diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e73ec0cfd..a5e9ea86a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ To build and run a docker container, pass one argument to local-docker.sh:
 - `buildman`: run the buildmanager
 - `notifications`: run the notification worker
 - `test`: run the unit tests
+- `initdb`: clear and initialize the test database
 
 For example:
 
diff --git a/local-docker.sh b/local-docker.sh
index 530ff2dae..4d816e1a4 100755
--- a/local-docker.sh
+++ b/local-docker.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ notifications)
 test)
 	d bash /src/quay/local-test.sh
 	;;
+initdb)
+	rm -f test/data/test.db
+	d /venv/bin/python initdb.py
+	;;
 *)
 	echo "unknown option"
 	exit 1