diff --git a/airbyte-webapp/package.json b/airbyte-webapp/package.json
index b78949a6225b..229d5e228fe8 100644
--- a/airbyte-webapp/package.json
+++ b/airbyte-webapp/package.json
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
     "stylelint": "stylelint 'src/**/*.{css,scss}'",
     "stylelint-check": "stylelint-config-prettier-scss-check",
     "license-check": "node ./scripts/license-check.js",
-    "generate-client": "orval",
+    "generate-client": "./scripts/load-declarative-schema.sh && orval",
     "validate-links": "ts-node --skip-project ./scripts/validate-links.ts"
   },
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/airbyte-webapp/scripts/load-declarative-schema.sh b/airbyte-webapp/scripts/load-declarative-schema.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..279bccd7a2d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/airbyte-webapp/scripts/load-declarative-schema.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# This script makes sure the json schema for the low code connector manifest is provided for orval to build the Typescript types
+# used by the connector builder UI. It either downloads a released version from PyPI or copies it over from a specified file path.
+
+set -e
+mkdir -p build
+
+# Make sure this is aligned with the CDK version of the connector builder server
+DEFAULT_CDK_VERSION="0.25.0"
+
+if [ -z "$CDK_VERSION" ]
+then
+    CDK_VERSION=$DEFAULT_CDK_VERSION
+fi
+
+
+if [ -z "$CDK_MANIFEST_PATH" ]
+then
+    TARGET_FILE="build/declarative_component_schema-${CDK_VERSION}.yaml"
+    if [ ! -f "$TARGET_FILE" ]; then
+        echo "Downloading CDK manifest schema $CDK_VERSION from pypi"
+        curl -L https://pypi.python.org/packages/source/a/airbyte-cdk/airbyte-cdk-${CDK_VERSION}.tar.gz | tar -xzO airbyte-cdk-${CDK_VERSION}/airbyte_cdk/sources/declarative/declarative_component_schema.yaml > ${TARGET_FILE}
+    else
+        echo "Found cached CDK manifest schema $CDK_VERSION"
+    fi
+    cp ${TARGET_FILE} build/declarative_component_schema.yaml
+else
+    echo "Copying local CDK manifest version from $CDK_MANIFEST_PATH"
+    cp ${CDK_MANIFEST_PATH} build/declarative_component_schema.yaml
+fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/airbyte-webapp/src/services/connectorBuilder/connector_manifest_openapi.yaml b/airbyte-webapp/src/services/connectorBuilder/connector_manifest_openapi.yaml
index 690df8ae8fe4..cab17ecd5bee 100644
--- a/airbyte-webapp/src/services/connectorBuilder/connector_manifest_openapi.yaml
+++ b/airbyte-webapp/src/services/connectorBuilder/connector_manifest_openapi.yaml
@@ -6,4 +6,4 @@ paths: {}
 components:
   schemas:
     ConnectorManifest:
-      $ref: "../../../../airbyte-cdk/python/airbyte_cdk/sources/declarative/declarative_component_schema.yaml"
+      $ref: "../../../build/declarative_component_schema.yaml"
diff --git a/docs/contributing-to-airbyte/developing-locally.md b/docs/contributing-to-airbyte/developing-locally.md
index 9e8990c70ee8..00a09bc721f4 100644
--- a/docs/contributing-to-airbyte/developing-locally.md
+++ b/docs/contributing-to-airbyte/developing-locally.md
@@ -198,6 +198,15 @@ pnpm start
 
 - Happy Hacking!
 
+#### Using a custom version of the CDK declarative manifest schema for the connector builder UI
+
+When working on the connector builder UI and doing changes to the CDK and the webapp at the same time, you can start the dev server with `CDK_MANIFEST_PATH` or `CDK_VERSION` environment variables set to have the correct Typescript types built. If `CDK_VERSION` is set, it's loading the specified version of the CDK from pypi instead of the default one, if `CDK_MANIFEST_PATH` is set, it's copying the schema file locally.
+
+For example:
+```
+CDK_MANIFEST_PATH=../../airbyte/airbyte-cdk/python/airbyte_cdk/sources/declarative/declarative_component_schema.yaml pnpm start
+```
+
 ### Connector Specification Caching
 
 The Configuration API caches connector specifications. This is done to avoid needing to run Docker everytime one is needed in the UI. Without this caching, the UI crawls. If you update the specification of a connector and need to clear this cache so the API / UI picks up the change, you have two options: