diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-node/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-node/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bdfba1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-node/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+name: Setup Node.js
+description: Setup Node.js and install dependencies
+
+inputs:
+  node-version:
+    description: Node.js version to use
+    required: false
+    default: '22'
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      with:
+        node-version: ${{ inputs.node-version }}
+        cache: 'npm'
+    - run: npm ci
+      shell: bash
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 4e035fa..3dec01d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -10,41 +10,40 @@ permissions:
   contents: read
 
 jobs:
-  quality:
+  lint:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        node-version: [22]
-
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node
+      - run: npm run lint
 
-      - name: Setup Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-          cache: 'npm'
-
-      - name: Install dependencies
-        run: npm ci
-
-      - name: Lint
-        run: npm run lint
-
-      - name: Type check
-        run: npm run type-check
+  type-check:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node
+      - run: npm run type-check
 
-      - name: Test
-        run: npm run test -- --run
+  test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node
+      - run: npm run test -- --run
 
-      - name: Build
-        run: npm run build
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node
+      - run: npm run build
         env:
           NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: http://localhost:8000
+          NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL: ws://localhost:8000
 
   publish_github:
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && startsWith(github.event.ref, 'refs/tags/ontokit-web-')
-    needs: [quality]
+    needs: [lint, type-check, test, build]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: write
@@ -55,7 +54,7 @@ jobs:
 
   publish_docker:
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && startsWith(github.event.ref, 'refs/tags/ontokit-web-')
-    needs: [quality]
+    needs: [lint, type-check, test, build]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
       contents: read
@@ -82,8 +81,5 @@ jobs:
           push: true
           tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
           labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
-          build-args: |
-            NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=
-            NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL=
           cache-from: type=gha
           cache-to: type=gha,mode=max
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 887d80a..10d9446 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # OntoKit Web
 
+[![Lint](https://github.com/CatholicOS/ontokit-web/actions/workflows/release.yml/badge.svg?event=push)](https://github.com/CatholicOS/ontokit-web/actions/workflows/release.yml)
+[![Node.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/node-%3E%3D20.9.0-brightgreen?logo=node.js)](https://nodejs.org/)
+[![Next.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/Next.js-15-black?logo=next.js)](https://nextjs.org/)
+[![React](https://img.shields.io/badge/React-19-61dafb?logo=react)](https://react.dev/)
+[![TypeScript](https://img.shields.io/badge/TypeScript-strict-3178c6?logo=typescript)](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
+[![Docker](https://img.shields.io/badge/Docker-ghcr.io-2496ED?logo=docker)](https://github.com/CatholicOS/ontokit-web/pkgs/container/ontokit-web)
+
 The web frontend for OntoKit - a collaborative OWL ontology curation platform.
 
 ## Features
diff --git a/lib/env.ts b/lib/env.ts
index 7b61445..e0d1d50 100644
--- a/lib/env.ts
+++ b/lib/env.ts
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ function validateServerEnv(): ServerEnv {
 
 function validateClientEnv(): ClientEnv {
   const raw = {
-    NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL ?? "http://localhost:8000",
-    NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL,
+    NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL || undefined,
+    NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL || undefined,
   };
   const result = clientSchema.safeParse(raw);
   if (!result.success) {