diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index ad0faec2..76bb21b2 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -142,6 +142,11 @@ COPY pip.conf /etc/pip.conf
 # Add Pipfile
 COPY Pipfile /app/Pipfile
 
+# Do not include compiled byte-code
+ENV PIP_NO_COMPILE=1 \
+  PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR=1 \
+  PIP_ROOT_USER_ACTION='ignore'
+
 # Switch workdir to the the app
 WORKDIR /app
 
@@ -200,11 +205,12 @@ RUN set -x && \
   # Make absolutely sure we didn't accidentally bundle a SQLite dev database
   rm -rf /app/db.sqlite3 && \
   # Run any required app commands
-  /usr/bin/python3 /app/manage.py compilescss && \
-  /usr/bin/python3 /app/manage.py collectstatic --no-input --link && \
+  /usr/bin/python3 -B /app/manage.py compilescss && \
+  /usr/bin/python3 -B /app/manage.py collectstatic --no-input --link && \
   # Create config, downloads and run dirs
   mkdir -v -p /run/app && \
   mkdir -v -p /config/media && \
+  mkdir -v -p /config/cache/pycache && \
   mkdir -v -p /downloads/audio && \
   mkdir -v -p /downloads/video
 
@@ -223,7 +229,7 @@ COPY config/root /
 HEALTHCHECK --interval=1m --timeout=10s CMD /app/healthcheck.py http://127.0.0.1:8080/healthcheck
 
 # ENVS and ports
-ENV PYTHONPATH="/app"
+ENV PYTHONPATH="/app" PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX="/config/cache/pycache"
 EXPOSE 4848
 
 # Volumes
diff --git a/tubesync/tubesync/local_settings.py.container b/tubesync/tubesync/local_settings.py.container
index a0426a4c..e75778b8 100644
--- a/tubesync/tubesync/local_settings.py.container
+++ b/tubesync/tubesync/local_settings.py.container
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ if BACKGROUND_TASK_ASYNC_THREADS > MAX_BACKGROUND_TASK_ASYNC_THREADS:
 
 MEDIA_ROOT = CONFIG_BASE_DIR / 'media'
 DOWNLOAD_ROOT = DOWNLOADS_BASE_DIR
-YOUTUBE_DL_CACHEDIR = CONFIG_BASE_DIR / 'cache'
+YOUTUBE_DL_CACHEDIR = CONFIG_BASE_DIR / 'cache/youtube'
 YOUTUBE_DL_TEMPDIR = DOWNLOAD_ROOT / 'cache'
 COOKIES_FILE = CONFIG_BASE_DIR / 'cookies.txt'
 
@@ -88,3 +88,13 @@ SOURCE_DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY_PREFIX = True if SOURCE_DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY_PREFIX_STR
 
 
 VIDEO_HEIGHT_CUTOFF = int(os.getenv("TUBESYNC_VIDEO_HEIGHT_CUTOFF", "240"))
+
+
+# ensure that the current directory exists
+if not YOUTUBE_DL_CACHEDIR.is_dir():
+    YOUTUBE_DL_CACHEDIR.mkdir(parents=True)
+# rename any old yt_dlp cache directories to the current directory
+old_youtube_cache_dirs = list(YOUTUBE_DL_CACHEDIR.parent.glob('youtube-*'))
+for cache_dir in old_youtube_cache_dirs:
+    cache_dir.rename(YOUTUBE_DL_CACHEDIR / cache_dir.name)
+