diff --git a/nix/overlay.nix b/nix/overlay.nix
index 60c87bfb6..19abe72f2 100644
--- a/nix/overlay.nix
+++ b/nix/overlay.nix
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ rec {
 
   t1-script = final.callPackage ../script { };
   inherit (t1-script) t1-helper ci-helper;
+  dev-mode = final.callPackage ./pkgs/dev-mode { };
 
   # stdenv for compiling rvv programs, with ilp32f newlib and clang
   rv32-stdenv = rv32_pkgs.stdenv.override {
diff --git a/nix/pkgs/dev-mode/default.nix b/nix/pkgs/dev-mode/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aa673cc11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nix/pkgs/dev-mode/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{ mkShellNoCC, jq, ncurses }:
+mkShellNoCC {
+  name = "t1-dev-mode";
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ jq ncurses ];
+  shellHook = ''
+    source ${./dev-mode.sh}
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/nix/pkgs/dev-mode/dev-mode.sh b/nix/pkgs/dev-mode/dev-mode.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d2c8da9e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nix/pkgs/dev-mode/dev-mode.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+export TMPDIR=/tmp
+
+# prefer terminal safe colored and bold text when tput is supported
+if tput setaf 0 &>/dev/null; then
+  ALL_OFF="$(tput sgr0)"
+  BOLD="$(tput bold)"
+  BLUE="${BOLD}$(tput setaf 4)"
+  GREEN="${BOLD}$(tput setaf 2)"
+  RED="${BOLD}$(tput setaf 1)"
+  YELLOW="${BOLD}$(tput setaf 3)"
+else
+  ALL_OFF="\e[0m"
+  BOLD="\e[1m"
+  BLUE="${BOLD}\e[34m"
+  GREEN="${BOLD}\e[32m"
+  RED="${BOLD}\e[31m"
+  YELLOW="${BOLD}\e[33m"
+fi
+readonly ALL_OFF BOLD BLUE GREEN RED YELLOW
+
+info() {
+  local mesg=$1; shift
+  printf "${GREEN}[T1]${ALL_OFF}${BOLD} ${mesg}${ALL_OFF}\n" "$@"
+}
+
+info2() {
+  local mesg=$1; shift
+  printf "${BLUE}  ->${ALL_OFF}${BOLD} ${mesg}${ALL_OFF}\n" "$@"
+}
+
+error() {
+  local mesg=$1; shift
+  printf "${RED}[T1] $(gettext "ERROR:")${ALL_OFF}${BOLD} ${mesg}${ALL_OFF}\n" "$@" >&2
+}
+
+_ROOT_PATTERN="flake.nix"
+if [ ! -r "$_ROOT_PATTERN" ]; then
+  error "Not in T1 root directory" "Please run nix develop at the root of the T1 project directory"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+mkdir -p .cache/dev-mode
+_CTX=.cache/dev-mode/state.json
+if [ ! -r "$_CTX" ]; then
+  printf "{}" > "$_CTX"
+fi
+
+_CFG=""
+get_config() {
+  local cfg=$(jq -r ".config" "$_CTX")
+  _CFG="$cfg"
+  echo "$_CFG"
+}
+
+_config_is_set() {
+  _CFG=$(get_config)
+  if [[ -z "$_CFG" || "$_CFG" = "null" ]]; then
+    info "Config not set yet, use 'set_config <config>' to set config"
+    info2 "Available configs: ${BLUE}$(list_config | xargs)${ALL_OFF}"
+    return 1
+  else
+    return 0
+  fi
+}
+
+list_config() {
+  nix --no-warn-dirty eval ".#t1.allConfigs" --json | jq -r 'keys[]'
+}
+
+set_config() {
+  if [[ -z "$@" ]]; then
+    error "No argument was given, use 'set_config <config>' to set config"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local config=$1; shift
+  local configArray=( $(list_config) )
+  # TODO: this is not an elegant way
+  configArray+=("t1rocket")
+
+  local verifiedConfig=""
+  for c in ${configArray[@]}; do
+    if [[ "$c" == "$config" ]]; then
+      verifiedConfig="$c"
+    fi
+  done
+  if [[ -z "$verifiedConfig" ]]; then
+    error "Config '$config' is not supported, available configs: ${configArray[*]}"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local newCtx=$(jq --arg config "$config" '.config = $config' $_CTX)
+  printf "$newCtx" > "$_CTX"
+
+  _CFG=$(get_config)
+
+  info "Config is set to ${BLUE}${_CFG}${ALL_OFF}"
+}
+
+_get_ip_attrs() {
+  nix --no-warn-dirty eval --json ".#legacyPackages.x86_64-linux" \
+    --apply "pkgs: pkgs.lib.filterAttrs (_: v: pkgs.lib.isDerivation v) pkgs.t1.$_CFG.ip" \
+    | jq -r 'keys[]'
+}
+
+list_emulator() {
+  _get_ip_attrs | grep -E '(-emu$|-emu-trace$)'
+}
+
+_EMU=""
+get_emulator() {
