diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ac87c29..37e21f9 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ speed-measure-plugin*.json
 
 # IDEs and editors
 /ui/.idea
+.idea/
 .project
 .classpath
 .c9/
@@ -44,6 +45,12 @@ testem.log
 .DS_Store
 Thumbs.db
 
-
+# Python
 __pycache__
 .venv
+
+# Environment files
+.env
+
+# Downloads directory
+downloads/
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1103e15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# MeTube - Self-hosted YouTube downloader with web UI
+# This setup allows you to modify the code and see changes reflected in the running container
+
+services:
+  metube:
+    build: .
+    container_name: MeTube-Dev
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    ports:
+      - "8081:8081"
+    environment:
+      # Tells MeTube to use separate directories for video and audio downloads
+      - DOWNLOAD_DIR=/downloads/video
+      - AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR=/downloads/audio
+      # Filename templates for downloads
+      - OUTPUT_TEMPLATE=%(artist,uploader)s/%(artist,uploader)s - %(title)s%(genre& [%s]|)s (%(release_date>%Y-%m-%d,upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s).%(ext)s
+      - OUTPUT_TEMPLATE_PLAYLIST=%(playlist_title)s/%(artist,uploader)s - %(title)s%(genre& [%s]|)s (%(release_date>%Y-%m-%d,upload_date>%Y-%m-%d)s).%(ext)s
+      # Development environment
+      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+    volumes:
+      # Maps your local paths to the container paths
+      - ${VIDEO_DOWNLOAD_DIR:-./downloads/video}:/downloads/video
+      - ${AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR:-./downloads/audio}:/downloads/audio
+      # Mount source code for live editing
+      - ./app:/app/app
+    # Override the entrypoint to run Python directly for easier development
+    command: ["python", "-u", "app/main.py"]