diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f9030c2cca..7290907133 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -217,4 +217,5 @@ clean-web:
 .PHONY: clean-db
 clean-db:
 	@echo "Removing local SQLite database..."
-	@rm -f kandev.db $(BACKEND_DIR)/kandev.db
+	@rm -f kandev.db kandev.db-wal kandev.db-shm \
+		$(BACKEND_DIR)/kandev.db $(BACKEND_DIR)/kandev.db-wal $(BACKEND_DIR)/kandev.db-shm
diff --git a/apps/backend/Makefile b/apps/backend/Makefile
index 966ef0fd5d..3c8e24f1f8 100644
--- a/apps/backend/Makefile
+++ b/apps/backend/Makefile
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ BUILD_TIME := $(shell date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')
 
 LDFLAGS += -X main.Version=$(VERSION) -X main.Commit=$(COMMIT) -X main.BuildTime=$(BUILD_TIME)
 
-.PHONY: all build build-all build-agentctl clean run dev dev-db dev-db-reset test lint fmt vet help
+.PHONY: all build build-all build-agentctl clean run dev test lint fmt vet help
 
 ## Default target
 all: build
@@ -47,24 +47,10 @@ run: build
 	@echo "Running $(BINARY_NAME)..."
 	./$(BUILD_DIR)/$(BINARY_NAME)
 
-## Run in development mode with pre-seeded database
-dev: build dev-db
+## Run in development mode
+dev: build
 	@echo "Running $(BINARY_NAME) in development mode..."
-	KANDEV_DB_PATH=./dev/kandev-dev.db ./$(BUILD_DIR)/$(BINARY_NAME)
-
-## Initialize/reset the development database
-dev-db:
-	@if [ ! -f ./dev/kandev-dev.db ]; then \
-		echo "Initializing development database..."; \
-		./dev/init-db.sh; \
-	else \
-		echo "Development database already exists. Use 'make dev-db-reset' to recreate."; \
-	fi
-
-## Reset the development database (recreate with fresh seed data)
-dev-db-reset:
-	@echo "Resetting development database..."
-	./dev/init-db.sh --reset
+	./$(BUILD_DIR)/$(BINARY_NAME)
 
