diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01e0926
--- /dev/null
+++ b/justfile
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# run local instance of galileo, in dry-run mode, meaning no funds will be sent.
+# assumes you've imported the galileo seed phrase locally
+dev:
+    cargo run --release -- serve --dry-run 1penumbra --data-dir ~/.local/share/pcli-galileo
+
+# scan discord history for faucet drips, collect in local csv, for inclusion in allocations.
+history:
+    cargo run --release -- history \
+        --channel https://discord.com/channels/824484045370818580/915710851917439060 \
+        | tee discord-history.csv
diff --git a/src/handler.rs b/src/handler.rs
index 0709e8a..36726b9 100644
--- a/src/handler.rs
+++ b/src/handler.rs
@@ -30,14 +30,19 @@ pub struct Handler {
     /// times we've told the user about the rate limit (so that eventually we can stop replying if
     /// they keep asking).
     send_history: Arc<Mutex<SendHistory>>,
+    /// Whether read-only mode is enabled. If false, Penumbra transactions will be sent,
+    /// and Discord replies will be posted. If true, those events will be logged, but not actually
+    /// performed.
+    dry_run: bool,
 }
 
 impl Handler {
-    pub fn new(rate_limit: Duration, reply_limit: usize) -> Self {
+    pub fn new(rate_limit: Duration, reply_limit: usize, dry_run: bool) -> Self {
         Handler {
             rate_limit,
             reply_limit,
             send_history: Arc::new(Mutex::new(SendHistory::new())),
+            dry_run,
         }
     }
     /// Check whether the bot can proceed with honoring this request,
@@ -231,7 +236,13 @@ impl SendHistory {
 
 #[async_trait]
 impl EventHandler for Handler {
-    #[instrument(skip(self, ctx))]
+    // The `Message` struct is very large, and clutters up debug logging, so we'll
+    // extract specific fields to make spans readable.
+    #[instrument(skip_all, fields(
+            user_name = %message.author.name,
+            user_id = %message.author.id,
+            message_id = %message.id,
+    ))]
     /// Respond to faucet request. For first-time requests, will spend a bit.
     /// If the faucet request duplicates a previous request within the timeout
     /// window, then Galileo will respond instructing the user to wait longer.
@@ -281,7 +292,11 @@ impl EventHandler for Handler {
                 "Please wait for another {} before requesting more tokens. Thanks!",
                 format_remaining_time(last_fulfilled, self.rate_limit)
             );
-            reply(&ctx, &message, response).await;
+            if !self.dry_run {
+                reply(&ctx, &message, response).await;
+            } else {
+                tracing::debug!("dry_run: would reply with rate-limit response",);
+            }
 
             // Setting the notified count to zero "un-rate-limits" an entry, which we do when a
             // request fails, so we don't have to traverse the entire list:
@@ -299,6 +314,11 @@ impl EventHandler for Handler {
             .unwrap()
             .record_request(message_info.user_id, &penumbra_addresses);
 
+        if self.dry_run {
+            tracing::debug!("dry_run: would send tx");
+            return;
+        }
+
         // Send the message to the queue, to be processed asynchronously
         tracing::trace!("sending message to worker queue");
         ctx.data
diff --git a/src/opt/serve.rs b/src/opt/serve.rs
index 3cd34f5..fd16c80 100644
--- a/src/opt/serve.rs
+++ b/src/opt/serve.rs
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ pub struct Serve {
     /// Batch size for responding to catch-up backlog.
     #[clap(long, default_value = "25")]
     catch_up_batch_size: usize,
+    /// Disable transaction sending and Discord notifications. Useful for debugging.
+    #[clap(long)]
+    dry_run: bool,
     /// The amounts to send for each response, written as typed values 1.87penumbra, 12cubes, etc.
     values: Vec<Value>,
 }
@@ -144,7 +147,7 @@ impl Serve {
         let (send_requests, responder) = Responder::new(service, self.max_addresses, self.values);
 
         // Create a watcher for Discord messages, which will manage spends and replies.
-        let handler = Handler::new(self.rate_limit, self.reply_limit);
+        let handler = Handler::new(self.rate_limit, self.reply_limit, self.dry_run);
 
         tracing::debug!("configuring discord client");
         // Make a new client using a token set by an environment variable, with our handlers
@@ -214,6 +217,9 @@ impl Serve {
     }
     /// Perform sanity checks on CLI args prior to running.
     async fn preflight_checks(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        if self.dry_run {
+            tracing::info!("dry-run mode is enabled, won't send transactions or post messages");
+        }
         if self.values.is_empty() {
             anyhow::bail!("at least one value must be provided");
         } else if self.values.iter().any(|v| v.amount.value().is_zero()) {