diff --git a/Containerfile.debug b/Containerfile.debug
index bea569ea7..6579fb339 100644
--- a/Containerfile.debug
+++ b/Containerfile.debug
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ FROM registry.access.redhat.com/hi/python:3.12-builder AS builder
 
 USER root
 
-RUN dnf install -y git && dnf update -y
+RUN dnf update -y && dnf install -y git && dnf clean all
 
 COPY . /app
 
@@ -63,6 +63,11 @@ LABEL name="coldfront" \
       vendor="NYU RTS" \
       description="To gain inteactive access for a deployment of Coldfront in RTC" 
 
+USER root
+# debug image: neovim for editing, tar for kubectl cp
+RUN dnf update -y && dnf install -y neovim tar && dnf clean all
+USER ${CONTAINER_DEFAULT_USER}
+
 # Copy built bundles/manifest from frontend stage into the backend image
 COPY --from=frontend /app/coldfront/static/bundles /app/coldfront/static/bundles