diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c761ebff6..4f6247d94 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -335,7 +335,8 @@ Scope any of them with a Turborepo filter: `bun run dev --filter=api`.
 
 Because sign-in goes through an identity provider, there is no way to get a session from a terminal —
 `dev:session` writes the rows Better Auth would have written and prints the cookie it
-would have set. It refuses to run with `NODE_ENV=production`.
+would have set, along with a console snippet to log in directly on `http://localhost:3000`.
+It refuses to run with `NODE_ENV=production`.
 
 ## Deploying
 
diff --git a/apps/api/scripts/dev-session.ts b/apps/api/scripts/dev-session.ts
index 8df9b3dd5..48ae305e6 100644
--- a/apps/api/scripts/dev-session.ts
+++ b/apps/api/scripts/dev-session.ts
@@ -62,6 +62,18 @@ await db.session.upsert({
 	update: { expiresAt },
 });
 
-console.log(`${COOKIE_NAME}=${await signCookieValue(token)}`);
+const cookieValue = await signCookieValue(token);
+console.log(`${COOKIE_NAME}=${cookieValue}`);
+
+if (process.stderr.isTTY) {
+	const appUrl = (process.env.APP_URL ?? "http://localhost:3000")
+		.split(",")[0]
+		.trim();
+	console.error(`\nTo sign in on ${appUrl}:`);
+	console.error("Paste this in the DevTools Console (F12) and press Enter:\n");
+	console.error(
+		`  document.cookie = "${COOKIE_NAME}=${cookieValue}; path=/; max-age=${SESSION_DAYS * 86400}"; location.href = "/";\n`,
+	);
+}
 
 await db.$disconnect();
diff --git a/apps/app/app/(landing)/sign-in/page.tsx b/apps/app/app/(landing)/sign-in/page.tsx
index 5b0e451af..4891539c4 100644
--- a/apps/app/app/(landing)/sign-in/page.tsx
+++ b/apps/app/app/(landing)/sign-in/page.tsx
@@ -95,8 +95,10 @@ async function SignIn({
 
 				<p className="text-center text-muted-foreground text-sm/5">
 					Set GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID and GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET — or MICROSOFT_CLIENT_ID
-					and MICROSOFT_CLIENT_SECRET — in the root .env file and restart. Your
-					own identity provider can be added from Settings once somebody is
+					and MICROSOFT_CLIENT_SECRET — in the root .env file and restart. For
+					local development without OAuth, mint a session with{" "}
+					<code className="text-xs">bun run --filter=api dev:session</code>.
+					Your own identity provider can be added from Settings once somebody is
 					signed in.
 				</p>
 			</>
diff --git a/docs/setup.md b/docs/setup.md
index 03b8912f7..678582286 100644
--- a/docs/setup.md
+++ b/docs/setup.md
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ run needs `db:migrate` only for the seed that follows it. When the database and
 they do not match — reconcile with `db:migrate`, or `db:reset` when the divergence
 is an edited migration that has already been applied.
 
+When developing without Google or Microsoft OAuth configured, mint a local session
+with `bun run --filter=api dev:session` and paste the printed snippet into the
+browser DevTools Console on `http://localhost:3000` to sign in.
+
 ## Google Cloud
 
 - **Enable the Gmail API and the Google Calendar API** on the project.