 ## Run tests
 test:
@@ -124,9 +110,7 @@ help:
 	@echo "  build-agentctl Build the agentctl sidecar binary"
 	@echo "  clean         Remove build artifacts"
 	@echo "  run           Build and run the application"
-	@echo "  dev           Run in development mode with pre-seeded database"
-	@echo "  dev-db        Initialize development database (if not exists)"
-	@echo "  dev-db-reset  Reset development database with fresh seed data"
+	@echo "  dev           Run in development mode with a local database"
 	@echo "  test          Run tests"
 	@echo "  test-coverage Run tests with coverage report"
 	@echo "  lint          Run golangci-lint"
@@ -136,4 +120,3 @@ help:
 	@echo "  deps          Download dependencies"
 	@echo "  build-cross   Build for Linux, macOS, and Windows"
 	@echo "  help          Show this help message"
-
diff --git a/apps/backend/dev/init-db.sh b/apps/backend/dev/init-db.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 6531582754..0000000000
--- a/apps/backend/dev/init-db.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,74 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-# Initialize the development database with seed data
-# Usage: ./dev/init-db.sh [--reset]
-
-set -e
-
-SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-DEV_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR"
-DB_PATH="$DEV_DIR/kandev-dev.db"
-SEED_SQL="$DEV_DIR/seed.sql"
-SEED_SQL_PROCESSED="$DEV_DIR/.seed-processed.sql"
-
-# Get the repository root path (three levels up from apps/backend/dev/)
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../../.." && pwd)"
-
-# Colors for output
-RED='\033[0;31m'
-GREEN='\033[0;32m'
-YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
-NC='\033[0m' # No Color
-
-echo -e "${GREEN}=== Kandev Development Database Initialization ===${NC}"
-echo -e "Repository path: ${YELLOW}$REPO_ROOT${NC}"
-
-# Check if reset flag is passed
-if [[ "$1" == "--reset" ]]; then
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Resetting database...${NC}"
-    rm -f "$DB_PATH" "$DB_PATH-wal" "$DB_PATH-shm"
-fi
-
-# Check if database already exists
-if [[ -f "$DB_PATH" ]]; then
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}Database already exists at: $DB_PATH${NC}"
-    echo "Use --reset flag to recreate: ./dev/init-db.sh --reset"
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-# Build the backend to ensure schema is created
-echo -e "${GREEN}Building backend...${NC}"
-cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.."
-go build -o /tmp/kandev-init ./cmd/kandev
-
-# Create the database by running the backend briefly (to create schema)
-echo -e "${GREEN}Creating database schema...${NC}"
-KANDEV_DB_PATH="$DB_PATH" timeout 2 /tmp/kandev-init 2>/dev/null || true
-
-# Wait for the database file to be created
-sleep 1
-
-if [[ ! -f "$DB_PATH" ]]; then
-    echo -e "${RED}Failed to create database${NC}"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-# Process seed.sql - replace $KANDEV_REPO_PATH with actual path
-echo -e "${GREEN}Processing seed data...${NC}"
-sed "s|\\\$KANDEV_REPO_PATH|$REPO_ROOT|g" "$SEED_SQL" > "$SEED_SQL_PROCESSED"
-
-# Apply seed data
-echo -e "${GREEN}Applying seed data...${NC}"
-sqlite3 "$DB_PATH" < "$SEED_SQL_PROCESSED"
-
-# Clean up processed file
-rm -f "$SEED_SQL_PROCESSED"
-
-echo -e "${GREEN}=== Database initialized successfully ===${NC}"
-echo -e "Database path: ${YELLOW}$DB_PATH${NC}"
-echo ""
-echo "To run the backend with this database:"
-echo -e "  ${YELLOW}KANDEV_DB_PATH=$DB_PATH ./bin/kandev${NC}"
-echo ""
-echo "Or use the Makefile target:"
-echo -e "  ${YELLOW}make dev${NC}"
-
diff --git a/apps/backend/dev/seed.sql b/apps/backend/dev/seed.sql
deleted file mode 100644
index 1fc4edb244..0000000000
--- a/apps/backend/dev/seed.sql
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
--- Seed data for development database
--- This file is used to populate the dev database with sample data
-
--- Default workspace (created by initSchema, just update if needed)
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO workspaces (id, name, description, owner_id, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES ('default', 'Default Workspace', 'Your default workspace', '', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Default user and settings
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO users (id, email, settings, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES ('default-user', 'default@kandev.local', '{"workspace_id":"default","board_id":"dev-board-1","repository_ids":[]}', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Default repository (for task creation)
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO repositories (id, workspace_id, name, source_type, local_path, provider, provider_repo_id, provider_owner, provider_name, default_branch, setup_script, cleanup_script, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES ('default-repo', 'default', 'kandev', 'local', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '', '', '', 'main', '', '', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Sample board
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO boards (id, workspace_id, name, description, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES 
-    ('dev-board-1', 'default', 'Kandev Development', 'Main development board for kandev', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('dev-board-2', 'default', 'Feature Backlog', 'Upcoming features and ideas', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Columns for dev-board-1
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO columns (id, board_id, name, position, state, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES
