diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 440c65b4a9..bff6fa785f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ Added
 * Added graceful shutdown for workflow engine. #5463
   Contributed by @khushboobhatia01
 
+* Add ``ST2_USE_DEBUGGER`` env var as alternative to the ``--use-debugger`` cli flag. #5675
+  Contributed by @cognifloyd
+
 Changed
 ~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/st2common/st2common/util/monkey_patch.py b/st2common/st2common/util/monkey_patch.py
index 1f0bb42cb4..598e3e36ee 100644
--- a/st2common/st2common/util/monkey_patch.py
+++ b/st2common/st2common/util/monkey_patch.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 
+import os
 import sys
 
 __all__ = [
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@
 
 USE_DEBUGGER_FLAG = "--use-debugger"
 PARENT_ARGS_FLAG = "--parent-args="
+USE_DEBUGGER_ENV_VAR = "ST2_USE_DEBUGGER"
 
 
 def monkey_patch(patch_thread=None):
@@ -117,4 +119,8 @@ def is_use_debugger_flag_provided():
         if arg.startswith(PARENT_ARGS_FLAG) and USE_DEBUGGER_FLAG in arg:
             return True
 
+    # 3. Check for ST2_USE_DEBUGGER env var
+    if os.environ.get(USE_DEBUGGER_ENV_VAR, False):
+        return True
+
     return False