diff --git a/src/application/routes/api/auth/webauthn.rs b/src/application/routes/api/auth/webauthn.rs
index 804d207..9d5ffe0 100644
--- a/src/application/routes/api/auth/webauthn.rs
+++ b/src/application/routes/api/auth/webauthn.rs
@@ -487,8 +487,7 @@ async fn create_session(state: &AppState, cookies: &Cookies, user_id: crate::dom
     cookie.set_http_only(true);
     cookie.set_same_site(tower_cookies::cookie::SameSite::Lax);
 
-    let insecure = std::env::var("BREWLOG_INSECURE_COOKIES").unwrap_or_default() == "true";
-    if !insecure {
+    if !state.insecure_cookies {
         cookie.set_secure(true);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/application/server.rs b/src/application/server.rs
index 305127f..6379b54 100644
--- a/src/application/server.rs
+++ b/src/application/server.rs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ pub struct ServerConfig {
     pub database_url: String,
     pub rp_id: String,
     pub rp_origin: String,
+    pub insecure_cookies: bool,
     pub openrouter_api_key: String,
     pub openrouter_model: String,
     pub foursquare_api_key: String,
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ pub async fn serve(config: ServerConfig) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         &database,
         AppStateConfig {
             webauthn,
+            insecure_cookies: config.insecure_cookies,
             foursquare_url: crate::infrastructure::foursquare::FOURSQUARE_SEARCH_URL.to_string(),
             foursquare_api_key: config.foursquare_api_key,
             openrouter_url: crate::infrastructure::ai::OPENROUTER_URL.to_string(),
diff --git a/src/application/state.rs b/src/application/state.rs
index 0f68843..9d46f27 100644
--- a/src/application/state.rs
+++ b/src/application/state.rs
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ use crate::infrastructure::webauthn::ChallengeStore;
 /// automatically from the database pool.
 pub struct AppStateConfig {
     pub webauthn: Arc<Webauthn>,
+    pub insecure_cookies: bool,
     pub foursquare_url: String,
     pub foursquare_api_key: String,
     pub openrouter_url: String,
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ pub struct AppState {
     pub gear_service: GearService,
     pub cafe_service: CafeService,
     pub cup_service: CupService,
+    pub insecure_cookies: bool,
     pub stats_invalidator: StatsInvalidator,
 }
 
@@ -164,6 +166,7 @@ impl AppState {
             gear_service,
             cafe_service,
             cup_service,
+            insecure_cookies: config.insecure_cookies,
             stats_invalidator: config.stats_invalidator,
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index fab38e9..9da8be9 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -70,19 +70,16 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
 }
 
 async fn run_server(command: ServeCommand) -> Result<()> {
-    let rp_id = command.rp_id.ok_or_else(|| {
-        anyhow::anyhow!(
-            "BREWLOG_RP_ID is required. Set this to the domain where the app is hosted \
-             (e.g. 'brewlog.example.com' or 'localhost')."
-        )
-    })?;
+    let rp_id = command.rp_id;
+    let rp_origin = command.rp_origin;
 
-    let rp_origin = command.rp_origin.ok_or_else(|| {
-        anyhow::anyhow!(
-            "BREWLOG_RP_ORIGIN is required. Set this to the full origin URL \
-             (e.g. 'https://brewlog.example.com' or 'http://localhost:3000')."
-        )
-    })?;
+    let insecure_cookies = command.insecure_cookies
+        || (rp_id == "localhost" && rp_origin.starts_with("http://localhost"));
+    if insecure_cookies {
+        tracing::warn!(
+            "insecure cookies enabled for development/demo setup - do not use in production"
+        );
+    }
 
     let openrouter_api_key = command.openrouter_api_key.ok_or_else(|| {
         anyhow::anyhow!(
@@ -105,6 +102,7 @@ async fn run_server(command: ServeCommand) -> Result<()> {
         database_url: command.database_url,
         rp_id,
         rp_origin,
+        insecure_cookies,
         openrouter_api_key,
         openrouter_model: command.openrouter_model,
         foursquare_api_key,
diff --git a/src/presentation/cli/mod.rs b/src/presentation/cli/mod.rs
index 0207514..1ad4073 100644
--- a/src/presentation/cli/mod.rs
+++ b/src/presentation/cli/mod.rs
@@ -111,11 +111,18 @@ pub struct ServeCommand {
     #[arg(long, env = "BREWLOG_BIND_ADDRESS", default_value = "127.0.0.1:3000")]
     pub bind_address: SocketAddr,
 
-    #[arg(long, env = "BREWLOG_RP_ID")]
-    pub rp_id: Option<String>,
+    #[arg(long, env = "BREWLOG_RP_ID", default_value = "localhost")]
+    pub rp_id: String,
 
-    #[arg(long, env = "BREWLOG_RP_ORIGIN")]
-    pub rp_origin: Option<String>,
+    #[arg(
+        long,
+        env = "BREWLOG_RP_ORIGIN",
+        default_value = "http://localhost:3000"
+    )]
+    pub rp_origin: String,
+
+    #[arg(long, env = "BREWLOG_INSECURE_COOKIES")]
+    pub insecure_cookies: bool,
 
     #[arg(long, env = "BREWLOG_OPENROUTER_API_KEY")]
     pub openrouter_api_key: Option<String>,
diff --git a/tests/cli/helpers.rs b/tests/cli/helpers.rs
index 05aef08..0e935b4 100644
--- a/tests/cli/helpers.rs
+++ b/tests/cli/helpers.rs
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ fn ensure_server_started() -> Result<(String, String), String> {
                     &database,
                     AppStateConfig {
                         webauthn: test_webauthn(),
+                        insecure_cookies: true,
                         foursquare_url: brewlog::infrastructure::foursquare::FOURSQUARE_SEARCH_URL
                             .to_string(),
                         foursquare_api_key: String::new(),
diff --git a/tests/server/helpers.rs b/tests/server/helpers.rs
index efc8385..43d4ace 100644
--- a/tests/server/helpers.rs
+++ b/tests/server/helpers.rs
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ fn test_state_config() -> AppStateConfig {
     let (tx, _rx) = tokio::sync::mpsc::channel(1);
     AppStateConfig {
         webauthn: test_webauthn(),
+        insecure_cookies: true,
         foursquare_url: brewlog::infrastructure::foursquare::FOURSQUARE_SEARCH_URL.to_string(),
         foursquare_api_key: String::new(),
         openrouter_url: brewlog::infrastructure::ai::OPENROUTER_URL.to_string(),