-    ('col-backlog', 'dev-board-1', 'Backlog', 0, 'TODO', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('col-todo', 'dev-board-1', 'To Do', 1, 'TODO', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('col-inprogress', 'dev-board-1', 'In Progress', 2, 'IN_PROGRESS', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('col-review', 'dev-board-1', 'Review', 3, 'REVIEW', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('col-done', 'dev-board-1', 'Done', 4, 'COMPLETED', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Columns for dev-board-2
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO columns (id, board_id, name, position, state, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES
-    ('col-ideas', 'dev-board-2', 'Ideas', 0, 'TODO', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('col-planned', 'dev-board-2', 'Planned', 1, 'TODO', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('col-scheduled', 'dev-board-2', 'Scheduled', 2, 'IN_PROGRESS', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Sample tasks for dev-board-1
--- NOTE: repository_url should be an absolute path to a local git repository
--- The placeholder $KANDEV_REPO_PATH will be replaced by init-db.sh with the actual path
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO tasks (id, board_id, column_id, title, description, state, priority, position, agent_type, repository_url, branch, metadata, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES
-    -- Backlog tasks (no agent assigned)
-    ('task-001', 'dev-board-1', 'col-backlog', 'Add dark mode support', 'Implement a dark theme toggle for the UI', 'TODO', 3, 0, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('task-002', 'dev-board-1', 'col-backlog', 'Implement search functionality', 'Add full-text search for tasks across all boards', 'TODO', 2, 1, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-
-    -- To Do tasks (agent assigned with repository)
-    ('task-003', 'dev-board-1', 'col-todo', 'Fix WebSocket reconnection', 'Handle WebSocket disconnects gracefully and auto-reconnect', 'TODO', 5, 0, 'augment-agent', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', 'main', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('task-004', 'dev-board-1', 'col-todo', 'Add task labels/tags', 'Allow users to add colored labels to tasks for categorization', 'TODO', 2, 1, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-
-    -- In Progress tasks (agent with repository)
-    ('task-005', 'dev-board-1', 'col-inprogress', 'Agent session persistence', 'Persist agent sessions in database instead of memory', 'IN_PROGRESS', 8, 0, 'augment-agent', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', 'main', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-
-    -- Review tasks
-    ('task-006', 'dev-board-1', 'col-review', 'Comment system improvements', 'Enhanced comment display with markdown and tool calls', 'REVIEW', 6, 0, 'augment-agent', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', 'main', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-
-    -- Done tasks
-    ('task-007', 'dev-board-1', 'col-done', 'Basic kanban board UI', 'Create the initial kanban board with drag-and-drop', 'COMPLETED', 10, 0, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now', '-3 days'), datetime('now', '-1 day')),
-    ('task-008', 'dev-board-1', 'col-done', 'WebSocket API implementation', 'Implement real-time WebSocket communication', 'COMPLETED', 9, 1, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now', '-5 days'), datetime('now', '-2 days'));
-
--- Sample tasks for dev-board-2 (Feature Backlog)
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO tasks (id, board_id, column_id, title, description, state, priority, position, agent_type, repository_url, branch, metadata, created_at, updated_at)
-VALUES
-    ('task-101', 'dev-board-2', 'col-ideas', 'Multi-user collaboration', 'Allow multiple users to work on the same board', 'TODO', 5, 0, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('task-102', 'dev-board-2', 'col-ideas', 'Task dependencies', 'Add ability to link tasks as dependencies', 'TODO', 4, 1, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now')),
-    ('task-103', 'dev-board-2', 'col-planned', 'Agent type marketplace', 'Browse and install different agent types', 'TODO', 6, 0, '', '$KANDEV_REPO_PATH', '', '{}', datetime('now'), datetime('now'));
-
--- Sample comments on tasks
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO task_comments (id, task_id, author_type, author_id, content, type, metadata, requests_input, task_session_id, created_at)
-VALUES
-    -- Comments on task-005 (Agent session persistence)
-    ('comment-001', 'task-005', 'user', 'dev-user', 'Starting work on database schema for agent sessions', 'message', '{}', 0, '', datetime('now', '-2 hours')),
-    ('comment-002', 'task-005', 'agent', 'augment-agent', 'I''ll help you implement the agent session persistence. Let me start by analyzing the current codebase structure.', 'message', '{}', 0, '', datetime('now', '-1 hour')),
-    ('comment-003', 'task-005', 'agent', 'augment-agent', 'codebase-retrieval', 'tool_call', '{"tool_call_id": "tc-001", "title": "codebase-retrieval: Looking for agent execution tracking", "status": "completed"}', 0, '', datetime('now', '-55 minutes')),
-    
-    -- Comments on task-006 (Comment system)
-    ('comment-004', 'task-006', 'user', 'dev-user', 'Need to add support for tool call rendering in the chat panel', 'message', '{}', 0, '', datetime('now', '-1 day')),
-    ('comment-005', 'task-006', 'agent', 'augment-agent', 'I''ve implemented the tool call comment type with proper rendering. The changes include:\n\n1. Added `type` field to comments\n2. Added `metadata` for tool call details\n3. Updated the frontend to render tool calls differently', 'message', '{}', 0, '', datetime('now', '-20 hours'));
-
--- Sample task session
-INSERT OR REPLACE INTO task_sessions (id, task_id, agent_instance_id, agent_type, state, progress, error_message, metadata, started_at, completed_at, updated_at)
-VALUES
-    ('session-001', 'task-005', 'agent-instance-123', 'augment-agent', 'RUNNING', 0.0, '', '{}', datetime('now', '-1 hour'), NULL, datetime('now'));