diff --git a/bin/start-dev b/bin/start-dev
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ff67da1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/start-dev
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+# Get script directory and project root
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+
+# Detect Docker or Podman
+CONTAINER_CLI=""
+# Check if docker is actually podman in disguise
+if command -v docker &> /dev/null && docker --version 2>&1 | grep -q "podman"; then
+    CONTAINER_CLI="podman"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Using Podman (via docker alias)${NC}"
+elif command -v docker &> /dev/null && docker info &> /dev/null; then
+    CONTAINER_CLI="docker"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Using Docker${NC}"
+elif command -v podman &> /dev/null; then
+    CONTAINER_CLI="podman"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}Using Podman${NC}"
+else
+    echo -e "${RED}✗ Neither Docker nor Podman found. Please install one of them first.${NC}"
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Install Docker: https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/${NC}"
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Install Podman: https://podman.io/getting-started/installation${NC}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo -e "${GREEN}=== Dish Planner Development Setup ===${NC}\n"
+
+# Check if .env exists in backend
+if [ ! -f "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/.env" ]; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Creating backend/.env from .env.example...${NC}"
+    cp "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/.env.example" "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/.env"
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Created backend/.env${NC}\n"
+fi
+
+# Ensure APP_PORT is set for Podman (can't use privileged port 80)
+if [ "$CONTAINER_CLI" = "podman" ] && ! grep -q "^APP_PORT=" "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/.env"; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Setting APP_PORT=8000 for Podman (non-privileged port)...${NC}"
+    echo "APP_PORT=8000" >> "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend/.env"
+fi
+
+# Backend setup
+echo -e "${GREEN}=== Backend Setup ===${NC}"
+cd "$PROJECT_ROOT/backend"
+
+# Install dependencies if vendor doesn't exist
+if [ ! -d "vendor" ]; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}No vendor directory found. Installing dependencies with Docker...${NC}"
+    # Use a standalone PHP/Composer Docker image to install dependencies
+    # This is the recommended Laravel approach for first-time setup
+    # Configure for Docker or Podman
+    VOLUME_OPTS="$PROJECT_ROOT/backend:/var/www/html"
+    USER_OPTS="-u $(id -u):$(id -g)"
+    EXTRA_OPTS=""
+
+    if [ "$CONTAINER_CLI" = "podman" ]; then
+        # Podman on SELinux systems needs :Z and --userns=keep-id to maintain user ID
+        VOLUME_OPTS="$VOLUME_OPTS:Z"
+        USER_OPTS=""
+        EXTRA_OPTS="--userns=keep-id"
+    fi
+
+    $CONTAINER_CLI run --rm \
+        $USER_OPTS \
+        $EXTRA_OPTS \
+        -v "$VOLUME_OPTS" \
+        -w /var/www/html \
+        docker.io/laravelsail/php84-composer:latest \
+        composer install --ignore-platform-reqs
+
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Backend dependencies installed${NC}\n"
+else
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Backend dependencies already installed${NC}\n"
+fi
+
+# Fix docker-compose.yml for Podman (needs full registry paths)
+if [ "$CONTAINER_CLI" = "podman" ]; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Patching docker-compose.yml for Podman compatibility...${NC}"
+    sed -i "s|image: 'mysql/mysql-server:|image: 'docker.io/mysql/mysql-server:|g" docker-compose.yml
+fi
+
+# Start Laravel Sail (database + backend services)
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Starting Laravel Sail containers...${NC}"
+if ./vendor/bin/sail up -d 2>&1 | tee /tmp/sail-up.log; then
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Containers started${NC}\n"
+else
+    echo -e "${RED}✗ Failed to start containers. Check /tmp/sail-up.log for details${NC}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Wait for database to be ready
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Waiting for database to be ready...${NC}"
+sleep 5
+
+# Run migrations
+echo -e "${YELLOW}Running database migrations...${NC}"
+./vendor/bin/sail artisan migrate --force
+
+# Check if database has data
+TABLE_COUNT=$(./vendor/bin/sail artisan tinker --execute="echo \DB::table('users')->count();")
+if [ "$TABLE_COUNT" -eq "0" ]; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Database is empty. Run seeders? (y/n)${NC}"
+    read -r response
+    if [[ "$response" =~ ^([yY][eE][sS]|[yY])$ ]]; then
+        ./vendor/bin/sail artisan db:seed
+        echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Database seeded${NC}\n"
+    fi
+fi
+
+echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Backend setup complete${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}Backend API running at: http://localhost:8000${NC}\n"
+
+# Frontend setup
+echo -e "${GREEN}=== Frontend Setup ===${NC}"
+cd "$PROJECT_ROOT/frontend"
+
+if [ ! -d "node_modules" ]; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Installing frontend dependencies (npm)...${NC}"
+    npm install
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Frontend dependencies installed${NC}\n"
+else
+    echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Frontend dependencies already installed${NC}\n"
+fi
+
+echo -e "${GREEN}✓ Frontend setup complete${NC}\n"
+
+# Display summary
+echo -e "${GREEN}=== Development Environment Ready ===${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}Backend API:${NC} http://localhost:8000"
+echo -e "${GREEN}Frontend:${NC} http://localhost:5173 (start with: cd frontend && npm run dev)"
+echo -e "${GREEN}Database:${NC} MySQL on localhost:3306"
+echo -e ""
+echo -e "${YELLOW}To start the frontend dev server, run:${NC}"
+echo -e "  cd frontend && npm run dev"
+echo -e ""
+echo -e "${YELLOW}To stop backend services:${NC}"
+echo -e "  cd backend && ./vendor/bin/sail down"