diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 13f88a4..9af7beb 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@
 # database backups
 backup_*.sql
 
+# deployment repo (separate git repo for Bitbucket)
+/deploy/
+
 # debug
 npm-debug.log*
 yarn-debug.log*
diff --git a/next.config.ts b/next.config.ts
index 12afc14..f14164e 100644
--- a/next.config.ts
+++ b/next.config.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { NextConfig } from "next";
 
 const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
+  output: "standalone",
   experimental: {
     // Allow large video uploads (up to 500MB) through the proxy
     proxyClientMaxBodySize: "500mb",