diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8e8b692..4b93ab9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,11 +16,47 @@ The site is based on the HTML5 UP Lens template and currently ships as a plain s
 - `data/meals.json`: source of truth for gallery entries
 - `data/elo.json`: Elo ratings, record totals, and ranking settings
 - `scripts/build.js`: renders static pages from templates and data
+- `scripts/check.js`: validates data, image assets, and generated pages
 - `scripts/generate-thumbnails.js`: regenerates thumbnails from the full-size images
 - `scripts/ingest-meal.js`: ingests a new meal image and metadata in one command
+- `scripts/serve.js`: serves the generated site locally with a small static file server
 - `scripts/lib/elo.js`: validates and syncs Elo data against the meal list
 - `package.json`: minimal Node build entrypoint
 
+## Run Locally
+
+Install dependencies:
+
+```sh
+npm install
+```
+
+Build the site and validate the generated output:
+
+```sh
+npm run build
+```
+
+Serve it locally:
+
+```sh
+npm run serve
+```
+
+Then open `http://127.0.0.1:4321`.
+
+If you want a single command that builds and serves, run:
+
+```sh
+npm start
+```
+
+To validate the repo state without rebuilding thumbnails or pages, run:
+
+```sh
+npm run check
+```
+
 ## Content Workflow
 
 Gallery entries live in `data/meals.json`, and the build generates both `index.html` and `rankings.html` from the template and data files.
@@ -99,4 +135,3 @@ The `x` and `y` values are normalized from `0` to `1`, where `0.5, 0.5` is the c
 ## Planned Features
 
 1. Optional shared sync or export/import for rankings if browser-local persistence becomes too limiting.
-2. General cleanup and history cleanup once the bigger structural changes are in place.
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 843a8a0..b3c2b28 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,11 +2,14 @@
   "name": "gallery",
   "private": true,
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "npm run build:thumbs && npm run build:pages",
+    "build": "npm run build:thumbs && npm run build:pages && npm run check",
     "ingest": "node scripts/ingest-meal.js",
+    "check": "node scripts/check.js",
     "build:pages": "node scripts/build.js",
     "build:thumbs": "node scripts/generate-thumbnails.js",
-    "build:thumbs:force": "node scripts/generate-thumbnails.js --force"
+    "build:thumbs:force": "node scripts/generate-thumbnails.js --force",
+    "serve": "node scripts/serve.js",
+    "start": "npm run build && npm run serve"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "sharp": "^0.34.5"
diff --git a/scripts/build.js b/scripts/build.js
index 7b378de..ba7a69e 100644
--- a/scripts/build.js
+++ b/scripts/build.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ const fs = require("fs");
 const path = require("path");
 
 const { getRankedMeals, syncEloWithMeals } = require("./lib/elo");
-const { loadMeals, repoRoot } = require("./lib/meals");
+const { loadMeals, repoRoot, validateMealAssets } = require("./lib/meals");
 
 const indexTemplatePath = path.join(repoRoot, "templates", "index.html");
 const indexOutputPath = path.join(repoRoot, "index.html");
@@ -126,6 +126,7 @@ function replaceBlock(template, token, replacement) {
 }
 
 function buildIndex(meals = loadMeals()) {
+  validateMealAssets(meals);
   const template = fs.readFileSync(indexTemplatePath, "utf8");
   const eol = detectEol(template);
 
