diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8c19db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Lovdata Chat Environment Configuration
+
+# MCP Server Configuration
+# URL of the external lovdata MCP server
+MCP_SERVER=http://localhost:8001
+
+# LLM API Keys (optional - at least one required)
+OPENAI_API_KEY=
+ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=
+GOOGLE_API_KEY=
+
+# Development Settings
+# These are configured in docker-compose.yml
+# DOCKER_HOST=tcp://docker-daemon:2376
+# DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY=1
+# DOCKER_CERT_PATH=/certs
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README-setup.md b/README-setup.md
index 25056fb..d177a7a 100644
--- a/README-setup.md
+++ b/README-setup.md
@@ -1,40 +1,53 @@
 # Lovdata Chat Development Environment
 
-This setup creates a container-per-visitor architecture for the Norwegian legal research chat interface.
+This setup creates a container-per-visitor architecture for the Norwegian legal research chat interface with secure TLS-based Docker communication.
 
 ## Quick Start
 
-1. **Set up environment variables:**
+1. **Generate TLS certificates for secure Docker communication:**
    ```bash
-   cp .env.example .env
-   # Edit .env with your API keys
+   ./generate-certs.sh
    ```
 
-2. **Start the services:**
+2. **Set up environment variables:**
+   ```bash
+   cp .env.example .env
+   # Edit .env with your API keys and MCP server URL
+   ```
+
+3. **Start the services:**
    ```bash
    docker-compose up --build
    ```
 
-3. **Create a session:**
+4. **Create a session:**
    ```bash
    curl http://localhost/api/sessions -X POST
    ```
 
-4. **Access the chat interface:**
+5. **Access the chat interface:**
    Open the returned URL in your browser
 
 ## Architecture
 
-- **session-manager**: FastAPI service managing container lifecycles
-- **lovdata-mcp**: Placeholder for Norwegian legal research MCP server
-- **caddy**: Reverse proxy for routing requests to session containers
+- **session-manager**: FastAPI service managing container lifecycles with TLS-secured Docker communication
+- **docker-daemon**: Docker-in-Docker daemon with TLS certificates for secure container management
+- **lovdata-mcp**: External Norwegian legal research MCP server (configured via MCP_SERVER env var)
+- **caddy**: Reverse proxy with dynamic session-based routing
+
+## Security Features
+
+- **TLS-secured Docker communication**: No Docker socket exposure
+- **Container isolation**: Each visitor gets dedicated container with resource limits
+- **Automatic cleanup**: Sessions expire after 60 minutes of inactivity
+- **Resource quotas**: 4GB RAM, 1 CPU core per container, max 3 concurrent sessions
 
 ## Development Notes
 
-- Sessions auto-cleanup after 60 minutes of inactivity
-- Limited to 3 concurrent sessions for workstation development
-- Each session gets 4GB RAM and 1 CPU core
 - Session data persists in ./sessions/ directory
+- TLS certificates auto-generated for development
+- External MCP server configured via environment variables
+- Health checks ensure service reliability
 
 ## API Endpoints
 
@@ -43,4 +56,17 @@ This setup creates a container-per-visitor architecture for the Norwegian legal
 - `GET /api/sessions/{id}` - Get session info
 - `DELETE /api/sessions/{id}` - Delete session
 - `POST /api/cleanup` - Manual cleanup
-- `GET /api/health` - Health check
\ No newline at end of file
+- `GET /api/health` - Health check
+- `/{path}` - Dynamic proxy routing (with X-Session-ID header)
+
+## Environment Variables
+
+```bash
+# Required
+MCP_SERVER=http://your-lovdata-mcp-server:8001
+
+# Optional LLM API keys
+OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key
+ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key
+GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_key
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index f2d53ed..8af6925 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -9,29 +9,34 @@ services:
       - "8000:8000"
     volumes:
       - ./sessions:/app/sessions
-      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
     environment:
-      - MCP_SERVER=http://lovdata-mcp:8001
+      - MCP_SERVER=${MCP_SERVER:-http://localhost:8001}
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY:-}
       - ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}
       - GOOGLE_API_KEY=${GOOGLE_API_KEY:-}
+      - DOCKER_HOST=tcp://docker-daemon:2376
+      - DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY=1
+      - DOCKER_CERT_PATH=/certs
     depends_on:
-      - lovdata-mcp
+      - docker-daemon
     networks:
       - lovdata-network
     restart: unless-stopped
 
