diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 72ce0d955..2f87f0e7e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -65,6 +65,12 @@ LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-cli/pkg/buildinfo.Date=$(BUILD_DAT
 LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-cli/pkg/buildinfo.SHA=$(BUILD_SHA)'
 LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-cli/pkg/buildinfo.Version=$(BUILD_VERSION)'
 
+# Remove debug symbols to reduce binary size
+# To build with debug symbols: TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifneq ($(strip $(TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+LD_FLAGS += -w -s
+endif
+
 APT_IMAGE=ubuntu
 ifdef APT_BUILDER_IMAGE
 APT_IMAGE=$(APT_BUILDER_IMAGE)
@@ -133,9 +139,9 @@ build-cli-%: ##Build the Tanzu Core CLI for a platform
 	fi
 
 	@if [ "$(OS)" = "windows" ]; then \
-		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)"  -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH).exe" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
+		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build -gcflags=all="-l" --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)" -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH).exe" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
 	else \
-		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)"  -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH)" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
+		GOOS=$(OS) GOARCH=$(ARCH) $(GO) build -gcflags=all="-l" --ldflags "$(LD_FLAGS)" -o "$(ARTIFACTS_DIR)/$(OS)/$(ARCH)/cli/core/$(BUILD_VERSION)/tanzu-cli-$(OS)_$(ARCH)" ./cmd/tanzu/main.go;\
 	fi
 
 ## --------------------------------------
diff --git a/cmd/plugin/builder/command/cli_compile.go b/cmd/plugin/builder/command/cli_compile.go
index 4291519f0..49da6ba7c 100644
--- a/cmd/plugin/builder/command/cli_compile.go
+++ b/cmd/plugin/builder/command/cli_compile.go
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ type PluginCompileArgs struct {
 	PluginScopeAssociationFile string
 	TargetArch                 []string
 	GroupByOSArch              bool
+	DebugSymbols               bool
 }
 
 const local = "local"
@@ -103,6 +104,20 @@ func setGlobals(compileArgs *PluginCompileArgs) {
 
 	// Append version specific ldflag by default so that user doesn't need to pass this ldflag always.
 	ldflags = fmt.Sprintf("%s -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=%s'", ldflags, version)
+
+	// Remove debug symbols to reduce binary size
+	if !compileArgs.DebugSymbols {
+		ldflags = fmt.Sprintf("%s -w -s", ldflags)
+	}
+
+	// Disable function inlining to reduce binary size
+	disableInlining := "-gcflags=all=-l"
+	if len(goflags) > 0 {
+		// Append the user-defined goflags so they can override the default if needed
+		goflags = fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", disableInlining, goflags)
+	} else {
+		goflags = disableInlining
+	}
 }
 
 func Compile(compileArgs *PluginCompileArgs) error {
diff --git a/cmd/plugin/builder/plugin.go b/cmd/plugin/builder/plugin.go
index 1ddf1c6a7..cfa584ce9 100644
--- a/cmd/plugin/builder/plugin.go
+++ b/cmd/plugin/builder/plugin.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ type pluginBuildFlags struct {
 	Match                      string
 	PluginScopeAssociationFile string
 	GoFlags                    string
+	DebugSymbols               bool
 }
 
 type pluginBuildPackageFlags struct {
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ func newPluginBuildCmd() *cobra.Command {
 				PluginScopeAssociationFile: pbFlags.PluginScopeAssociationFile,
 				GroupByOSArch:              true,
 				GoFlags:                    pbFlags.GoFlags,
+				DebugSymbols:               pbFlags.DebugSymbols,
 			}
 
 			return command.Compile(compileArgs)
@@ -96,6 +98,7 @@ func newPluginBuildCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&pbFlags.Match, "match", "", "*", "match a plugin name to build, supports globbing")
 	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&pbFlags.PluginScopeAssociationFile, "plugin-scope-association-file", "", "", "file specifying plugin scope association")
 	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&pbFlags.GoFlags, "goflags", "", "", "goflags to set on build")
+	pluginBuildCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&pbFlags.DebugSymbols, "debug-symbols", "", false, "include debug symbols in the build")
 
