diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1aedc2b5..4d9e6da9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -56,6 +56,16 @@ If you're looking to develop or test Parseable Console, you can follow the steps
 4. Run `pnpm dev` to start the console.
 5. Open `http://localhost:3001` in your browser.
 
+Enabling hot reload:
+
+1. Disable CORS on the server by setting `P_CORS=false`.
+2. Configure the following environment variables:
+    ```
+    VITE_USE_BASIC_AUTH=true
+    VITE_USERNAME=username
+    VITE_PASSWORD=password
+    ```
+
 To test production build
 
 1. Run `pnpm build:test` to create a release build in test mode.
diff --git a/src/api/axios.ts b/src/api/axios.ts
index 5a07d9a0..fc983174 100644
--- a/src/api/axios.ts
+++ b/src/api/axios.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,34 @@
 import { signOutHandler } from '@/utils';
 import axios from 'axios';
+import _ from 'lodash';
+import Cookies from 'js-cookie';
 
 const baseURL = import.meta.env.VITE_PARSEABLE_URL ?? '/';
+const useBasicAuth = import.meta.env.VITE_USE_BASIC_AUTH;
 
-const instance = axios.create({ baseURL, withCredentials: true });
+const createAxiosInstance = () => {
+	const defaultOpts = { baseURL, withCredentials: true };
+	const opts = (() => {
+		if (_.isString(useBasicAuth) && useBasicAuth === 'true') {
+			const username = import.meta.env.VITE_USERNAME;
+			const password = import.meta.env.VITE_PASSWORD;
+			if (!_.isString(username) || !_.isString(password)) return defaultOpts;
+
+			// server will always send cookies
+			// creating mock cookies to avoid updating existing code since this implementation is focused on development only
+			Cookies.set('username', username);
+			Cookies.set('session', 'mock-key');
+			const credentials = btoa(`${username}:${password}`);
+			const authHeader = `Basic ${credentials}`;
+			return { baseURL, withCredentials: false, headers: { Authorization: authHeader } };
+		} else {
+			return defaultOpts;
+		}
+	})();
+	return axios.create(opts);
+};
+
+const instance = createAxiosInstance();
 
 instance.interceptors.request.use(
 	(request) => {
diff --git a/src/vite-env.d.ts b/src/vite-env.d.ts
index 2864218c..68302b18 100644
--- a/src/vite-env.d.ts
+++ b/src/vite-env.d.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 interface ImportMetaEnv {
 	readonly VITE_PARSEABLE_URL?: string;
+	readonly VITE_USE_BASIC_AUTH?: string;
+	readonly VITE_USERNAME?: string;
+	readonly VITE_PASSWORD?: string;
 }
 
 interface ImportMeta {