diff --git a/scripts/dev-web-local.sh b/scripts/dev-web-local.sh
index d97ea4f6b..e708f6916 100644
--- a/scripts/dev-web-local.sh
+++ b/scripts/dev-web-local.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,13 @@ COMPOSE_FILE="$ROOT_DIR/packaging/docker/docker-compose.web-local.yml"
 PROJECT_NAME="openwork-web-local"
 DEV_CMD=(pnpm --parallel --filter @openwork/den --filter @different-ai/openwork-web dev)
 
+# Local-dev defaults — match the MySQL container in docker-compose.web-local.yml.
+# These are only used when not already set in the environment or .env.
+: "${DATABASE_URL:=mysql://root:password@127.0.0.1:3306/openwork_den}"
+: "${BETTER_AUTH_SECRET:=local-dev-secret-not-for-production-use!!}"
+: "${BETTER_AUTH_URL:=http://localhost:8788}"
+export DATABASE_URL BETTER_AUTH_SECRET BETTER_AUTH_URL
+
 detect_web_origins() {
   node <<'EOF'
 const os = require('os');
diff --git a/services/den/.env.example b/services/den/.env.example
index 3a5c0b9ee..3ec62a1b6 100644
--- a/services/den/.env.example
+++ b/services/den/.env.example
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-DATABASE_URL=
-BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=
+DATABASE_URL=mysql://root:password@127.0.0.1:3306/openwork_den
+BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=local-dev-secret-not-for-production-use!!
 BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:8788
 DEN_BETTER_AUTH_TRUSTED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3005,http://localhost:5173
 GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=
diff --git a/services/den/drizzle.config.ts b/services/den/drizzle.config.ts
index f238826dc..cc69e4c9b 100644
--- a/services/den/drizzle.config.ts
+++ b/services/den/drizzle.config.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@ export default defineConfig({
   schema: "./src/db/schema.ts",
   out: "./drizzle",
   dbCredentials: {
-    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL ?? "",
+    url: process.env.DATABASE_URL || "mysql://root:password@localhost:3306/openwork_den",
   },
 })