diff --git a/assets/nginx/default.conf b/assets/nginx/default.conf
index 22620e1..fc220e6 100644
--- a/assets/nginx/default.conf
+++ b/assets/nginx/default.conf
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ server {
             proxy_pass http://imgproxy:8080/;
         }
 
+        location ^~ /api/imager/ {
+            proxy_pass http://imager:3000/;
+        }
+
         location ~* (.*/thumbnail)/(.+\.png)$ {
             # kill cache
             expires -1;
diff --git a/compose.yaml b/compose.yaml
index 0ddd415..e3d69cc 100644
--- a/compose.yaml
+++ b/compose.yaml
@@ -95,12 +95,13 @@ services:
   imager:
     build:
       context: imager
+    depends_on:
+      # proxied through nginx of assets
+      - assets
     env_file:
       - .env
     volumes:
       - ./assets/:/app/assets/
-    ports:
-      - 3001:3000
     restart: unless-stopped
     networks: [nitro]