 	_ = pluginBuildCmd.MarkFlagRequired("version")
 
diff --git a/cmd/plugin/builder/template/plugintemplates/plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl b/cmd/plugin/builder/template/plugintemplates/plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl
index 3ce275ee5..d9d8e6d8b 100644
--- a/cmd/plugin/builder/template/plugintemplates/plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl
+++ b/cmd/plugin/builder/template/plugintemplates/plugin-tooling.mk.tmpl
@@ -20,8 +20,21 @@ endif
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Date=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_DATE)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.SHA=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_SHA)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_VERSION)'
+
+# This variable can be used to pass additional go flags to the build command.
+# Note that the builder plugin already implicitly sets the go flags "-gcflags=all=-l"
+# which disable function inlining to reduce binary size.  If you want to prevent the
+# use of this flag, you can set PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS to "-gcflags=all=" which will replace
+# the default value.
 PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS ?=
 
+# To build with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifeq ($(strip $(PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=true
+else
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=false
+endif
+
 # Add supported OS-ARCHITECTURE combinations here
 PLUGIN_BUILD_OS_ARCH ?= linux-amd64 windows-amd64 darwin-amd64 darwin-arm64 linux-arm64
 
@@ -102,7 +115,8 @@ plugin-build-%:
 		--goflags "$(PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS)" \
 		--os-arch $(OS)_$(ARCH) \
 		--match "$(PLUGIN_NAME)" \
-		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE)
+		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE) \
+		--debug-symbols=$(PLUGIN_DEBUG)
 
