diff --git a/bootstrap.sh b/bootstrap.sh
index 5b9c6ec3a..7587a2a6e 100755
--- a/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/bootstrap.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ hostname -f > /dev/null 2>&1 || {
   exit 1
 }
 
+echo "--> Ensuring we have the proper dependencies"
 apt-get update -qq > /dev/null
 [[ $(lsb_release -sr) == "12.04" ]] && apt-get install -qq -y python-software-properties
 
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ elif [[ -n $DOKKU_TAG ]]; then
   elif [[ "$major" -eq "0" ]] && [[ "$minor" -ge "4" ]] && [[ "$patch" -ge "0" ]]; then
     export DOKKU_CHECKOUT="$DOKKU_SEMVER"
     dokku_install_package
+    echo "--> Running post-install dependency installation"
     sudo -E dokku plugin:install-dependencies --core
   else
     export DOKKU_CHECKOUT="$DOKKU_TAG"
@@ -97,6 +99,7 @@ elif [[ -n $DOKKU_TAG ]]; then
   fi
 else
   dokku_install_package
+  echo "--> Running post-install dependency installation"
   sudo -E dokku plugin:install-dependencies --core
 fi
 
diff --git a/debian/postinst b/debian/postinst
index eea2fedd2..1b1793b8d 100755
--- a/debian/postinst
+++ b/debian/postinst
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-set -e
+#!/bin/bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $TRACE ]] && set -x
 
 . /usr/share/debconf/confmodule
 
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ case "$1" in
     egrep -i "^docker" /etc/group || groupadd docker
     usermod -aG docker dokku
 
-    # setup plugin directories
+    echo "setup plugin directories"
     # should be replaced by `plugn init`
     mkdir -p ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/core-plugins/available ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins/available
     mkdir -p ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/core-plugins/enabled ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins/enabled
     touch ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/core-plugins/config.toml ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins/config.toml
 
-    # migrate old plugins
+    echo "migrate old plugins"
     find ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins/ -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -printf '%f\n' | while read -r plugin; do
       if [ "$plugin" = "available" ] || [ "$plugin" = "enabled" ]; then
         continue
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ case "$1" in
       fi
     done
 
-    # enable all core plugins
+    echo "enable all core plugins"
     find ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/core-plugins/available -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -printf '%f\n' | while read -r plugin; do
       if [ ! -d ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins/available/$plugin ]; then
         ln -s ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/core-plugins/available/$plugin ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins/available/$plugin;
@@ -45,17 +45,20 @@ case "$1" in
     done
     chown dokku:dokku -R ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/plugins ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/core-plugins
 
+    echo "install all core plugins"
     dokku plugin:install --core
 
     rm -f ${DOKKU_ROOT}/VERSION
     cp ${DOKKU_LIB_ROOT}/STABLE_VERSION ${DOKKU_ROOT}/VERSION
 
+    echo "starting dokku-installer if necessary"
     if [ -f /etc/init/dokku-installer.conf ] && service dokku-installer status 2> /dev/null | grep waiting; then
         sudo service dokku-installer start
     fi
 
     db_get "dokku/web_config"
     if [ "$RET" = "true" ]; then
+      db_stop
       exit 0
     fi
 
@@ -84,4 +87,5 @@ case "$1" in
     ;;
 esac
 
+db_stop
 exit 0
diff --git a/debian/preinst b/debian/preinst
index 2f214d472..65f04f69c 100755
--- a/debian/preinst
+++ b/debian/preinst
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-set -e
+#!/bin/bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $TRACE ]] && set -x
 
 . /usr/share/debconf/confmodule