diff --git a/start-nvim.sh b/start-nvim.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c174fa3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start-nvim.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# start-nvim.sh — launch Neovim with a minimal config that loads nuwiki.
+#
+# Builds the language server (release mode), symlinks it into `bin/` so
+# the plugin's default install path resolves, then spawns Neovim with
+# `--clean` and a generated `init.lua` that:
+#   * adds this repo to `runtimepath`
+#   * configures wiki_root to a scratch directory under
+#     $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/wiki
+#   * calls `require('nuwiki').setup({...})`
+#
+# Usage: ./start-nvim.sh [extra args...]
+#   ./start-nvim.sh                       # open the scratch wiki's index
+#   ./start-nvim.sh path/to/note.wiki     # open a specific file
+#   NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI=/tmp/foo ./start-nvim.sh
+#
+# Tested with Neovim 0.10+. State (cache/data/config) lives under
+# $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/ so your real Neovim install stays
+# untouched.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+DEV_DIR="${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/nuwiki-dev"
+WIKI_DIR="${NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI:-$DEV_DIR/wiki}"
+INIT_FILE="$DEV_DIR/init.lua"
+STATE_DIR="$DEV_DIR/nvim-state"
+DATA_DIR="$DEV_DIR/nvim-data"
+CONFIG_DIR="$DEV_DIR/nvim-config"
+
+log() { printf '\033[1;34m[nuwiki-dev]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
+
+ensure_binary() {
+  local bin="$REPO_ROOT/bin/nuwiki-ls"
+  local built="$REPO_ROOT/target/release/nuwiki-ls"
+  if [[ -x "$bin" ]]; then
+    return
+  fi
+  log "building nuwiki-ls (release)…"
+  cargo build --release -p nuwiki-ls --manifest-path "$REPO_ROOT/Cargo.toml"
+  mkdir -p "$REPO_ROOT/bin"
+  ln -sf "$built" "$bin"
+  log "binary ready: $bin"
+}
+
+seed_wiki() {
+  mkdir -p "$WIKI_DIR" "$WIKI_DIR/diary"
+  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
+    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Welcome to nuwiki =
+
+This is a scratch wiki created by start-nvim.sh. Edit, run commands,
+or jump to the linked pages to test the plugin.
+
+== Smoke test ==
+
+- [[Notes]]
+- [[diary/]]
+- [ ] Toggle me with <C-Space>
+- [ ] Or with :VimwikiToggleListItem
+
+== Commands to try ==
+
+- :VimwikiTOC
+- :VimwikiGenerateLinks
+- :VimwikiCheckLinks
+- :VimwikiMakeDiaryNote
+- :Vimwiki2HTMLBrowse
+
+== Tags ==
+
+:smoke-test:sandbox:
+
+== Links ==
+
+* [[Notes]]
+* [[Notes#section-one]]
+* https://example.com
+EOF
+  fi
+  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" ]]; then
+    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Notes =
+
+A second page so [[index]] has somewhere to point.
+
+== Section one ==
+
+Anchor target for :checkhealth-style smoke tests.
+EOF
+  fi
+}
+
+write_init() {
+  mkdir -p "$DEV_DIR"
+  cat > "$INIT_FILE" <<EOF
+-- start-nvim.sh: generated minimal config for nuwiki development.
+-- Regenerated on every launch; edit start-nvim.sh, not this file.
+
+-- Confine state to the dev cache so we never touch the user's real
+-- Neovim install.
+vim.env.XDG_STATE_HOME = '$STATE_DIR'
+vim.env.XDG_DATA_HOME = '$DATA_DIR'
+vim.env.XDG_CONFIG_HOME = '$CONFIG_DIR'
+
+vim.opt.runtimepath:prepend('$REPO_ROOT')
+
+vim.g.nuwiki_binary_path = '$REPO_ROOT/bin/nuwiki-ls'
+
+-- Friendly defaults for an interactive smoke test.
+vim.opt.number = true
+vim.opt.signcolumn = 'yes'
+vim.opt.termguicolors = true
+vim.opt.swapfile = false
+vim.opt.writebackup = false
+vim.opt.undofile = false
+vim.g.mapleader = ' '
+
+require('nuwiki').setup({
+  wiki_root = '$WIKI_DIR',
+})
+
+-- Surface log lines (the LSP logs via window/logMessage). Without this
+-- they're swallowed; with it they land in :messages.
+vim.lsp.set_log_level('info')
+
+print('[nuwiki-dev] ready — wiki root: $WIKI_DIR')
+print('[nuwiki-dev] :LspInfo to inspect, :checkhealth nuwiki for diagnostics')
+EOF
+}
+
+main() {
+  ensure_binary
+  seed_wiki
+  write_init
+  mkdir -p "$STATE_DIR" "$DATA_DIR" "$CONFIG_DIR"
+
+  log "launching: nvim --clean -u $INIT_FILE"
+  if [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; then
+    exec nvim --clean -u "$INIT_FILE" "$@"
+  else
+    exec nvim --clean -u "$INIT_FILE" "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki"
+  fi
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/start-vim.sh b/start-vim.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7348557
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start-vim.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# start-vim.sh — launch Vim with a minimal config that loads nuwiki.
+#
+# The plugin's Vim path (autoload/nuwiki/lsp.vim) prefers `vim-lsp` and
+# falls back to `coc.nvim`. This script clones vim-lsp + async.vim into
+# the dev cache on first run so the LSP integration is exercisable
+# without polluting your real Vim install.
+#
+# Usage: ./start-vim.sh [extra args...]
