diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index 88a7e4f73..aece042e4 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ services:
     env_file: .env
     ports:
       - "${DJANGO_LOCAL_PORT:-8000}:8000"
+    volumes:
+      - ./:/home/calitp/app/data # matches the path in nginx.conf for static / media files. set your DJANGO_STORAGE_DIR to `/home/calitp/app/data` so the container can access `django.db` and `uploads/`.
 
   dev:
     build: