diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 131ba56..cc27cba 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ RUN python3.11 -m pip install --no-cache-dir \
 COPY requirements.txt .
 RUN python3.11 -m pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 
+# Pre-download the spacy model that kokoro needs at runtime
+RUN python3.11 -m spacy download en_core_web_sm
+
 COPY . .
 
 EXPOSE 8000