@@ -136,6 +137,7 @@ function buildRankings(
   meals = loadMeals(),
   eloData = syncEloWithMeals(meals)
 ) {
+  validateMealAssets(meals);
   const template = fs.readFileSync(rankingsTemplatePath, "utf8");
   const eol = detectEol(template);
   const rankedMeals = getRankedMeals(meals, eloData);
diff --git a/scripts/check.js b/scripts/check.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cdf916d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check.js
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+const fs = require("fs");
+const path = require("path");
+
+const { getEloAlignmentReport, loadEloData } = require("./lib/elo");
+const {
+  fullsDir,
+  loadMeals,
+  repoRoot,
+  thumbsDir,
+  validateMealAssets,
+} = require("./lib/meals");
+
+const indexPath = path.join(repoRoot, "index.html");
+const rankingsPath = path.join(repoRoot, "rankings.html");
+
+function listJpgIds(directoryPath) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(directoryPath)) {
+    return [];
+  }
+
+  return fs
+    .readdirSync(directoryPath, { withFileTypes: true })
+    .filter(
+      (entry) => entry.isFile() && path.extname(entry.name).toLowerCase() === ".jpg"
+    )
+    .map((entry) => path.basename(entry.name, ".jpg"))
+    .sort((left, right) => left.localeCompare(right, undefined, { numeric: true }));
+}
+
+function getUnexpectedIds(directoryPath, expectedIds) {
+  return listJpgIds(directoryPath).filter((id) => !expectedIds.has(id));
+}
+
+function countMatches(text, pattern) {
+  return (text.match(pattern) || []).length;
+}
+
+function parseRankingsSeedData(rankingsHtml) {
+  const match = rankingsHtml.match(
+    /<script id="rankings-seed-data" type="application\/json">([\s\S]*?)<\/script>/
+  );
+
+  if (!match) {
+    throw new Error("Generated rankings.html is missing embedded rankings seed data");
+  }
+
+  return JSON.parse(match[1]);
+}
+
+function validateGeneratedPages(meals, eloData) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(indexPath)) {
+    throw new Error("Generated index.html is missing; run npm run build");
+  }
+
+  if (!fs.existsSync(rankingsPath)) {
+    throw new Error("Generated rankings.html is missing; run npm run build");
+  }
+
+  const indexHtml = fs.readFileSync(indexPath, "utf8");
+  const rankingsHtml = fs.readFileSync(rankingsPath, "utf8");
+  const galleryArticleCount = countMatches(indexHtml, /<article>/g);
+  const rankingCardCount = countMatches(rankingsHtml, /class="ranking-card"/g);
+
+  if (galleryArticleCount !== meals.length) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Generated index.html is out of sync: expected ${meals.length} gallery entries, found ${galleryArticleCount}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (rankingCardCount !== meals.length) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Generated rankings.html is out of sync: expected ${meals.length} ranking cards, found ${rankingCardCount}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!rankingsHtml.includes('src="assets/js/rankings.js"')) {
+    throw new Error("Generated rankings.html is missing the interactive rankings script");
+  }
+
+  const seedData = parseRankingsSeedData(rankingsHtml);
+
+  if (!Array.isArray(seedData.meals) || seedData.meals.length !== meals.length) {
+    throw new Error("Generated rankings.html has stale embedded meal seed data");
+  }
+
+  if (
+    !seedData.elo ||
+    !Array.isArray(seedData.elo.entries) ||
+    seedData.elo.entries.length !== eloData.entries.length
+  ) {
+    throw new Error("Generated rankings.html has stale embedded Elo seed data");
+  }
+}
+
+function main() {
+  const meals = loadMeals();
+  const eloData = loadEloData();
+  const expectedIds = new Set(meals.map((meal) => meal.id));
+  const alignment = getEloAlignmentReport(meals, eloData);
+
+  validateMealAssets(meals);
+
+  if (alignment.missingEntryIds.length > 0 || alignment.unexpectedEntryIds.length > 0) {
+    const messages = [];
+
+    if (alignment.missingEntryIds.length > 0) {
+      messages.push(
+        `Missing Elo entries for meal ids: ${alignment.missingEntryIds.join(", ")}`
+      );
+    }
+
+    if (alignment.unexpectedEntryIds.length > 0) {
+      messages.push(
+        `Unexpected Elo entries with no meal: ${alignment.unexpectedEntryIds.join(", ")}`
+      );
+    }
+
+    throw new Error(messages.join("\n"));
+  }
+
+  const unexpectedFulls = getUnexpectedIds(fullsDir, expectedIds);
+
+  if (unexpectedFulls.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Unexpected full-size image files with no meal entry: ${unexpectedFulls.join(", ")}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  const unexpectedThumbs = getUnexpectedIds(thumbsDir, expectedIds);
+
+  if (unexpectedThumbs.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Unexpected thumbnail files with no meal entry: ${unexpectedThumbs.join(", ")}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  validateGeneratedPages(meals, eloData);
+
+  console.log(
+    `Validation passed: ${meals.length} meals, ${eloData.entries.length} Elo entries, generated pages and image assets are in sync.`
+  );
+}
+
+if (require.main === module) {
+  try {
+    main();
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error(error.message);
+    process.exitCode = 1;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/scripts/lib/elo.js b/scripts/lib/elo.js
index 47ca9e0..59d0723 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/elo.js
+++ b/scripts/lib/elo.js
@@ -99,6 +99,20 @@ function syncEloWithMeals(meals) {
   return syncedData;
 }
 
