diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e1da38cd1..2c76b6d08 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -31,6 +31,16 @@ start-worker:
 upstream-sync:
 	. ./venv/bin/activate && python cre.py --upstream_sync
 
+generate-synthetic:
+	python3 -m application.scripts.generate_synthetic_graph
+
+populate-neo4j:
+	python cre.py --populate_neo4j_db
+
+sync-and-populate:
+	make upstream-sync
+	make populate-neo4j
+
 dev-flask:
 	. ./venv/bin/activate && INSECURE_REQUESTS=1 FLASK_APP=`pwd`/cre.py  FLASK_CONFIG=development flask run
 
@@ -70,7 +80,7 @@ install-python:
 	. ./venv/bin/activate &&\
 	make install-deps-python &&\
 	playwright install
-	
+
 install-typescript:
 	yarn add webpack && cd application/frontend && yarn build
 
@@ -104,8 +114,8 @@ clean:
 
 migrate-upgrade:
 	[ -d "./venv" ] && . ./venv/bin/activate &&\
-	export FLASK_APP=$(CURDIR)/cre.py 
-	flask db upgrade  
+	export FLASK_APP=$(CURDIR)/cre.py
+	flask db upgrade
 
 migrate-downgrade:
 	[ -d "./venv" ] && . ./venv/bin/activate &&\
diff --git a/application/scripts/generate_synthetic_graph.py b/application/scripts/generate_synthetic_graph.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2df5fefc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/application/scripts/generate_synthetic_graph.py
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+from application.defs import cre_defs as defs
+from application.cmd import cre_main as main
+from application.database import db
+from application import create_app, sqla  # ✅ use sqla like in db_test.py
+
+
+def generate_synthetic_cre_standard_graph(n_cres=200, n_standards=10):
+    collection = db.Node_collection().with_graph()
+
+    standards = [
+        defs.Standard(
+            name=f"Standard_{i}",
+            section=f"Section_{i}",
+        )
+        for i in range(n_standards)
+    ]
+
+    for standard in standards:
+        main.register_node(standard, collection)
+
+    for i in range(n_cres):
+        linked_standards = [
+            defs.Link(document=standards[i % n_standards],
+                      ltype=defs.LinkTypes.LinkedTo)
+        ]
+        cre = defs.CRE(
+            id=f"{i // 1000:03}-{i % 1000:03}",
+            name=f"CRE_Name_{i}",
+            description="Synthetic CRE for benchmarking",
+            links=linked_standards,
+        )
+        main.register_cre(cre, collection)
+
+    print(f"Generated {n_cres} CREs and {n_standards} Standards.")
+    return collection
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    print("Starting synthetic graph generation...")
+
+    app = create_app(mode="test")
+    with app.app_context():
+        sqla.create_all()
+        collection = generate_synthetic_cre_standard_graph(
+            n_cres=200, n_standards=10)
+
+        # Save collection to SQLite cache
+        # <-- Confirm if this method exists for Node_collection or find the right save method
+        # collection.save()
+
+        # Now populate Neo4j from SQLite cache
+        main.populate_neo4j_db(
+            "/path/to/standards_cache.sqlite")  # Use correct path
+
+    print("Finished synthetic graph generation.")
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index 9a18502f2..cf3b91275 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -9,12 +9,26 @@
     "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
     "allowJs": true,
     "checkJs": false,
-    "lib": ["esnext", "dom"],
+    "lib": [
+      "esnext",
+      "dom"
+    ],
     "outDir": "dist",
     "moduleResolution": "node",
     "keyofStringsOnly": true,
     "skipLibCheck": true
   },
-  "include": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx", "**/*.js", "src/**/*"],
-  "exclude": ["dist", "node_modules", "build", "scripts"]
+  "include": [
+    "**/*.ts",
+    "**/*.tsx",
+    "**/*.js",
+    "src/**/*"
+  ],
+  "exclude": [
+    "venv",
+    "dist",
+    "node_modules",
+    "build",
+    "scripts"
+  ]
 }