diff --git a/docs/docs/installation/setup-standalone.md b/docs/docs/installation/setup-standalone.md
index 2896be9b..888ca234 100644
--- a/docs/docs/installation/setup-standalone.md
+++ b/docs/docs/installation/setup-standalone.md
@@ -117,6 +117,36 @@ Verifies:
 | `worker` | — | Celery worker (live pipeline post-processing) |
 | `beat` | — | Celery beat (scheduled tasks) |
 
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Port conflicts (most common issue)
+
+If the frontend or backend behaves unexpectedly (e.g., env vars seem ignored, changes don't take effect), **check for port conflicts first**:
+
+```bash
+# Check what's listening on key ports
+lsof -i :3000   # frontend
+lsof -i :1250   # backend
+lsof -i :5432   # postgres
+
+# Kill stale processes on a port
+lsof -ti :3000 | xargs kill
+```
+
+Common causes:
+- A stale `next dev` or `pnpm dev` process from another terminal/worktree
+- Another Docker Compose project (different worktree) with containers on the same ports
+
+The setup script checks for port conflicts before starting services.
+
+### Re-enabling authentication
+
+Standalone runs without authentication (`FEATURE_REQUIRE_LOGIN=false`, `AUTH_BACKEND=none`). To re-enable:
+
+1. In `www/.env.local`: set `FEATURE_REQUIRE_LOGIN=true`, uncomment `AUTHENTIK_ISSUER` and `AUTHENTIK_REFRESH_TOKEN_URL`
+2. In `server/.env`: set `AUTH_BACKEND=authentik` (or your backend), configure `AUTH_JWT_AUDIENCE`
+3. Restart: `docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.standalone.yml up -d --force-recreate web server`
+
 ## What's NOT covered
 
 These require external accounts and infrastructure that can't be scripted:
diff --git a/scripts/setup-standalone.sh b/scripts/setup-standalone.sh
index 7f04b628..82ef408a 100755
--- a/scripts/setup-standalone.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-standalone.sh
@@ -288,6 +288,22 @@ ENVEOF
 step_services() {
     info "Step 5: Starting Docker services"
 
+    # Check for port conflicts — stale processes silently shadow Docker port mappings
+    local ports_ok=true
+    for port in 3000 1250; do
+        local pid
+        pid=$(lsof -ti :"$port" 2>/dev/null || true)
+        if [[ -n "$pid" ]]; then
+            warn "Port $port already in use by PID $pid"
+            warn "Kill it with: lsof -ti :$port | xargs kill"
+            ports_ok=false
+        fi
+    done
+    if [[ "$ports_ok" == "false" ]]; then
+        warn "Port conflicts detected — Docker containers may not be reachable"
+        warn "Continuing anyway (services will start but may be shadowed)"
+    fi
+
     # server runs alembic migrations on startup automatically (see runserver.sh)
     compose_cmd up -d postgres redis garage server worker beat web
     ok "Containers started"