diff --git a/start-vim.sh b/start-vim.sh
index dd59973..af21f20 100755
--- a/start-vim.sh
+++ b/start-vim.sh
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #   ./start-vim.sh path/to/note.wiki      # open a specific file
 #   NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI=/tmp/foo ./start-vim.sh
 #   NUWIKI_DEV_NO_LSP=1 ./start-vim.sh        # skip vim-lsp setup
+#   NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED=1 ./start-vim.sh       # use WIKI_DIR as-is (no scratch seeding)
 #   NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 ./start-vim.sh    # reuse the cached binary
 #
 # The release binary is rebuilt on every launch so source changes
@@ -77,6 +78,10 @@ ensure_vim_lsp() {
 }
 
 seed_wiki() {
+  if [[ "${NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
+    log "NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED=1 — skipping wiki seed (using $WIKI_DIR as-is)"
+    return
+  fi
   mkdir -p "$WIKI_DIR" "$WIKI_DIR/diary"
   if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
     cat > "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
diff --git a/test-personal-wiki.sh b/test-personal-wiki.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ca006a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-personal-wiki.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# test-personal-wiki.sh — open the user's real personal wiki via start-vim.sh.
+#
+# Reuses start-vim.sh's plumbing (binary build, vim-lsp clone, viminfo
+# under the dev cache) but points the wiki root at ~/.vimwiki/personal_wiki
+# and disables seed_wiki so we don't drop a scratch `Notes.wiki` into your
+# real notes.
+#
+# Useful when reproducing a user-reported bug against actual content rather
+# than the seeded smoke-test wiki. State (viminfo/sessions) still lives
+# under $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/ so your real Vim install stays untouched.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./test-personal-wiki.sh                          # open index.wiki
+#   ./test-personal-wiki.sh path/to/note.wiki        # open a specific file
+#   NUWIKI_PERSONAL_WIKI=/other/path ./test-personal-wiki.sh
+#   NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 ./test-personal-wiki.sh  # reuse the cached binary
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+WIKI_DIR="${NUWIKI_PERSONAL_WIKI:-$HOME/.vimwiki/personal_wiki}"
+
+if [[ ! -d "$WIKI_DIR" ]]; then
+  echo "test-personal-wiki: $WIKI_DIR does not exist" >&2
+  echo "set NUWIKI_PERSONAL_WIKI to point at your wiki, or create the default path" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+export NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI="$WIKI_DIR"
+export NUWIKI_DEV_NO_SEED=1
+
+exec "$REPO_ROOT/start-vim.sh" "$@"