diff --git a/vite.config.ts b/vite.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..774c3fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vite.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { defineConfig } from "vite";
+import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react";
+
+export default defineConfig({
+  plugins: [react()],
+  server: {
+    port: 1420,
+    strictPort: true,
+    // Proxy API calls to the Go backend during local dev
+    proxy: {
+      "/api": "http://localhost:8080",
+    },
+  },
+  build: {
+    // Output directly into the go:embed target directory
+    outDir: "backend/cmd/moonrelay/ui",
+    emptyOutDir: true,
+  },
+});