diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 15201ac..77f29db 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -169,3 +169,6 @@ cython_debug/
 
 # PyPI configuration file
 .pypirc
+
+# HuggingFace model cache (host-mounted Docker volume)
+hf_cache/
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index d724fe8..dab0f74 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ services:
 
     volumes:
       # Persist HuggingFace model/voice cache so downloads survive container restarts
-      - hf_cache:/root/.cache/huggingface
+      - ./hf_cache:/root/.cache/huggingface
       # Mount config so voices/settings can be changed without rebuilding
       - ./config.yaml:/app/config.yaml:ro
 
@@ -42,5 +42,3 @@ services:
       retries: 3
       start_period: 60s
 
-volumes:
-  hf_cache: