diff --git a/.github/workflows/rate-limit.yml b/.github/workflows/rate-limit.yml
index bb72c9c52..736091f63 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rate-limit.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rate-limit.yml
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
       -
         name: build docker image
         run: |
-          docker build -f Dockerfile -t epl-debian-slim --env NODE_ENV=develop .
+          docker build -f Dockerfile -t epl-debian-slim --build-arg NODE_ENV=develop .
           docker build -f src/tests/ratelimit/Dockerfile.nginx -t nginx-latest .
           docker build -f src/tests/ratelimit/Dockerfile.anotherip -t anotherip .
       -
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 0f42ab832..0b8fa85fc 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -63,7 +63,8 @@ ARG EP_UID=5001
 ARG EP_GID=0
 ARG EP_SHELL=
 
-ENV NODE_ENV=production
+ARG NODE_ENV
+ENV NODE_ENV=${NODE_ENV:-production}
 
 RUN groupadd --system ${EP_GID:+--gid "${EP_GID}" --non-unique} etherpad && \
     useradd --system ${EP_UID:+--uid "${EP_UID}" --non-unique} --gid etherpad \