diff --git a/src/index.py b/src/index.py
index ed588382..3ad41bfa 100644
--- a/src/index.py
+++ b/src/index.py
@@ -9,10 +9,13 @@
 from biothings.web.launcher import main
 from tornado.ioloop import IOLoop
 from tornado.web import RequestHandler
+from tornado.options import define, options
 
 from admin import routine
 from utils.indices import setup
 
+define("prod", default=False, help="Run in production mode", type=bool)
+
 
 def run_routine():
     thread = Thread(target=routine, daemon=True)
@@ -30,7 +33,7 @@ def get(self):
 
     logger = logging.getLogger("routine")
 
-    if not options.debug:
+    if not options.debug and options.prod:
         crontab("0 0 * * *", func=run_routine, start=True)
         logger.info("Crontab configured successfully.")