diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2a49bc04e07..dff64e3c9e9 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@ litellm/proxy/tests/package.json
 litellm/proxy/tests/package-lock.json
 ui/litellm-dashboard/.next
 ui/litellm-dashboard/node_modules
-# Next.js static export — built inside Docker, not checked in.
-litellm/proxy/_experimental/out/
 ui/litellm-dashboard/next-env.d.ts
 ui/litellm-dashboard/package.json
 ui/litellm-dashboard/package-lock.json
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile.non_root b/docker/Dockerfile.non_root
index ed84e573de4..2729babb6d6 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile.non_root
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile.non_root
@@ -55,18 +55,12 @@ COPY . .
 # Set non-root flag for build time consistency
 ENV LITELLM_NON_ROOT=true
 
-# Build the Next.js Admin UI from source.
-# nodejs + npm are already installed in this stage (see apk add above).
-RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.npm,id=litellm-npm-cache \
-    cd /app/ui/litellm-dashboard && \
-    NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1 npm_config_fund=false npm_config_audit=false \
-        npm ci --prefer-offline && \
-    NEXT_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1 npm run build
-
-# Stage the built UI and restructure extensionless routes
-# (foo.html -> foo/index.html) to match the layout proxy_server.py expects.
+# Stage the pre-built Admin UI from the checked-in Next.js static export.
+# _experimental/out/ is regenerated as part of the release runbook.
+# Restructure extensionless routes (foo.html -> foo/index.html) to match the layout
+# proxy_server.py expects, and drop a readiness marker.
 RUN mkdir -p /var/lib/litellm/ui /var/lib/litellm/assets && \
-    cp -r /app/ui/litellm-dashboard/out/. /var/lib/litellm/ui/ && \
+    cp -r /app/litellm/proxy/_experimental/out/. /var/lib/litellm/ui/ && \
     cp /app/litellm/proxy/logo.jpg /var/lib/litellm/assets/logo.jpg && \
     ( cd /var/lib/litellm/ui && \
       for html_file in *.html; do \