diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index c1dc287..28ed355 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -26,8 +26,9 @@ config.yaml
 # Runtime data (mounted at runtime via volume)
 playbook_cache/
 
-# Plugins (mounted at runtime via volume)
-plugins/
+# NOTE: first-party plugins under plugins/ now ship IN the image
+# (Dockerfile `COPY plugins/`), so plugins/ must NOT be ignored here.
+# Third-party plugins are mounted at runtime into /data/plugins instead.
 
 # Deployment files not needed in image
 docker-compose.yml
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 3e1ce35..5d57fd8 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -3,17 +3,26 @@ services:
     build: .
     container_name: steward
     image: steward:latest
+    # Dev: --debug turns on Quart's auto-reloader so edits to the mounted source
+    # below take effect without a rebuild.
+    command: ["steward", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "5000", "--debug"]
     ports:
       - "5000:5000"
     volumes:
-      # First-party plugins are baked into the image at /app/plugins.
-      # Third-party plugins persist in the external root /data/plugins
-      # (inside app_data); STEWARD_PLUGIN_DIR defaults there, no extra mount needed.
       - app_data:/data
-      - /mnt/Data/traefik/log:/var/log/traefik:ro
-      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
+      # Live-edit core + first-party plugins without rebuilding. PYTHONPATH=/app
+      # (below) makes this mounted source win over the image-installed package.
+      - ./steward:/app/steward
+      - ./plugins:/app/plugins
+      # Optional host mounts — enable the matching plugin in Settings first, then
+      # uncomment (the traefik path must exist on this host):
+      #   - /mnt/Data/traefik/log:/var/log/traefik:ro     # traefik plugin
+      #   - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro  # docker plugin
     environment:
       - STEWARD_DATABASE_URL=postgresql+asyncpg://steward:steward@db/steward
+      # Dev-only fixed key so sessions survive restarts. Replace in production.
+      - STEWARD_SECRET_KEY=dev-secret-key-change-me
+      - PYTHONPATH=/app
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -25,6 +34,9 @@ services:
       POSTGRES_USER: steward
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: steward
       POSTGRES_DB: steward
+    ports:
+      # Exposed for dev convenience (psql from the host). Drop for prod.
+      - "5432:5432"
     volumes:
       - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     healthcheck: