diff --git a/.cursor/rules/dockercompose.mdc b/.cursor/rules/dockercompose.mdc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ebd9b31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cursor/rules/dockercompose.mdc
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+description: don't forget that you don't normally need to do `npm run dev` to run the dashboard web-app. since it is supposed to be always running with the help of docker compose` so if you need to access the dashboard you can simply curl or wget localhost:8080
+globs:
+alwaysApply: true
+---
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index df1c0e0..74fc7e0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ A unified monorepo combining the camera API service and the web dashboard for US
 - `camera-management-api/` - Python API service for camera management (USDA-Vision-Cameras)
 - `management-dashboard-web-app/` - React web dashboard for experiment management (pecan_experiments)
 
-## Quick Start (Docker Compose)
+## Quick Start
+
+### Production Mode (Docker Compose)
 
 1) Copy env template and set values (for web/Supabase):
 
@@ -28,6 +30,48 @@ docker compose up --build
 
 To stop: `docker compose down`
 
+### Development Mode (Recommended for Development)
+
+For development with live logging, debugging, and hot reloading:
+
+1) Copy env template and set values (for web/Supabase):
+
+```bash
+cp .env.example .env
+# set VITE_SUPABASE_URL and VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY in .env
+```
+
+2) Start the development environment:
+
+```bash
+./dev-start.sh
+```
+
+This will:
+- Start containers with debug logging enabled
+- Enable hot reloading for both API and web services
+- Show all logs in real-time
+- Keep containers running for debugging
+
+**Development URLs:**
+- Web: <http://localhost:8080> (with hot reloading)
+- API: <http://localhost:8000> (with debug logging)
+
+**Development Commands:**
+- `./dev-start.sh` - Start development environment
+- `./dev-stop.sh` - Stop development environment
+- `./dev-logs.sh` - View logs (use `-f` to follow, `-t N` for last N lines)
+- `./dev-logs.sh -f api` - Follow API logs only
+- `./dev-logs.sh -f web` - Follow web logs only
+- `./dev-shell.sh` - Open shell in API container
+- `./dev-shell.sh web` - Open shell in web container
+
+**Debug Features:**
+- API runs with `--debug --verbose` flags for maximum logging
+- Web runs with Vite dev server for hot reloading
+- All containers have `stdin_open: true` and `tty: true` for debugging
+- Environment variables set for development mode
+
 ## Services
 
