diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 221de7e..2b01599 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -13,3 +13,6 @@ node_modules/
 /dist-types
 *.tsbuildinfo
 dist/
+
+# Persisted local dev backend database (better-sqlite3)
+/.data/
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 614f137..baddf13 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -95,3 +95,10 @@ yarn install
 yarn workspace @rwdocs/backstage-plugin-rw run build
 yarn workspace @rwdocs/backstage-plugin-rw-backend run build
 ```
+
+Run the dev harness (frontend + backend) with `yarn dev`.
+
+The backend persists its SQLite database (catalog, search index, …) under a
+`.data/` directory at the repo root, so state survives restarts instead of being
+rebuilt from scratch each time. The directory is git-ignored. Delete it
+(`rm -rf .data`) for a clean database.
diff --git a/app-config.yaml b/app-config.yaml
index 19ef3f6..ad7e8a5 100644
--- a/app-config.yaml
+++ b/app-config.yaml
@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@ backend:
     dangerouslyDisableDefaultAuthPolicy: true
   database:
     client: better-sqlite3
-    connection: ':memory:'
+    connection:
+      # Persist the dev DB between runs (catalog, search index, …) instead of
+      # rebuilding from scratch on every start. Resolved relative to the backend
+      # process cwd (packages/backend), so ../../ points at the repo root.
+      # Backstage writes one <pluginId>.sqlite file per plugin in this directory.
+      # Remove the directory (rm -rf .data) for a clean database.
+      directory: ../../.data
   cors:
     origin: http://localhost:3000
     credentials: true