diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 65a01f0..5054800 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,13 @@
 `docker build  --tag=$(basename $PWD) .`
 
 ## run in development
-`docker run --name rollerverbrauch -ti -v `pwd`/app:/app -p 5000:5000 rollerverbrauch`
+
+Include the development version of the code as volume, so the app gets
+reloaded automatically. The sqlite file will be stored in *tmp* so it 
+can be inspected with tools like *sqlite3*. The switch *DEBUG* enables
+debugging during development.
+
+`docker run --name rollerverbrauch -ti -v `pwd`/app:/app -v /tmp/pitstops/:/data -e DEBUG=True -p 5000:5000 rollerverbrauch`
 
 ## run in production
 `docker run --name pitstops -d -v /data/pitstops/:/data -p 80:5000 rollerverbrauch`
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index d5fc88a..88a435f 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@ from functools import wraps
 from flask_wtf import Form
 from wtforms import DateField, IntegerField, DecimalField
 from wtforms.validators import DataRequired, ValidationError
+import os
 
 app = Flask(__name__)
 DATABASE = '/data/rollerverbrauch.db'
 app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///'+DATABASE
 sqldb = SQLAlchemy(app)
 
-DEBUG = True
 SECRET_KEY = 'development key'
 app.config.from_object(__name__)
 
@@ -221,4 +221,5 @@ def prepare_pit_stops(pss):
     return pitstops
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
-    app.run(debug=True, host='0.0.0.0')
+    DEBUG = 'DEBUG' in os.environ and os.environ['DEBUG'] != 'False'
+    app.run(debug=DEBUG, host='0.0.0.0')