diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index a476049..7cf366d 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 SEARXNG_BASE_URL="http://127.0.0.1:8080"
 REDIS_BASE_URL="redis://redis:6379/0"
-WORK_DIR_HOST="/Users/mlg/Documents/workspace_for_ai"
+WORK_DIR="/Users/username/Documents/workspace_with_my_files"
+OLLAMA_PORT="11434"
+LM_STUDIO_PORT="1234"
+CUSTOM_ADDITIONAL_LLM_PORT="11435"
 OPENAI_API_KEY='xxxxx'
 DEEPSEEK_API_KEY='xxxxx'
 OPENROUTER_API_KEY='xxxxx'
-TOGETHER_API_KEY='xxxx'
+TOGETHER_API_KEY='xxxxx'
 GOOGLE_API_KEY='xxxxx'
 ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='xxxxx'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 5c8f408..ddaec26 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -76,10 +76,13 @@ services:
       context: .
       dockerfile: Dockerfile.backend
     ports:
-      - ${BACKEND_PORT:-8000}:${BACKEND_PORT:-8000}
+      - ${BACKEND_PORT:-7777}:${BACKEND_PORT:-7777}
+      - ${OLLAMA_PORT:-11434}:${OLLAMA_PORT:-11434}
+      - ${LM_STUDIO_PORT:-1234}:${LM_STUDIO_PORT:-1234}
+      - ${CUSTOM_ADDITIONAL_LLM_PORT:-8000}:${CUSTOM_ADDITIONAL_LLM_PORT:-8000}
     volumes:
       - ./:/app
-      - ${WORK_DIR_HOST:-.}:/opt/workspace
+      - ${WORK_DIR:-.}:/opt/workspace
     command: python3 api.py
     environment:
       - SEARXNG_URL=${SEARXNG_BASE_URL:-http://searxng:8080}
@@ -91,6 +94,8 @@ services:
       - TOGETHER_API_KEY=${TOGETHER_API_KEY}
       - GOOGLE_API_KEY=${GOOGLE_API_KEY}
       - ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
+      - HUGGINGFACE_API_KEY=${HUGGINGFACE_API_KEY}
+      - DSK_DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=${DSK_DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}
     network_mode: "host"
   
 volumes:
diff --git a/frontend/agentic-seek-front/src/App.js b/frontend/agentic-seek-front/src/App.js
index a9e6407..ed64d08 100644
--- a/frontend/agentic-seek-front/src/App.js
+++ b/frontend/agentic-seek-front/src/App.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import axios from 'axios';
 import './App.css';
 import { colors } from './colors';
 
-const BACKEND_URL = process.env.REACT_APP_BACKEND_URL || 'http://0.0.0.0:8000';
+const BACKEND_URL = process.env.BACKEND_PORT || 'http://0.0.0.0:8000';
 
 function App() {
     const [query, setQuery] = useState('');
diff --git a/start_services.cmd b/start_services.cmd
index 94e8649..b069390 100644
--- a/start_services.cmd
+++ b/start_services.cmd
@@ -1,10 +1,22 @@
 @echo off
 
-docker-compose up
-if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
-    echo Error: Failed to start containers. Check Docker logs with 'docker compose logs'.
-    echo Possible fixes: Ensure Docker Desktop is running or check if port 8080 is free.
-    exit /b 1
+if "%1"=="full" (
+    echo Starting full deployment...
+) else (
+    echo Starting partial deployment... (backend run on host), use "full" to run all services in containers
 )
 
-timeout /t 10 /nobreak >nul
\ No newline at end of file
+REM Stop all containers
+echo Stopping containers...
+docker stop $(docker ps -aq) >nul 2>&1
+
+REM Generate secret key
+for /f %%i in ('powershell -command "[System.Web.Security.Membership]::GeneratePassword(64,0)"') do set SEARXNG_SECRET_KEY=%%i
+
+if "%1"=="full" (
+    docker compose up -d backend
+    timeout /t 5 /nobreak >nul
+    docker compose --profile full up
+) else (
+    docker compose --profile core up
+)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/start_services.sh b/start_services.sh
index d9cc98c..f3b632a 100755
--- a/start_services.sh
+++ b/start_services.sh
@@ -5,17 +5,32 @@ source .env
 command_exists() {
     command -v "$1" &> /dev/null
 }
+if [ -z "$WORK_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "Error: WORK_DIR environment variable is not set. Please set it in your .env file."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+    dir_size_bytes=$(du -s -b "$WORK_DIR" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}')
+else
+    dir_size_bytes=$(du -s --bytes "$WORK_DIR" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}')
+fi
+
+max_size_bytes=$((2 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024))
+
+echo "Mounting $WORK_DIR ($dir_size_bytes bytes) to docker."
+
+if [ "$dir_size_bytes" -gt "$max_size_bytes" ]; then
+    echo "Error: WORK_DIR ($WORK_DIR) contains more than 2GB of data ($(du -sh "$WORK_DIR" 2>/dev/null | awk '{print $1}'))."
+    exit 1
+fi
 
 if [ "$1" = "full" ]; then
     echo "Starting full deployment with backend and all services..."
 else
-    echo "Starting core deployment with frontend and search services only..."
+    echo "Starting core deployment with frontend and search services only... use ./start_services.sh full to start backend as well"
 fi
 
-#
-# Check if Docker is installed é running
-#
-
 if ! command_exists docker; then
     echo "Error: Docker is not installed. Please install Docker first."
     echo "On Ubuntu: sudo apt install docker.io"
@@ -68,28 +83,6 @@ if [ ! -f "docker-compose.yml" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# bundle based approach, commented out in favor of direct download for now
-# Download and extract Chrome bundle if not present
-#echo "Checking Chrome bundle..."
-#if [ ! -d "chrome_bundle/chrome136" ]; then
-#    echo "Chrome bundle not found. Downloading..."
-#    mkdir -p chrome_bundle
-#    curl -L https://github.com/Fosowl/agenticSeek/releases/download/utility/chrome136.zip -o /tmp/chrome136.zip
-#    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
-#        echo "Error: Failed to download Chrome bundle"
-#        exit 1
-#    fi
-#    unzip -q /tmp/chrome136.zip -d chrome_bundle/
-#    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
-#        echo "Error: Failed to extract Chrome bundle"
-#        exit 1
-#    fi
-#    rm /tmp/chrome136.zip
-#    echo "Chrome bundle downloaded and extracted successfully"
-#else
-#    echo "Chrome bundle already exists"
-#fi
-
 # Stop all running containers to ensure a clean state
 echo "Warning: stopping all docker containers (t-4 seconds)..."
 sleep 4