diff --git a/.envrc b/.envrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82b2b9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.envrc
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# the shebang is ignored, but nice for editors
+
+if type -P lorri &>/dev/null; then
+  eval "$(lorri direnv)"
+else
+  echo 'while direnv evaluated .envrc, could not find the command "lorri" [https://github.com/nix-community/lorri]'
+  use nix
+fi
diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
index 11f6f30..cc59e64 100644
--- a/shell.nix
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -2,5 +2,6 @@
 pkgs.mkShell {
   packages = with pkgs; [
     hcloud
+    colmena
   ];
 }