diff --git a/services/blob/src/config.rs b/services/blob/src/config.rs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/blob/src/config.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+use aws_sdk_dynamodb::{Endpoint, Region};
+use clap::{builder::FalseyValueParser, Parser};
+use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
+use tonic::transport::Uri;
+use tracing::info;
+
+use crate::constants::{
+  AWS_REGION, GRPC_SERVER_DEFAULT_PORT, LOCALSTACK_URL, SANDBOX_ENV_VAR,
+};
+
+#[derive(Parser)]
+#[command(version, about, long_about = None)]
+pub struct AppConfig {
+  /// gRPC server listening port
+  #[arg(long = "port", default_value_t = GRPC_SERVER_DEFAULT_PORT)]
+  pub grpc_port: u64,
+  /// Run the service in sandbox
+  #[arg(long = "sandbox", default_value_t = false)]
+  // support the env var for compatibility reasons
+  #[arg(env = SANDBOX_ENV_VAR)]
+  #[arg(value_parser = FalseyValueParser::new())]
+  pub is_sandbox: bool,
+  /// AWS Localstack service URL, applicable in sandbox mode
+  #[arg(long, default_value_t = LOCALSTACK_URL.to_string())]
+  pub localstack_url: String,
+}
+
+/// Stores configuration parsed from command-line arguments
+/// and environment variables
+pub static CONFIG: Lazy<AppConfig> = Lazy::new(AppConfig::parse);
+
+/// Processes the command-line arguments and environment variables.
+/// Should be called at the beginning of the `main()` function.
+pub(super) fn parse_cmdline_args() {
+  // force evaluation of the lazy initialized config
+  Lazy::force(&CONFIG);
+}
+
+/// Provides region/credentials configuration for AWS SDKs
+pub async fn load_aws_config() -> aws_types::SdkConfig {
+  let mut config_builder =
+    aws_config::from_env().region(Region::new(AWS_REGION));
+
+  if CONFIG.is_sandbox {
+    info!(
+      "Running in sandbox environment. Localstack URL: {}",
+      &CONFIG.localstack_url
+    );
+    config_builder = config_builder.endpoint_resolver(Endpoint::immutable(
+      Uri::from_static(&CONFIG.localstack_url),
+    ));
+  }
+
+  config_builder.load().await
+}
diff --git a/services/blob/src/main.rs b/services/blob/src/main.rs
--- a/services/blob/src/main.rs
+++ b/services/blob/src/main.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+pub mod config;
 pub mod constants;
 pub mod database;
 pub mod s3;
@@ -5,12 +6,12 @@
 pub mod tools;
 
 use anyhow::Result;
-use aws_sdk_dynamodb::{Endpoint, Region};
+use config::CONFIG;
 use database::DatabaseClient;
 use s3::S3Client;
 use service::{blob::blob_service_server::BlobServiceServer, MyBlobService};
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
-use tonic::transport::{Server, Uri};
+use tonic::transport::Server;
 use tracing::info;
 use tracing_subscriber::filter::{EnvFilter, LevelFilter};
 
@@ -25,29 +26,14 @@
   Ok(())
 }
 
-async fn get_aws_config() -> aws_types::SdkConfig {
-  let mut config_builder =
-    aws_config::from_env().region(Region::new(constants::AWS_REGION));
-
-  if tools::is_sandbox_env() {
-    info!("Running in sandbox environment");
-    config_builder = config_builder.endpoint_resolver(Endpoint::immutable(
-      Uri::from_static(constants::LOCALSTACK_URL),
-    ));
-  }
-
-  return config_builder.load().await;
-}
-
 async fn run_grpc_server(
   db_client: DatabaseClient,
   s3_client: S3Client,
 ) -> Result<()> {
-  let addr: SocketAddr =
-    format!("[::]:{}", constants::GRPC_SERVER_DEFAULT_PORT).parse()?;
+  let addr: SocketAddr = format!("[::]:{}", CONFIG.grpc_port).parse()?;
   let blob_service = MyBlobService::new(db_client, s3_client);
 
-  info!("Starting gRPC server listening at {}", addr.to_string());
+  info!("Starting gRPC server listening at {}", CONFIG.grpc_port);
   Server::builder()
     .add_service(BlobServiceServer::new(blob_service))
     .serve(addr)
@@ -59,8 +45,9 @@
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
   configure_logging()?;
+  config::parse_cmdline_args();
 
-  let aws_config = get_aws_config().await;
+  let aws_config = config::load_aws_config().await;
   let db = database::DatabaseClient::new(&aws_config);
   let s3 = s3::S3Client::new(&aws_config);