diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 49027d4..5bad44c 100755
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,10 +2,11 @@
 
 purpose: gather data from intern(WMDE) and extern(volunteers) forms to create a database ('förderdatenbank') and send emails with links for a questionary.
 
-## installation and development setup
+## manual development setup
 
     cp .env.develop.example .env
 
+By default a SQLite database is used for development. 
 To use a MariaDB change `DATABASE_ENGINE` in .env to `mysql` and amend `DATABASE_*` variables according to your setup.
 For further information see the production setup below.
 
@@ -27,6 +28,25 @@ access via
     http://localhost:8000/intern/    (login required)
     http://localhost:8000/admin/     (login reqiured)
 
+## docker compose development setup
+
+The project comes with a `docker-compose.yml` file to run the project in a containerized environment.
+
+    cp .env.develop.example .env
+    docker compose up
+
+The setup will use a containerized MariaDB database.
+
+Create your superuser account with
+
+    docker compose exec django python3 manage.py createsuperuser
+
+You can access the application via
+    
+    http://localhost:8000/
+    http://localhost:8000/intern/    (login required)
+    http://localhost:8000/admin/     (login required)
+
 ## additional admin functionality
 
 The admin page is the standard admin page delivered by django but with two additional functionalities:
diff --git a/docker-compose.yaml b/docker-compose.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4dffd74
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+services:
+  django:
+    image: python:3-alpine
+    working_dir: /app
+    volumes:
+      - .:/app
+    environment:
+      PYTHONUNBUFFERED: 1
+      DATABASE_ENGINE: mysql
+      DATABASE_HOST: mariadb
+      DATABASE_USER: fdb
+      DATABASE_PASSWORD: fdb
+    ports:
+      - 8000:8000
+    command:
+      - sh
+      - -c
+      - |
+        apk update
+        apk add gcc
+        apk add mariadb-dev
+        apk add musl-dev
+        pip install -Ur requirements.txt
+        python manage.py migrate
+        python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
+
+  mariadb:
+    image: mariadb
+    environment:
+      MARIADB_ALLOW_EMPTY_ROOT_PASSWORD: yes
+      MARIADB_DATABASE: fdb
+      MARIADB_USER: fdb
+      MARIADB_PASSWORD: fdb