diff --git a/scripts/cleanup-test.js b/scripts/cleanup-test.js
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..c1a9e1b68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/cleanup-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+const { execSync } = require('child_process');
+
+// Docker container name
+const CONTAINER_NAME = 'skuilder-test-couch';
+
+console.log('Running container cleanup test...');
+
+try {
+  // Check if the container exists
+  const containerExists = execSync(`docker ps -a -q -f name=^${CONTAINER_NAME}$`, { stdio: 'pipe' }).toString().trim();
+  
+  if (containerExists) {
+    console.log(`Found existing container '${CONTAINER_NAME}'. Cleaning up...`);
+    
+    try {
+      // Check if container is running
+      const isRunning = execSync(`docker ps -q -f name=^${CONTAINER_NAME}$`, { stdio: 'pipe' }).toString().trim();
+      if (isRunning) {
+        console.log('Container is running. Stopping it...');
+        execSync(`docker stop ${CONTAINER_NAME}`, { stdio: 'pipe' });
+        console.log('Container stopped successfully.');
+      } else {
+        console.log('Container is not running.');
+      }
+      
+      // Remove the container
+      console.log('Removing container...');
+      execSync(`docker rm ${CONTAINER_NAME}`, { stdio: 'pipe' });
+      console.log('Container removed successfully.');
+      
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error during cleanup:', error.message);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  } else {
+    console.log(`No container named '${CONTAINER_NAME}' found. Nothing to clean up.`);
+  }
+  
+  console.log('Cleanup test completed successfully.');
+  
+} catch (error) {
+  console.error('Error checking container status:', error.message);
+  process.exit(1);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/dev-couchdb.js b/scripts/dev-couchdb.js
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index b0e103e6e..80619a73b
--- a/scripts/dev-couchdb.js
+++ b/scripts/dev-couchdb.js
@@ -37,16 +37,57 @@ if (!validCommands.includes(command)) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
-// Check if CouchDB is already running if command is 'start'
+// Docker container name constant
+const CONTAINER_NAME = 'skuilder-test-couch';
+
+// Check if Docker is available
+try {
+  execSync('docker --version', { stdio: 'pipe' });
+} catch (error) {
+  console.error('Error: Docker is not available or not running.');
+  console.error('Please ensure Docker is installed and running before using this script.');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+// For the 'start' command, always clean up existing container first to avoid conflicts
 if (command === 'start') {
   try {
-    const status = execSync(`${scriptPath} status`, { stdio: 'pipe' }).toString();
-    if (status.includes('Up') || status.includes('running')) {
-      console.log('CouchDB is already running');
-      process.exit(0);
+    // Check if the container exists
+    const containerExists = execSync(`docker ps -a -q -f name=^${CONTAINER_NAME}$`, { stdio: 'pipe' }).toString().trim();
+    
+    if (containerExists) {
+      console.log(`Found existing container '${CONTAINER_NAME}'. Cleaning up before starting...`);
+      
+      try {
+        // Check if container is running
+        const isRunning = execSync(`docker ps -q -f name=^${CONTAINER_NAME}$`, { stdio: 'pipe' }).toString().trim();
+        if (isRunning) {
+          console.log('Container is running. Stopping it...');
+          execSync(`docker stop ${CONTAINER_NAME}`, { stdio: 'pipe' });
+          console.log('Container stopped successfully.');
+        } else {
+          console.log('Container is not running (already stopped).');
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Error stopping container:', error.message);
+        console.log('Attempting to remove anyway...');
+      }
+      
+      try {
+        // Remove the container
+        console.log('Removing container...');
+        execSync(`docker rm ${CONTAINER_NAME}`, { stdio: 'pipe' });
+        console.log('Container removed successfully.');
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Error removing container:', error.message);
+        console.error('This may cause issues when starting CouchDB.');
+      }
+    } else {
+      console.log(`No container named '${CONTAINER_NAME}' found. Clean start possible.`);
     }
   } catch (error) {
-    // If the status check fails, continue with the start command
+    console.error('Docker command failed:', error.message);
+    console.log('Continuing anyway, but this may cause issues.');
   }
 }
 
@@ -55,6 +96,7 @@ console.log(`Managing CouchDB: ${command}`);
 const child = spawn(scriptPath, [command], {
   cwd: testCouchDir,
   stdio: 'inherit',
+  env: { ...process.env, CONTAINER_NAME }
 });
 
 child.on('error', (error) => {