diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 478b615..8472d7a 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ FROM python:3.11-slim-bookworm AS base
 ARG MINIMUM_BUILD
 ARG USE_CUDA
 ARG USE_CUDA_VER
+ARG PIPELINES_URLS
+ARG PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH
 
 ## Basis ##
 ENV ENV=prod \
@@ -39,11 +41,25 @@ RUN if [ "$MINIMUM_BUILD" = "true" ]; then \
         uv pip install --system -r requirements.txt --no-cache-dir; \
     fi
 
+
+# Layer on for other components
+FROM base AS app
+
+ENV PIPELINES_URLS=${PIPELINES_URLS} \
+    PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH=${PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH}
+
 # Copy the application code
 COPY . .
 
+# Run a docker command if either PIPELINES_URLS or PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH is not empty
+RUN if [ -n "$PIPELINES_URLS" ] || [ -n "$PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH" ]; then \
+    echo "Running docker command with PIPELINES_URLS or PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH"; \
+    ./start.sh --mode setup; \
+    fi
+
 # Expose the port
 ENV HOST="0.0.0.0"
 ENV PORT="9099"
 
+# if we already installed the requirements on build, we can skip this step on run
 ENTRYPOINT [ "bash", "start.sh" ]
diff --git a/start.sh b/start.sh
index e2ddd8b..94e259b 100755
--- a/start.sh
+++ b/start.sh
@@ -26,9 +26,6 @@ reset_pipelines_dir() {
   fi
 }
 
-# Example usage of the function
-reset_pipelines_dir
-
 # Function to install requirements if requirements.txt is provided
 install_requirements() {
   if [[ -f "$1" ]]; then
@@ -105,29 +102,54 @@ install_frontmatter_requirements() {
 }
 
 
-
-# Check if PIPELINES_URLS environment variable is set and non-empty
-if [[ -n "$PIPELINES_URLS" ]]; then
-  if [ ! -d "$PIPELINES_DIR" ]; then
-    mkdir -p "$PIPELINES_DIR"
-  fi
-
-  # Split PIPELINES_URLS by ';' and iterate over each path
-  IFS=';' read -ra ADDR <<< "$PIPELINES_URLS"
-  for path in "${ADDR[@]}"; do
-    download_pipelines "$path" "$PIPELINES_DIR"
-  done
-
-  for file in "$pipelines_dir"/*; do
-    if [[ -f "$file" ]]; then
-      install_frontmatter_requirements "$file"
-    fi
-  done
-else
-  echo "PIPELINES_URLS not specified. Skipping pipelines download and installation."
+# Parse command line arguments for mode
+MODE="full"   # select a runmode ("setup", "run", "full" (setup + run))
+while [[ "$#" -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case $1 in
+    --mode) MODE="$2"; shift ;;
+    *) echo "Unknown parameter passed: $1"; exit 1 ;;
+  esac
+  shift
+done
+if [[ "$MODE" != "setup" && "$MODE" != "run" && "$MODE" != "full" ]]; then
+  echo "Invalid script mode: $MODE"
+  echo "  Example usage: './start.sh --mode [setup|run|full]' "
+  exit 1
 fi
 
+# Function to handle different modes, added 1/29/24
+if [[ "$MODE" == "setup" || "$MODE" == "full" ]]; then
+  echo "Download + install Executed in mode: $MODE"
 
+  reset_pipelines_dir
+  if [[ -n "$PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH" ]]; then
+    install_requirements "$PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH"
+  else
+    echo "PIPELINES_REQUIREMENTS_PATH not specified. Skipping installation of requirements."
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -n "$PIPELINES_URLS" ]]; then
+    if [ ! -d "$PIPELINES_DIR" ]; then
+      mkdir -p "$PIPELINES_DIR"
+    fi
+
+    IFS=';' read -ra ADDR <<< "$PIPELINES_URLS"
+    for path in "${ADDR[@]}"; do
+      download_pipelines "$path" "$PIPELINES_DIR"
+    done
+
+    for file in "$PIPELINES_DIR"/*; do
+      if [[ -f "$file" ]]; then
+        install_frontmatter_requirements "$file"
+      fi
+    done
+  else
+    echo "PIPELINES_URLS not specified. Skipping pipelines download and installation."
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [[ "$MODE" == "run" || "$MODE" == "full" ]]; then
+  echo "Running via Mode: $MODE"
+  uvicorn main:app --host "$HOST" --port "$PORT" --forwarded-allow-ips '*'
+fi
 
-# Start the server
-uvicorn main:app --host "$HOST" --port "$PORT" --forwarded-allow-ips '*'