+  local emu=$(jq -r ".emulator" "$_CTX")
+  if [[ -z "$emu" || "$emu" = "null" ]]; then
+    error "Emulator not set yet, please use 'set_emulator <emulator>'"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  _EMU="$emu"
+  echo "$_EMU"
+}
+
+_emulator_is_set() {
+  _EMU=$(get_emulator)
+  if [[ -z "$_EMU" || "$_EMU" = "null" ]]; then
+    return 1
+  else
+    return 0
+  fi
+}
+
+set_emulator() {
+  if [[ -z "$@" ]]; then
+    error "No argument was given, use 'set_emulator <emulator>' to set main testing emulator"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local emulator=$1; shift
+  local allEmuArray=( $(list_emulator) )
+
+  local verifiedEmulator=""
+  for e in ${allEmuArray[@]}; do
+    if [[ "$e" == "$emulator" ]]; then
+      verifiedEmulator="$e"
+    fi
+  done
+  if [[ -z "$verifiedEmulator" ]]; then
+    error "Emulator '$emulator' is not supported, available emulators: ${allEmuArray[*]}"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local newCtx=$(jq --arg emulator "$verifiedEmulator" '.emulator = $emulator' $_CTX)
+  printf "$newCtx" > "$_CTX"
+
+  _EMU=$(get_emulator)
+
+  info "Emulator is set to ${BLUE}${_EMU}${ALL_OFF}"
+}
+
+build() {
+  if [[ -z "$@" || "$@" = "help" ]]; then
+    error "Use ${BLUE}'build <attr>'${ALL_OFF} to build"
+    info2 "Available attrs"
+    _get_ip_attrs
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local attr=$1; shift
+  local availableAttrsArray=( $(_get_ip_attrs) )
+  local verifiedAttr=""
+  for a in ${availableAttrsArray[@]}; do
+    if [ "$a" = "$attr" ]; then
+      verifiedAttr="$a"
+    fi
+  done
+  if [ -z "$verifiedAttr" ]; then
+    error "Invalid attr '$attr', available attrs:"
+    info2 "${availableAttrsArray[*]}"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! _config_is_set; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local fullAttr=".#t1.$_CFG.ip.$attr"
+  info "Building $fullAttr to result dir ./result-$attr with flag '$@'"
+  nix build --no-warn-dirty --print-build-logs --out-link result-$attr "$fullAttr" $@
+}
+
+run_test() {
+  if [[ -z "$@" || "$@" = "help" ]]; then
+    error "Use 'test <case-name>' to run a test"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local case=$1; shift
+
+  if [[ -z "$_EMU" ]]; then
+    error "Emulator is not set yet"
+    info2 "Use 'set_emulator <emu>' to set the main testing emulator"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! printf "$case" | grep -Eq '\S\.\S'; then
+    error "Invalid case form '$case', expect '<type>.<name>'"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  local hasAttr=$(nix eval --json --no-warn-dirty ".#t1.$_CFG.ip.$_EMU.cases" --apply "cases: cases ? $case")
+  if [[ "x$hasAttr" = "xfalse" ]]; then
+    error "Unknown cases $case"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  DEBUG=${DEBUG:-0}
+  caseAttr=".#t1.$_CFG.ip.$_EMU.cases.$case.emu-result"
+  if (( DEBUG )); then
+    caseAttr="$caseAttr.debug"
+  fi
+
+  info "Running test case $case with emulator $_EMU, output result to ./result-$case"
+  nix build --no-warn-dirty --out-link ./result-$case "$caseAttr" $@
+  ls -l ./result-$case/
+}
+
+main() {
+  info "Welcome to T1 dev mode, here are some convenient commands"
+  info2 "set_config: set current configs"
+  info2 "list_config: get all available configs"
+  info2 "get_config: print current config"
+  info2 "set_emulator: set current emulators"
+  info2 "list_emulator: get all available emulators"
+  info2 "get_emulator: print the main testing emulator"
+  info2 "build: build T1 artifacts with config $_CFG"
+  info2 "run_test: run test case with specific emulator"
+
+  echo
+
+  if _config_is_set; then
+    info "Config is set to ${BLUE}$_CFG${ALL_OFF}, use ${GREEN}'set_config <config>'${ALL_OFF} to modify config"
+  fi
+
+  if _emulator_is_set; then
+    info "Emulator is set to ${BLUE}${_EMU}${ALL_OFF}, use ${GREEN}'set_emulator <emulator>'${ALL_OFF} to modify emulator"
+  fi
+}
+
+main