diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9b28b8e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+/build
+/build.log
+/venv
diff --git a/dev/container/.dummy b/dev/container/.dummy
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/dev/container/Dockerfile b/dev/container/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ba90f986
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/container/Dockerfile
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+# Dockerfile for building Cetmodules development image.
+
+# Podman instructions for building and uploading tagged images:
+#   $ DATE="$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")"
+#   $ podman build --tag cetmodules-dev:$DATE .
+#   $ podman login ghcr.io --username <username> -p $(gh auth token)
+#   $ podman push cetmodules-dev:$DATE ghcr.io/fnalssi/cetmodules-dev:$DATE
+# ... and optionally push with destination tag "latest"
+
+# Base image
+FROM ubuntu:latest
+
+# Set non-interactive frontend to avoid prompts
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+# Install system dependencies
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    build-essential \
+    git \
+    doxygen \
+    graphviz \
+    m4 \
+    ninja-build \
+    python3 \
+    python3-pip \
+    sudo && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Install Python packages
+RUN pip3 install --no-cache-dir --break-system-packages \
+    cmake \
+    sphinx \
+    sphinxcontrib-moderncmakedomain \
+    sphinx-design \
+    sphinx-toolbox \
+    sphinxcontrib-jquery
+
+# Install Catch2
+RUN git clone https://github.com/catchorg/Catch2.git /tmp/Catch2 && \
+    cmake -S /tmp/Catch2 -B /tmp/Catch2/build -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF && \
+    cmake --build /tmp/Catch2/build --target install && \
+    rm -rf /tmp/Catch2
+
+# Create source and build directories and make them world-writable
+RUN mkdir /source /build && \
+    chmod 777 /source /build
+
+# Set working directory
+WORKDIR /build
+
+# Set default command
+CMD ["/bin/bash"]
diff --git a/dev/container/README.md b/dev/container/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..09f244e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/container/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# Cetmodules Development Container
+
+This directory contains a `Dockerfile` to create a containerized development environment for `cetmodules`.
+
+## Building the Image
+
+To build the image, run the following command from the root of the repository:
+
+```bash
+# For Docker or Podman
+docker build -t cetmodules-dev dev/container
+```
+
+## Running the Container
+
+The command to run the container differs between Docker and Podman due to differences in how they handle user namespaces.
+
+First, create a local `build` directory if it does not already exist:
+
+```bash
+mkdir -p build
+```
+
+### For Docker Users
+
+Docker users should map their host user ID directly to the container to ensure correct file ownership on mounted volumes.
+
+```bash
+docker run -it --rm \
+  --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
+  -v "$(pwd):/source" \
+  -v "$(pwd)/build:/build" \
+  cetmodules-dev
+```
+
+### For Podman Users (Rootless)
+
+Rootless Podman uses user namespaces to map your host user to the `root` user (UID 0) inside the container. To ensure you have permission to write to mounted volumes, you should run as `root` inside the container. Any files created in the mounted volumes will be correctly owned by your user on the host.
+
+```bash
+podman run -it --rm \
+  -v "$(pwd):/source" \
+  -v "$(pwd)/build:/build" \
+  cetmodules-dev
+```
+*(Note: Running as `root` is the intended usage for rootless Podman and is safe because you are in an unprivileged user namespace.)*
+
+
+### Usage
+
+Once inside the container, you can perform an out-of-source build like this:
+
+```bash
+cmake -S /source -B . -DBUILD_DOCS=ON
+cmake --build .
+ctest
+```
diff --git a/dev/setup_cetmodules_dev.sh b/dev/setup_cetmodules_dev.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f850a954
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/setup_cetmodules_dev.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Exit immediately if a command exits with a non-zero status.
+set -e
+
+# --- OS Detection ---
+if [ -f /etc/os-release ]; then
+    . /etc/os-release
+    if [[ "$ID" == "ubuntu" ]]; then
+        PACKAGE_MANAGER="apt-get"
+        BUILD_DEPS="build-essential"
+    elif [[ "$ID" == "almalinux" ]]; then
+        PACKAGE_MANAGER="dnf"
+        BUILD_DEPS="gcc-c++"
+    else
+        echo "Unsupported operating system: $ID"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+else
+    echo "/etc/os-release not found. Cannot determine operating system."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# --- System Dependency Installation ---
+echo "Updating package lists..."
+sudo $PACKAGE_MANAGER update -y
+
+echo "Installing system dependencies..."
+sudo $PACKAGE_MANAGER install -y git doxygen graphviz python3-venv $BUILD_DEPS
+
+# --- Python Environment Setup ---
+echo "Setting up Python virtual environment..."
+python3 -m venv venv
+source venv/bin/activate
+
+echo "Installing Python packages (CMake, Sphinx, etc.)..."
+pip install cmake sphinx sphinxcontrib-moderncmakedomain sphinx-design sphinx-toolbox sphinxcontrib-jquery
+
+# --- Catch2 Installation ---
+echo "Cloning and installing Catch2..."
+git clone https://github.com/catchorg/Catch2.git
+cd Catch2
+cmake -S . -B build -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF
+sudo cmake --build build --target install
+cd ..
+rm -rf Catch2
+
+# --- cetmodules Build and Test ---
+echo "Cloning, building, and testing cetmodules..."
+git clone https://github.com/FNALssi/cetmodules.git
+cd cetmodules
+cmake -S . -B build -DBUILD_DOCS=ON
+cmake --build build
+ctest --test-dir build
+
+# --- Documentation Build ---
+echo "Building cetmodules documentation..."
+cmake --build build --target doc-cetmodules-reference
+cd ..
+
+# --- Completion ---
+echo ""
+echo "----------------------------------------------------"
+echo "Development environment setup for cetmodules is complete!"
+echo "To activate the Python virtual environment, run:"
+echo "source venv/bin/activate"
+echo "----------------------------------------------------"