 .PHONY: plugin-build-packages
 plugin-build-packages: ## Build plugin packages
diff --git a/docs/dev/README.md b/docs/dev/README.md
index 6191d3064..8b27a8bf4 100644
--- a/docs/dev/README.md
+++ b/docs/dev/README.md
@@ -55,6 +55,17 @@ To run e2e tests for the repository:
 make e2e-cli-core
 ```
 
+### Debugging
+
+By default the CLI is built without debug symbols to reduce its binary size;
+this has the side-effect of preventing the use of a debugger towards the built
+binary.  However, when using an IDE, a different binary is used, one built by
+the IDE, and therefore the debugger can be used directly from the IDE.
+
+If you require using a debugger directly on a CLI binary, you have to build
+a binary that includes the debug symbols.  You can build such a binary by using
+`TANZU_CLI_ENABLE_DEBUG=1` along with your build command.
+
 ## Centralized Discovery of Plugins
 
 The Tanzu CLI uses a system of plugins to provide functionality to interact
diff --git a/docs/plugindev/README.md b/docs/plugindev/README.md
index 7cf26490e..9fbbdd866 100644
--- a/docs/plugindev/README.md
+++ b/docs/plugindev/README.md
@@ -231,6 +231,30 @@ well.
 
 Edit the file as appropriate.
 
+#### Optimizations, debugging and build flags
+
+By default the `builder` plugin `v1.2.0` or later optimizes build flags to
+reduce the binary size of the plugin being built.  Two optimizations are done:
+building without debug symbols (which reduces the binary size by up to 30%),
+and deactivating function inlining (which reduces the binary size by about 6%).
+
+Building without debug symbols has the side-effect of preventing the use of a
+debugger towards the built binary.  However, when using an IDE, a different
+binary is used, one built by the IDE, and therefore the debugger can be used
+directly from the IDE.
+
+If you require using a debugger directly on a plugin binary, you have to build
+a binary that includes the debug symbols.  You can build such a binary by using
+`PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1` along with your `make` command.
+
+The `builder` plugin deactivates function inlining by implicitly injecting
+the `-gcflags=all=-l` go flags.  Be aware that if you use the `PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS`
+variable to inject other `-gcflags`, you should pay attention to also include
+the `all=-l` to keep the optimization. If for some reason you need to activate
+function inlining (at the cost of a larger binary), you can do so by
+using `PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS=-gcflags=all=` (without the `-l` specified), which will
+have the effect of replacing the go flags specified by the `builder` plugin.
+
 ### Publishing a plugin
 
 To publish one or more built plugins to a target repository, one would need to
diff --git a/plugin-tooling.mk b/plugin-tooling.mk
index 0ffa1908c..8ea0e06fa 100644
--- a/plugin-tooling.mk
+++ b/plugin-tooling.mk
@@ -24,8 +24,21 @@ endif
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Date=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_DATE)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.SHA=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_SHA)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_VERSION)'
+
+# This variable can be used to pass additional go flags to the build command.
+# Note that the builder plugin already implicitly sets the go flags "-gcflags=all=-l"
+# which disable function inlining to reduce binary size.  If you want to prevent the
+# use of this flag, you can set PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS to "-gcflags=all=" which will replace
+# the default value.
 PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS ?=
 
+# To build with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifeq ($(strip $(PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=true
+else
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=false
+endif
+
 # Add supported OS-ARCHITECTURE combinations here
 PLUGIN_BUILD_OS_ARCH ?= linux-amd64 windows-amd64 darwin-amd64 darwin-arm64 linux-arm64
 
@@ -106,7 +119,8 @@ plugin-build-%:
 		--goflags "$(PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS)" \
 		--os-arch $(OS)_$(ARCH) \
 		--match "$(PLUGIN_NAME)" \
-		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE)
+		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE) \
+		--debug-symbols=$(PLUGIN_DEBUG)
 
 .PHONY: plugin-build-packages
 plugin-build-packages:  ## Build plugin packages
diff --git a/test/sample-plugin/Makefile b/test/sample-plugin/Makefile
index 846a901c6..f232491df 100644
--- a/test/sample-plugin/Makefile
+++ b/test/sample-plugin/Makefile
@@ -37,9 +37,11 @@ $(GOLANGCI_LINT): $(TOOLS_BIN_DIR) ## Install golangci-lint
 
 .PHONY: install-builder
 install-builder: ## Install builder
+	$(MAKE) -C $(ROOT_DIR_RELATIVE)/../.. prepare-builder
+	unset BUILDER_PLUGIN ; \
 	export TANZU_CLI_CEIP_OPT_IN_PROMPT_ANSWER="No" ; \
 	export TANZU_CLI_EULA_PROMPT_ANSWER="Yes" ; \
-	tanzu plugin install builder
+	$(MAKE) -C $(ROOT_DIR_RELATIVE)/../.. plugin-build-install-local PLUGIN_NAME=builder
 
 .PHONEY: e2e-tests-simple-plugin ## Run all e2e tests for simple plugin
 e2e-tests-simple-plugin: install-builder plugin-build-local plugin-install-local e2e-tests-sample-plugin-functionality e2e-tests-sample-plugin-e2e-api
diff --git a/test/sample-plugin/plugin-tooling.mk b/test/sample-plugin/plugin-tooling.mk
index 61857a809..43cc4e06e 100644
--- a/test/sample-plugin/plugin-tooling.mk
+++ b/test/sample-plugin/plugin-tooling.mk
@@ -20,8 +20,21 @@ endif
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Date=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_DATE)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.SHA=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_SHA)'
 PLUGIN_LD_FLAGS += -X 'github.com/vmware-tanzu/tanzu-plugin-runtime/plugin/buildinfo.Version=$(PLUGIN_BUILD_VERSION)'
+
+# This variable can be used to pass additional go flags to the build command.
+# Note that the builder plugin already implicitly sets the go flags "-gcflags=all=-l"
+# which disable function inlining to reduce binary size.  If you want to prevent the
+# use of this flag, you can set PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS to "-gcflags=all=" which will replace
+# the default value.
 PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS ?=
 
+# To build with debug symbols use PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG=1
+ifeq ($(strip $(PLUGIN_ENABLE_DEBUG)),1)
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=true
+else
+PLUGIN_DEBUG=false
+endif
+
 # Add supported OS-ARCHITECTURE combinations here
 PLUGIN_BUILD_OS_ARCH ?= linux-amd64 windows-amd64 darwin-amd64 darwin-arm64 linux-arm64
 
@@ -88,8 +101,9 @@ plugin-install-local:
 .PHONY: plugin-build
 plugin-build: $(PLUGIN_BUILD_TARGETS) generate-plugin-bundle ## Build all plugin binaries for all supported os-arch
 
+.PHONY: plugin-build-local
 plugin-build-local: plugin-build-$(GOHOSTOS)-$(GOHOSTARCH) ## Build all plugin binaries for local platform
-	
+
 plugin-build-%:
 	$(eval ARCH = $(word 2,$(subst -, ,$*)))
 	$(eval OS = $(word 1,$(subst -, ,$*)))
@@ -101,7 +115,8 @@ plugin-build-%:
 		--goflags "$(PLUGIN_GO_FLAGS)" \
 		--os-arch $(OS)_$(ARCH) \
 		--match "$(PLUGIN_NAME)" \
-		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE)
+		--plugin-scope-association-file $(PLUGIN_SCOPE_ASSOCIATION_FILE) \
+		--debug-symbols=$(PLUGIN_DEBUG)
 
 .PHONY: plugin-build-packages
 plugin-build-packages: ## Build plugin packages