diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2bc3f655500f6..1f01075a3e77e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -367,8 +367,12 @@ lint-json-fix: node_modules ## lint and fix json files
 	pnpm exec eslint -c eslint.json.config.ts --color --max-warnings=0 --concurrency $(ESLINT_CONCURRENCY) --fix
 
 .PHONY: watch
-watch: ## watch everything and continuously rebuild
-	@bash tools/watch.sh
+watch: ## watch everything (optional: WATCH_DB=sqlite|mysql|pgsql|mssql WATCH_ACT=true)
+	@WATCH_DB="$(WATCH_DB)" WATCH_ACT="$(WATCH_ACT)" bash tools/watch.sh
+
+.PHONY: watch-full
+watch-full: ## watch with WATCH_DB=sqlite preset (pass WATCH_ACT=true when supported)
+	@$(MAKE) watch WATCH_DB=sqlite
 
 .PHONY: watch-frontend
 watch-frontend: node_modules ## start vite dev server for frontend
diff --git a/tools/watch.sh b/tools/watch.sh
index 5e8defa49c89e..979740a30db3b 100644
--- a/tools/watch.sh
+++ b/tools/watch.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,30 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
+# WATCH_DB selects build tags for the backend (see Makefile TAGS). sqlite sets
+# TAGS for CGO sqlite support. Other drivers use the default binary without
+# sqlite tags; caller-supplied TAGS (pam, bindata, etc.) are preserved. When
+# WATCH_DB is unset, TAGS is left unchanged.
+# WATCH_ACT=true is reserved for starting act_runner alongside watch (not yet implemented).
+if [[ -n "${WATCH_DB:-}" ]]; then
+	case "${WATCH_DB}" in
+	sqlite)
+		export TAGS="sqlite sqlite_unlock_notify"
+		;;
+	mysql | pgsql | postgres | mssql)
+		# Do not touch TAGS so pam/bindata/other local tags from the caller are kept.
+		;;
+	*)
+		echo "watch.sh: unknown WATCH_DB=${WATCH_DB} (use sqlite, mysql, pgsql, postgres, or mssql)" >&2
+		exit 1
+		;;
+	esac
+fi
+
+if [[ "${WATCH_ACT:-}" == "true" ]]; then
+	echo "watch.sh: WATCH_ACT=true is not implemented yet (act_runner integration pending); ignoring." >&2
+fi
+
 make --no-print-directory watch-frontend &
 make --no-print-directory watch-backend &