diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 88bc099..d295451 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ docs/
 Dockerfile
 .gitignore
 data
+launch_sysimage.sh
diff --git a/.env.dist b/.env.dist
index add792a..f2618b6 100644
--- a/.env.dist
+++ b/.env.dist
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ WORKER_USERNAME=worker@email.com
 WORKER_PASSWORD=password
 
 # Debug
-JULIA_DEBUG=ReefGuideWorker
+JULIA_DEBUG=ReefGuideWorker,ReefGuide
 
 # Configuration for the worker
 POLL_INTERVAL_MS=5000
diff --git a/.github/workflows/PublishDockerImage.yml b/.github/workflows/PublishDockerImage.yml
index 0a2dfe4..56c7759 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/PublishDockerImage.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/PublishDockerImage.yml
@@ -60,7 +60,6 @@ jobs:
         uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
         with:
           context: .
-          target: app-src # Specifies which stage of the Dockerfile to build
           push: true # Pushes the image to the registry
           tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }} # Uses the tags generated in the metadata step
           labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }} # Uses the labels generated in the metadata step
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 08346a9..3483db6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -25,3 +25,6 @@ sandbox/*
 
 data
 .env
+.env.*
+!.env.dist
+sysimages
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 5750927..211c2a6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,21 +1,31 @@
+#==============================================================================
+# ReefGuide Worker Base Image
+#==============================================================================
+# This Dockerfile creates a Julia-based container image for the ReefGuide Worker
+# application. It provides a complete Julia environment with the ReefGuideWorker
+# package installed from source as a development dependency.
+#
+# Usage: 
+#    Build> docker build -t reefguide-worker . 
+#    Run> docker build -t reefguide-worker . 
+#==============================================================================
+
 # See https://hub.docker.com/_/julia for valid versions.
 ARG JULIA_VERSION="1.11.6"
 
-#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# internal-base build target: julia with OS updates and an empty @app
-# Julia environment prepared for use. NOT intended for standalone use.
-#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-FROM julia:${JULIA_VERSION}-bookworm AS internal-base
+FROM ${BASE_IMAGE}
+
+# Redeclare
+ARG BASE_IMAGE
 
-# Record the actual base image used from the FROM command as label in the compiled image
-ARG BASE_IMAGE="julia:${JULIA_VERSION}-bookworm"
+# Record the actual base image used from the FROM command as label in the
+# compiled image
 LABEL org.opencontainers.image.base.name=${BASE_IMAGE}
 
-# Update all pre-installed OS packages (to get security updates)
-# and add a few extra utilities
-RUN --mount=target=/var/lib/apt/lists,type=cache,sharing=locked \
-    --mount=target=/var/cache/apt,type=cache,sharing=locked \
-    apt-get update \
+
+# Update all pre-installed OS packages (to get security updates) and add a few
+# extra utilities
+RUN apt-get update \
     && apt-get -y upgrade \
     && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
     git \
@@ -32,32 +42,35 @@ RUN --mount=target=/var/lib/apt/lists,type=cache,sharing=locked \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Tweak the JULIA_DEPOT_PATH setting so that our shared environments will end up
-# in a user-agnostic location, not in ~/.julia => /root/.julia which is the default.
-# See https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/environment-variables/#JULIA_DEPOT_PATH
-# This allows apps derived from this image to drop privileges and run as non-root
-# user accounts, but still activate environments configured by this dockerfile.
-ENV JULIA_DEPOT_PATH="/usr/local/share/julia"
-ENV PRJ_PATH="/usr/local/share/julia/environments/app"
+# in a user-agnostic location, not in ~/.julia => /root/.julia which is the
+# default. See
+# https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/environment-variables/#JULIA_DEPOT_PATH
+# This allows apps derived from this image to drop privileges and run as
+# non-root user accounts, but still activate environments configured by this
+# dockerfile.
+ENV JULIA_DEPOT_PATH=/usr/local/share/julia
+
+# Ensure the @app environment is in the load path for Julia, so that apps
+# derived from this image can access any packages installed to there. (See
+# https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/environment-variables/#JULIA_LOAD_PATH)
+ENV JULIA_LOAD_PATH="@:@app:@v#.#:@stdlib"
+
+# This tells Julia's package manager to use the CLI installation of Git rather
+# than an internal lib version - this works better with auth for example in
+# CI/CD environments
 ENV JULIA_PKG_USE_CLI_GIT=true
 
-# Coerce Julia to build across multiple targets
-# Generic targets taken from: cpu_targets taken from:
+# Coerce Julia to build across multiple targets. See:
 # https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/devdocs/sysimg/#Specifying-multiple-system-image-targets
-ENV JULIA_CPU_TARGET=generic;sandybridge,-xsaveopt,clone_all;haswell,-rdrnd,base(1)
-
-# Alternate set that was found to initially alleviate issues on AWS at expense of very
-# long build times.
-# ENV JULIA_CPU_TARGET=x86_64;haswell;skylake;skylake-avx512;tigerlake
+# Alternate set that was found to initially alleviate excessive
+# (re)precompilation issues on AWS at expense of very long build times...
+# x86_64;haswell;skylake;skylake-avx512;tigerlake
+ENV JULIA_CPU_TARGET="generic;sandybridge,-xsaveopt,clone_all;haswell,-rdrnd,base(1);x86-64-v4,-rdrnd,base(1);znver4,-rdrnd,base(1)"
 
