diff --git a/apps/frontend/Dockerfile b/apps/frontend/Dockerfile
index a5be6be6..fe33f704 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/Dockerfile
+++ b/apps/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # 1. Install dependencies only when needed
-FROM node:18-alpine AS deps
+FROM node:20-alpine AS deps
 
 WORKDIR /app
 
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ COPY --from=builder /app/public ./public
 COPY --from=builder /app/.next ./.next
 COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
 COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./package.json
+COPY --from=builder /app/next.config.ts ./
 
 # Expose the port Next.js runs on
 EXPOSE 3000
diff --git a/apps/frontend/next.config.ts b/apps/frontend/next.config.ts
index e9ffa308..a726b9e3 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/next.config.ts
+++ b/apps/frontend/next.config.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,20 @@ import type { NextConfig } from "next";
 
 const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
   /* config options here */
+  experimental: {
+    serverActions: {
+      bodySizeLimit: '100mb',
+    },
+  },
+  
+  async rewrites() {
+    return [
+      {
+        source: '/api/:path*',
+        destination: 'http://backend:8000/api/:path*' // Routes traffic safely inside the Docker network
+      }
+    ];
+  }
 };
 
 export default nextConfig;
diff --git a/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/UploadButtons.tsx b/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/UploadButtons.tsx
index 5c141393..466e700f 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/UploadButtons.tsx
+++ b/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/UploadButtons.tsx
@@ -6,11 +6,8 @@ import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
 import { UploadDataType, UploadModalityType } from "@/enums";
 import { Upload as UploadIcon } from "lucide-react";
 import { useAppContext } from "@/providers/AppProvider";
-import { findNiftiFile, findRelevantFiles } from "@/utils";
-import { getReport } from "@/services/apiReport";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
-import { IAllRelevantFilesType } from "@/types";
 import { handleBidsUpload, handleDicomUpload } from "./uploadHandlers";
 
 type TUploadDataOptions = (typeof UploadDataType)[keyof typeof UploadDataType];
@@ -62,7 +59,7 @@ const UploadButtons = () => {
       setApiData(data);
       if (
         data.missing_required_parameters &&
-        data.missing_required_parameters.length > 0
+        Number(data.missing_required_parameters.length) > 0
       ) {
         toast.info(
           "Report generated with missing parameters. Please provide the missing values."
diff --git a/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/uploadHandlers.ts b/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/uploadHandlers.ts
index 32008058..6ff91c2c 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/uploadHandlers.ts
+++ b/apps/frontend/src/app/_home/uploadHandlers.ts
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ const handleDicomUpload = async ({
   setIsLoading: (v: boolean) => void;
   activeModalityTypeOption: UploadModalityType;
 }) => {
-  setIsLoading(true);
-  try {
+  if (!files || files.length === 0) return;
+
     const filesArray = Array.from(files);
 
     // DICOM files: .dcm, .img, or no extension
@@ -25,29 +25,28 @@ const handleDicomUpload = async ({
         !file.name.includes(".")
     );
 
-    const formData = new FormData();
-
-    dicomFiles.forEach((file) => {
-      formData.append("dcm_files", file);
-    });
-
-    formData.append("modality", activeModalityTypeOption);
-
-    const data = await getReport(formData, UploadDataType.DICOM.toLowerCase());
-
-    setIsLoading(false);
-
-    return data;
+    // PRE-FLIGHT VALIDATION: Fail fast if no valid files exist
+    if (dicomFiles.length === 0) {
+      toast.error("No valid DICOM files found in the selected folder. Please ensure the folder contains .dcm or .img files.");
+      return;
+    }
 
-  } catch (error) {
+    setIsLoading(true);
+    try {
+      const formData = new FormData();
+      dicomFiles.forEach((file) => formData.append("dcm_files", file));
+      formData.append("modality", activeModalityTypeOption);
 
-    setIsLoading(false);
-    toast.error(
-      `An unexpected error occurred during upload, please try again. Error: ${error}`
-    );
+      const data = await getReport(formData, UploadDataType.DICOM.toLowerCase());
+      setIsLoading(false);
+      return data;
 
