diff --git a/bookwyrm/management/commands/compile_themes.py b/bookwyrm/management/commands/compile_themes.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..95c6699ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bookwyrm/management/commands/compile_themes.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+""" Our own command to all scss themes """
+import glob
+import os
+
+import sass
+
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
+
+from sass_processor.apps import APPS_INCLUDE_DIRS
+from sass_processor.processor import SassProcessor
+from sass_processor.utils import get_custom_functions
+
+from bookwyrm import settings
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    """command-line options"""
+
+    help = "SCSS compile all BookWyrm themes"
+
+    # pylint: disable=unused-argument
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        """compile"""
+        themes_dir = os.path.join(
+            settings.BASE_DIR, "bookwyrm", "static", "css", "themes", "*.scss"
+        )
+        for theme_scss in glob.glob(themes_dir):
+            basename, _ = os.path.splitext(theme_scss)
+            theme_css = f"{basename}.css"
+            self.compile_sass(theme_scss, theme_css)
+
+    def compile_sass(self, sass_path, css_path):
+        compile_kwargs = {
+            "filename": sass_path,
+            "include_paths": SassProcessor.include_paths + APPS_INCLUDE_DIRS,
+            "custom_functions": get_custom_functions(),
+            "precision": getattr(settings, "SASS_PRECISION", 8),
+            "output_style": getattr(
+                settings,
+                "SASS_OUTPUT_STYLE",
+                "nested" if settings.DEBUG else "compressed",
+            ),
+        }
+
+        content = sass.compile(**compile_kwargs)
+        with open(css_path, "w") as f:
+            f.write(content)
+        self.stdout.write("Compiled SASS/SCSS file: '{0}'\n".format(sass_path))
diff --git a/bookwyrm/settings.py b/bookwyrm/settings.py
index 0780f8c54..d960c6071 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/settings.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/settings.py
@@ -193,7 +193,8 @@ STATICFILES_FINDERS = [
 ]
 
 SASS_PROCESSOR_INCLUDE_FILE_PATTERN = r"^.+\.[s]{0,1}(?:a|c)ss$"
-SASS_PROCESSOR_ENABLED = True
+# when debug is disabled, make sure to compile themes once with `./bw-dev compile_themes`
+SASS_PROCESSOR_ENABLED = DEBUG
 
 # minify css is production but not dev
 if not DEBUG:
diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/settings/themes.html b/bookwyrm/templates/settings/themes.html
index 628b04d77..c0dfd7b42 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/settings/themes.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/settings/themes.html
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
                 {% trans "Copy the theme file into the <code>bookwyrm/static/css/themes</code> directory on your server from the command line." %}
             </li>
             <li>
-                {% trans "Run <code>./bw-dev collectstatic</code>." %}
+                {% trans "Run <code>./bw-dev compile_themes</code> and <code>./bw-dev collectstatic</code>." %}
             </li>
             <li>
                 {% trans "Add the file name using the form below to make it available in the application interface." %}
diff --git a/bw-dev b/bw-dev
index ef5dec813..7ce1755a1 100755
--- a/bw-dev
+++ b/bw-dev
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ case "$CMD" in
         migrate
         migrate django_celery_beat
         initdb
+        runweb python manage.py compile_themes
         runweb python manage.py collectstatic --no-input
         admin_code
         ;;
@@ -122,6 +123,9 @@ case "$CMD" in
         prod_error
         runweb pytest -n 3 --cov-report term-missing "$@"
         ;;
+    compile_themes)
+        runweb python manage.py compile_themes
+        ;;
     collectstatic)
         runweb python manage.py collectstatic --no-input
         ;;
@@ -203,6 +207,7 @@ case "$CMD" in
         docker-compose build
         # ./update.sh
         runweb python manage.py migrate
+        runweb python manage.py compile_themes
         runweb python manage.py collectstatic --no-input
         docker-compose up -d
         docker-compose restart web
@@ -256,6 +261,7 @@ case "$CMD" in
         migrate
         migrate django_celery_beat
         initdb
+        runweb python manage.py compile_themes
         runweb python manage.py collectstatic --no-input
         admin_code
         ;;
@@ -283,6 +289,7 @@ case "$CMD" in
         echo "    dbshell"
         echo "    restart_celery"
         echo "    pytest [path]"
+        echo "    compile_themes"
         echo "    collectstatic"
         echo "    makemessages"
         echo "    compilemessages [locale]"
diff --git a/complete_bwdev.fish b/complete_bwdev.fish
index e680ede43..6f4172972 100644
--- a/complete_bwdev.fish
+++ b/complete_bwdev.fish
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ dbshell \
 restart_celery \
 pytest \
 pytest_coverage_report \
+compile_themes \
 collectstatic \
 makemessages \
 compilemessages \
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ __bw_complete "$commands" "shell"                   "open the Python shell withi
 __bw_complete "$commands" "dbshell"                 "open the database shell within the web container"
 __bw_complete "$commands" "restart_celery"          "restart the celery container"
 __bw_complete "$commands" "pytest"                  "run unit tests"
+__bw_complete "$commands" "compile_themes"          "compile themes css files"
 __bw_complete "$commands" "collectstatic"           "copy changed static files into the installation"
 __bw_complete "$commands" "makemessages"            "extract all localizable messages from the code"
 __bw_complete "$commands" "compilemessages"         "compile .po localization files to .mo"
diff --git a/complete_bwdev.sh b/complete_bwdev.sh
index 7976b2126..365b58369 100644
--- a/complete_bwdev.sh
+++ b/complete_bwdev.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ dbshell
 restart_celery
 pytest
 pytest_coverage_report
+compile_themes
 collectstatic
 makemessages
 compilemessages
diff --git a/complete_bwdev.zsh b/complete_bwdev.zsh
index e9c8028c1..5df0c6533 100644
--- a/complete_bwdev.zsh
+++ b/complete_bwdev.zsh
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ dbshell
 restart_celery
 pytest
 pytest_coverage_report
+compile_themes
 collectstatic
 makemessages
 compilemessages