diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 38b87d5..6968811 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -118,6 +118,25 @@ python manage.py ensure_superuser
 python manage.py runserver
 ```
 
+### Persistent local preview without Docker
+
+The local preview uses `instance/preview.sqlite3`, which survives server restarts and is
+ignored by Git. Put the preview admin credentials in `instance/preview_admin.env`
+(also ignored by Git):
+
+```text
+DJANGO_SUPERUSER_USERNAME=admin
+DJANGO_SUPERUSER_EMAIL=admin@localhost
+DJANGO_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD=your-local-password
+DJANGO_SUPERUSER_SYNC_PASSWORD=False
+```
+
+Then start the preview with `./run_preview.sh`. It applies migrations and ensures the
+admin account exists before starting the server. Existing passwords are preserved;
+set `DJANGO_SUPERUSER_SYNC_PASSWORD=True` for one start only if you intentionally
+need to reset the account password. This preview database is separate from the
+PostgreSQL database used by Docker and production.
+
 ## Management commands
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/apps/core/management/commands/ensure_superuser.py b/apps/core/management/commands/ensure_superuser.py
index cc26725..11329f3 100644
--- a/apps/core/management/commands/ensure_superuser.py
+++ b/apps/core/management/commands/ensure_superuser.py
@@ -31,9 +31,10 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
                 user.email = email
                 user.is_staff = True
                 user.is_superuser = True
+                user.is_active = True
                 user.set_password(password)
                 user.save(
-                    update_fields=["email", "is_staff", "is_superuser", "password"]
+                    update_fields=["email", "is_staff", "is_superuser", "is_active", "password"]
                 )
                 self.stdout.write(
                     self.style.SUCCESS(
@@ -41,9 +42,16 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
                     )
                 )
                 return
+            fields_to_update = []
+            for field in ("is_staff", "is_superuser", "is_active"):
+                if not getattr(user, field):
+                    setattr(user, field, True)
+                    fields_to_update.append(field)
+            if fields_to_update:
+                user.save(update_fields=fields_to_update)
             self.stdout.write(
                 self.style.SUCCESS(
-                    f"Admin '{username}' already exists; its password was preserved."
+                    f"Admin '{username}' is ready; its password was preserved."
                 )
             )
             return
diff --git a/apps/core/tests/test_bootstrap_commands.py b/apps/core/tests/test_bootstrap_commands.py
index adebb40..ee3244f 100644
--- a/apps/core/tests/test_bootstrap_commands.py
+++ b/apps/core/tests/test_bootstrap_commands.py
@@ -76,6 +76,24 @@ class EnsureSuperuserCommandTests(TestCase):
         user.refresh_from_db()
         self.assertTrue(user.check_password("changed-in-admin"))
 
+    def test_existing_user_regains_admin_access_without_password_reset(self):
+        user = get_user_model().objects.create_user(
+            username="admin", email="admin@com2care.com", password="existing-password"
+        )
+        user.is_active = False
+        user.save(update_fields=["is_active"])
+        environment = {
+            "DJANGO_SUPERUSER_USERNAME": "admin",
+            "DJANGO_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD": "different-password",
+            "DJANGO_SUPERUSER_SYNC_PASSWORD": "False",
+        }
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, environment, clear=False):
+            call_command("ensure_superuser", verbosity=0)
+
+        user.refresh_from_db()
+        self.assertTrue(user.is_active and user.is_staff and user.is_superuser)
+        self.assertTrue(user.check_password("existing-password"))
+
     def test_server_operator_can_explicitly_rotate_password(self):
         user = get_user_model().objects.create_superuser(
             username="admin",
diff --git a/config/settings/preview.py b/config/settings/preview.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..692b01e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/settings/preview.py
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+"""Persistent local preview database, separate from the production PostgreSQL database."""
+
+from .development import *  # noqa: F401,F403
+
+DATABASES = {
+    "default": {
+        "ENGINE": "django.db.backends.sqlite3",
+        "NAME": BASE_DIR / "instance" / "preview.sqlite3",
+    }
+}
diff --git a/run_preview.sh b/run_preview.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..670d1c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/run_preview.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -eu
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+mkdir -p instance
+
+if [ -f instance/preview_admin.env ]; then
+    set -a
+    . ./instance/preview_admin.env
+    set +a
+fi
+
+export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=config.settings.preview
+PYTHON=${PYTHON:-venv/bin/python}
+
+"$PYTHON" manage.py migrate --noinput
+"$PYTHON" manage.py ensure_superuser
+exec "$PYTHON" manage.py runserver 127.0.0.1:8000