diff --git a/packages/react-scripts/config/env.js b/packages/react-scripts/config/env.js
index 7793fadf0..b8aa063e1 100644
--- a/packages/react-scripts/config/env.js
+++ b/packages/react-scripts/config/env.js
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ function getClientEnvironment(publicUrl) {
         return env;
       },
       {
+        // support the popular DEBUG package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/debug
+        DEBUG: process.env.DEBUG || '',
         // Useful for determining whether we’re running in production mode.
         // Most importantly, it switches React into the correct mode.
         NODE_ENV: process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development',