diff --git a/apps/api/Dockerfile b/apps/api/Dockerfile
index ff7a477..f05c802 100644
--- a/apps/api/Dockerfile
+++ b/apps/api/Dockerfile
@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ COPY packages/config/package.json ./packages/config/
 COPY apps/api/package.json ./apps/api/
 
 # Install dependencies (no cache mount — Kaniko builds are ephemeral in CI)
-RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+# Then explicitly rebuild node-pty from source since pnpm may skip postinstall
+# scripts or fail to find prebuilt binaries for this Node.js version
+RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile \
+    && cd node_modules/.pnpm/node-pty@*/node_modules/node-pty \
+    && npx node-gyp rebuild 2>&1 || true
 
 # ======================
 # Builder stage
diff --git a/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.spec.ts b/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.spec.ts
index 8a93dcf..5545405 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.spec.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ describe("TerminalService", () => {
   let service: TerminalService;
   let mockSocket: Socket;
 
-  beforeEach(() => {
+  beforeEach(async () => {
     vi.clearAllMocks();
     // Reset mock implementations
     mockPtyProcess.onData.mockImplementation((_cb: (data: string) => void) => {});
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ describe("TerminalService", () => {
       (_cb: (e: { exitCode: number; signal?: number }) => void) => {}
     );
     service = new TerminalService();
+    // Trigger lazy import of node-pty (uses dynamic import(), intercepted by vi.mock)
+    await service.onModuleInit();
     mockSocket = createMockSocket();
   });
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.ts b/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.ts
index 8025572..820c0d3 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/terminal/terminal.service.ts
@@ -13,11 +13,19 @@
  * - closeWorkspaceSessions: kill all sessions for a workspace (on disconnect)
  */
 
-import { Injectable, Logger } from "@nestjs/common";
-import * as pty from "node-pty";
+import { Injectable, Logger, OnModuleInit } from "@nestjs/common";
+import type { IPty } from "node-pty";
 import type { Socket } from "socket.io";
 import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
 
+// Lazy-loaded in onModuleInit via dynamic import() to prevent crash
+// if the native binary is missing. node-pty requires a compiled .node
+// binary which may not be available in all Docker environments.
+interface NodePtyModule {
+  spawn: (file: string, args: string[], options: Record<string, unknown>) => IPty;
+}
+let pty: NodePtyModule | null = null;
+
 /** Maximum concurrent PTY sessions per workspace */
 export const MAX_SESSIONS_PER_WORKSPACE = parseInt(
   process.env.TERMINAL_MAX_SESSIONS_PER_WORKSPACE ?? "10",
@@ -31,7 +39,7 @@ const DEFAULT_ROWS = 24;
 export interface TerminalSession {
   sessionId: string;
   workspaceId: string;
-  pty: pty.IPty;
+  pty: IPty;
   name?: string;
   createdAt: Date;
 }
@@ -53,7 +61,7 @@ export interface SessionCreatedResult {
 }
 
 @Injectable()
-export class TerminalService {
+export class TerminalService implements OnModuleInit {
   private readonly logger = new Logger(TerminalService.name);
 
   /**
@@ -66,13 +74,30 @@ export class TerminalService {
    */
   private readonly workspaceSessions = new Map<string, Set<string>>();
 
+  async onModuleInit(): Promise<void> {
+    if (!pty) {
+      try {
+        pty = await import("node-pty");
+        this.logger.log("node-pty loaded successfully — terminal sessions available");
+      } catch {
+        this.logger.warn(
+          "node-pty native module not available — terminal sessions will be disabled. " +
+            "Install build tools (python3, make, g++) and rebuild node-pty to enable."
+        );
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Create a new PTY session for the given workspace and socket.
    * Wires PTY onData -> emit terminal:output and onExit -> emit terminal:exit.
    *
-   * @throws Error if workspace session limit is exceeded
+   * @throws Error if workspace session limit is exceeded or node-pty is unavailable
    */
   createSession(socket: Socket, options: CreateSessionOptions): SessionCreatedResult {
+    if (!pty) {
+      throw new Error("Terminal sessions are unavailable: node-pty native module failed to load");
+    }
     const { workspaceId, name, cwd, socketId } = options;
     const cols = options.cols ?? DEFAULT_COLS;
     const rows = options.rows ?? DEFAULT_ROWS;