diff --git a/start_dev.sh b/start_dev.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1e4e2fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start_dev.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# 🚀 Dev instance — admin server on port 8092, points to dev DB
+set -euo pipefail
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+PORT=8092
+MAIN_DEV_DIR="$HOME/projects/canteen-asset-tracker-dev"
+CANTEEN_DB_PATH="${MAIN_DEV_DIR}/assets.dev.db"
+
+echo "🚀 Starting DEV admin server on http://0.0.0.0:${PORT}"
+echo "   DB: ${CANTEEN_DB_PATH}"
+exec python -m uvicorn admin_server:app \
+  --host 0.0.0.0 \
+  --port "$PORT" \
+  --log-level info