diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1eba7fd..b8844fc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,10 +92,10 @@ $ pip install -r requirements.txt
 4. run dev server:
 
 ```bash
-$ python -m app.run
+$ python -m app.run -d
 ```
 
-the server will run on localhost:8080. when run for the first time, it will create an admin account and print its credentials to the terminal, so make sure to run this in an interactive session.
+the server will run on localhost:8080 (and will be available on the local network as well; if this is not desired, drop the `-d` flag). when run for the first time, it will create an admin account and print its credentials to the terminal, so make sure to run this in an interactive session.
 
 press <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>C</kbd> to stop the server.
 
@@ -110,4 +110,3 @@ when you want to run the server again, make sure to activate the venv first:
 $ source .venv/bin/activate
 $ python -m app.run
 ```
-
diff --git a/app/run.py b/app/run.py
index eb66f73..e567306 100644
--- a/app/run.py
+++ b/app/run.py
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 from app import create_app
 import os
+import sys
 
 app = create_app()
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) > 1 and sys.argv[1] == '-d':
+        hostname = '0.0.0.0'
+    else:
+        hostname = '127.0.0.1'
     app.run(
-        host = "127.0.0.1",
+        host = hostname,
         port = 8080
     )