diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 550c565..8e2aa6f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -3,23 +3,23 @@ FROM python:3.8-alpine3.18 as builder
 
 RUN apk update && apk upgrade
 RUN apk add --no-cache --virtual .build-deps build-base git
-RUN apk add bash libffi-dev tzdata --upgrade --no-cache
+RUN apk add --upgrade --no-cache bash sqlite libffi-dev tzdata
 
 ENV TZ America/New_York
 
 # Set the working directory in the container to /app
 WORKDIR /app
 
+RUN mkdir -p /app/instance/data
+
 # Copy the current directory contents into the container at /app
 COPY app.py /app
 COPY requirements.txt /app
 COPY models.py /app
 COPY init_db.py /app/init_db.py
 
-
 # Install any needed packages specified in requirements.txt
 RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
-RUN python /app/init_db.py
 
 RUN apk del .build-deps
 
@@ -33,9 +33,13 @@ RUN adduser -D myuser
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY --from=builder /app /app
 COPY --from=builder /usr/local /usr/local
+COPY --from=builder /usr/bin /usr/bin
+RUN chown -R myuser:myuser /app
 
 # Switch to the created user
 USER myuser
 
+RUN python3 init_db.py
+
 # Start gunicorn with the appropriate options
 CMD ["gunicorn", "-b", "0.0.0.0:3000", "--log-level=debug", "--workers=3", "app:create_app('default')"]
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index ea46058..6f25dfd 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -8,15 +8,19 @@ import os
 
 def create_app(config_name):
     app = Flask(__name__)
-    app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///webpush.db'
+    app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///data/webpush.db'
     db.init_app(app)
 
 
     def generate_and_save_vapid_keys():
         vapid = Vapid()
-        vapid.generate_keys()
-        private_key = vapid.get_private_key().to_pem().decode('utf-8').strip()
-        public_key = vapid.get_public_key().to_pem().decode('utf-8').strip()
+        try:
+            vapid.generate_keys()
+            private_key = vapid.private_pem().decode('utf-8').strip()
+            public_key = vapid.public_pem().decode('utf-8').strip()
+            
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Error generating VAPID keys: {e}")
 
         key = VAPIDKey(public_key=public_key, private_key=private_key)
         db.session.add(key)
@@ -92,4 +96,8 @@ def create_app(config_name):
         else:
             return jsonify(success=False, error="Subscription not found"), 404
 
+    with app.app_context():
+        initialize()
+        
     return app
+
diff --git a/init_db.py b/init_db.py
index e0ad264..150ad8c 100644
--- a/init_db.py
+++ b/init_db.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from models import db
 from flask import Flask
 
 app = Flask(__name__)
-app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///webpush.db'
+app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///data/webpush.db'
 db.init_app(app)
 
 with app.app_context():
diff --git a/models.py b/models.py
index eee5197..21e0d4d 100644
--- a/models.py
+++ b/models.py
@@ -14,3 +14,5 @@ class Subscription(db.Model):
     p256dh = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False)
     auth = db.Column(db.String(255), nullable=False)
     vapid_key_id = db.Column(db.Integer, db.ForeignKey('vapid_key.id'), nullable=False)
+
+