diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 4b8a80ac..43211ff6 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -37,6 +37,10 @@ If you find mistakes in the documentation, please submit a fix to the documentat
 
 If you prefer using VS Code for day-to-day development, use the integrated terminal from the repository root and:
 
+1. Start the Nix development environment first (choose one):
+
+   - Direct command: `nix develop --extra-experimental-features nix-command --extra-experimental-features flakes`
+   - Make target: `make build-deps`
 1. Start the Nix development environment first:
 
    `nix develop --extra-experimental-features nix-command --extra-experimental-features flakes`
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1e08cda9..f4f19d79 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -37,6 +37,17 @@ check-deps:
 	$(call check_tool,clang-format)
 	$(call check_tool,buf)
 
+
+# Development environment bootstrap
+.PHONY: build-deps
+build-deps:
+	@command -v nix >/dev/null 2>&1 || { \
+		echo "Error: nix not found. Install Nix to use build-deps."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	}
+	@echo "Bootstrapping development dependencies via Nix..."
+	nix develop --extra-experimental-features nix-command --extra-experimental-features flakes --command true
+
 # Build targets
 .PHONY: build
 build: check-deps $(GO_SOURCES) go.mod go.sum
@@ -107,6 +118,7 @@ help:
 	@echo "Main targets:"
 	@echo "  all          - Run lint, test, and build (default)"
 	@echo "  build        - Build headscale binary"
+	@echo "  build-deps   - Bootstrap development dependencies via Nix"
 	@echo "  test         - Run Go tests"
 	@echo "  fmt          - Format all code (Go, docs, proto)"
 	@echo "  lint         - Lint all code (Go, proto)"
@@ -123,6 +135,7 @@ help:
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Dependencies:"
 	@echo "  check-deps   - Verify required tools are available"
+	@echo "  build-deps   - Prepare development dependencies (Nix)"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Note: If not running in a nix shell, ensure dependencies are available:"
 	@echo "  nix develop"