diff --git a/docs/src/administration_configuration.md b/docs/src/administration_configuration.md
index 600fc3d..55f93f0 100644
--- a/docs/src/administration_configuration.md
+++ b/docs/src/administration_configuration.md
@@ -6,3 +6,12 @@ Additionally, you can override any config files with environment variables. Thes
 `LEMMY__DATABASE__POOL_SIZE=10`.
 
 An additional option `LEMMY_DATABASE_URL` is available, which can be used with a PostgreSQL connection string like `postgres://lemmy:password@lemmy_db:5432/lemmy`, passing all connection details at once.
+
+If the Docker container is not used, manually create the database specified above by running the following commands:
+
+```bash
+# Start at the root of the Lemmy repository
+
+cd server
+./db-init.sh
+```
diff --git a/docs/src/contributing_local_development.md b/docs/src/contributing_local_development.md
index c19bcba..7d78292 100644
--- a/docs/src/contributing_local_development.md
+++ b/docs/src/contributing_local_development.md
@@ -7,9 +7,18 @@
 #### Set up Postgres DB
 
 ```bash
- psql -c "create user lemmy with password 'password' superuser;" -U postgres
- psql -c 'create database lemmy with owner lemmy;' -U postgres
- export LEMMY_DATABASE_URL=postgres://lemmy:password@localhost:5432/lemmy
+# Start at the root of the Lemmy repository
+
+cd server
+./db-init.sh
+```
+
+Or run the commands manually:
+
+```bash
+psql -c "create user lemmy with password 'password' superuser;" -U postgres
+psql -c 'create database lemmy with owner lemmy;' -U postgres
+export LEMMY_DATABASE_URL=postgres://lemmy:password@localhost:5432/lemmy
 ```
 
 #### Running
diff --git a/server/db-init.sh b/server/db-init.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9150e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/db-init.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+username=lemmy
+dbname=lemmy
+port=5432
+
+password=""
+password_confirm=""
+password_valid=0
+
+while [ "$password_valid" == 0 ]
+do
+  read -p "Enter database password: " -s password
+  echo
+
+  read -p "Verify database password: " -s password_confirm
+  echo
+  echo
+
+  # Start the loop from the top if either check fails
+  if [ -z "$password" ]
+  then
+    echo "Error: Password cannot be empty." 1>&2
+    echo
+    continue
+  fi
+  if [ "$password" != "$password_confirm" ]
+  then
+    echo "Error: Passwords don't match." 1>&2
+    echo
+    continue
+  fi
+
+  # Set the password_valid variable to break out of the loop
+  password_valid=1
+done
+
+
+psql -c "CREATE USER $username WITH PASSWORD '$password' SUPERUSER;" -U postgres
+psql -c 'CREATE DATABASE $dbname WITH OWNER $username;' -U postgres
+export LEMMY_DATABASE_URL=postgres://$username:$password@localhost:$port/$dbname
+
+echo $LEMMY_DATABASE_URL