diff --git a/docs/honk.8 b/docs/honk.8
index 6d69578..3ea246a 100644
--- a/docs/honk.8
+++ b/docs/honk.8
@@ -123,6 +123,11 @@ file which is important to backup and restore.
 is not currently hardened against SSRF, server side request forgery.
 Be mindful of what other services may be exposed via localhost or the
 local network.
+.Sh DEBUG
+Debug mode may be enabled or disabled by running
+.Ic debug Ar on|off .
+In debug mode, secure cookies are disabled and templates are reloaded
+every request.
 .Sh ENVIRONMENT
 Image processing and scaling requires considerable memory.
 It is recommended to adjust the datasize ulimit to at least 1GB.
diff --git a/honk.go b/honk.go
index 1bd6da0..52de461 100644
--- a/honk.go
+++ b/honk.go
@@ -169,6 +169,18 @@ func main() {
 	getconfig("honksep", &honkSep)
 	prepareStatements(db)
 	switch cmd {
+	case "debug":
+		if len(os.Args) != 3 {
+			log.Fatal("need an argument: debug (on|off)")
+		}
+		switch os.Args[2] {
+		case "on":
+			saveconfig("debug", 1)
+		case "off":
+			saveconfig("debug", 0)
+		default:
+			log.Fatal("argument must be on or off")
+		}
 	case "adduser":
 		adduser()
 	case "chpass":