diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-deploy-frontend.yml b/.github/workflows/build-deploy-frontend.yml
index 1481f4f6..9cdcb143 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-deploy-frontend.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-deploy-frontend.yml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install NPM packages
         run: npm ci
       - name: Build project
-        run: npm run build 
+        run: VITE_API_URL=https://reportvision-ocr-api-dev.azurewebsites.net/ npm run build
       - name: Run unit tests
         run: npm run test
       - name: Create client build archive
diff --git a/frontend/api/api.ts b/frontend/api/api.ts
index 7b817be9..f2a6f538 100644
--- a/frontend/api/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/api/api.ts
@@ -8,9 +8,10 @@ export const ImageToText = async (args: ImageToTextArgs): Promise<ImageToTextRes
         segmentation_template: templateImage,
         labels: JSON.stringify(fieldNames),
       });
-      
+
+    const apiUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || "http://localhost:8000/"
     try {
-        const response = await fetch(`${import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL}image_to_text/`, {
+        const response = await fetch(`${apiUrl}image_to_text/`, {
             "method": "POST",
             "headers": {
               "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"