diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cdedc95a..25650406 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -66,12 +66,10 @@ lightrag-dev/
 gui/
 
 # Frontend build output (built during PyPI release)
-lightrag/api/webui/*
-!lightrag/api/webui/.gitkeep
+lightrag/api/webui/
 
 # unit-test files
 test_*
 
 # Cline files
-memory-bank
 memory-bank/
diff --git a/lightrag/api/webui/.gitkeep b/lightrag/api/webui/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index b4744647..00000000
--- a/lightrag/api/webui/.gitkeep
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-# This directory will contain the built frontend WebUI
-# 
-# The frontend is built during:
-# - GitHub Actions release workflow (automatic)
-# - Local development with: cd lightrag_webui && bun run build
-#
-# Build output is excluded from git but included in PyPI packages
diff --git a/lightrag_webui/vite.config.ts b/lightrag_webui/vite.config.ts
index 2957b743..8e616961 100644
--- a/lightrag_webui/vite.config.ts
+++ b/lightrag_webui/vite.config.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,30 @@
 import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
 import path from 'path'
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs'
 import { webuiPrefix } from '@/lib/constants'
 import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react-swc'
 import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite'
 
+const ensureWebuiDir = () => ({
+  name: 'ensure-webui-dir',
+  apply: 'build' as const,
+  buildStart() {
+    const outDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '../lightrag/api/webui')
+    if (!existsSync(outDir)) {
+      mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
+    }
+  },
+  closeBundle() {
+    const outDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '../lightrag/api/webui')
+    if (!existsSync(outDir)) {
+      mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
+    }
+  }
+})
+
 // https://vite.dev/config/
 export default defineConfig({
-  plugins: [react(), tailwindcss()],
+  plugins: [react(), tailwindcss(), ensureWebuiDir()],
   resolve: {
     alias: {
       '@': path.resolve(__dirname, './src')