diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ca9aaf76..8f7a9db3 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
     "ee:check": "infisical run --env=remote -- turbo run ee:check",
     "ee:build:all": "dotenv -e .env.local -- turbo run ee:build --cache-dir=.turbo",
     "mock:incoming-mail": "dotenv -e .env.local -- pnpm --dir apps/mail-bridge mock:incoming-mail",
-    "prepare": "husky"
+    "prepare": "husky",
+    "predev": "tsx predev.ts"
   },
   "keywords": [],
   "author": "Omar McAdam - @McPizza0",
diff --git a/predev.ts b/predev.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..86139377
--- /dev/null
+++ b/predev.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { lstatSync, readFileSync } from 'fs';
+
+// Check Node version
+const nodeVersion = process.version;
+const requiredVersion = readFileSync('.nvmrc', 'utf-8').trim();
+
+if (!nodeVersion.startsWith(requiredVersion)) {
+  console.error(
+    `You are using Node ${nodeVersion}, but this project requires Node ${requiredVersion}.\nUse the correct node version to run this project`
+  );
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+// Check for env file
+const envFile = lstatSync('.env.local', { throwIfNoEntry: false });
+if (!envFile?.isFile()) {
+  console.error(
+    'You are missing a .env.local file. Please refer to the README for instructions on how to create one.'
+  );
+  process.exit(1);
+}