+#   ./start-vim.sh                        # open the scratch wiki's index
+#   ./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
+#
+# Tested with Vim 9.1+. State (viminfo/sessions) lives under
+# $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/ so your real Vim install stays untouched.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+DEV_DIR="${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/nuwiki-dev"
+WIKI_DIR="${NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI:-$DEV_DIR/wiki}"
+VIMRC="$DEV_DIR/vimrc"
+VIM_STATE="$DEV_DIR/vim-state"
+VIM_LSP_DIR="$DEV_DIR/vim-lsp"
+ASYNC_DIR="$DEV_DIR/async.vim"
+
+log() { printf '\033[1;34m[nuwiki-dev]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
+
+ensure_binary() {
+  local bin="$REPO_ROOT/bin/nuwiki-ls"
+  local built="$REPO_ROOT/target/release/nuwiki-ls"
+  if [[ -x "$bin" ]]; then
+    return
+  fi
+  log "building nuwiki-ls (release)…"
+  cargo build --release -p nuwiki-ls --manifest-path "$REPO_ROOT/Cargo.toml"
+  mkdir -p "$REPO_ROOT/bin"
+  ln -sf "$built" "$bin"
+  log "binary ready: $bin"
+}
+
+clone_if_missing() {
+  local repo_url="$1"
+  local dest="$2"
+  if [[ -d "$dest/.git" ]]; then
+    return
+  fi
+  if ! command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    log "git not found — skipping $repo_url"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  log "cloning $repo_url → $dest"
+  git clone --depth 1 "$repo_url" "$dest" >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+ensure_vim_lsp() {
+  if [[ "${NUWIKI_DEV_NO_LSP:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
+    log "NUWIKI_DEV_NO_LSP=1 — skipping vim-lsp setup"
+    return
+  fi
+  mkdir -p "$DEV_DIR"
+  clone_if_missing https://github.com/prabirshrestha/vim-lsp.git "$VIM_LSP_DIR" || true
+  clone_if_missing https://github.com/prabirshrestha/async.vim.git "$ASYNC_DIR" || true
+}
+
+seed_wiki() {
+  mkdir -p "$WIKI_DIR" "$WIKI_DIR/diary"
+  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" ]]; then
+    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Welcome to nuwiki =
+
+This is a scratch wiki created by start-vim.sh. Edit, run commands,
+or jump to the linked pages to test the plugin.
+
+== Smoke test ==
+
+- [[Notes]]
+- [[diary/]]
+- [ ] Toggle me with :VimwikiToggleListItem
+- [ ] Inspect the LSP via :LspStatus
+
+== Commands to try ==
+
+- :VimwikiTOC
+- :VimwikiGenerateLinks
+- :VimwikiCheckLinks
+- :VimwikiMakeDiaryNote
+
+== Tags ==
+
+:smoke-test:sandbox:
+EOF
+  fi
+  if [[ ! -f "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" ]]; then
+    cat > "$WIKI_DIR/Notes.wiki" <<'EOF'
+= Notes =
+
+A second page so [[index]] has somewhere to point.
+
+== Section one ==
+
+Anchor target for cross-page link follows.
+EOF
+  fi
+}
+
+write_vimrc() {
+  mkdir -p "$DEV_DIR"
+  cat > "$VIMRC" <<EOF
+" start-vim.sh: generated minimal config for nuwiki development.
+" Regenerated on every launch; edit start-vim.sh, not this file.
+
+" Confine state to the dev cache so we never touch the user's real Vim
+" install.
+set viminfo='100,n$VIM_STATE/viminfo
+let &directory = '$VIM_STATE/swap//'
+let &backupdir = '$VIM_STATE/backup//'
+let &undodir = '$VIM_STATE/undo//'
+
+" Make Vim look for runtime paths in the dev cache.
+set nocompatible
+let &runtimepath = '$REPO_ROOT' . ',' . &runtimepath
+let &runtimepath .= ',$VIM_LSP_DIR'
+let &runtimepath .= ',$ASYNC_DIR'
+
+let g:nuwiki_binary_path  = '$REPO_ROOT/bin/nuwiki-ls'
+let g:nuwiki_wiki_root    = '$WIKI_DIR'
+let g:nuwiki_file_extension = '.wiki'
+let g:nuwiki_syntax       = 'vimwiki'
+let g:nuwiki_log_level    = 'info'
+
+filetype plugin indent on
+syntax enable
+set hidden
+set termguicolors
+set number
+set signcolumn=yes
+set noswapfile
+set nobackup
+set nowritebackup
+let mapleader = ' '
+
+" Auto-detect filetype for .wiki files (the plugin ships ftdetect, but
+" --clean disables those — copy the rule here).
+augroup NuwikiFtdetect
+  autocmd!
+  autocmd BufRead,BufNewFile *.wiki setfiletype vimwiki
+augroup END
+
+" If vim-lsp is on the runtimepath, the plugin's autoload entry point
+" registers the server automatically. Triggering it on FileType keeps
+" the script's responsibility minimal.
+augroup NuwikiStart
+  autocmd!
+  autocmd FileType vimwiki call nuwiki#lsp#start()
+augroup END
+
+echo '[nuwiki-dev] ready — wiki root: $WIKI_DIR'
+echo '[nuwiki-dev] :LspStatus for client diagnostics, :messages for log'
+EOF
+}
+
+main() {
+  ensure_binary
+  ensure_vim_lsp
+  seed_wiki
+  write_vimrc
+  mkdir -p "$VIM_STATE/swap" "$VIM_STATE/backup" "$VIM_STATE/undo"
+
+  log "launching: vim --clean -u $VIMRC"
+  if [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; then
+    exec vim --clean -u "$VIMRC" "$@"
+  else
+    exec vim --clean -u "$VIMRC" "$WIKI_DIR/index.wiki"
+  fi
+}
+
+main "$@"