diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2e2131ad..d464b756 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -26,27 +26,19 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl xz-utils c
     && rm -rf /tmp/typst* \
     && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/typst
 
-# MarkItDown venv stage — Python + pip install markitdown
-FROM debian:bookworm-slim AS markitdown
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 python3-venv \
-    && python3 -m venv /opt/markitdown \
-    && /opt/markitdown/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir markitdown \
-    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
 # Production stage
 FROM oven/bun:1-slim AS production
 WORKDIR /app
 
-# Install CA certificates + python3 runtime (for markitdown)
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates python3 && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+# Install CA certificates + python3 + pip (for markitdown)
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates python3 python3-pip \
+    && pip install --no-cache-dir --break-system-packages markitdown \
+    && apt-get purge -y python3-pip && apt-get autoremove -y \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Install Typst binary (for rPubs PDF generation)
 COPY --from=typst /usr/local/bin/typst /usr/local/bin/typst
 
-# Install MarkItDown venv (for office document conversion)
-COPY --from=markitdown /opt/markitdown /opt/markitdown
-ENV PATH="/opt/markitdown/bin:$PATH"
-
 # Copy built assets and server
 COPY --from=build /app/dist ./dist
 COPY --from=build /app/server ./server