diff --git a/packages/fine-tuner/scripts/start.sh b/packages/fine-tuner/scripts/start.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bdec30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/fine-tuner/scripts/start.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# start.sh — Launch fine-tuner with SSH tunnel to Erik's PostgreSQL
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/start.sh             # run fine-tuner
+#   ./scripts/start.sh --dry-run   # dry run (no training)
+#   ./scripts/start.sh --status    # show status only
+
+set -euo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
+
+TUNNEL_PORT=5434
+SSH_HOST="erik"
+REMOTE_PG_PORT=5432
+
+echo "[start.sh] Opening SSH tunnel to Erik:${REMOTE_PG_PORT} → localhost:${TUNNEL_PORT}"
+
+# Kill any existing tunnel on that port
+pkill -f "ssh.*${TUNNEL_PORT}:localhost:${REMOTE_PG_PORT}" 2>/dev/null || true
+sleep 1
+
+# Open tunnel in background
+ssh -N -L "${TUNNEL_PORT}:localhost:${REMOTE_PG_PORT}" "${SSH_HOST}" &
+TUNNEL_PID=$!
+
+# Wait for tunnel to be ready
+sleep 3
+echo "[start.sh] Tunnel established (PID: ${TUNNEL_PID})"
+
+# Cleanup tunnel on exit
+cleanup() {
+  echo "[start.sh] Closing SSH tunnel (PID: ${TUNNEL_PID})"
+  kill "${TUNNEL_PID}" 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+# Run fine-tuner with tunnel DB URL
+export DATABASE_URL="postgresql://llm:llm_secure_2026@localhost:${TUNNEL_PORT}/llm_gateway"
+export GATEWAY_URL="https://llm-gateway.context-x.org"
+export OLLAMA_URL="http://localhost:11434"
+
+echo "[start.sh] Starting fine-tuner..."
+python3 src/main.py "$@"