diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 083a786..6ff9d7e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -46,3 +46,4 @@ Thumbs.db
 /src/app/api/generated
 
 .env
+docker/backend/dev-users.csv
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e6d740d..1e59c7f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ To do a manual deployment to staging though, run `npm run build` to produce the
 ## Environment-specific configuration
 To enable environment-specific configuration without having to create a separate artifact per environment or resort to running a dedicated node server or container, a config.js file is used.
 
-This config.js is loaded in index.html using a regular <script> tag. It is therefore not compiled with the application (like external configuration should be). For development (local) the file is listed in angular.json as a asset. Therefore the default config.js is available when running `ng serve`. When building a production version however, config.js is not output. Per environment, a config.js should be deployed together with the created artifact's files, this enabling per-environment configuration while deploying the application as a static resource (suitable for CDNs).
+This config.js is loaded in index.html using a regular `<script>` tag. It is therefore not compiled with the application (like external configuration should be). For development (local) the file is listed in angular.json as a asset. Therefore the default config.js is available when running `ng serve`. When building a production version however, config.js is not output. Per environment, a config.js should be deployed together with the created artifact's files, this enabling per-environment configuration while deploying the application as a static resource (suitable for CDNs).
 
 ## Further help
 
@@ -86,3 +86,10 @@ docker-compose up -d
 The version of the backend defaults to latest, but it can be set in the `.env` file using `LITTIL_BACKEND_VERSION`
 
 Look for the available tags at [ghcr.io/devoxx4kids-NP/littil-backend](https://ghcr.io/devoxx4kids-NPO/littil-backend)
+
+### dev users
+
+When running the backend as a developer you can add previously created users at startup.
+Create a `dev-users.csv` file in the folder `docker\backend` with the users you would like to add when the backend is started.
+Additional information can be found in the file `docker\backend\dev-users.example`.
+To use this functionality use the latest image or >=1.3.2 of the backend.
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 28e966d..14bf0f4 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -8,14 +8,25 @@ services:
       MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: littil
     ports:
       - "3306:3306"
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "healthcheck.sh", "--connect", "--innodb_initialized"]
+      interval: 5s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 5
   backend:
     image: ghcr.io/devoxx4kids-npo/littil-backend:${LITTIL_BACKEND_VERSION:-latest}
     depends_on:
-      - dbhost
+      dbhost:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    volumes:
+      - type: bind
+        source: ./docker/backend
+        target: /app
     environment:
       - QUARKUS_BANNER_ENABLED=true
       - CLOUDWATCH_ENABLED=false
       - LITTIL_DEV_DATA=true
+      - LITTIL_DEV_DATA_FILE=/app/dev-users.csv
       - DATASOURCE_HOST=dbhost
       - HTTP_CORS_ORIGINS=http://localhost:4200
       - OIDC_CLIENT_ID=${OIDC_CLIENT_ID}
@@ -23,8 +34,10 @@ services:
       - OIDC_TENANT=${OIDC_TENANT}
       - M2M_CLIENT_ID=${M2M_CLIENT_ID}
       - M2M_CLIENT_SECRET=${M2M_CLIENT_SECRET}
+      - QUARKUS_MAILER_MOCK=true
       - SMTP_HOST=smtp-stub.local
       - SMTP_USERNAME=username
       - SMTP_PASSWORD=password
+      - QUARKUS_LOG_CATEGORY__ORG_LITTIL__LEVEL=DEBUG
     ports:
       - "8080:8080"
diff --git a/docker/backend/dev-users.example b/docker/backend/dev-users.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da9dd69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/backend/dev-users.example
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# You can use a file 'docker/backend/dev-users.csv' to add users add startup of the backend.
+# for each user add the following information in one line, separated by a comma ,
+#  - email-address
+#  - address
+#  - zipcode  (with format 9999AA)
+# The users are only added to the database when
+#  - the email is valid
+#  - the zipcode is valid (format 9999AA)
+#  - the email is present in auth0
+# example :
+# empty lines and lines with # are skipped
+
+school1@littil.org,Some adress 1,1000AA
+teacher1@littil.org,other address 2, 2000BB