diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/shell.nix b/pkgs/clan-cli/shell.nix
index 336b2f03c..f0ff0d7d0 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/shell.nix
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/shell.nix
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ let
     ++ clan-cli.devDependencies
     ++ [
       ps.pip
+      ps.ipdb
     ]
   );
   checkScript = writeScriptBin "check" ''
@@ -23,6 +24,8 @@ mkShell {
   # evaluating the flake .#
   CLAN_OPTIONS_FILE = ./clan_cli/config/jsonschema/options.json;
   PYTHONPATH = "${pythonWithDeps}/${pythonWithDeps.sitePackages}";
+  PYTHONBREAKPOINT = "ipdb.set_trace";
+
   shellHook = ''
     tmp_path=$(realpath ./.direnv)