diff --git a/ui/package.json b/ui/package.json
index 6368df1ea..b3ad39c41 100644
--- a/ui/package.json
+++ b/ui/package.json
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
     "react-transition-group": "^2.4.0"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "start": "react-scripts start",
+    "start": "NODE_ENV=dev REACT_APP_BACKEND_URI=http://localhost:8080 react-scripts start",
     "build": "react-scripts build",
     "test": "react-scripts test --env=jsdom",
     "eject": "react-scripts eject",