diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index fc7bcc586..a9dd411c6 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ founders@danswer.ai for more information. Please visit https://github.com/danswe
 
 # Default DANSWER_VERSION, typically overriden during builds by GitHub Actions.
 ARG DANSWER_VERSION=0.3-dev
-ENV DANSWER_VERSION=${DANSWER_VERSION}
+ENV DANSWER_VERSION=${DANSWER_VERSION} \
+    DANSWER_RUNNING_IN_DOCKER="true"
 
 RUN echo "DANSWER_VERSION: ${DANSWER_VERSION}"
 # Install system dependencies
diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile.model_server b/backend/Dockerfile.model_server
index f2fb1ca44..edfe85e02 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile.model_server
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile.model_server
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@ visit https://github.com/danswer-ai/danswer."
 
 # Default DANSWER_VERSION, typically overriden during builds by GitHub Actions.
 ARG DANSWER_VERSION=0.3-dev
-ENV DANSWER_VERSION=${DANSWER_VERSION}
+ENV DANSWER_VERSION=${DANSWER_VERSION} \
+    DANSWER_RUNNING_IN_DOCKER="true"
+
+
 RUN echo "DANSWER_VERSION: ${DANSWER_VERSION}"
 
 COPY ./requirements/model_server.txt /tmp/requirements.txt
diff --git a/backend/danswer/utils/logger.py b/backend/danswer/utils/logger.py
index 5436b2328..96d4ae2a2 100644
--- a/backend/danswer/utils/logger.py
+++ b/backend/danswer/utils/logger.py
@@ -124,6 +124,13 @@ def get_standard_formatter() -> ColoredFormatter:
     )
 
 
+DANSWER_DOCKER_ENV_STR = "DANSWER_RUNNING_IN_DOCKER"
+
+
+def is_running_in_container() -> bool:
+    return os.getenv(DANSWER_DOCKER_ENV_STR) == "true"
+
+
 def setup_logger(
     name: str = __name__,
     log_level: int = get_log_level_from_str(),
@@ -151,7 +158,7 @@ def setup_logger(
         uvicorn_logger.addHandler(handler)
         uvicorn_logger.setLevel(log_level)
 
-    is_containerized = os.path.exists("/.dockerenv")
+    is_containerized = is_running_in_container()
     if LOG_FILE_NAME and (is_containerized or DEV_LOGGING_ENABLED):
         log_levels = ["debug", "info", "notice"]
         for level in log_levels: