diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index bd9ae06..9b98ea9 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ project(dropshell VERSION 1.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
 
+# Set default build type to Release if not specified
+if(NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
+  set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Release" CACHE STRING "Choose the type of build (Debug or Release)" FORCE)
+endif()
+
+# Configure build-specific compiler flags
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} -g")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE} -O3 -DNDEBUG")
+
 # Configure version information
 string(TIMESTAMP CURRENT_YEAR "%Y")
 string(TIMESTAMP CURRENT_MONTH "%m")
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 278f6fd..3f35d47 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ fi
 
 # Configure with CMake
 print_status "Configuring with CMake..."
-cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
 
 # Build the project
 print_status "Building project..."
diff --git a/src/autocomplete.cpp b/src/autocomplete.cpp
index 4d94473..641b4b1 100644
--- a/src/autocomplete.cpp
+++ b/src/autocomplete.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include "templates.hpp"
 #include "services.hpp"
 #include "servers.hpp"
+#include "utils/assert.hpp"
 
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <iostream>
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ void dropshell::autocomplete(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
         return;
     }
 
+    ASSERT(args.size() >= 3);
     std::string cmd = args[2];
 
     // std::cout<<" cmd = ["<<cmd<<"]"<<std::endl;
diff --git a/src/utils/assert.hpp b/src/utils/assert.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..898d7b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/assert.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+#ifndef DROPSHELL_ASSERT_HPP
+#define DROPSHELL_ASSERT_HPP
+
+#include <iostream>
+#include <string_view>
+#include <cstdlib> // For std::exit and EXIT_FAILURE
+
+namespace ds {
+
+struct SourceLocation {
+    const char* file_name;
+    int line;
+    const char* function_name;
+};
+
+// Helper macro to create a SourceLocation with current context
+#define DS_CURRENT_LOCATION ds::SourceLocation{__FILE__, __LINE__, __func__}
+
+[[noreturn]] inline void assert_fail(
+    const char* expression,
+    const SourceLocation& location,
+    const char* message = nullptr) {
+    
+    std::cerr << "\033[1;31mAssertion failed!\033[0m\n"
+              << "Expression: \033[1;33m" << expression << "\033[0m\n"
+              << "Location:   \033[1;36m" << location.file_name << ":" 
+                                           << location.line << "\033[0m\n"
+              << "Function:   \033[1;36m" << location.function_name << "\033[0m\n";
+              
+    if (message) {
+        std::cerr << "Message:    \033[1;37m" << message << "\033[0m\n";
+    }
+    
+    std::cerr << std::endl;
+    
+    // Exit the program without creating a core dump
+    std::exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+} // namespace ds
+
+// Define assertion macros with different behaviors based on build configuration
+#if defined(NDEBUG) && !defined(DS_ENABLE_RELEASE_ASSERTS)
+    // Assertions disabled in release builds by default
+    #define ASSERT(condition) ((void)0)
+    #define ASSERT_MSG(condition, message) ((void)0)
+#else
+    // Standard assertion
+    #define ASSERT(condition) \
+        do { \
+            if (!(condition)) { \
+                ds::assert_fail(#condition, DS_CURRENT_LOCATION); \
+            } \
+        } while (false)
+        
+    // Assertion with custom message
+    #define ASSERT_MSG(condition, message) \
+        do { \
+            if (!(condition)) { \
+                ds::assert_fail(#condition, DS_CURRENT_LOCATION, message); \
+            } \
+        } while (false)
+#endif
+
+// Always-active assertion for critical checks, even in release builds
+#define ASSERT_ALWAYS(condition) \
+    do { \
+        if (!(condition)) { \
+            ds::assert_fail(#condition, DS_CURRENT_LOCATION); \
+        } \
+    } while (false)
+
+// Always-active assertion with custom message for critical checks
+#define ASSERT_ALWAYS_MSG(condition, message) \
+    do { \
+        if (!(condition)) { \
+            ds::assert_fail(#condition, DS_CURRENT_LOCATION, message); \
+        } \
+    } while (false)
+
+#endif // DROPSHELL_ASSERT_HPP