diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 55f78229c03af..5b6627f912fad 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ LOCAL_PHP_XDEBUG_MODE=develop,debug
 # Whether or not to enable Memcached.
 LOCAL_PHP_MEMCACHED=false
 
+# Whether or not to enable FTP.
+LOCAL_FTP=false
+
 ##
 # The database software to use.
 #
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 48f3abc607b03..d93085fe174a1 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -138,6 +138,27 @@ services:
       php:
         condition: service_started
 
+  ##
+  # The FTP container.
+  ##
+  ftp:
+    image: 'garethflowers/ftp-server:latest'
+
+    networks:
+      - wpdevnet
+
+    ports:
+      - '20-21:20-21/tcp'
+      - '40000-40009:40000-40009/tcp'
+
+    volumes:
+      - ./src/:/home/admin/
+
+    environment:
+      FTP_USER: admin
+      FTP_PASS: password
+      PUBLIC_IP: ${SERVICE_NAME:-ftp}
+
 volumes:
   # So that sites aren't wiped every time containers are restarted, MySQL uses a persistent volume.
   mysql: {}
diff --git a/tools/local-env/scripts/start.js b/tools/local-env/scripts/start.js
index 0dc8b9570063d..736dc02d2eecc 100644
--- a/tools/local-env/scripts/start.js
+++ b/tools/local-env/scripts/start.js
@@ -28,9 +28,15 @@ try {
 }
 
 // Start the local-env containers.
-const containers = ( process.env.LOCAL_PHP_MEMCACHED === 'true' )
-	? 'wordpress-develop memcached'
-	: 'wordpress-develop';
+let containers = 'wordpress-develop';
+
+if ( process.env.LOCAL_PHP_MEMCACHED === 'true' ) {
+	containers += ' memcached';
+}
+
+if ( process.env.LOCAL_FTP === 'true' ) {
+	containers += ' ftp';
+}
 execSync( `docker compose ${composeFiles} up --quiet-pull -d ${containers}`, { stdio: 'inherit' } );
 
 // If Docker Toolbox is being used, we need to manually forward LOCAL_PORT to the Docker VM.