diff --git a/dev.sh b/dev.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e3abe2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+#  MTCBD – Multi-Tenant Cloud Based Dashboard
+#  Development Startup Script
+# ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+VENV_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/.venv"
+BACKEND_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/backend"
+FRONTEND_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/frontend"
+
+BACKEND_PID=""
+FRONTEND_SKIP=true  # Frontend disabled by default, run manually when needed
+
+# ── Colours ──────────────────────────────────
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+CYAN='\033[0;36m'
+BLUE='\033[0;34m'
+NC='\033[0m'
+
+# ── Cleanup on Ctrl+C / exit ─────────────────
+cleanup() {
+  echo ""
+  echo -e "${YELLOW}  Shutting down servers...${NC}"
+  [ -n "$BACKEND_PID" ]  && kill "$BACKEND_PID"  2>/dev/null
+  [ -n "$FRONTEND_PID" ] && kill "$FRONTEND_PID" 2>/dev/null
+  wait 2>/dev/null
+  echo -e "${GREEN}  All servers stopped.${NC}"
+  exit 0
+}
+trap cleanup INT TERM EXIT
+
+# ── Banner ────────────────────────────────────
+echo -e "${CYAN}"
+echo "  ███╗   ███╗████████╗ ██████╗██████╗ ██████╗ "
+echo "  ████╗ ████║╚══██╔══╝██╔════╝██╔══██╗██╔══██╗"
+echo "  ██╔████╔██║   ██║   ██║     ██████╔╝██║  ██║"
+echo "  ██║╚██╔╝██║   ██║   ██║     ██╔══██╗██║  ██║"
+echo "  ██║ ╚═╝ ██║   ██║   ╚██████╗██████╔╝██████╔╝"
+echo "  ╚═╝     ╚═╝   ╚═╝    ╚═════╝╚═════╝ ╚═════╝ "
+echo -e "  Multi-Tenant Cloud Based Dashboard${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# ════════════════════════════════════════════════
+#  BACKEND SETUP
+# ════════════════════════════════════════════════
+
+# ── 1. Check / Create Virtual Environment ────
+if [ ! -d "$VENV_DIR" ]; then
+  echo -e "${YELLOW}[1/6] Creating virtual environment...${NC}"
+  python3 -m venv "$VENV_DIR"
+  echo -e "${GREEN}      ✓ Virtual environment created${NC}"
+else
+  echo -e "${GREEN}[1/6] Virtual environment found${NC}"
+fi
+
+# ── 2. Activate Virtual Environment ──────────
+echo -e "${YELLOW}[2/6] Activating virtual environment...${NC}"
+source "$VENV_DIR/bin/activate"
+echo -e "${GREEN}      ✓ Activated: $VIRTUAL_ENV${NC}"
+
+# ── 3. Install Python Dependencies ───────────
+echo -e "${YELLOW}[3/6] Installing Python dependencies...${NC}"
+pip install --upgrade pip --quiet
+pip install -r "$PROJECT_DIR/requirements.txt" --quiet
+echo -e "${GREEN}      ✓ Dependencies installed${NC}"
+
+# ── 4. Check .env File ───────────────────────
+echo -e "${YELLOW}[4/6] Checking environment config...${NC}"
+if [ ! -f "$PROJECT_DIR/.env" ]; then
+  echo -e "${RED}      ⚠  No .env file found!${NC}"
+  if [ -f "$PROJECT_DIR/.env.example" ]; then
+    cp "$PROJECT_DIR/.env.example" "$PROJECT_DIR/.env"
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}      ⚠  .env created from .env.example – fill in your secrets.${NC}"
+  else
+    echo -e "${RED}      ✗  No .env.example either. Please create .env manually.${NC}"
+  fi
+else
+  echo -e "${GREEN}      ✓ .env file found${NC}"
+fi
+
+# ── 5. Django Setup ───────────────────────────
+echo -e "${YELLOW}[5/6] Running Django setup...${NC}"
+if [ -d "$BACKEND_DIR" ]; then
+  (
+    cd "$BACKEND_DIR"
+    python manage.py collectstatic --noinput --quiet 2>/dev/null || true
+    python manage.py migrate --run-syncdb 2>/dev/null \
+      || echo -e "${YELLOW}      ⚠  Migrations skipped (DB may not be configured yet)${NC}"
+  )
+  echo -e "${GREEN}      ✓ Django ready${NC}"
+else
+  echo -e "${RED}      ✗  backend/ directory not found${NC}"
+fi
+
+# ════════════════════════════════════════════════
+#  FRONTEND SETUP (SKIPPED)
+# ════════════════════════════════════════════════
+# Frontend is not started automatically. To run it manually:
+#   cd frontend && npm run dev
+# FRONTEND_SKIP is set to true above to skip frontend launch.
+
+# ════════════════════════════════════════════════
+#  LAUNCH BOTH SERVERS
+# ════════════════════════════════════════════════
+
+echo ""
+echo -e "${GREEN}════════════════════════════════════════════════════${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}  Starting MTCBD Development Servers                ${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}                                                    ${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}  Backend  →  http://127.0.0.1:8000                ${NC}"
+echo -e "${YELLOW}  Frontend →  (not started, run manually: cd frontend && npm run dev)${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}                                                    ${NC}"
+echo -e "${YELLOW}  Press Ctrl+C to stop all servers                  ${NC}"
+echo -e "${GREEN}════════════════════════════════════════════════════${NC}"
+echo ""
+
+# ── Start Backend ─────────────────────────────
+(
+  source "$VENV_DIR/bin/activate"
+  cd "$BACKEND_DIR"
+  python manage.py runserver 2>&1 | while IFS= read -r line; do
+    echo -e "${GREEN}[BACKEND] ${NC} $line"
+  done
+) &
+BACKEND_PID=$!
+
+# ── Start Frontend ────────────────────────────
+# Skipped - start manually when needed
+
+# ── Wait (keeps script alive until Ctrl+C) ────
+wait