diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 03507b3f37..d54279ccd4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -103,3 +103,6 @@ InvenTree/plugins/
 
 # Compiled translation files
 *.mo
+
+# web frontend (static files)
+InvenTree/web/static
diff --git a/tasks.py b/tasks.py
index 150f891a65..6e57c3ade5 100644
--- a/tasks.py
+++ b/tasks.py
@@ -829,6 +829,17 @@ def frontend_build(c):
     yarn(c, "yarn run build --emptyOutDir")
 
 
+@task
+def frontend_dev(c):
+    """Start frontend development server.
+
+    Args:
+        c: Context variable
+    """
+    print("Starting frontend development server")
+    yarn(c, "yarn run dev")
+
+
 @task(help={
     'ref': "git ref, default: current git ref",
     'tag': "git tag to look for release",