diff --git a/.jvmopts b/.jvmopts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9c7812d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jvmopts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+-Xms1024M
+-Xmx2048M
+-Xss1M
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7a88cccb..75eca290 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ This can be achieved by running:
 
  - Setup Amiable configuration.
  A conf file is expected from Amiable.
- The location of that file (as shown in `./sbt`) is: `$HOME/.gu/amiable.local.conf`
+ The location of that file is: `$HOME/.gu/amiable.local.conf`
  That file must contain all the configuration values that exist in `application.conf`
 
  For example the following values must be set:
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ This can be achieved by running:
  In order to setup the auth parameters (eg. `serviceAccountCertPath`),
  please consult someone from the Dev Tools team.
 
- - `./sbt run` open your browser at `https://amiable.local.dev-gutools.co.uk`!
+ - `sbt run` open your browser at `https://amiable.local.dev-gutools.co.uk`!
+
+### Debugging
+ To attach a debugger, use sbt's built-in flag: `sbt -jvm-debug 1056 run`. Then connect your IDE's remote debugger to port 1056.
 
 ### Common problems
  - If when running main you can an error "Could not find a suitable constructor..." it's something wrong with your
diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index e79969e3..8af211c4 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ Universal / javaOptions ++= Seq(
 
 Test / javaOptions += "-Dconfig.file=conf/application.test.conf"
 
+// For local development: load config from ~/.gu/amiable.local.conf.
+// Uses Runtime scope so Play's dev server picks it up (same pattern as guardian/frontend).
+Runtime / javaOptions += s"-Dconfig.file=${System.getProperty("user.home")}/.gu/amiable.local.conf"
+
 routesGenerator := InjectedRoutesGenerator
 
 scalacOptions := Seq(
diff --git a/sbt b/sbt
deleted file mode 100755
index 3d3844f4..00000000
--- a/sbt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Debug option
-DEBUG_PARAMS=""
-for arg in "$@"
-do
-    if [ "$arg" == "--debug" ]; then
-      echo "setting java process as debuggable"
-      DEBUG_PARAMS="-agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=n,address=1056"
-      shift
-    fi
-done
-
-java $DEBUG_PARAMS \
-    -Xms1024M -Xmx2048M -Xss1M \
-    -Dconfig.file=$HOME/.gu/amiable.local.conf \
-    -jar sbt-launch.jar "$@"
diff --git a/sbt-launch.jar b/sbt-launch.jar
deleted file mode 100644
index c065b47b..00000000
Binary files a/sbt-launch.jar and /dev/null differ