diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ef1b5d7..1b4c513 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,9 +36,12 @@ React + shadcn/ui + Express + PostgreSQL + Redis scaffold for SAAC deployment.
 # Install all dependencies (postinstall auto-installs client deps)
 npm install
 
-# Run backend + frontend concurrently (nodemon + Vite HMR)
+# Run in dev mode (watches server.js + client/src, auto-rebuilds on changes)
 npm run dev
 
+# Or for local development with Vite HMR (browser hot-reload):
+npm run dev:local    # Express :3000 + Vite :5173 concurrently
+
 # Or run separately:
 npm run dev:server   # Express on :3000 (with nodemon auto-restart)
 npm run dev:client   # Vite on :5173 (proxies /api to :3000)
diff --git a/nodemon.json b/nodemon.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ceac23d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nodemon.json
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "watch": ["server.js", "client/src"],
+  "ext": "js,ts,tsx,jsx,css,json",
+  "exec": "npm run build && node server.js"
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 76f1d2c..a83c5dc 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
   "main": "server.js",
   "scripts": {
     "start": "node server.js",
-    "dev": "concurrently \"nodemon server.js\" \"cd client && npm run dev\"",
+    "dev": "nodemon",
     "build": "cd client && npm run build",
     "postinstall": "[ -d client ] && cd client && npm install || true",
+    "dev:local": "concurrently \"nodemon server.js\" \"cd client && npm run dev\"",
     "dev:server": "nodemon server.js",
     "dev:client": "cd client && npm run dev"
   },