+function getEloAlignmentReport(meals, eloData) {
+  const mealIds = new Set(meals.map((meal) => meal.id));
+  const eloIds = new Set(eloData.entries.map((entry) => entry.id));
+
+  return {
+    missingEntryIds: meals
+      .map((meal) => meal.id)
+      .filter((mealId) => !eloIds.has(mealId)),
+    unexpectedEntryIds: eloData.entries
+      .map((entry) => entry.id)
+      .filter((entryId) => !mealIds.has(entryId)),
+  };
+}
+
 function compareRankedMeals(left, right) {
   if (right.rating !== left.rating) {
     return right.rating - left.rating;
@@ -132,6 +146,7 @@ function getRankedMeals(meals, eloData) {
 
 module.exports = {
   eloPath,
+  getEloAlignmentReport,
   getRankedMeals,
   loadEloData,
   saveEloData,
diff --git a/scripts/lib/meals.js b/scripts/lib/meals.js
index a2a866d..1846580 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/meals.js
+++ b/scripts/lib/meals.js
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@ const path = require("path");
 
 const repoRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, "..", "..");
 const mealsPath = path.join(repoRoot, "data", "meals.json");
+const fullsDir = path.join(repoRoot, "images", "fulls");
+const thumbsDir = path.join(repoRoot, "images", "thumbs");
+
+function isNonEmptyString(value) {
+  return typeof value === "string" && value.trim().length > 0;
+}
 
 function validateThumbnail(meal, index) {
   if (meal.thumbnail === undefined) {
@@ -55,7 +61,7 @@ function validateMeals(meals) {
     }
 
     for (const field of ["id", "title", "description"]) {
-      if (typeof meal[field] !== "string" || meal[field].length === 0) {
+      if (!isNonEmptyString(meal[field])) {
         throw new Error(`Meal ${index} is missing required string field "${field}"`);
       }
     }
@@ -64,8 +70,8 @@ function validateMeals(meals) {
       throw new Error(`Meal ${index} has a non-numeric id "${meal.id}"`);
     }
 
-    if (meal.position !== undefined && typeof meal.position !== "string") {
-      throw new Error(`Meal ${index} has a non-string "position" value`);
+    if (meal.position !== undefined && !isNonEmptyString(meal.position)) {
+      throw new Error(`Meal ${index} has an invalid "position" value`);
     }
 
     if (ids.has(meal.id)) {
@@ -91,6 +97,49 @@ function saveMeals(meals) {
   fs.writeFileSync(mealsPath, `${JSON.stringify(meals, null, 2)}\n`);
 }
 
+function getMealImagePaths(mealOrId) {
+  const mealId =
+    typeof mealOrId === "string" ? mealOrId : mealOrId && typeof mealOrId.id === "string" ? mealOrId.id : null;
+
+  if (!mealId) {
+    throw new Error("Expected a meal object or meal id string");
+  }
+
+  return {
+    fullPath: path.join(fullsDir, `${mealId}.jpg`),
+    thumbPath: path.join(thumbsDir, `${mealId}.jpg`),
+  };
+}
+
+function validateMealAssets(meals, options = {}) {
+  const settings = {
+    requireFull: true,
+    requireThumb: true,
+    ...options,
+  };
+  const missingAssets = [];
+
+  for (const meal of meals) {
+    const { fullPath, thumbPath } = getMealImagePaths(meal);
+
+    if (settings.requireFull && !fs.existsSync(fullPath)) {
+      missingAssets.push(
+        `Meal ${meal.id} is missing full-size image: ${path.relative(repoRoot, fullPath)}`
+      );
+    }
+
+    if (settings.requireThumb && !fs.existsSync(thumbPath)) {
+      missingAssets.push(
+        `Meal ${meal.id} is missing thumbnail image: ${path.relative(repoRoot, thumbPath)}`
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (missingAssets.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(`Missing image assets:\n${missingAssets.join("\n")}`);
+  }
+}
+
 function getNextMealId(meals) {
   if (meals.length === 0) {
     return "01";
@@ -108,9 +157,13 @@ function getNextMealId(meals) {
 }
 
