diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e9cc56637a..c20325163c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -110,6 +110,12 @@ ifeq (,$(findstring nostrip,$(COSMOS_BUILD_OPTIONS)))
   BUILD_FLAGS += -trimpath
 endif
 
+# check if no optimization option is passed
+# used for remote debugging
+ifneq (,$(findstring nooptimization,$(COSMOS_BUILD_OPTIONS)))
+  BUILD_FLAGS += -gcflags "all=-N -l"
+endif
+
 # # The below include contains the tools and runsim targets.
 # include contrib/devtools/Makefile