diff --git a/.cursorrules b/.cursorrules
index 3e87d06..1af8f86 100644
--- a/.cursorrules
+++ b/.cursorrules
@@ -159,6 +159,14 @@ pnpm build            # Production build
 pnpm seed             # Seed test data
 ```
 
+## Development Environment Setup
+To start or restore the dev environment:
+1. **Install deps**: `pnpm install`
+2. **Env file**: Ensure `.env.local` exists with `NEXT_PUBLIC_USE_EMULATORS=true` (copy from `.env.example` if needed)
+3. **Terminal 1**: `pnpm run firebase` (Auth:9099, Firestore:8082, Emulator UI:8081)
+4. **Terminal 2**: `pnpm run dev` (Next.js at http://localhost:3000)
+5. **Verify**: App at http://localhost:3000, Firebase UI at http://localhost:8081
+
 ## Environment
 ```
 NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_PUBLIC_API_KEY, NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN, NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID
diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a7f9cb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Copy to .env.local and adjust for your environment
+
+# Enable Firebase emulators for local development
+NEXT_PUBLIC_USE_EMULATORS=true
+
+# Firebase project config (optional - fallbacks exist for emulator mode)
+NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=hemolog
+NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_PUBLIC_API_KEY=your-api-key
+NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN=localhost
+
+# Production only (required when NEXT_PUBLIC_USE_EMULATORS is not true)
+# FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY=
+# FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL=
+# NEXT_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL=