diff --git a/.diploi/helm/app.yaml b/.diploi/helm/app.yaml
index ca34610..c256eeb 100644
--- a/.diploi/helm/app.yaml
+++ b/.diploi/helm/app.yaml
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ spec:
             - /bin/sh
             - -c
             - >
-              dotnet build || exit 1;
+              (dotnet restore && dotnet build) || exit 1;
               (dotnet tool restore && dotnet tool run libman restore) || echo "Libman restore failed, continuing...";
           workingDir: /app{{ .Values.folder }}
           volumeMounts:
@@ -78,6 +78,10 @@ spec:
             - name: {{ .identifier }}
               value: {{ .value | quote }}
             {{- end }}
+          {{- if eq .Values.stage "development" }}
+            - name: NUGET_PACKAGES
+              value: /app{{ .Values.folder }}/.nuget
+          {{- end }}
           volumeMounts:
             {{- if hasKey .Values.storage "code" }}
             - name: app-mount
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 427a76b..f8038dd 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -483,4 +483,10 @@ docker-compose.override.yaml
 ##
 
 tmp/
-temp/
\ No newline at end of file
+temp/
+
+# NuGet packages
+packages/
+*.nuget.props
+*.nuget.targets
+.nuget/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Dockerfile.dev b/Dockerfile.dev
index bc61c41..4d3c770 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.dev
+++ b/Dockerfile.dev
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:10.0
 
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends tini nodejs npm iproute2 net-tools \
+    && npm install -g nodemon \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
 ARG FOLDER=/app
 
 COPY --chown=1000:1000 . /app
@@ -10,10 +15,14 @@ USER  1000:1000
 
 EXPOSE 5054
 
-ENV ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:5054
+ENV ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://0.0.0.0:5054
 
 ENV ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development
 
 ENV ASPNETCORE_HTTPS_PORT=""
 
-CMD ["dotnet", "watch", "--no-launch-profile", "--hot-reload", "--non-interactive"]
\ No newline at end of file
+ENV DOTNET_USE_POLLING_FILE_WATCHER=1
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/bin/tini", "--"]
+
+CMD ["nodemon"]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Program.cs b/Program.cs
index bd6b76f..94655cf 100644
--- a/Program.cs
+++ b/Program.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using component_blazor.Components;
 using Microsoft.AspNetCore.DataProtection;
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.Kestrel.Core;
 
 var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
 
@@ -7,6 +8,20 @@
 builder.Services.AddRazorComponents()
     .AddInteractiveServerComponents();
 
+builder.Services.Configure<HostOptions>(options =>
+{
+    options.ShutdownTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
+});
+
+// Configure Kestrel to allow port reuse and SO_REUSEADDR
+builder.WebHost.ConfigureKestrel((context, options) =>
+{
+    options.ListenAnyIP(5054, listenOptions =>
+    {
+        listenOptions.Protocols = HttpProtocols.Http1AndHttp2;
+    });
+});
+
 // Configure data protection for Docker
 builder.Services.AddDataProtection()
     .PersistKeysToFileSystem(new DirectoryInfo("/var/dpkeys"))
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8accb19..554a90a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -20,17 +20,19 @@ Link to the full guide - upcoming
 
 ### Development
 
-During development, the container uses `dotnet watch` to enable automatic reloads when files change. The development server is started with:
+During development, the container uses `nodemon` to enable automatic reloads when files and new dependencies change. The development server is started with:
 
 ```sh
-dotnet watch --no-launch-profile --hot-reload --non-interactive
+dotnet run \
+    --no-launch-profile \
+    --non-interactive 
 ```
 
 This will:
 - Use `dotnet watch` to monitor for changes to .cs, .razor, and .css files and restart the server when changes are detected.
 - Run the Blazor Server application with hot reload enabled.
 - Start the app on port 5054.
-- Enable automatic browser refresh when Razor components or CSS files change.
+- Avoid using any launch profile so environment variables are controlled by the container.
 
 ### Installing Packages
 
@@ -64,7 +66,7 @@ dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
 
 The `libman.json` file manages client-side libraries, while the `.csproj` file tracks NuGet dependencies. Both are automatically restored during development and build.
 
-> **Important:** After installing packages, open the Deployment page and restart the running Blazor container so it loads the new dependencies.
+`dotnet add package` updates the `.csproj` and restores the package to the local NuGet cache. `nodemon` notices the new package reference in `component-blazor.csproj` and restarts the runtime so the change is picked up immediately.
 
 ### Production
  
diff --git a/nodemon.json b/nodemon.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1cae3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nodemon.json
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+    "watch": [
+        "."
+    ],
+    "ignore": [
+        "**/bin/**",
+        "**/obj/**"
+    ],
+    "ext": "cs,csproj,razor,cshtml,json,html,js,css",
+    "exec": "sh run-dotnet-watch.sh",
+    "signal": "SIGTERM",
+    "delay": "1000"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/run-dotnet-watch.sh b/run-dotnet-watch.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..09cdf88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/run-dotnet-watch.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eu
+
+PORT=5054
+
+# Try graceful shutdown first
+echo "=== Checking if port ${PORT} is in use ==="
+if ss -ltnp 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":${PORT} "; then
+    echo "Port ${PORT} is in use, attempting graceful shutdown..."
+    pkill -TERM -f "dotnet watch" 2>/dev/null || true
+    pkill -TERM -f "dotnet run" 2>/dev/null || true
+    pkill -TERM -f "dotnet" 2>/dev/null || true
+    dotnet clean 2>/dev/null || true
+    sleep 2
+fi
+
+# Wait for port to be released (bounded wait)
+echo "=== Waiting for port ${PORT} to be released ==="
+for i in {1..50}; do
+    if ! ss -ltn 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":${PORT} "; then
+        echo "Port ${PORT} released."
+        break
+    fi
+    sleep 0.25
+done
+
+echo "=== Hard cleaning port ${PORT} if still busy ==="
+# Hard kill only if still stuck
+if ss -ltn 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":${PORT} "; then
+    echo "Port ${PORT} still busy, forcing release..."
+    fuser -k ${PORT}/tcp 2>/dev/null || true
+    sleep 2
+fi
+
+# Check for TIME_WAIT sockets (use ss -tan to see all TCP states, not just LISTEN)
+echo "=== Checking for lingering TIME_WAIT sockets ==="
+if ss -tan state time-wait 2>/dev/null | grep -q ":${PORT} "; then
+    echo "TIME_WAIT sockets found on port ${PORT}, waiting briefly..."
+    sleep 2
+fi
+
+echo "=== Starting running dotnet application"
+exec dotnet run \
+    --no-launch-profile \
+    --non-interactive 
\ No newline at end of file