diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 7f26e1e..2693e87 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ The frontend builds to `frontend/public/dist/`, then `make frontend` copies the
 make all        # Build frontend + backend
 make frontend   # Build frontend, copy to backend/web/static/
 make backend    # Build Go binary (requires frontend assets)
-make dev        # Run both with hot-reload
+make dev        # Run frontend watcher + backend hot reload via air
 make tests      # Run Go tests
 make docker     # Build Docker image
 ```
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 369e4ed..5571ce7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ clean:
 dev:
 	rm -rf frontend/public/dist
 	cd frontend && bun run build
-	cd backend && AETHERA_STATIC_DIR=../frontend/public go run ./cmd --listen 0.0.0.0 & \
+	cd backend && AETHERA_STATIC_DIR=../frontend/public air & \
 	backend_pid=$$!; \
 	trap 'kill $$backend_pid' INT TERM EXIT; \
 	cd frontend && bun run dev
diff --git a/backend/.air.toml b/backend/.air.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f1487c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/.air.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+root = "."
+tmp_dir = "tmp"
+
+[build]
+cmd = "go build -o ./tmp/aethera ./cmd"
+bin = "./tmp/aethera"
+full_bin = "./tmp/aethera --listen 0.0.0.0"
+delay = 1000
+exclude_dir = ["data", "dist", "tmp", "web/static"]
+exclude_file = []
+exclude_regex = ["_test.go"]
+include_dir = []
+include_ext = ["go", "mod", "sum"]
+kill_delay = "500ms"
+log = "build-errors.log"
+send_interrupt = true
+stop_on_error = true
+
+[color]
+app = ""
+build = "yellow"
+main = "magenta"
+runner = "green"
+watcher = "cyan"
+
+[log]
+time = false
+
+[misc]
+clean_on_exit = true
diff --git a/backend/AGENTS.md b/backend/AGENTS.md
index 326a437..7fe5bbd 100644
--- a/backend/AGENTS.md
+++ b/backend/AGENTS.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ## Stack
 
 - **Go 1.25.5** (`reichard.io/aethera`)
+- **air** (backend hot reload for `make dev`)
 - **cobra** (CLI framework)
 - **logrus** (structured logging)
 - **openai-go/v3** (OpenAI API client)
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index e848594..2fb639c 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
         devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
           packages = with pkgs; [
             # Backend
+            air
             go
             gopls
             golangci-lint