diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..48c7560
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+.git/*
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4617c96..f47cec4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ Variable | Example | Description
 `SERVER_SENDFILE` | `SERVER_SENDFILE=off` | Allows runtime to specify value of nginx's `sendfile` (default, on)
 `SERVER_KEEPALIVE` | `SERVER_KEEPALIVE=30` | Define HTTP 1.1's keepalive timeout
 `SERVER_WORKER_CONNECTIONS` | `SERVER_WORKER_CONNECTIONS=2048` | Sets up the number of connections for worker processes
+`SERVER_LOG_MINIMAL` | `SERVER_LOG_MINIMAL=1` | Minimize the logging format, appropriate for development environments
 
 
 ### Runtime Commands
diff --git a/container/root/etc/nginx/nginx.conf b/container/root/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
index 72d7637..6674c42 100644
--- a/container/root/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
+++ b/container/root/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ http {
                     '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
                     '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for" NGINX_SERVER';
 
+    log_format minimal '$request_method $request_uri $status';
+
     error_log /dev/stdout info;
     access_log /dev/stdout main;
 
diff --git a/container/root/run.d/10-nginx.sh b/container/root/run.d/10-nginx.sh
index 664e629..52b7044 100755
--- a/container/root/run.d/10-nginx.sh
+++ b/container/root/run.d/10-nginx.sh
@@ -44,3 +44,11 @@ then
   echo "[nginx] setting worker connection limit ${SERVER_WORKER_CONNECTIONS}"
   sed -i "s/\worker_connections .*;/worker_connections ${SERVER_WORKER_CONNECTIONS};/" $CONF_NGINX_SERVER
 fi
+
+if [[ $SERVER_LOG_MINIMAL ]]
+then
+  echo "[nginx] enabling minimal logging"
+    # Uncomments all gzip handling options
+  sed -i "s/access_log \/dev\/stdout .*;/access_log \/dev\/stdout minimal;/" $CONF_NGINX_SERVER
+fi
+