diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..48629e62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+# Access Development Makefile
+
+.PHONY: help install install-python install-node start start-backend start-frontend sync sync-auth sync-groups-auth sync-memberships-auth db-init db-migrate test lint format clean
+
+# Default target
+help:
+	@echo "Access Development Commands:"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Setup & Installation:"
+	@echo "  make install          Install all dependencies (Python + Node.js)"
+	@echo "  make install-python   Install Python dependencies only"
+	@echo "  make install-node     Install Node.js dependencies only"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Development:"
+	@echo "  make start            Start both Flask backend and React frontend"
+	@echo "  make start-backend    Start Flask backend only"
+	@echo "  make start-frontend   Start React frontend only"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Sync Jobs:"
+	@echo "  make sync                     Run sync job (non-authoritative)"
+	@echo "  make sync-auth                Run sync job (authoritative mode)"
+	@echo "  make sync-groups-auth         Run groups sync (authoritative mode)"
+	@echo "  make sync-memberships-auth    Run memberships sync (authoritative mode)"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Database:"
+	@echo "  make db-init          Initialize database with admin user"
+	@echo "  make db-migrate       Run database migrations"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Utilities:"
+	@echo "  make test             Run Python tests via tox"
+	@echo "  make lint             Run Python linting (ruff + mypy) and TypeScript checks"
+	@echo "  make format           Format Python and TypeScript code"
+	@echo "  make clean            Clean temporary files"
+
+# Installation targets
+install: install-python install-node
+
+install-python:
+	@echo "Installing Python dependencies..."
+	python3 -m venv venv || true
+	. venv/bin/activate && pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-test.txt
+
+install-node:
+	@echo "Installing Node.js dependencies..."
+	@command -v npm >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Error: npm is not installed"; exit 1; }
+	npm install
+
+# Development server targets
+start:
+	@echo "Starting both backend and frontend servers..."
+	@echo "Backend will be available at http://localhost:6060"
+	@echo "Frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000"
+	@echo "Press Ctrl+C to stop both servers"
+	@trap 'kill 0' INT; \
+	(. venv/bin/activate && flask run) & \
+	npm start & \
+	wait
+
+start-backend:
+	@echo "Starting Flask backend server..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask run
+
+start-frontend:
+	@echo "Starting React frontend server..."
+	npm start
+
+# Sync job targets
+sync:
+	@echo "Running sync job (non-authoritative)..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask sync
+
+sync-auth:
+	@echo "Running sync job (authoritative mode)..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask sync --sync-groups-authoritatively --sync-group-memberships-authoritatively
+
+sync-groups-auth:
+	@echo "Running groups sync (authoritative mode)..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask sync --sync-groups-authoritatively
+
+sync-memberships-auth:
+	@echo "Running memberships sync (authoritative mode)..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask sync --sync-group-memberships-authoritatively
+
+# Database targets
+db-init: db-migrate
+	@echo "Initializing database..."
+	@read -p "Enter admin user email: " EMAIL; \
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask init $$EMAIL
+
+db-migrate:
+	@echo "Running database migrations..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && flask db upgrade
+
+# Utility targets
+test:
+	@echo "Running tests..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && tox -e test
+
+lint:
+	@echo "Running Python linting..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && tox -e ruff
+	@echo "Running Python type checking..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && tox -e mypy
+	@echo "Running TypeScript checks..."
+	npm run tsc
+
+format:
+	@echo "Formatting Python code..."
+	. venv/bin/activate && ruff format .
+	@echo "Formatting TypeScript code..."
+	npx prettier --write .
+
+clean:
+	@echo "Cleaning temporary files..."
+	find . -type d -name "__pycache__" -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null || true
+	find . -type f -name "*.pyc" -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+	rm -rf .pytest_cache 2>/dev/null || true
+	rm -rf node_modules/.cache 2>/dev/null || true
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5907d50e..9e8bd4da 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -85,6 +85,10 @@ npm start
 
 Go to [http://localhost:3000/](http://localhost:3000/) to view the React SPA.
 
+#### Makefile
+
+For convenience, this project includes a `Makefile` that helps orchestrate setup and development workflow steps. You can use `make help` to see all available commands.
+
 #### Generating Typescript React Query API Client
 
 We use [openapi-codegen](https://github.com/fabien0102/openapi-codegen) to generate a Typescript React-Query v4 API Fetch Client based on our Swagger API schema available at [http://localhost:6060/api/swagger.json](http://localhost:6060/api/swagger.json). We've modified the generated Swagger schema in [api/swagger.json](api/swagger.json), which is then used in [openapi-codegen.config.ts](openapi-codegen.config.ts) by the following commands: