diff --git a/voice-to-mermaid/README.md b/voice-to-mermaid/README.md
index e693236..8203703 100644
--- a/voice-to-mermaid/README.md
+++ b/voice-to-mermaid/README.md
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ It is volume-mounted in Docker, so changes take effect on restart without rebuil
 | `ollama.default_model` | `qwen3:8b` | Ollama model for diagram generation |
 | `ollama.model_filter` | _(list)_ | Model name prefixes shown in the UI picker |
 | `openai.model` | `gpt-4o-mini` | OpenAI-compatible model name |
-| `whisper.enabled` | `false` | Set `true` after installing `requirements.stt.txt` |
+| `whisper.enabled` | `false` | Set `true` after installing `requirements.stt.txt`; graceful no-op if import fails |
 | `whisper.model` | `medium.en` | Whisper model size |
 | `whisper.device` | `auto` | `auto` / `cpu` / `cuda` |
 | `paths.prompt` | `prompts/mermaid.txt` | Path to LLM prompt template |
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ It is volume-mounted in Docker, so changes take effect on restart without rebuil
 
 | Variable | Default | Description |
 |---|---|---|
-| `OLLAMA_URL` | `http://localhost:11434` | Ollama server URL |
+| `OLLAMA_URL` | `http://ollama:11434` (Docker Compose) | Ollama server URL; use `http://host.docker.internal:11434` for a host-resident Ollama |
 | `OPENAI_BASE_URL` | _(empty)_ | OpenAI-compatible API base (optional) |
 | `OPENAI_API_KEY` | _(empty)_ | API key for OpenAI-compatible API |
 | `API_KEY` | _(empty)_ | If set, require `X-Api-Key` header on all requests |
diff --git a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/.env.example b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/.env.example
index 1ac6706..9fcab6a 100644
--- a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/.env.example
+++ b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/.env.example
@@ -5,8 +5,10 @@
 
 # ── LLM backend URLs (secrets — keep out of config.yaml) ─────────────────
 
-# Option A: Ollama (local, recommended for self-hosting)
-OLLAMA_URL=http://localhost:11434
+# Option A: Ollama (bundled Docker Compose service — default for docker-compose up)
+OLLAMA_URL=http://ollama:11434
+# To use a host-resident Ollama instead:
+# OLLAMA_URL=http://host.docker.internal:11434
 
 # Option B: OpenAI-compatible API (vLLM, OpenAI, Together, etc.)
 # OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.openai.com/v1
diff --git a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/config.yaml b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/config.yaml
index 9acf4ae..8a85a24 100644
--- a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/config.yaml
+++ b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/config.yaml
@@ -18,11 +18,9 @@ openai:
   model: "gpt-4o-mini"
 
 whisper:
-  # true = attempt to load WhisperLiveKit at startup.
-  # If import fails (deps not installed), _stt_available stays False and
-  # /v1/config returns stt_enabled: false — no crash.
-  # Install requirements.stt.txt (or add it to Dockerfile) before setting true.
-  enabled: true
+  # Set true only after installing requirements.stt.txt (or adding it to Dockerfile).
+  # If import fails, _stt_available stays False and /v1/config returns stt_enabled: false — no crash.
+  enabled: false
   model: "medium.en"
   language: "en"
   device: "auto"   # "auto", "cuda", "cpu" — maps to WhisperLiveKitConfig backend
diff --git a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/docker-compose.yml b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/docker-compose.yml
index 1d5ee68..d1601d7 100644
--- a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/docker-compose.yml
@@ -24,9 +24,11 @@ services:
       - "${PORT:-7625}:7625"
     env_file: .env
     environment:
-      - OLLAMA_URL=http://ollama:11434
-    depends_on:
-      - ollama
+      # Default to the bundled ollama service; override in .env to use a
+      # host-resident Ollama (http://host.docker.internal:11434) instead.
+      OLLAMA_URL: ${OLLAMA_URL:-http://ollama:11434}
+    extra_hosts:
+      - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
     volumes:
       - ./prompts:/app/prompts       # mount prompts so edits don't need rebuild
       - ./config.yaml:/app/config.yaml  # mount config so edits don't need rebuild
diff --git a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/main.py b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/main.py
index dedfa34..8e11236 100644
--- a/voice-to-mermaid/backend/main.py
+++ b/voice-to-mermaid/backend/main.py
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ async def refresh_models():
 
 @app.websocket("/ws/mermaid")
 async def ws_mermaid(websocket: WebSocket):
-    if WHISPER_ENABLED:
+    if _stt_available:
         from whisperlivekit import AudioProcessor
 
     await websocket.accept()
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ async def _consume_results(results_generator, line_count_ref: list[int]) -> None
 
     # Handshake
     await websocket.send_json({"type": "config", "useAudioWorklet": False})
-    ready_msg = "Ready — speak now…" if WHISPER_ENABLED else "Ready — type or paste text to generate a diagram"
+    ready_msg = "Ready — speak now…" if _stt_available else "Ready — type or paste text to generate a diagram"
     await websocket.send_json({"type": "processing", "message": ready_msg})
 
     transcript_lines: list[str] = []
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ async def _consume_results(results_generator, line_count_ref: list[int]) -> None
     results_task = None
     line_count_ref = [0]
 
-    if WHISPER_ENABLED:
+    if _stt_available:
         audio_processor = AudioProcessor(transcription_engine=_transcription_engine)
         results_generator = await audio_processor.create_tasks()
         results_task = asyncio.create_task(_consume_results(results_generator, line_count_ref))
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ async def _consume_results(results_generator, line_count_ref: list[int]) -> None
                     pass
                 continue
 
-            if WHISPER_ENABLED and audio_processor:
+            if _stt_available and audio_processor:
                 audio_bytes = msg.get("bytes")
                 if audio_bytes:
                     await audio_processor.process_audio(audio_bytes)