toml requirements.txt /app/
-RUN pip install --break-system-packages --no-cache-dir -r /app/requirements.txt
+# --force-reinstall is the critical flag: without it, pip skips packages
+# already in /root/.local/ (left there by the earlier pipx bootstrap as
+# USER root). uvicorn under /usr/local/bin needs them in
+# /usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages, so force the system install.
+RUN pip install --break-system-packages --no-cache-dir --force-reinstall -r /app/requirements.txt
 COPY --chown=crafter:crafter crafting_table /app/crafting_table
 RUN chown -R crafter:crafter /app