diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 344db1fb..b6fddcf1 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -193,7 +193,9 @@ aux_source_directory(3rdparty/json11 EXT_JSON11_FILES)
 aux_source_directory(frontend/ FRONTEND_FILES)
 
 set(COMMON_FILES ${COMMON_SRC_FILES} ${EXT_JSON11_FILES} ${JSON_PARSER_FILES} ${FRONTEND_FILES})
-set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE Release)
+if( NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE )
+    set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE Release)
+endif()
 
 if(CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING)
     set(BBA_IMPORT "IMPORTFILE-NOTFOUND" CACHE FILEPATH