diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index f885a4fbd1339f892933a46b9e7e153ef155d37b..5f501b4692b1af799c7ce4ccb70bc15352eccb57 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ message(STATUS "Setting support for c++17")
 set (CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++17")
 
 if (NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
-  set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RelWithDebInfo" CACHE STRING "" FORCE)
+  set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Debug" CACHE STRING "" FORCE)
 endif()
 
 # CTA continue using the old ABI, so we should force it. This command only works on cmake3,