diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-mcp-server.yml b/.github/workflows/release-mcp-server.yml
index 60bef428..284c7228 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-mcp-server.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-mcp-server.yml
@@ -54,6 +54,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Depot CLI
         uses: depot/setup-action@v1
 
+      - name: Get latest graphiti-core version from PyPI
+        id: graphiti
+        run: |
+          # Query PyPI for the latest graphiti-core version
+          GRAPHITI_VERSION=$(curl -s https://pypi.org/pypi/graphiti-core/json | python -c "import sys, json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['info']['version'])")
+          echo "graphiti_version=${GRAPHITI_VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "Latest Graphiti Core version from PyPI: ${GRAPHITI_VERSION}"
+
       - name: Extract metadata
         id: meta
         run: |
@@ -61,28 +69,6 @@ jobs:
           echo "build_date=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "vcs_ref=${GITHUB_SHA::7}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      - name: Build Docker image (temp for version extraction)
-        uses: depot/build-push-action@v1
-        with:
-          project: v9jv1mlpwc
-          context: ./mcp_server
-          platforms: linux/amd64
-          push: false
-          load: true
-          tags: temp-image:latest
-          build-args: |
-            MCP_SERVER_VERSION=${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}
-            BUILD_DATE=${{ steps.meta.outputs.build_date }}
-            VCS_REF=${{ steps.meta.outputs.vcs_ref }}
-
-      - name: Extract Graphiti Core version
-        id: graphiti
-        run: |
-          # Extract graphiti-core version from the built image
-          GRAPHITI_VERSION=$(docker run --rm temp-image:latest cat /app/.graphiti-core-version)
-          echo "graphiti_version=${GRAPHITI_VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "Graphiti Core Version: ${GRAPHITI_VERSION}"
-
       - name: Generate Docker metadata
         id: docker_meta
         uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
@@ -110,6 +96,7 @@ jobs:
           labels: ${{ steps.docker_meta.outputs.labels }}
           build-args: |
             MCP_SERVER_VERSION=${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}
+            GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION=${{ steps.graphiti.outputs.graphiti_version }}
             BUILD_DATE=${{ steps.meta.outputs.build_date }}
             VCS_REF=${{ steps.meta.outputs.vcs_ref }}
 
diff --git a/mcp_server/docker/Dockerfile b/mcp_server/docker/Dockerfile
index b2bb5a05..e5845847 100644
--- a/mcp_server/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/mcp_server/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -26,19 +26,23 @@ ENV UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE=1 \
 # Create non-root user
 RUN groupadd -r app && useradd -r -d /app -g app app
 
+# Accept graphiti-core version as build argument
+ARG GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION
+
 # Copy project files for dependency installation (better caching)
 COPY pyproject.toml uv.lock ./
 
-# Remove the local path override for graphiti-core in Docker builds
-# This allows uv to use the published package from PyPI
-RUN sed -i '/\[tool\.uv\.sources\]/,/graphiti-core/d' pyproject.toml
+# Remove the local path override and version constraint for graphiti-core in Docker builds
+# This allows us to pin to a specific version passed as a build arg
+RUN sed -i '/\[tool\.uv\.sources\]/,/graphiti-core/d' pyproject.toml && \
+    sed -i 's/graphiti-core\[kuzu,falkordb\]>=0\.16\.0/graphiti-core[kuzu,falkordb]==${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}/' pyproject.toml
 
-# Install dependencies first (better layer caching)
+# Install dependencies with explicit graphiti-core version
 RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/uv \
     uv sync --no-dev
 
-# Extract graphiti-core version and store it in a file for runtime access
-RUN uv pip freeze | grep graphiti-core | cut -d'=' -f3 > /app/.graphiti-core-version
+# Store graphiti-core version in a file for runtime access
+RUN echo "${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}" > /app/.graphiti-core-version
 
 # Copy application code and configuration
 COPY main.py ./
diff --git a/mcp_server/docker/build-with-version.sh b/mcp_server/docker/build-with-version.sh
index 5e1f9635..ec35a542 100755
--- a/mcp_server/docker/build-with-version.sh
+++ b/mcp_server/docker/build-with-version.sh
@@ -1,30 +1,34 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 # Script to build Docker image with proper version tagging
-# This script extracts the graphiti-core version and includes it in the image tag
+# This script queries PyPI for the latest graphiti-core version and includes it in the image tag
 
 set -e
 
 # Get MCP server version from pyproject.toml
 MCP_VERSION=$(grep '^version = ' ../pyproject.toml | sed 's/version = "\(.*\)"/\1/')
 
+# Get latest graphiti-core version from PyPI
+echo "Querying PyPI for latest graphiti-core version..."
+GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION=$(curl -s https://pypi.org/pypi/graphiti-core/json | python3 -c "import sys, json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['info']['version'])")
+echo "Latest graphiti-core version: ${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}"
+
 # Get build metadata
 BUILD_DATE=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
 VCS_REF=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
 
-# Build the image
+# Build the image with explicit graphiti-core version
 echo "Building Docker image..."
 docker build \
   --build-arg MCP_SERVER_VERSION="${MCP_VERSION}" \
+  --build-arg GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION="${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}" \
   --build-arg BUILD_DATE="${BUILD_DATE}" \
   --build-arg VCS_REF="${VCS_REF}" \
   -f Dockerfile \
   -t "zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}" \
+  -t "zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}-graphiti-${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}" \
   -t "zepai/graphiti-mcp:latest" \
   ..
 
-# Extract graphiti-core version from the built image
-GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION=$(docker run --rm "zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}" cat /app/.graphiti-core-version)
-
 echo ""
 echo "Build complete!"
 echo "  MCP Server Version: ${MCP_VERSION}"
@@ -36,10 +40,6 @@ echo "Image tags:"
 echo "  - zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}"
 echo "  - zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}-graphiti-${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}"
 echo "  - zepai/graphiti-mcp:latest"
-
-# Tag with graphiti-core version
-docker tag "zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}" "zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION}-graphiti-${GRAPHITI_CORE_VERSION}"
-
 echo ""
 echo "To inspect image metadata:"
 echo "  docker inspect zepai/graphiti-mcp:${MCP_VERSION} | jq '.[0].Config.Labels'"