diff --git a/Dockerfile.standalone b/Dockerfile.standalone
index e5cb09d6..612c05c8 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.standalone
+++ b/Dockerfile.standalone
@@ -187,21 +187,38 @@ ENV CCACHE_DIR=/var/cache/ccache
 ENV IDF_CCACHE_ENABLE=1
 # CCACHE_BASEDIR makes ccache treat absolute paths under this prefix as
 # relative when computing the cache key. Combined with the persistent
-# /var/lib/velxio-build/<target>/ build dir we mount as a volume, this lets
-# ccache hit across compiles even though some flags (-I, -fmacro-prefix-map)
-# embed absolute paths into the command line.
+# /var/lib/velxio-build/<target>/ build dir, this lets ccache hit across
+# compiles even though some flags (-I, -fmacro-prefix-map) embed absolute
+# paths into the command line.
 ENV CCACHE_BASEDIR=/var/lib/velxio-build
-# Cache cap, compression. These are set as env vars (rather than written
-# to /var/cache/ccache/ccache.conf via `ccache --set-config` at image-build
-# time) because $CCACHE_DIR is a named volume — anything we write into it
-# during build is masked at runtime by the volume mount, so config in the
-# image gets shadowed by whatever's already in the volume. ccache reads
-# CCACHE_MAXSIZE / CCACHE_COMPRESS / CCACHE_COMPRESSLEVEL at runtime,
-# overriding any conf-file value.
+# Cache cap + compression set as env vars (rather than via `ccache
+# --set-config` at image-build time) because $CCACHE_DIR is a docker volume:
+# anything written into /var/cache/ccache during the RUN step is masked at
+# runtime by the volume mount. ccache reads CCACHE_MAXSIZE / CCACHE_COMPRESS
+# / CCACHE_COMPRESSLEVEL on every invocation and they override any conf-file
+# value, so the cap actually applies at runtime.
 ENV CCACHE_MAXSIZE=8G
 ENV CCACHE_COMPRESS=1
 ENV CCACHE_COMPRESSLEVEL=6
-RUN mkdir -p /var/cache/ccache
+RUN mkdir -p /var/cache/ccache /var/lib/velxio-build /root/Arduino
+
+# ── Persistent paths ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Declaring these as VOLUMEs means `docker run` (without explicit -v) creates
+# anonymous volumes for them — they survive `docker stop`/`docker start` and
+# even `docker rm`. Without this, every container restart wipes the ccache
+# and persistent ESP-IDF build dir, so every compile is cold (~5-7 min on
+# modest hardware) instead of the warm-cache 5-30s we measured on prod.
+#
+# Users SHOULD pass `-v velxio-X:/path` for each of these to get named
+# volumes (easier to inspect / back up than anonymous ones), but the
+# anonymous default is a sensible fallback.
+#
+# /app/data            — SQLite DB + project files + auto-generated SECRET_KEY
+# /root/.arduino15     — arduino-cli config + installed cores
+# /root/Arduino        — Library Manager-installed Arduino libraries
+# /var/cache/ccache    — ccache cache (ESP-IDF compiles)
+# /var/lib/velxio-build — persistent ESP-IDF build dir (one subdir per target)
+VOLUME ["/app/data", "/root/.arduino15", "/root/Arduino", "/var/cache/ccache", "/var/lib/velxio-build"]
 
 # Install ESP-IDF Python dependencies using the final image's Python
 # The requirements.txt has version constraints required by ESP-IDF 4.4.x
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fa6f63c7..e29b01e4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -40,11 +40,22 @@ Your support helps cover server costs, library maintenance, and frees up time to
 To self-host with Docker (single command):
 
 ```bash
-docker run -d -p 3080:80 ghcr.io/davidmonterocrespo24/velxio:master
+docker run -d -p 3080:80 \
+  -v velxio-data:/app/data \
+  -v velxio-arduino-libs:/root/.arduino15 \
+  -v velxio-arduino-user-libs:/root/Arduino \
+  -v velxio-ccache:/var/cache/ccache \
+  -v velxio-build:/var/lib/velxio-build \
+  ghcr.io/davidmonterocrespo24/velxio:master
 ```
 
 Then open <http://localhost:3080>.
 
+The named volumes are what make compile times reasonable on subsequent
+runs — without them, every container restart wipes the ESP-IDF build
+cache and the first compile after each restart takes 5-7 minutes
+instead of 5-30 seconds.
+
 ---
 
 ## Screenshots
@@ -269,16 +280,35 @@ docker run -d \
   -p 3080:80 \
   -v velxio-data:/app/data \
   -v velxio-arduino-libs:/root/.arduino15 \
+  -v velxio-arduino-user-libs:/root/Arduino \
+  -v velxio-ccache:/var/cache/ccache \
+  -v velxio-build:/var/lib/velxio-build \
   ghcr.io/davidmonterocrespo24/velxio:master
 ```
 
 Open <http://localhost:3080>.
 
-The two named volumes persist:
+The five named volumes persist:
 
 - `velxio-data` → `/app/data`: SQLite DB, project sketch files, auto-generated `SECRET_KEY`
 - `velxio-arduino-libs` → `/root/.arduino15`: arduino-cli config + installed
   cores (saves a 5–10 min reinstall on every container restart)
+- `velxio-arduino-user-libs` → `/root/Arduino`: Library Manager-installed
+  Arduino libraries (e.g. Adafruit_BMP280, DHT, GFX). Without this,
+  every container restart re-downloads them on next compile.
+- `velxio-ccache` → `/var/cache/ccache`: ccache C/C++ object cache for
+  ESP-IDF compiles. Empty on first compile, populated as you go;
+  subsequent compiles hit the cache and finish in seconds instead of
+  minutes.
+- `velxio-build` → `/var/lib/velxio-build`: persistent ESP-IDF build dir
+  (one subdir per target — esp32, esp32c3, esp32s3). Lets ninja's
+  incremental build skip everything that hasn't changed; a re-compile
+  of an unchanged sketch finishes in 2-5 seconds.
+
+If you skip the volume flags, the Dockerfile declares all five paths as
+`VOLUME`, so docker creates anonymous volumes and the caches still
+survive container restarts (just harder to inspect/back up than named
+ones). Only `docker rm -v` or `docker volume prune` would wipe them.
 
 ---