diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d33a3b7d..a71a14bd 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 .venv
 /.env
 /neodb.env
+/compose.override.yml
 
 # Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
 __pycache__/
diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index b9ac91ed..fefe4e29 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -225,8 +225,6 @@ services:
 
   dev-neodb-web:
     <<: *dev-neodb-service
-    ports:
-      - "${NEODB_DEV_PORT:-8001}:8000"
     command: neodb-manage runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
 
   dev-neodb-worker:
@@ -235,8 +233,6 @@ services:
 
   dev-takahe-web:
     <<: *dev-neodb-service
-    ports:
-      - "${TAKAHE_DEV_PORT:-8002}:8000"
     command: takahe-manage runserver 0.0.0.0:8000
 
   dev-takahe-stator:
diff --git a/doc/development.md b/doc/development.md
index a5ea8ca8..7566fd76 100644
--- a/doc/development.md
+++ b/doc/development.md
@@ -82,6 +82,19 @@ Note:
 
 To run local unit tests, use `docker compose run dev-shell neodb-manage test`
 
+To expose the neodb and takahe web server directly, in the folder for configuration, create `compose.override.yml` with the following content:
+
+```
+services:
+  dev-neodb-web:
+    ports:
+      - "8001:8000"
+
+  dev-takahe-web:
+    ports:
+      - "8002:8000"
+```
+
 Development with Github Codespace
 ---------------------------------
 At the time of writing, docker compose will work in Github Codespace by adding this in `.env`: