diff --git a/scripts/prepare-pbf.sh b/scripts/prepare-pbf.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e34b574
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/prepare-pbf.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Prepare a local .osm.pbf for Nominatim import (compose first boot).
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/prepare-pbf.sh /path/to/region.osm.pbf
+#   ./scripts/prepare-pbf.sh /path/to/OSRM/data/us-latest.osm.pbf --symlink
+#
+# After this, set NOMINATIM_PBF_FILE in .env (default region.osm.pbf) and:
+#   docker compose up -d
+#
+# Shares the PBF with OSRM only — never copy/use .osrm* graph files here.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SYMLINK=0
+ARGS=()
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  case "$arg" in
+    --symlink|-s) SYMLINK=1 ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      echo "usage: $0 [--symlink] <path-to-osm.pbf>" >&2
+      exit 0
+      ;;
+    *) ARGS+=("$arg") ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [[ ${#ARGS[@]} -lt 1 ]]; then
+  echo "usage: $0 [--symlink] <path-to-osm.pbf>" >&2
+  exit 64
+fi
+
+SRC="${ARGS[0]}"
+if [[ ! -f "$SRC" ]]; then
+  echo "pbf file not found: $SRC" >&2
+  exit 66
+fi
+
+# Resolve absolute path.
+SRC="$(cd "$(dirname "$SRC")" && pwd)/$(basename "$SRC")"
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+DATASET="${NOMINATIM_PBF_FILE:-region.osm.pbf}"
+DEST="${ROOT}/data/${DATASET}"
+
+mkdir -p "${ROOT}/data"
+
+if [[ "$SYMLINK" -eq 1 ]]; then
+  ln -sfn "$SRC" "$DEST"
+  echo "symlinked $DEST -> $SRC"
+else
+  cp -f "$SRC" "$DEST"
+  echo "copied $SRC -> $DEST"
+fi
+
+echo
+echo "next:  cp .env.example .env   # set NOMINATIM_PASSWORD"
+echo "       docker compose up -d   # first boot imports (slow)"
+echo "smoke: curl -sG 'http://localhost:8089/search' --data-urlencode 'q=Akron, OH' -d 'format=json' -d 'limit=1'"