 ### API Service (Port 8000)
diff --git a/dev-logs.sh b/dev-logs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f4a6fd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-logs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# USDA Vision Development Logs Script
+# This script shows logs from the development environment
+
+set -e
+
+echo "📋 USDA Vision Development Logs"
+echo "==============================="
+
+# Check if docker-compose.dev.yml exists
+if [ ! -f "docker-compose.dev.yml" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: docker-compose.dev.yml not found!"
+    echo "Please make sure you're in the project root directory."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Function to show help
+show_help() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 [OPTIONS] [SERVICE]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Options:"
+    echo "  -f, --follow     Follow log output (like tail -f)"
+    echo "  -t, --tail N     Show last N lines (default: 100)"
+    echo "  -h, --help       Show this help message"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Services:"
+    echo "  api             Show API service logs only"
+    echo "  web             Show web service logs only"
+    echo "  (no service)    Show logs from all services"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Examples:"
+    echo "  $0                    # Show last 100 lines from all services"
+    echo "  $0 -f                 # Follow all logs in real-time"
+    echo "  $0 -f api             # Follow API logs only"
+    echo "  $0 -t 50 web          # Show last 50 lines from web service"
+}
+
+# Default values
+FOLLOW=false
+TAIL_LINES=100
+SERVICE=""
+
+# Parse arguments
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case $1 in
+        -f|--follow)
+            FOLLOW=true
+            shift
+            ;;
+        -t|--tail)
+            TAIL_LINES="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        -h|--help)
+            show_help
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        api|web)
+            SERVICE="$1"
+            shift
+            ;;
+        *)
+            echo "❌ Unknown option: $1"
+            show_help
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+# Build docker compose command
+COMPOSE_CMD="docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml logs"
+
+if [ "$FOLLOW" = true ]; then
+    COMPOSE_CMD="$COMPOSE_CMD -f"
+fi
+
+if [ "$TAIL_LINES" != "100" ]; then
+    COMPOSE_CMD="$COMPOSE_CMD --tail=$TAIL_LINES"
+fi
+
+if [ -n "$SERVICE" ]; then
+    COMPOSE_CMD="$COMPOSE_CMD $SERVICE"
+fi
+
+echo "Running: $COMPOSE_CMD"
+echo ""
+
+# Execute the command
+eval $COMPOSE_CMD
diff --git a/dev-shell.sh b/dev-shell.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7d19ba5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-shell.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# USDA Vision Development Shell Script
+# This script opens a shell in the running development container
+
+set -e
+
+echo "🐚 USDA Vision Development Shell"
+echo "================================"
+
+# Check if docker-compose.dev.yml exists
+if [ ! -f "docker-compose.dev.yml" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: docker-compose.dev.yml not found!"
+    echo "Please make sure you're in the project root directory."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Function to show help
+show_help() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 [SERVICE]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Services:"
+    echo "  api             Open shell in API container (default)"
+    echo "  web             Open shell in web container"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Examples:"
+    echo "  $0              # Open shell in API container"
+    echo "  $0 api          # Open shell in API container"
+    echo "  $0 web          # Open shell in web container"
+}
+
+# Default service
+SERVICE="api"
+
+# Parse arguments
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case $1 in
+        -h|--help)
+            show_help
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        api|web)
+            SERVICE="$1"
+            shift
+            ;;
+        *)
+            echo "❌ Unknown option: $1"
+            show_help
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+echo "🔍 Checking if $SERVICE container is running..."
+
+# Check if the service is running
+if ! docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml ps $SERVICE | grep -q "Up"; then
+    echo "❌ Error: $SERVICE container is not running!"
+    echo "Please start the development environment first with: ./dev-start.sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "🚀 Opening shell in $SERVICE container..."
+echo "💡 Tip: Use 'exit' to return to your host shell"
+echo ""
+
+# Execute shell in the container
+docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec $SERVICE /bin/bash
diff --git a/dev-start.sh b/dev-start.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9960cd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-start.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# USDA Vision Development Startup Script
+# This script starts the development environment with proper logging and debugging
+
+set -e
+
+echo "🚀 Starting USDA Vision Development Environment"
+echo "=============================================="
+
+# Check if docker-compose.dev.yml exists
+if [ ! -f "docker-compose.dev.yml" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: docker-compose.dev.yml not found!"
+    echo "Please make sure you're in the project root directory."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Check if .env file exists for web app
+if [ ! -f "management-dashboard-web-app/.env" ]; then
+    echo "⚠️  Warning: management-dashboard-web-app/.env not found!"
+    echo "You may need to create it from .env.example"
+    echo "Continuing anyway..."
+fi
+
+echo "📦 Building and starting development containers..."
+echo ""
+
+# Start the development environment
+docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build
+
+echo ""
+echo "🛑 Development environment stopped"
diff --git a/dev-stop.sh b/dev-stop.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..cf78b7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-stop.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# USDA Vision Development Stop Script
+# This script stops the development environment
+
+set -e
+
+echo "🛑 Stopping USDA Vision Development Environment"
+echo "=============================================="
+
+# Check if docker-compose.dev.yml exists
+if [ ! -f "docker-compose.dev.yml" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: docker-compose.dev.yml not found!"
+    echo "Please make sure you're in the project root directory."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "🔄 Stopping development containers..."
+
+# Stop the development environment
+docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down
+
+echo ""
+echo "✅ Development environment stopped successfully"
+echo ""
+echo "💡 Tip: Use './dev-start.sh' to start the development environment again"
+echo "💡 Tip: Use './dev-logs.sh' to view logs from the last run"
diff --git a/docker-compose.dev.yml b/docker-compose.dev.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c48fbe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.dev.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+services:
+  api:
+    build:
+      context: ./camera-management-api
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+    working_dir: /app
+    volumes:
+      - ./camera-management-api:/app
+      - /storage:/storage
+      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
+      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
+    environment:
+      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+      - LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:/lib:/usr/lib
+      - PYTHONPATH=/app:/app/camera_sdk
+      - TZ=America/New_York
+      # Development-specific environment variables
+      - FLASK_ENV=development
+      - FLASK_DEBUG=1
+      - PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
+    command: >
+      sh -lc "
+        apt-get update && apt-get install -y libusb-1.0-0-dev;
+
+        # Install camera SDK if not already installed
+        if [ ! -f /lib/libMVSDK.so ] && [ -f 'camera_sdk/linuxSDK_V2.1.0.49(250108)/install.sh' ]; then
+          echo 'Installing camera SDK...';
+          cd 'camera_sdk/linuxSDK_V2.1.0.49(250108)';
+          chmod +x install.sh;
+          ./install.sh;
+          cd /app;
+          echo 'Camera SDK installed successfully';
+        else
+          echo 'Camera SDK already installed or install script not found';
+        fi;
+
+        # Install Python dependencies
+        if [ -f requirements.txt ]; then
+          pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt;
+        else
+          pip install --no-cache-dir -e .;
+        fi;
+
+        # Start the application in development mode with verbose logging
+        echo 'Starting API in development mode...';
+        python main.py --config config.compose.json --debug --verbose
+      "
+    network_mode: host
+    # Keep container running for debugging
+    stdin_open: true
+    tty: true
+    # Add labels for easier identification
+    labels:
+      - "com.usda-vision.service=api"
+      - "com.usda-vision.environment=development"
+
+  web:
+    image: node:20-alpine
+    working_dir: /app
+    env_file:
+      - ./management-dashboard-web-app/.env
+    volumes:
+      - ./management-dashboard-web-app:/app
+    environment:
+      - CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING=true
+      - TZ=America/New_York
+      # Development-specific environment variables
+      - NODE_ENV=development
+      - VITE_DEV_SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
+      - VITE_DEV_SERVER_PORT=8080
+    command: >
+      sh -lc "
+        echo 'Installing dependencies...';
+        npm ci;
+        echo 'Starting web development server...';
+        npm run dev -- --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080 --verbose
+      "
+    # Ensure the web container can resolve host.docker.internal on Linux
+    extra_hosts:
+      - "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    # Keep container running for debugging
+    stdin_open: true
+    tty: true
+    # Add labels for easier identification
+    labels:
+      - "com.usda-vision.service=web"
+      - "com.usda-vision.environment=development"
+  # Optional: Add a development database if needed
+  # db:
+  #   image: postgres:15-alpine
+  #   environment:
+  #     POSTGRES_DB: usda_vision_dev
+  #     POSTGRES_USER: dev
+  #     POSTGRES_PASSWORD: dev
+  #   volumes:
+  #     - postgres_dev_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
+  #   ports:
+  #     - "5432:5432"
+  #   labels:
+  #     - "com.usda-vision.service=database"
+  #     - "com.usda-vision.environment=development"
+
+  # volumes:
+  #   postgres_dev_data: