diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 3b84700..d673cf1 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-PAYLOAD_SECRET=jawliejfilwajefSEANlawefawfewag349jwgo3gj4w
-MONGODB_URI=mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/next-payload-3
-POSTGRES_URI=postgres://127.0.0.1:5432/next-payload-3
+PAYLOAD_SECRET='jawliejfilwajefSEANlawefawfewag349jwgo3gj4w'
+MONGODB_URI='mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/next-payload-3'
+POSTGRES_URI='postgresql://postgres:password123@127.0.0.1:5432/next-payload-3'
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 32ac2fa..7c5d6b8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ To try out this repo yourself, follow the steps below:
 1. `cd` into the new folder by running `cd ./payload-3.0-alpha-demo`
 1. Copy the `.env.example` by running `cp .env.example .env` in the repo, then fill out the values including the connection string to your DB
 1. Install dependencies with whatever package manager you use (`yarn`, `npm install`, `pnpm i`, etc.)
+1. Start your database. For local postgresql use `.\start-database.sh` to start it in docker container.
 1. Fire it up (`yarn dev`, `npm run dev`, `pnpm dev`, etc.)
 1. Visit https://localhost:3000 and log in with the user created within the config's `onInit` method
 
diff --git a/start-database.sh b/start-database.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..cdccb8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start-database.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+DB_CONTAINER_NAME="next-payload-3"
+
+if ! [ -x "$(command -v docker)" ]; then
+  echo "Docker is not installed. Please install docker and try again.\nDocker install guide: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ "$(docker ps -q -f name=$DB_CONTAINER_NAME)" ]; then
+  docker start $DB_CONTAINER_NAME
+  echo "Database container started"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+set -a
+source .env
+
+DB_PASSWORD=$(echo $DATABASE_URL | awk -F':' '{print $3}' | awk -F'@' '{print $1}')
+
+if [ "$DB_PASSWORD" = "password" ]; then
+  echo "You are using the default database password"
+fi
+
+docker run --name $DB_CONTAINER_NAME -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=$DB_PASSWORD -e POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD=trust -e POSTGRES_DB=next-payload-3 -d -p 5432:5432 docker.io/postgres
+
+echo "Database container was successfully created"
+