diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index fc8e5fa6868..28859ebb2b9 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -79,6 +79,9 @@
         # hidden from the developer - i.e. when they see the command being run via `nix flake check`
         RUST_TEST_THREADS = "1";
 
+        # We enable backtraces on any failure for help with debugging
+        RUST_BACKTRACE = "1";
+
         # We set the environment variable because barretenberg must be compiled in a special way for wasm
         BARRETENBERG_BIN_DIR = "${pkgs.barretenberg-wasm}/bin";