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error("Upload error:", error);
+      setIsLoading(false);
+      toast.error(`Upload failed. Please check your network connection and try again.`);
+    }
   }
-}
 
 const handleBidsUpload = async ({
   files,
@@ -61,70 +60,64 @@ const handleBidsUpload = async ({
   files: FileList;
   setIsLoading: (v: boolean) => void;
   setUploadedFiles: (files: IAllRelevantFilesType) => void;
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
   setUploadConfig: (config: any) => void;
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
   setUpdatedJsonContent: (content: any) => void;
   setUpdatedJsonFilename: (filename: string) => void;
   activeModalityTypeOption: UploadModalityType;
 }) => {
-  setIsLoading(true);
+  if (!files || files.length === 0) return;
 
-  try {
     const filesArray = Array.from(files);
 
     const niftiFile = findNiftiFile(filesArray);
     const aslRelevantFiles = findRelevantFiles(filesArray);
 
-    const allRelevantFiles: IAllRelevantFilesType = {
-      nifti_file: niftiFile,
-      asl_files: aslRelevantFiles,
-      dicom_files: [],
-    };
-
-    const formData = new FormData();
-
-    if (niftiFile) {
-      formData.append("nifti_file", niftiFile);
+    // PRE-FLIGHT VALIDATION: Prevent empty backend requests
+    if (!niftiFile && aslRelevantFiles.length === 0) {
+      toast.error("No valid BIDS format files found. Please check your dataset.");
+      return;
     }
 
-    filesArray.forEach((file) => {
-      if (file.name.endsWith(".dcm")) {
-        formData.append("dcm_files", file);
-        allRelevantFiles.dicom_files.push(file);
-      }
-    });
-
-    aslRelevantFiles.forEach((file) => {
-      formData.append("files", file);
-      formData.append("filenames", file.name);
-    });
-
-    setUploadedFiles(allRelevantFiles);
-
-    setUploadConfig({
-      modalityType: activeModalityTypeOption,
-      fileType: UploadDataType.BIDS,
-    });
-
-    setUpdatedJsonContent(null);
-    setUpdatedJsonFilename('');
-
-    formData.append("modality", activeModalityTypeOption);
-
-    const data = await getReport(formData, UploadDataType.BIDS.toLowerCase());
-
-    setIsLoading(false);
-
-    return data;
-
-  } catch (error) {
-    setIsLoading(false);
-    toast.error(
-      `An unexpected error occurred during upload, please try again. Error: ${error}`
-    );
-  }
+    setIsLoading(true);
+    try {
+      const allRelevantFiles: IAllRelevantFilesType = {
+        nifti_file: niftiFile,
+        asl_files: aslRelevantFiles,
+        dicom_files: [],
+      };
+
+      const formData = new FormData();
+      if (niftiFile) formData.append("nifti_file", niftiFile);
+
+      filesArray.forEach((file) => {
+        if (file.name.endsWith(".dcm")) {
+          formData.append("dcm_files", file);
+          allRelevantFiles.dicom_files.push(file);
+        }
+      });
+
+      aslRelevantFiles.forEach((file) => {
+        formData.append("files", file);
+        formData.append("filenames", file.name);
+      });
+
+      setUploadedFiles(allRelevantFiles);
+      setUploadConfig({ modalityType: activeModalityTypeOption, fileType: UploadDataType.BIDS });
+      setUpdatedJsonContent(null);
+      setUpdatedJsonFilename('');
+      formData.append("modality", activeModalityTypeOption);
+
+      const data = await getReport(formData, UploadDataType.BIDS.toLowerCase());
+      setIsLoading(false);
+      return data;
+
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error("Upload error:", error);
+      setIsLoading(false);
+      toast.error(`Upload failed. Please check your network connection and try again.`);
+    }
 }
 
-export {
-  handleDicomUpload,
-  handleBidsUpload
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+export { handleDicomUpload, handleBidsUpload }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/apps/frontend/src/services/apiReport.ts b/apps/frontend/src/services/apiReport.ts
index 1f74606c..4a7d95ea 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/src/services/apiReport.ts
+++ b/apps/frontend/src/services/apiReport.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import axios from 'axios';
 import {IReportApiResponse} from '@/types';
 
 
-const API_BASE_URL = `${process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL}/report`;
+const API_BASE_URL = `/api/report`;
 
 const client = axios.create({
     baseURL: API_BASE_URL,