diff --git a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
index 7484284b..a10967f4 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
   helper_method :can_use_image_mode?, :user_is?
   
   before_filter :set_locale
+  before_filter :login_as_test_user if Rails.env.development?
 
   def authenticate_user! # too lazy to change references to login_path
     redirect_to(login_path) unless user_signed_in?
@@ -66,5 +67,10 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
   def valid_locale?(locale)
     locale && I18n.usable_locales.include?(locale.to_sym)
   end
+
+  def login_as_test_user
+    test_user = User.find_by_name('test')
+    sign_in(:user, test_user, bypass: true)
+  end
 end