diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 25ae56db0a..f251804992 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ secret_key.txt
 # IDE / development files
 .idea/
 *.code-workspace
+.vscode/
 
 # Coverage reports
 .coverage
diff --git a/InvenTree/InvenTree/settings.py b/InvenTree/InvenTree/settings.py
index 83549d70e2..7ed35a11e2 100644
--- a/InvenTree/InvenTree/settings.py
+++ b/InvenTree/InvenTree/settings.py
@@ -1,33 +1,42 @@
 """
 Django settings for InvenTree project.
 
-Generated by 'django-admin startproject' using Django 1.10.6.
+In practice the settings in this file should not be adjusted,
+instead settings can be configured in the config.yaml file
+located in the top level project directory.
 
-For more information on this file, see
-https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.10/topics/settings/
+This allows implementation configuration to be hidden from source control,
+as well as separate configuration parameters from the more complex
+database setup in this file.
 
-For the full list of settings and their values, see
-https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.10/ref/settings/
 """
 
 import os
 import logging
 import tempfile
+import io
+import yaml
 
 # Build paths inside the project like this: os.path.join(BASE_DIR, ...)
 BASE_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
 
+cfg_filename = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'config.yaml')
 
-# Quick-start development settings - unsuitable for production
-# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.10/howto/deployment/checklist/
+if not os.path.exists(cfg_filename):
+    CONFIG = {}
+    print("Warning: config.yaml not found - using default settings")
+else:
+    with open(cfg_filename, 'r') as cfg:
+        CONFIG = yaml.safe_load(cfg)
 
-# SECURITY WARNING: keep the secret key used in production secret!
+# Read the autogenerated key-file
 key_file = open(os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'secret_key.txt'), 'r')
 
 SECRET_KEY = key_file.read().strip()
 
+# Default action is to run the system in Debug mode
 # SECURITY WARNING: don't run with debug turned on in production!
-DEBUG = True
+DEBUG = CONFIG.get('debug', True)
 
 ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']
 
@@ -85,14 +94,6 @@ LOGGING = {
             'class': 'logging.StreamHandler',
         },
     },
-
-    # 'loggers': {
-    #    'ddjango.db.backends': {
-    #        'level': 'DEBUG',
-    #        'handlers': ['console',],
-    #        'propagate': True
-    #   },
-    # },
 }
 
 
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ MIDDLEWARE = [
     'InvenTree.middleware.AuthRequiredMiddleware',
 ]
 
-if DEBUG:
+if CONFIG.get('log_queries', False):
     MIDDLEWARE.append('InvenTree.middleware.QueryCountMiddleware')
 
 ROOT_URLCONF = 'InvenTree.urls'
@@ -137,32 +138,21 @@ REST_FRAMEWORK = {
         'rest_framework.authentication.SessionAuthentication',
         'rest_framework.authentication.TokenAuthentication',
     )
-    # 'EXCEPTION_HANDLER': 'InvenTree.utils.api_exception_handler',
-    # 'DEFAULT_PAGINATION_CLASS': 'rest_framework.pagination.PageNumberPagination',
-    # 'PAGE_SIZE': 50,
 }
 
 WSGI_APPLICATION = 'InvenTree.wsgi.application'
 
+DATABASES = {}
 
-# Database
-# https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.10/ref/settings/#databases
-
-DATABASES = {
-    'default': {
+# Database backend selection
+if 'database' in CONFIG:
+    DATABASES['default'] = CONFIG['database']
+else:
+    print("Warning: Database backend not specified - using default")
+    DATABASES['default'] = {
         'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
         'NAME': os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'inventree_db.sqlite3'),
-    },
-    # TODO - Uncomment this when postgresql support is re-integrated
-    # 'postgresql': {
-    #    'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
-    #   'NAME': 'inventree',
-    #   'USER': 'inventreeuser',
-    #   'PASSWORD': 'inventree',
-    #   'HOST': 'localhost',
-    #   'PORT': '',
-    # }
-}
+    }
 
 CACHES = {
     'default': {
@@ -177,7 +167,6 @@ CACHES = {
 
 QR_CODE_CACHE_ALIAS = 'qr-code'
 
-
 # Password validation
 # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.10/ref/settings/#auth-password-validators
 
diff --git a/InvenTree/config.yaml b/InvenTree/config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f2c34b65fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/InvenTree/config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+
+# Database backend selection - Configure backend database settings
+# Ref: https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/ref/settings/#std:setting-DATABASES
+# Specify database parameters below as they appear in the Django docs
+database:
+  ENGINE: django.db.backends.sqlite3
+  NAME: inventree_db.sqlite3
+  
+  # For more complex database installations, further parameters are required
+  # Refer to the django documentation for full list of options
+  # USER: db_username
+  # PASSWORD: db_password
+  # HOST: db_hostname
+  # PORT: db_port
+
+# Set debug to False to run in production mode
+debug: True
+
+# Logging options
+log_queries: False
\ No newline at end of file