diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index adac07075b..859d49e290 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-project('All GStreamer modules', 'c', version : '1.13.0.1', meson_version : '>= 0.40.1')
+project('All GStreamer modules', 'c',
+  version : '1.13.0.1',
+  meson_version : '>= 0.40.1',
+  default_options : ['buildtype=debugoptimized'])
 
 gst_version = '>= @0@'.format(meson.project_version())
 gst_branch = 'master'