-# Prepare an empty @app Julia environment for derived images to use - this is created in the shared depot path
+# Prepare an empty @app Julia environment for derived images to use - this is
+# created in the shared depot path
 RUN mkdir -p "${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}" && \
-    chmod 0755 "${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}" && \
-    julia -e 'using Pkg; Pkg.activate("app", shared=true)'
-
-# Ensure the @app environment is in the load path for Julia, so that apps derived
-# from this image can access any packages installed to there.
-# (See https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/environment-variables/#JULIA_LOAD_PATH)
-ENV JULIA_LOAD_PATH="@:@app:@v#.#:@stdlib"
+    chmod 0755 "${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}"
 
 # Copy project and manifest - includes Manifest-v1.11 etc
 COPY Project.toml Manifest*.toml ./
@@ -68,35 +81,15 @@ RUN julia --project=@app \
 
 # Install ReefGuideWorker from source and configure it as a development
 # package in the @app shared environment.
-# Should be v speedy if the .toml file is unchanged, because all the
-# dependencies *should* already be installed.
 COPY ./src src
-RUN julia --project=@app \
-    -e 'using Pkg; \
-    Pkg.add("MKL"); \
+RUN julia --project=@app -e \
+    'using Pkg; \
     Pkg.develop(PackageSpec(path=pwd())); \
-    Pkg.precompile(); \
-    using ReefGuideWorker;'
-
-# Run Julia commands by default as the container launches.
-# Derived applications should override the command.
-ENTRYPOINT ["julia", "--project=@app"]
-
-#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# app-src build target: installs directly from source files in this repo.
-#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-FROM internal-base AS app-src
-
-ENV APP_ENV_DIR="${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}/environments/app" \
-    APP_SRC_DIR="/usr/local/src/app" \
-    JULIA_PKG_USE_CLI_GIT=true
-
-# Expect to include the prepped data at /data/app and the config at
-# /data/.config.toml
-VOLUME ["/data/app"]
+    Pkg.instantiate(); \
+    Pkg.precompile();'
 
 # By default, drops the user into a  julia shell with ReefGuideWorker activated
-ENTRYPOINT ["julia", "--project=@app", "-t", "auto,1", "-e"]
+ENTRYPOINT ["julia", "--project=@app", "-e"]
 
 # Derived applications should override the command e.g. to start
 CMD ["using ReefGuideWorker; ReefGuideWorker.start_worker()"]
diff --git a/Dockerfile.build_sysimage b/Dockerfile.build_sysimage
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82438b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile.build_sysimage
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#==============================================================================
+# ReefGuide Worker: Sysimage Builder
+#==============================================================================
+# Builds a Julia system image for faster ReefGuide Worker startup times.
+# The system image is compiled using PackageCompiler.jl and can be extracted
+# from the resulting container.
+#
+# Following advice found in this Discourse thread:
+# https://discourse.julialang.org/t/creating-a-docker-base-image-for-faster-deployments/121165/2
+#
+# Also found this relevant issue:
+# https://github.com/JuliaLang/PackageCompiler.jl/issues/743
+#
+# Build:
+#   docker build --target export-sysimage -f Dockerfile.build_sysimage -t reefguide-sysimage .
+#
+# Extract sysimage:
+#   docker create --name temp-sysimage reefguide-sysimage
+#   docker cp temp-sysimage:/reefguide_img.so ./reefguide_img.so
+#   docker rm temp-sysimage
+#==============================================================================
+
+ARG JULIA_VERSION="1.11.5"
+FROM julia:${JULIA_VERSION}-bookworm AS internal-base
+
+# Since 1.9.0 Julia, the CPU target is set to "native" by default. This settings
+# avoids the need to compile the Julia packages for the specific CPU
+# architecture of the host machine Make sure the image can be used on any x86_64
+# machine by setting JULIA_CPU_TARGET to the same value used by the generic
+# julia binaries, see
+# https://github.com/JuliaCI/julia-buildkite/blob/4b6932992f7985af71fc3f73af77abf4d25bd146/utilities/build_envs.sh#L23-L31
+ENV JULIA_CPU_TARGET="generic;sandybridge,-xsaveopt,clone_all;haswell,-rdrnd,base(1);x86-64-v4,-rdrnd,base(1);znver4,-rdrnd,base(1)"
+
+ENV JULIA_VERSION=1.11.5
+ENV JULIA_DIR=/usr/local/julia
+ENV JULIA_PATH=${JULIA_DIR}
+ENV JULIA_DEPOT_PATH=/usr/local/share/julia
+ENV APP_ENV_PATH=${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}/environments/app
+ENV APP_SRC_DIR=/usr/local/src/app
+ENV JULIA_PKG_USE_CLI_GIT=true
+
+# Update all pre-installed OS packages (to get security updates)
+# and add a few extra utilities
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get -y upgrade \
+    && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y \
+    git \
+    openssl \
+    libssl-dev \
+    g++ \
+    curl \
+    ca-certificates \
+    gdal-bin \
+    libgdal-dev \
+    libfftw3-dev \
+    && apt-get clean \
+    && apt-get autoremove --purge \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Setup shared environment and add packages
+RUN mkdir -p "${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}" \
+    && chmod 0755 "${JULIA_DEPOT_PATH}"
+
+WORKDIR "${APP_SRC_DIR}"
+
+COPY Project.toml Manifest*.toml ./
+COPY src/ src/
+
+# Build sysimage
+RUN julia -t auto --project=@app -e \
+    'using Pkg; \
+    Pkg.add("PackageCompiler"); \
+    Pkg.develop(PackageSpec(path=pwd())); \
+    Pkg.instantiate(); '
+
+# Reduce number of tasks/threads to avoid heavy memory use during sysimage compilation
+# https://github.com/JuliaLang/PackageCompiler.jl/issues/1031#issuecomment-2823054267
+RUN julia --project=@app -t auto -e 'include("src/sysimage.jl")'
+
+# Export Julia sysimage to host filesystem
+# From project root
+# docker build --target export-sysimage -t reefguide-sysimage -f sandbox/smaller_sysimage/Dockerfile .
+FROM scratch AS export-sysimage
+COPY --from=internal-base /usr/local/src/app/reefguide_img.so /reefguide_img.so
diff --git a/Project.toml b/Project.toml
index 6c7bb0f..10b5702 100644
--- a/Project.toml
+++ b/Project.toml
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@ Logging = "1.11.0"
 Minio = "0.2.2"
 PrecompileSignatures = "3.0.3"
 Random = "1.11.0"
-ReefGuide = "0.1.2"
+ReefGuide = "0.1.6"
 SentryIntegration = "0.7.1"
 Serialization = "1.11.0"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index de0f99a..d5050d9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -85,6 +85,47 @@ This worker template integrates with the ReefGuide ecosystem, connecting to the
    docker run --env-file .env worker
    ```
 