 module.exports = {
+  fullsDir,
   getNextMealId,
+  getMealImagePaths,
   loadMeals,
   mealsPath,
   repoRoot,
   saveMeals,
+  thumbsDir,
+  validateMealAssets,
 };
diff --git a/scripts/serve.js b/scripts/serve.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c930926
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/serve.js
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+const fs = require("fs");
+const http = require("http");
+const path = require("path");
+
+const { repoRoot } = require("./lib/meals");
+
+const DEFAULT_HOST = "127.0.0.1";
+const DEFAULT_PORT = 4321;
+const MIME_TYPES = {
+  ".css": "text/css; charset=utf-8",
+  ".gif": "image/gif",
+  ".html": "text/html; charset=utf-8",
+  ".ico": "image/x-icon",
+  ".jpg": "image/jpeg",
+  ".js": "application/javascript; charset=utf-8",
+  ".json": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
+  ".map": "application/json; charset=utf-8",
+  ".mp3": "audio/mpeg",
+  ".png": "image/png",
+  ".svg": "image/svg+xml",
+  ".ttf": "font/ttf",
+  ".txt": "text/plain; charset=utf-8",
+  ".webmanifest": "application/manifest+json; charset=utf-8",
+  ".woff": "font/woff",
+  ".woff2": "font/woff2",
+};
+
+function parseArgs(argv) {
+  const options = {
+    host: process.env.HOST || DEFAULT_HOST,
+    port: Number.parseInt(process.env.PORT || String(DEFAULT_PORT), 10),
+  };
+
+  for (let index = 0; index < argv.length; index += 1) {
+    const arg = argv[index];
+    const value = argv[index + 1];
+
+    if (arg === "--host" && value) {
+      options.host = value;
+      index += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (arg === "--port" && value) {
+      options.port = Number.parseInt(value, 10);
+      index += 1;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (!Number.isInteger(options.port) || options.port <= 0 || options.port > 65535) {
+    throw new Error("Port must be an integer between 1 and 65535");
+  }
+
+  return options;
+}
+
+function getContentType(filePath) {
+  return MIME_TYPES[path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase()] || "application/octet-stream";
+}
+
+function resolveRequestPath(requestUrl) {
+  const url = new URL(requestUrl, "http://localhost");
+  const pathname = decodeURIComponent(url.pathname);
+  const requestedPath = pathname === "/" ? "/index.html" : pathname;
+  const absolutePath = path.resolve(repoRoot, `.${requestedPath}`);
+  const withinRepo =
+    absolutePath === repoRoot || absolutePath.startsWith(`${repoRoot}${path.sep}`);
+
+  if (!withinRepo) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  if (fs.existsSync(absolutePath) && fs.statSync(absolutePath).isDirectory()) {
+    return path.join(absolutePath, "index.html");
+  }
+
+  return absolutePath;
+}
+
+function sendFile(response, filePath) {
+  const stream = fs.createReadStream(filePath);
+
+  response.writeHead(200, {
+    "Content-Type": getContentType(filePath),
+    "Cache-Control": "no-cache",
+  });
+
+  stream.pipe(response);
+  stream.on("error", () => {
+    response.writeHead(500, { "Content-Type": "text/plain; charset=utf-8" });
+    response.end("Failed to read file");
+  });
+}
+
+function createServer() {
+  return http.createServer((request, response) => {
+    const filePath = resolveRequestPath(request.url || "/");
+
+    if (!filePath) {
+      response.writeHead(403, { "Content-Type": "text/plain; charset=utf-8" });
+      response.end("Forbidden");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (!fs.existsSync(filePath) || !fs.statSync(filePath).isFile()) {
+      response.writeHead(404, { "Content-Type": "text/plain; charset=utf-8" });
+      response.end("Not found");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    sendFile(response, filePath);
+  });
+}
+
+function main() {
+  const options = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
+  const server = createServer();
+
+  server.listen(options.port, options.host, () => {
+    console.log(`Serving ${repoRoot} at http://${options.host}:${options.port}`);
+  });
+}
+
+if (require.main === module) {
+  try {
+    main();
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error(error.message);
+    process.exitCode = 1;
+  }
+}