diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index accb17f..9f87305 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ WORKDIR /app
 COPY ./pom.xml ./pom.xml
 COPY ./src ./src
 
+# Resolve dependencies and compile the tests at build time so container start
+# does not download or compile the project's test sources. test-compile runs no
+# tests, so the build makes no calls to live endpoints.
+RUN mvn -B test-compile
+
 ######################
 # Configure env vars #
 ######################