diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 19482f6a..a06c6a5a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@ The new and improved OCL terminology service v2
 3. Go to http://localhost:8000/swagger/ to benefit.
 4. Go to http://localhost:8080 for keyCloak.
 
+### Dev Setup on Apple Silicon / arm64
+The published `openconceptlab/oclapi2` Docker images are amd64-only. On arm64 hosts (Apple M-series Macs, arm64 Linux) they run under Rosetta/QEMU emulation, and under load — especially Celery's post-restart indexing — the emulated cores saturate hard enough to block the API for tens of seconds. Use the local-build override to compile from the local Dockerfile instead:
+1. `sysctl -w vm.max_map_count=262144` #required by Elasticsearch (no-op on Docker Desktop / OrbStack)
+2. `docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d`
+3. Go to http://localhost:8000/swagger/ to benefit.
+
+If you previously pulled the amd64 image and have it cached, force a one-time rebuild before step 2: `docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.local.yml build api`.
+
 ### Configuration
 #### Authentication
 OCL API supports authentication using 2 methods. One is Django Auth (integrated into API) and the other is SSO using external service supporting OpenID such as Keycloak, Active Directory, etc.
diff --git a/docker-compose.local.yml b/docker-compose.local.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d9ab4c41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.local.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# Opt-in override for local native builds on arm64 hosts (Apple Silicon Macs,
+# arm64 Linux). The published openconceptlab/oclapi2 images are amd64-only;
+# on arm64 they run under Rosetta/QEMU emulation, and once Celery indexing
+# kicks in the emulated cores saturate hard enough to block the API for
+# tens of seconds at a time. Building from the local Dockerfile (which uses
+# python:3.12-slim, a multi-arch base) gives a native image and ~200x faster
+# requests in practice.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d
+#
+# If you previously pulled the amd64 image, force a one-time rebuild:
+#   docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.local.yml build api
+#
+# The api service is the only one that needs `build:` — all other services
+# that share the openconceptlab/oclapi2 image tag will reuse the locally-
+# built image once it exists.
+
+services:
+  api:
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile