diff --git a/scripts/dev-db.ps1 b/scripts/dev-db.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..390403b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/dev-db.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env pwsh
+<#
+.SYNOPSIS
+    Manage the local Postgres container used by the YesChef backend in dev.
+
+.DESCRIPTION
+    Spins up a postgres:17 container named "yeschef-pg" on localhost:5432 with
+    the database/user/password the API's appsettings.json expects. Persists
+    data in a Docker volume so restarts retain state until reset is run.
+
+.PARAMETER Command
+    start  - Create + start the container (no-op if already running).
+    stop   - Stop the container, leaving the volume intact.
+    reset  - Stop and remove the container AND its data volume. Next start is
+             a fresh DB; the API will run all migrations from scratch.
+    status - Print the container state and connection string.
+    logs   - Tail the container logs.
+
+.EXAMPLE
+    ./scripts/dev-db.ps1 start
+    ./scripts/dev-db.ps1 reset
+#>
+param(
+    [Parameter(Position = 0)]
+    [ValidateSet('start', 'stop', 'reset', 'status', 'logs')]
+    [string]$Command = 'status'
+)
+
+$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
+
+$Name = 'yeschef-pg'
+$Volume = 'yeschef-pgdata-dev'
+$Image = 'postgres:17'
+$ConnectionString = 'Host=localhost;Database=yeschef;Username=yeschef;Password=yeschef'
+
+function Get-ContainerState {
+    $state = docker inspect --format '{{.State.Status}}' $Name 2>$null
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { return 'absent' }
+    return $state
+}
+
+function Start-DevDb {
+    $state = Get-ContainerState
+    if ($state -eq 'running') {
+        Write-Host "Container '$Name' already running." -ForegroundColor Green
+        return
+    }
+    if ($state -ne 'absent') {
+        Write-Host "Starting existing container '$Name'..."
+        docker start $Name | Out-Null
+    } else {
+        Write-Host "Creating new container '$Name'..."
+        docker run -d `
+            --name $Name `
+            -p 5432:5432 `
+            -e POSTGRES_DB=yeschef `
+            -e POSTGRES_USER=yeschef `
+            -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=yeschef `
+            -v "${Volume}:/var/lib/postgresql/data" `
+            $Image | Out-Null
+    }
+
+    # Wait until pg_isready returns healthy so the caller can immediately
+    # start the API without racing on the listener.
+    Write-Host "Waiting for Postgres to accept connections..."
+    for ($i = 0; $i -lt 30; $i++) {
+        docker exec $Name pg_isready -U yeschef -d yeschef -q 2>$null
+        if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+            Write-Host "Ready. Connection string:" -ForegroundColor Green
+            Write-Host "  $ConnectionString"
+            return
+        }
+        Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
+    }
+    Write-Warning "Postgres did not become ready within 30s. Check 'docker logs $Name'."
+}
+
+function Stop-DevDb {
+    $state = Get-ContainerState
+    if ($state -eq 'absent') {
+        Write-Host "Container '$Name' is not present."
+        return
+    }
+    docker stop $Name | Out-Null
+    Write-Host "Stopped '$Name'." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+}
+
+function Reset-DevDb {
+    $state = Get-ContainerState
+    if ($state -ne 'absent') {
+        docker rm -f $Name | Out-Null
+        Write-Host "Removed container '$Name'."
+    }
+    docker volume rm $Volume 2>$null | Out-Null
+    Write-Host "Removed volume '$Volume'. Next 'start' will create a fresh database." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+}
+
+function Show-Status {
+    $state = Get-ContainerState
+    Write-Host "Container: $Name"
+    Write-Host "  State : $state"
+    Write-Host "  Volume: $Volume"
+    Write-Host "  Conn  : $ConnectionString"
+}
+
+switch ($Command) {
+    'start'  { Start-DevDb }
+    'stop'   { Stop-DevDb }
+    'reset'  { Reset-DevDb }
+    'status' { Show-Status }
+    'logs'   { docker logs -f $Name }
+}