diff --git a/server/routes/debug.js b/server/routes/debug.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ed2b6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/routes/debug.js
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+const express = require('express');
+const { ApiDebugLogger } = require('../utils/apiDebugLogger');
+
+const router = express.Router();
+const logger = new ApiDebugLogger();
+
+// Test endpoint for API debugging
+router.get('/debug-test', (req, res) => {
+  console.log('🧪 Debug test endpoint called');
+  
+  const response = {
+    message: 'Debug logging test successful',
+    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
+    debugEnabled: process.env.API_DEBUG === 'true',
+    nodeEnv: process.env.NODE_ENV
+  };
+  
+  // Manual log entry for testing
+  logger.log('GET', '/api/debug-test', 200, req.query, response);
+  
+  res.json(response);
+});
+
+module.exports = router;
diff --git a/server/routes/index.js b/server/routes/index.js
index 892c4d4..0cd5302 100644
--- a/server/routes/index.js
+++ b/server/routes/index.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ const userRoutes = require('./user');
 const alertRoutes = require('./alert');
 const dashboardRoutes = require('./dashboard');
 const healthRoutes = require('./health');
+const debugRoutes = require('./debug');
 
 // API versioning
 router.use('/v1/detections', droneDetectionRoutes);
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ router.use('/users', userRoutes);
 router.use('/alerts', alertRoutes);
 router.use('/dashboard', dashboardRoutes);
 router.use('/health', healthRoutes);
+router.use('/debug', debugRoutes);
 
 // API documentation endpoint
 router.get('/', (req, res) => {
diff --git a/server/utils/apiDebugLogger.js b/server/utils/apiDebugLogger.js
index 81898eb..ceb1515 100644
--- a/server/utils/apiDebugLogger.js
+++ b/server/utils/apiDebugLogger.js
@@ -3,8 +3,26 @@ const path = require('path');
 
 class ApiDebugLogger {
   constructor() {
-    this.logFile = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'api_debug.log');
+    this.logFile = path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', 'api_debug.log');
     this.enabled = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' || process.env.API_DEBUG === 'true';
+    
+    // Debug logging setup
+    if (this.enabled) {
+      console.log(`🐛 ApiDebugLogger: Enabled (NODE_ENV=${process.env.NODE_ENV}, API_DEBUG=${process.env.API_DEBUG})`);
+      console.log(`🐛 ApiDebugLogger: Log file path: ${this.logFile}`);
+      
+      // Ensure the log file exists
+      try {
+        if (!fs.existsSync(this.logFile)) {
+          fs.writeFileSync(this.logFile, `# API Debug Log Started at ${new Date().toISOString()}\n`);
+          console.log(`🐛 ApiDebugLogger: Created log file at ${this.logFile}`);
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error(`❌ ApiDebugLogger: Failed to create log file: ${error}`);
+      }
+    } else {
+      console.log(`🐛 ApiDebugLogger: Disabled (NODE_ENV=${process.env.NODE_ENV}, API_DEBUG=${process.env.API_DEBUG})`);
+    }
   }
 
   log(method, url, statusCode, requestBody = {}, responseBody = {}, headers = {}) {
@@ -31,8 +49,9 @@ class ApiDebugLogger {
 
     try {
       fs.appendFileSync(this.logFile, logEntry + '\n');
+      console.log(`🐛 API Log: ${method.toUpperCase()} ${url} - ${statusCode}`);
     } catch (error) {
-      console.error('Failed to write to API debug log:', error);
+      console.error('❌ Failed to write to API debug log:', error);
     }
   }
 
@@ -78,8 +97,9 @@ class ApiDebugLogger {
     
     try {
       fs.appendFileSync(this.logFile, logEntry + '\n');
+      console.log(`🐛 API Request: ${req.method} ${req.url}`);
     } catch (error) {
-      console.error('Failed to write request to API debug log:', error);
+      console.error('❌ Failed to write request to API debug log:', error);
     }
   }