diff --git a/bin/cli b/bin/cli
index 131614e86..c5c61fbf6 100755
--- a/bin/cli
+++ b/bin/cli
@@ -1,16 +1,12 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
-// Perform rewrites to the runtime environment variables based on the contents
-// of the process.env.REWRITE_ENV if it exists. This is done here as it is the
-// entrypoint for the entire application.
-require('env-rewrite').rewrite();
-
 /**
  * Module dependencies.
  */
 
 const program = require('commander');
 const pkg = require('../package.json');
+const dotenv = require('dotenv');
 
 //==============================================================================
 // Setting up the program command line arguments.
@@ -18,6 +14,25 @@ const pkg = require('../package.json');
 
 program
   .version(pkg.version)
+  .option('-c, --config [path]', 'Specify the configuration file to load')
+  .parse(process.argv);
+
+if (program.config) {
+  let r = dotenv.config({
+    path: program.config
+  });
+
+  if (r.error) {
+    throw r.error;
+  }
+}
+
+// Perform rewrites to the runtime environment variables based on the contents
+// of the process.env.REWRITE_ENV if it exists. This is done here as it is the
+// entrypoint for the entire application.
+require('env-rewrite').rewrite();
+
+program
   .command('serve', 'serve the application')
   .command('assets', 'interact with assets')
   .command('settings', 'work with the application settings')
diff --git a/models/comment.js b/models/comment.js
index b2bd0367c..3f9ae1a65 100644
--- a/models/comment.js
+++ b/models/comment.js
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ CommentSchema.statics.findByActionType = (action_type) => Action
  * @return {Promise}
  */
 CommentSchema.statics.findIdsByActionType = (action_type) => Action
-  .findCommentsIdByActionType(action_type, 'comment')
+  .findCommentsIdByActionType(action_type, 'comments')
   .then((actions) => actions.map(a => a.item_id));
 
 /**
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 495ac74fe..e6e211d07 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
   "main": "app.js",
   "scripts": {
     "start": "./bin/cli serve --jobs",
+    "dev-start": "nodemon --exec \"./bin/cli -c .env serve --jobs\"",
     "build": "NODE_ENV=production webpack --config webpack.config.js --bail",
     "build-watch": "NODE_ENV=development webpack --config webpack.config.dev.js --watch",
     "lint": "eslint bin/* .",
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@
     "connect-redis": "^3.1.0",
     "csurf": "^1.9.0",
     "debug": "^2.2.0",
+    "dotenv": "^4.0.0",
     "ejs": "^2.5.2",
     "env-rewrite": "^1.0.2",
     "express": "^4.14.0",
@@ -121,6 +123,7 @@
     "mocha-junit-reporter": "^1.12.1",
     "nightwatch": "^0.9.11",
     "node-fetch": "^1.6.3",
+    "nodemon": "^1.11.0",
     "postcss-loader": "^1.1.0",
     "postcss-modules": "^0.5.2",
     "postcss-smart-import": "^0.5.1",
diff --git a/tests/models/comment.js b/tests/models/comment.js
index 363fd9222..91f51ccb8 100644
--- a/tests/models/comment.js
+++ b/tests/models/comment.js
@@ -73,12 +73,12 @@ describe('models.Comment', () => {
   const actions = [{
     action_type: 'flag',
     item_id: '3',
-    item_type: 'comment',
+    item_type: 'comments',
     user_id: '123'
   }, {
     action_type: 'like',
     item_id: '1',
-    item_type: 'comment',
+    item_type: 'comments',
     user_id: '456'
   }];
 
diff --git a/tests/routes/api/comments/index.js b/tests/routes/api/comments/index.js
index 59160a36f..360daa5dc 100644
--- a/tests/routes/api/comments/index.js
+++ b/tests/routes/api/comments/index.js
@@ -58,11 +58,11 @@ describe('/api/v1/comments', () => {
     const actions = [{
       action_type: 'flag',
       item_id: 'abc',
-      item_type: 'comment'
+      item_type: 'comments'
     }, {
       action_type: 'like',
       item_id: 'hij',
-      item_type: 'comment'
+      item_type: 'comments'
     }];
 
     beforeEach(() => {