diff --git a/tools/run_dev.sh b/tools/run_dev.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..87156e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/run_dev.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Copyright 2012 Google Inc. All Rights Reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set -e
+
+ROOT="$(dirname "$0")/.."
+VERSION="$(grep '^  <version>' "$ROOT/pom.xml" | sed 's/\s*<[^>]*>\s*//g')"
+PROPERTIES=
+if [ "x$1" != "x" ]; then
+  PROPERTIES="-Dcom.google.gitiles.configPath=$1"
+fi
+
+java $PROPERTIES -jar "$ROOT/gitiles-dev/target/gitiles-dev-$VERSION.jar"