diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 3d2aafc09..05854cd0f 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -9,4 +9,8 @@ OPENAI_API_KEY=''
 
 # DO NOT TRACK
 SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS=true
-DO_NOT_TRACK=true
\ No newline at end of file
+DO_NOT_TRACK=true
+
+# Use locally bundled version of the LiteLLM cost map json
+# to avoid repetitive startup connections
+LITELLM_LOCAL_MODEL_COST_MAP="True"
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 5f0c13cb5..f76f8c32e 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ ENV WEBUI_AUTH_TRUSTED_EMAIL_HEADER ""
 ENV SCARF_NO_ANALYTICS true
 ENV DO_NOT_TRACK true
 
+# Use locally bundled version of the LiteLLM cost map json
+# to avoid repetitive startup connections
+ENV LITELLM_LOCAL_MODEL_COST_MAP="True"
+
 ######## Preloaded models ########
 # whisper TTS Settings
 ENV WHISPER_MODEL="base"