diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b8c6c94f..e29f098f 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ __pycache__/
 *.py[cod]
 *$py.class
 
-.vscode/
+.vscode/*
+!.vscode/launch.json
 
 # C extensions
 *.so
diff --git a/.vscode/launch.json b/.vscode/launch.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a28bb0af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vscode/launch.json
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{
+    // Use IntelliSense to learn about possible attributes.
+    // Hover to view descriptions of existing attributes.
+    // For more information, visit: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=830387
+    "version": "0.2.0",
+    "configurations": [
+        {
+            "name": "Python Debugger: refinery-gateway",
+            "type": "debugpy",
+            "request": "attach",
+            "connect": {
+                "host": "localhost",
+                "port": 15670
+            },
+            "pathMappings": [
+                {
+                    "localRoot": "${workspaceFolder}",
+                    "remoteRoot": "."
+                }
+            ]
+        }
+    ]
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/requirements-dev.txt b/requirements-dev.txt
index 5bedfc1e..31b10836 100644
--- a/requirements-dev.txt
+++ b/requirements-dev.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 -r requirements.txt
 httpx>=0.25.0
-pytest==8.1.1
\ No newline at end of file
+pytest==8.1.1
+debugpy==1.8.12
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/start b/start
index 204f2a84..6846cec1 100755
--- a/start
+++ b/start
@@ -1,4 +1,20 @@
 #!/bin/bash
+
+DEBUG_MODE=false
+DEBUG_PORT=15670
+
+while getopts d flag
+do
+    case "${flag}" in
+        d) DEBUG_MODE=true;;
+    esac
+done
+
+CMD=""
+if [ $DEBUG_MODE = true ]; then
+    CMD="debugpy --wait-for-client --listen 0.0.0.0:$DEBUG_PORT -m uvicorn app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 80 --reload"
+fi
+
 trap "echo -ne '\nstopping container...' && docker stop refinery-gateway > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo -ne '\t\t [done]\n'" EXIT
 
 unameOut="$(uname -s)"
@@ -60,7 +76,7 @@ then
 fi
 
 echo -ne 'building container...'
-docker build -t graphql-dev -f dev.Dockerfile . > /dev/null 2>&1
+docker build -t graphql-dev -f dev.Dockerfile .
 echo -ne '\t\t [done]\n'
 
 echo -ne 'migrating db...\n'
@@ -76,6 +92,7 @@ echo -ne 'migration done\n'
 echo -ne 'starting...'
 docker run -d --rm \
 --name refinery-gateway \
+-p $DEBUG_PORT:$DEBUG_PORT \
 -p 7051:80 \
 -e AC_EXEC_ENV_IMAGE=registry.dev.kern.ai/code-kern-ai/refinery-ac-exec-env:dev$IS_ARM64 \
 -e LF_EXEC_ENV_IMAGE=registry.dev.kern.ai/code-kern-ai/refinery-lf-exec-env:dev$IS_ARM64 \
@@ -106,7 +123,10 @@ docker run -d --rm \
 --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)"/,target=/app \
 -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
 --network dev-setup_default \
-graphql-dev > /dev/null 2>&1
+graphql-dev $CMD > /dev/null 2>&1
 echo -ne '\t\t\t [done]\n'
 
+if [ $DEBUG_MODE = true ]; then
+    echo -e "\033[0;33muse VSCode Debugger (Python Debugger: refinery-gateway) to start the service\033[0m"
+fi
 docker logs -f refinery-gateway \
diff --git a/submodules/model b/submodules/model
index cd31a340..c8179885 160000
--- a/submodules/model
+++ b/submodules/model
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit cd31a340d9a7f1e28c2367a63d36eb71732dec9c
+Subproject commit c81798852f9f2a2769b094dc971e89e1c4a58a42