-  lovdata-mcp:
-    # Placeholder for lovdata MCP server
-    # This should be replaced with the actual lovdata MCP server image
-    image: python:3.11-slim
-    ports:
-      - "8001:8001"
+  docker-daemon:
+    image: docker:dind
+    privileged: true
+    environment:
+      - DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR=/certs
+    volumes:
+      - ./docker-certs:/certs
     networks:
       - lovdata-network
-    command: ["python", "-c", "import time; time.sleep(999999)"]  # Placeholder
+    command: ["--tlsverify", "--tlscacert=/certs/server/ca.pem", "--tlscert=/certs/server/cert.pem", "--tlskey=/certs/server/key.pem"]
     restart: unless-stopped
 
+  # lovdata-mcp server is external - configured via MCP_SERVER environment variable
+
   caddy:
     image: caddy:2.7-alpine
     ports:
diff --git a/generate-certs.sh b/generate-certs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..51fef92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/generate-certs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Generate TLS certificates for secure Docker communication
+
+set -e
+
+CERT_DIR="./docker-certs"
+CA_DIR="$CERT_DIR/ca"
+SERVER_DIR="$CERT_DIR/server"
+CLIENT_DIR="$CERT_DIR/client"
+
+# Create directories
+mkdir -p "$CA_DIR" "$SERVER_DIR" "$CLIENT_DIR"
+
+# Generate CA private key
+openssl genrsa -out "$CA_DIR/ca-key.pem" 4096
+
+# Generate CA certificate
+openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -key "$CA_DIR/ca-key.pem" -sha256 -out "$CA_DIR/ca.pem" -subj "/C=US/ST=CA/L=San Francisco/O=Docker/CN=docker-ca"
+
+# Generate server private key
+openssl genrsa -out "$SERVER_DIR/server-key.pem" 4096
+
+# Generate server certificate signing request
+openssl req -subj "/CN=docker-daemon" -new -key "$SERVER_DIR/server-key.pem" -out "$SERVER_DIR/server.csr"
+
+# Create server extensions file
+cat > "$SERVER_DIR/server-extfile.cnf" << EOF
+subjectAltName = DNS:docker-daemon,IP:127.0.0.1,IP:172.18.0.1
+extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
+EOF
+
+# Sign server certificate
+openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in "$SERVER_DIR/server.csr" -CA "$CA_DIR/ca.pem" -CAkey "$CA_DIR/ca-key.pem" -CAcreateserial -out "$SERVER_DIR/cert.pem" -extfile "$SERVER_DIR/server-extfile.cnf"
+
+# Generate client private key
+openssl genrsa -out "$CLIENT_DIR/key.pem" 4096
+
+# Generate client certificate signing request
+openssl req -subj "/CN=docker-client" -new -key "$CLIENT_DIR/key.pem" -out "$CLIENT_DIR/client.csr"
+
+# Create client extensions file
+cat > "$CLIENT_DIR/client-extfile.cnf" << EOF
+extendedKeyUsage = clientAuth
+EOF
+
+# Sign client certificate
+openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in "$CLIENT_DIR/client.csr" -CA "$CA_DIR/ca.pem" -CAkey "$CA_DIR/ca-key.pem" -CAcreateserial -out "$CLIENT_DIR/cert.pem" -extfile "$CLIENT_DIR/client-extfile.cnf"
+
+# Copy CA certificate to client and server directories
+cp "$CA_DIR/ca.pem" "$CLIENT_DIR/ca.pem"
+cp "$CA_DIR/ca.pem" "$SERVER_DIR/ca.pem"
+
+# Set appropriate permissions
+chmod 600 "$CA_DIR/ca-key.pem" "$SERVER_DIR/server-key.pem" "$CLIENT_DIR/key.pem"
+chmod 644 "$CA_DIR/ca.pem" "$SERVER_DIR/cert.pem" "$CLIENT_DIR/cert.pem"
+
+echo "TLS certificates generated successfully in $CERT_DIR"
+echo "CA certificate: $CA_DIR/ca.pem"
+echo "Server cert: $SERVER_DIR/cert.pem"
+echo "Client cert: $CLIENT_DIR/cert.pem"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/nginx/Caddyfile b/nginx/Caddyfile
index de6aceb..287fd83 100644
--- a/nginx/Caddyfile
+++ b/nginx/Caddyfile
@@ -8,14 +8,13 @@ localhost {
         reverse_proxy session-manager:8000
     }
 
