diff --git a/letta/cli/cli.py b/letta/cli/cli.py
index 6dd4e6094..a89d5266d 100644
--- a/letta/cli/cli.py
+++ b/letta/cli/cli.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ def server(
     port: Annotated[Optional[int], typer.Option(help="Port to run the server on")] = None,
     host: Annotated[Optional[str], typer.Option(help="Host to run the server on (default to localhost)")] = None,
     debug: Annotated[bool, typer.Option(help="Turn debugging output on")] = False,
+    reload: Annotated[bool, typer.Option(help="Enable hot-reload")] = False,
     ade: Annotated[bool, typer.Option(help="Allows remote access")] = False,  # NOTE: deprecated
     secure: Annotated[bool, typer.Option(help="Adds simple security access")] = False,
     localhttps: Annotated[bool, typer.Option(help="Setup local https")] = False,
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ def server(
         try:
             from letta.server.rest_api.app import start_server
 
-            start_server(port=port, host=host, debug=debug)
+            start_server(port=port, host=host, debug=debug, reload=reload)
 
         except KeyboardInterrupt:
             # Handle CTRL-C
diff --git a/letta/server/rest_api/app.py b/letta/server/rest_api/app.py
index caaaf3d02..f2d96bc1f 100644
--- a/letta/server/rest_api/app.py
+++ b/letta/server/rest_api/app.py
@@ -333,6 +333,7 @@ def start_server(
     port: Optional[int] = None,
     host: Optional[str] = None,
     debug: bool = False,
+    reload: bool = False,
 ):
     """Convenience method to start the server from within Python"""
     if debug:
@@ -356,7 +357,7 @@ def start_server(
             host=host or "localhost",
             port=port or REST_DEFAULT_PORT,
             workers=settings.uvicorn_workers,
-            reload=settings.uvicorn_reload,
+            reload=reload or settings.uvicorn_reload,
             timeout_keep_alive=settings.uvicorn_timeout_keep_alive,
             ssl_keyfile="certs/localhost-key.pem",
             ssl_certfile="certs/localhost.pem",
@@ -375,6 +376,6 @@ def start_server(
             host=host or "localhost",
             port=port or REST_DEFAULT_PORT,
             workers=settings.uvicorn_workers,
-            reload=settings.uvicorn_reload,
+            reload=reload or settings.uvicorn_reload,
             timeout_keep_alive=settings.uvicorn_timeout_keep_alive,
         )
diff --git a/project.json b/project.json
index 217724ab0..fbbade4ec 100644
--- a/project.json
+++ b/project.json
@@ -34,6 +34,17 @@
         "cwd": "apps/core"
       }
     },
+    "debug": {
+      "executor": "@nxlv/python:run-commands",
+      "options": {
+        "commands": [
+          "./otel/start-otel-collector.sh",
+          "poetry run letta server --debug --reload"
+        ],
+        "parallel": true,
+        "cwd": "apps/core"
+      }
+    },
     "build": {
       "executor": "@nxlv/python:build",
       "outputs": ["{projectRoot}/dist"],