+#### Building the sysimage
+
+To build, using docker, a current sysimage
+
+```
+docker build --target export-sysimage -f Dockerfile.build_sysimage -t sysimage .
+```
+
+Then copy the file out:
+
+```
+docker create --name temp-sysimage sysimage bash
+docker cp temp-sysimage:/reefguide_img.so ./reefguide_img.so
+docker rm temp-sysimage
+```
+
+#### Running the worker with the sysimage
+
+The main Dockerfile, once built, can be run in a sysimage mode.
+
+You need to
+
+1. mount a volume containing the sysimage file (as above)
+2. override the entrypoint and cmd to run using the sysimage
+
+The script `./launch_sysimage.sh` does this for you
+
+```
+./launch_sysimage.sh <sysimage_directory> <sysimage_name> <container_name>
+```
+
+So for example, if you have a file `sysimage.so` in the folder `sysimages`, you would run
+
+```
+./run-worker.sh ./sysimages sysimage.so worker
+```
+
+**NOTE**: the `./` relative path is important in the first argument.
+
+Where worker was the `-t` argument when building the main dockerfile.
+
 ## How It Works
 
 ### Core Architecture
diff --git a/launch_sysimage.sh b/launch_sysimage.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..90c5f13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launch_sysimage.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Script to run the ReefGuide worker container
+# Usage: ./run-worker.sh <sysimage_directory> <sysimage_name>
+
+set -e
+
+# Check if required arguments are provided
+if [ $# -lt 3 ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 <sysimage_directory> <sysimage_name> <container_name>"
+    echo "Example: $0 ./sysimages reefguide_img.so worker"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+SYSIMAGE_DIR="$1"
+SYSIMAGE_NAME="$2"
+CONTAINER_NAME="$3"
+
+# Check if sysimage directory exists
+if [ ! -d "$SYSIMAGE_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "Error: System image directory not found at $SYSIMAGE_DIR"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Check if sysimage file exists in the directory
+if [ ! -f "$SYSIMAGE_DIR/$SYSIMAGE_NAME" ]; then
+    echo "Error: System image file $SYSIMAGE_NAME not found in $SYSIMAGE_DIR"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Starting ReefGuide worker container..."
+echo "System image directory: $SYSIMAGE_DIR"
+echo "System image file: $SYSIMAGE_NAME"
+echo "Worker container name: $CONTAINER_NAME"
+
+# Run the container
+docker run \
+    -v "$SYSIMAGE_DIR:/sysimage" \
+    -v "./data:/data" \
+    --network host \
+    --env-file=.env \
+    --entrypoint julia \
+    ${CONTAINER_NAME} \
+    --project=@app \
+    -t auto \
+    -J "/sysimage/$SYSIMAGE_NAME" \
+    --sysimage-native-code=yes \
+    -e "using ReefGuideWorker; ReefGuideWorker.start_worker()"
+
+echo "Container $CONTAINER_NAME started successfully!"
+echo "To view logs: docker logs $CONTAINER_NAME"
+echo "To stop: docker stop $CONTAINER_NAME"
+echo "To remove: docker rm $CONTAINER_NAME"