diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy_emoji-caller.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy_emoji-caller.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6c7900
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy_emoji-caller.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+# Docs for the Azure Web Apps Deploy action: https://github.com/Azure/webapps-deploy
+# More GitHub Actions for Azure: https://github.com/Azure/actions
+# More info on Python, GitHub Actions, and Azure App Service: https://aka.ms/python-webapps-actions
+
+name: Build and deploy Python app to Azure Web App - emoji-caller
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - deploy
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Python version
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.12'
+
+      - name: Create and start virtual environment
+        run: |
+          python -m venv venv
+          source venv/bin/activate
+      
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install -r requirements.txt
+        
+      # Optional: Add step to run tests here (PyTest, Django test suites, etc.)
+
+      - name: Zip artifact for deployment
+        run: zip release.zip ./* -r
+
+      - name: Upload artifact for deployment jobs
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: python-app
+          path: |
+            release.zip
+            !venv/
+
+  deploy:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: build
+    environment:
+      name: 'Production'
+      url: ${{ steps.deploy-to-webapp.outputs.webapp-url }}
+    permissions:
+      id-token: write #This is required for requesting the JWT
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Download artifact from build job
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: python-app
+
+      - name: Unzip artifact for deployment
+        run: unzip release.zip
+
+      
+      - name: Login to Azure
+        uses: azure/login@v2
+        with:
+          client-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_CLIENTID_971F3F46F7FC456E8D4597FC800C658C }}
+          tenant-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_TENANTID_0E984A4F42AF487BA0D671B798A6E912 }}
+          subscription-id: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_SUBSCRIPTIONID_CFF2F24C3CF64DC9B73A22E137C47DD7 }}
+
+      - name: 'Deploy to Azure Web App'
+        uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3
+        id: deploy-to-webapp
+        with:
+          app-name: 'emoji-caller'
+          slot-name: 'Production'
+          
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index 1a5f9a2..0011b45 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -1,12 +1,23 @@
 from flask import Flask, render_template, jsonify
 import sqlite3
 from datetime import datetime
+import os
+
 
 app = Flask(__name__)
 
+# Use Azure's writable directory if available, otherwise use local path
+if 'WEBSITE_SITE_NAME' in os.environ:
+    DB_PATH = os.path.join('/home/data', 'emoji_stats.db')
+else:
+    DB_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), 'emoji_stats.db')
+
+# Ensure the directory exists
+os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(DB_PATH), exist_ok=True)
+
 # Database initialization
 def init_db():
-    conn = sqlite3.connect('emoji_stats.db')
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(DB_PATH)
     c = conn.cursor()
     # Create table for emoji usage counts
     c.execute('''
@@ -34,7 +45,7 @@ def init_db():
     conn.close()
 
 def get_emoji_counts():
-    conn = sqlite3.connect('emoji_stats.db')
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(DB_PATH)
     c = conn.cursor()
     c.execute('SELECT emoji_name, copy_count + api_count as total_count FROM emoji_counts')
     counts = {row[0]: row[1] for row in c.fetchall()}
@@ -42,7 +53,7 @@ def get_emoji_counts():
     return counts
 
 def increment_count(emoji_name, usage_type):
-    conn = sqlite3.connect('emoji_stats.db')
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(DB_PATH)
     c = conn.cursor()
     if usage_type == 'copy':
         c.execute('UPDATE emoji_counts SET copy_count = copy_count + 1, last_used = ? WHERE emoji_name = ?',
@@ -239,7 +250,7 @@ def increment_emoji_count(emoji_name):
 
 @app.route('/api/stats')
 def get_stats():
-    conn = sqlite3.connect('emoji_stats.db')
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(DB_PATH)
     c = conn.cursor()
     c.execute('''
         SELECT 
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 01307ad..82f7d72 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 Flask==3.0.0
-python-dateutil==2.8.2
\ No newline at end of file
+python-dateutil==2.8.2
+gunicorn==21.2.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/startup.txt b/startup.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf62770
--- /dev/null
+++ b/startup.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+gunicorn --bind=0.0.0.0 --timeout 600 app:app 
\ No newline at end of file