diff --git a/frontend/next.config.ts b/frontend/next.config.ts
index 4a4f3e0..bd8c994 100644
--- a/frontend/next.config.ts
+++ b/frontend/next.config.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 import type { NextConfig } from "next";
 
+// BACKEND_URL is a plain (non-NEXT_PUBLIC_) env var read at server startup —
+// not baked at build time — so it can be set in docker-compose `environment`.
+// Defaults to localhost for local dev where both services run on the same host.
+const backendUrl = process.env.BACKEND_URL ?? "http://localhost:8000";
+
 const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
   transpilePackages: ['react-map-gl', 'mapbox-gl', 'maplibre-gl'],
   output: "standalone",
@@ -9,6 +14,14 @@ const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
   eslint: {
     ignoreDuringBuilds: true,
   },
+  async rewrites() {
+    return [
+      {
+        source: "/api/:path*",
+        destination: `${backendUrl}/api/:path*`,
+      },
+    ];
+  },
 };
 
 export default nextConfig;