diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index a60028d..6c736e3 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -2,45 +2,91 @@ FROM quay.io/devfile/universal-developer-image:latest
 
 USER root
 
-# Add fish repo 
-RUN cd /etc/yum.repos.d && \
-    wget https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/shells:fish:release:3/CentOS_8/shells:fish:release:3.repo 
+# Install EPEL repository, core dependencies, Python 3.12, and Starship
+# Also clean yum caches to reduce image size.
+RUN yum install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm && \
+    yum install -y \
+    fish \
+    neovim \
+    vim \
+    wget \
+    zsh \
+    ripgrep \
+    ca-certificates \
+    # Python 3.12. The venv module should be included. If 'uv venv' later fails,
+    # a specific venv package (e.g., python3-virtualenv or python3.12-venv variant)
+    # might be needed, or Python installed differently.
+    python3.12 && \
+    yum copr enable -y atim/starship && \
+    yum install -y starship && \
+    yum clean all && \
+    rm -rf /var/cache/yum
 
-# Add epel repo
-RUN yum install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
+# Install uv - the fast Python package installer and resolver
+RUN curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
 
-# Install dependencies
-RUN yum install -y curl fish neovim vim wget zsh
+# Add uv's installation directory to the PATH for root and subsequent users
+ENV PATH="/root/.cargo/bin:${PATH}"
 
-# Clean dnf cache
-RUN yum clean all
+# Create a Python virtual environment for ra-aid and install it
+# Using /opt/ra_aid_venv for the virtual environment and pinning protobuf versions
+RUN uv venv /opt/ra_aid_venv --python 3.12 \
+    && . /opt/ra_aid_venv/bin/activate \
+    && uv pip install protobuf==4.25.3 googleapis-common-protos==1.63.0 ra-aid
+
+# Add the ra-aid venv bin to the PATH so its executables are accessible
+ENV PATH="/opt/ra_aid_venv/bin:${PATH}"
 
 # Install chectl
-RUN curl -Lo chectl.sh  https://che-incubator.github.io/chectl/install.sh && \
-    bash chectl.sh
+RUN curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/chectl https://che-incubator.github.io/chectl/install.sh && \
+    chmod +x /usr/local/bin/chectl
 
-# Download and install FiraCode Nerd Font from https://www.nerdfonts.com/font-downloads
+# Download and install FiraCode Nerd Font
 RUN mkdir -p /usr/local/share/fonts/FiraCode && \
-    cd /tmp && curl -Lo FiraCode.zip https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v3.0.2/FiraCode.zip && \
-    unzip /tmp/FiraCode.zip -d /usr/local/share/fonts/FiraCode && \
-    rm /tmp/FiraCode.zip && \
-    fc-cache /usr/local/share/fonts/
+    cd /tmp && \
+    curl -Lo FiraCode.zip https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v3.4.0/FiraCode.zip && \
+    unzip FiraCode.zip -d /usr/local/share/fonts/FiraCode && \
+    rm FiraCode.zip && \
+    fc-cache -fv /usr/local/share/fonts/
 
-# Install starship
-# RUN sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://starship.rs/install.sh)" -- --yes
-RUN yum copr enable -y atim/starship && \
-    yum install -y starship
+# Configure Starship for system-wide use with /opt storage
+RUN mkdir -p /opt/starship/config /opt/starship/cache && \
+    touch /opt/starship/config/starship.toml && \
+    chown -R 10001:0 /opt/starship && \
+    chmod -R u=rwX,go=rX /opt/starship
 
-USER 10001
+# Set environment variables for Starship to use the /opt locations
+ENV STARSHIP_CONFIG="/opt/starship/config/starship.toml"
+ENV STARSHIP_CACHE="/opt/starship/cache"
 
-# Add the init script to bashrc
-RUN echo 'eval "$(starship init bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc
+# Bash: Add Starship init to a new script in /etc/profile.d/ for system-wide effect (Bash only)
+RUN echo 'if [ -n "$BASH_VERSION" ]; then eval "$(starship init bash)"; fi' > /etc/profile.d/starship.sh && \
+    chmod +x /etc/profile.d/starship.sh
 
-# Add the init script to zshrc
-RUN echo 'eval "$(starship init zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc
+# Zsh: Create /etc/zshrc with completion initialization and Starship init
+RUN printf '%s\n' \
+    '# System-wide Zshrc configured by Dockerfile' \
+    '' \
+    '# Initialize Zsh completion system to ensure SDKMAN and other tools work correctly' \
+    'if typeset -f compinit >/dev/null; then' \
+    '  autoload -Uz compinit && compinit -u' \
+    'fi' \
+    '' \
+    '# Initialize Zsh bash completion compatibility (for SDKMAN, etc.)' \
+    'if typeset -f bashcompinit >/dev/null; then' \
+    '  autoload -Uz bashcompinit && bashcompinit' \
+    'fi' \
+    '' \
+    '# Initialize Starship prompt' \
+    'if command -v starship >/dev/null; then' \
+    '  eval "$(starship init zsh)"' \
+    'fi' > /etc/zshrc
 
-# Add the init script to fish config
-RUN mkdir -p ~/.config/fish && echo 'starship init fish | source' >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish
+# Fish: Add Starship init to a new script in /etc/fish/conf.d/ for system-wide effect
+RUN mkdir -p /etc/fish/conf.d && \
+    echo 'if command -v starship > /dev/null; starship init fish | source; end' > /etc/fish/conf.d/starship.fish
+
+USER 10001
 
-# Set fish as default shell
+# Set fish as default shell for the user
 ENV SHELL="/usr/bin/fish"