diff --git a/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/README.md b/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..afe33c01193f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Tool Shed 2.0 client
+
+The following assumes `npx` is installed, but equivalent npm commands should work too.
+
+To start a HMR dev server run
+
+```shell
+npx vite dev
+```
+
+Note that you will need to start the Tool Shed backend from the galaxy root directory:
+
+```shell
+TOOL_SHED_API_VERSION=v2 ./run_tool_shed.sh
+```
+
+If you want to target an external V2 tool shed API run
+
+```shell
+TOOL_SHED_URL=https://testtoolshed.g2.bx.psu.edu CHANGE_ORIGIN=true npx vite dev
+```
diff --git a/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/vite.config.ts b/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/vite.config.ts
index 48026e84d4ec..e45d75d4e61a 100644
--- a/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/vite.config.ts
+++ b/lib/tool_shed/webapp/frontend/vite.config.ts
@@ -23,11 +23,9 @@ export default defineConfig({
     server: {
         proxy: {
             "/api": {
-                // This is the URL of the backend server
-                // The address is the default when running `make run_test_backend`
-                target: "http://127.0.0.1:9009/",
-                changeOrigin: true,
-                secure: false,
+                target: process.env.TOOL_SHED_URL || "http://127.0.0.1:9009",
+                changeOrigin: process.env.CHANGE_ORIGIN ? !process.env.CHANGE_ORIGIN : true,
+                secure: !process.env.CHANGE_ORIGIN,
             },
         },
     },