-    # Session-specific routing - dynamically route to containers
+    # Session-specific routing - proxy to session manager for dynamic routing
     handle /session/{session_id}* {
+        # Strip the session prefix and pass to session manager
         uri strip_prefix /session/{session_id}
-        # This will be handled by dynamic routing in the session manager
-        reverse_proxy session-manager:8000 {
-            # The session manager will return the actual container port
-            # This is a simplified version for development
-        }
+        # Add session ID as header for routing
+        header X-Session-ID {session_id}
+        reverse_proxy session-manager:8000
     }
 
     # Static files and main interface
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index d38d165..696850d 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -2,4 +2,5 @@ fastapi==0.104.1
 uvicorn==0.24.0
 docker==7.0.0
 pydantic==2.5.0
-python-multipart==0.0.6
\ No newline at end of file
+python-multipart==0.0.6
+httpx==0.25.2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/session-manager/Dockerfile b/session-manager/Dockerfile
index f0f5365..21f1769 100644
--- a/session-manager/Dockerfile
+++ b/session-manager/Dockerfile
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ WORKDIR /app
 # Install system dependencies
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
     curl \
+    docker.io \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Copy requirements first for better caching
diff --git a/session-manager/main.py b/session-manager/main.py
index fd92e67..afebd07 100644
--- a/session-manager/main.py
+++ b/session-manager/main.py
@@ -16,10 +16,12 @@ from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 
 import docker
 from docker.errors import DockerException, NotFound
-from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, BackgroundTasks
-from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, BackgroundTasks, Request, Response
+from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse, StreamingResponse
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 import uvicorn
+import httpx
+import asyncio
 
 
 # Configuration
@@ -45,7 +47,16 @@ class SessionData(BaseModel):
 
 class SessionManager:
     def __init__(self):
-        self.docker_client = docker.from_env()
+        # Use TLS certificates for secure Docker communication
+        tls_config = docker.tls.TLSConfig(
+            client_cert=("/certs/client/cert.pem", "/certs/client/key.pem"),
+            ca_cert="/certs/client/ca.pem",
+            verify=True,
+        )
+        self.docker_client = docker.DockerClient(
+            base_url=os.getenv("DOCKER_HOST", "tcp://docker-daemon:2376"),
+            tls=tls_config,
+        )
         self.sessions: Dict[str, SessionData] = {}
         self._load_sessions()
 
@@ -316,6 +327,56 @@ async def trigger_cleanup():
     return {"message": "Cleanup completed"}
 
 
+@app.api_route(
+    "/{path:path}", methods=["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", "PATCH", "OPTIONS", "HEAD"]
+)
+async def proxy_to_session(request: Request, path: str):
+    """Proxy requests to session containers based on X-Session-ID header"""
+    session_id = request.headers.get("X-Session-ID")
+    if not session_id:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Missing X-Session-ID header")
+
+    session = await session_manager.get_session(session_id)
+    if not session or session.status != "running":
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Session not found or not running")
+
+    # Proxy the request to the container
+    container_url = f"http://localhost:{session.port}"
+
+    # Prepare the request
+    url = f"{container_url}/{path}"
+    if request.url.query:
+        url += f"?{request.url.query}"
+
+    # Get request body
+    body = await request.body()
+
+    async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0) as client:
+        try:
+            response = await client.request(
+                method=request.method,
+                url=url,
+                headers={
+                    k: v
+                    for k, v in request.headers.items()
+                    if k.lower() not in ["host", "x-session-id"]
+                },
+                content=body,
+                follow_redirects=False,
+            )
+
+            # Return the proxied response
+            return Response(
+                content=response.content,
+                status_code=response.status_code,
+                headers=dict(response.headers),
+            )
+        except httpx.RequestError as e:
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=502, detail=f"Container proxy error: {str(e)}"
+            )
+
+
 @app.get("/health")
 async def health_check():
     """Health check endpoint"""