diff --git a/dev/process-compose.yaml b/dev/process-compose.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0242581
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/process-compose.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+version: "0.5"
+processes:
+  mariadb:
+    command: >
+      mysqld --datadir=$PWD/dev/.mariadb-data
+      --socket=$PWD/dev/.mariadb.sock
+      --port=3307
+      --skip-grant-tables
+      --skip-networking=false
+      --bind-address=127.0.0.1
+    readiness_probe:
+      exec:
+        command: mysqladmin --socket=$PWD/dev/.mariadb.sock ping
+      initial_delay_seconds: 2
+      period_seconds: 1
+    shutdown:
+      command: mysqladmin --socket=$PWD/dev/.mariadb.sock shutdown
+
+  kimai:
+    command: symfony server:start --no-tls --dir=$PWD/dev/kimai --port=8010
+    depends_on:
+      mariadb:
+        condition: process_healthy
diff --git a/dev/setup.sh b/dev/setup.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..85a3cf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/setup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+KIMAI_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/kimai"
+DATA_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/.mariadb-data"
+
+# Step 1: Initialize MariaDB data directory
+if [ ! -d "$DATA_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "==> Initializing MariaDB data directory..."
+    mysql_install_db --datadir="$DATA_DIR" --auth-root-authentication-method=normal
+fi
+
+# Step 2: Start MariaDB temporarily for setup
+echo "==> Starting MariaDB for setup..."
+mysqld --datadir="$DATA_DIR" --socket="$SCRIPT_DIR/.mariadb.sock" --port=3307 --skip-grant-tables --skip-networking=false --bind-address=127.0.0.1 &
+MARIADB_PID=$!
+trap "kill $MARIADB_PID 2>/dev/null || true; wait $MARIADB_PID 2>/dev/null || true" EXIT
+
+# Wait for MariaDB to be ready
+for i in $(seq 1 30); do
+    if mysqladmin --socket="$SCRIPT_DIR/.mariadb.sock" ping 2>/dev/null; then
+        break
+    fi
+    sleep 1
+done
+
+# Create database
+mysql --socket="$SCRIPT_DIR/.mariadb.sock" -e "CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS kimai;"
+
+# Step 3: Clone Kimai
+if [ ! -d "$KIMAI_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "==> Cloning Kimai 2.52.0..."
+    git clone -b 2.52.0 --depth 1 https://github.com/kimai/kimai.git "$KIMAI_DIR"
+fi
+
+# Step 4: Configure Kimai
+cat > "$KIMAI_DIR/.env.local" <<EOF
+DATABASE_URL=mysql://root@127.0.0.1:3307/kimai?charset=utf8mb4&serverVersion=11.4.9-MariaDB
+APP_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 16)
+APP_ENV=dev
+MAILER_URL=null://null
+EOF
+
+# Step 5: Install Composer dependencies
+echo "==> Installing Composer dependencies..."
+cd "$KIMAI_DIR"
+composer install --no-interaction
+
+# Step 6: Install Kimai (creates schema, runs migrations)
+echo "==> Installing Kimai..."
+bin/console kimai:install -n
+
+# Step 7: Load test fixtures
+echo "==> Loading test fixtures..."
+bin/console kimai:reset:dev -n
+
+# Step 8: Symlink plugin
+echo "==> Symlinking plugin..."
+mkdir -p var/plugins
+ln -sfn "$PROJECT_DIR" var/plugins/KimaiHeatmapBundle
+
+# Step 9: Clear cache
+bin/console cache:clear
+
+# Stop MariaDB
+kill $MARIADB_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+wait $MARIADB_PID 2>/dev/null || true
+trap - EXIT
+
+echo ""
+echo "==> Setup complete!"
+echo "    Run: process-compose -f dev/process-compose.yaml up"
+echo "    Then open: http://127.0.0.1:8010"
+echo "    Login: susan_super / password"