diff --git a/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb.go b/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb.go
index 35bf0c742..49144fa54 100644
--- a/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb.go
+++ b/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/netapp/harvest/v2/cmd/poller/exporter"
-	"github.com/netapp/harvest/v2/pkg/color"
 	"github.com/netapp/harvest/v2/pkg/errs"
 	"github.com/netapp/harvest/v2/pkg/matrix"
 	"github.com/netapp/harvest/v2/pkg/requests"
@@ -165,12 +164,8 @@ func (e *InfluxDB) Export(data *matrix.Matrix) (exporter.Stats, error) {
 		if err = e.Metadata.LazyAddValueInt64("time", "render", time.Since(s).Microseconds()); err != nil {
 			e.Logger.Error().Err(err).Msg("metadata render time")
 		}
-		// in debug mode, don't actually export but write to log
-		if e.Options.Debug {
-			e.Logger.Debug().Msg("simulating export since in debug mode")
-			for _, m := range metrics {
-				e.Logger.Debug().Msgf("M= [%s%s%s]", color.Blue, m, color.End)
-			}
+		// in test mode, don't emit metrics
+		if e.Options.IsTest {
 			return stats, nil
 			// otherwise, to the actual export: send to the DB
 		} else if err = e.Emit(metrics); err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb_test.go b/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb_test.go
index 05cb80ceb..7e423184a 100644
--- a/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb_test.go
+++ b/cmd/exporters/influxdb/influxdb_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 
 func setupInfluxDB(t *testing.T, exporterName string) *InfluxDB {
 	opts := options.New()
-	opts.Debug = true
+	opts.IsTest = true
 
 	_, err := conf.LoadHarvestConfig("../../tools/doctor/testdata/testConfig.yml")
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/exporters/prometheus/prometheus.go b/cmd/exporters/prometheus/prometheus.go
index bc3e9ba3d..36f15d211 100644
--- a/cmd/exporters/prometheus/prometheus.go
+++ b/cmd/exporters/prometheus/prometheus.go
@@ -90,11 +90,6 @@ func (p *Prometheus) Init() error {
 		p.globalPrefix = globalPrefix
 	}
 
-	if p.Options.Debug {
-		p.Logger.Debug().Msg("initialized without HTTP server since in debug mode")
-		return nil
-	}
-
 	// add HELP and TYPE tags to exported metrics if requested
 	if p.Params.ShouldAddMetaTags != nil && *p.Params.ShouldAddMetaTags {
 		p.addMetaTags = true
@@ -225,15 +220,6 @@ func (p *Prometheus) Export(data *matrix.Matrix) (exporter.Stats, error) {
 	// fix render time for metadata
 	d := time.Since(start)
 
-	// simulate export in debug mode
-	if p.Options.Debug {
-		p.Logger.Debug().Msg("no export since in debug mode")
-		for _, m := range metrics {
-			p.Logger.Debug().Msgf("M= %s", string(m))
-		}
-		return stats, nil
-	}
-
 	// store metrics in cache
 	key := data.UUID + "." + data.Object + "." + data.Identifier
 
diff --git a/cmd/harvest/harvest.go b/cmd/harvest/harvest.go
index 766070297..c86989c84 100644
--- a/cmd/harvest/harvest.go
+++ b/cmd/harvest/harvest.go
@@ -5,7 +5,11 @@ NetApp Harvest : the swiss-army-knife for datacenter monitoring
 
 Authors:
 
-	Georg Mey & Vachagan Gratian
+	Chris Grindstaff
+	Georg Mey
+	Hardik Leuva
+	Rahul Gupta
+	Vachagan Gratian
 
 Contact:
 
@@ -538,7 +542,7 @@ Feedback
 		"debug",
 		"d",
 		false,
-		"debug mode collects data, but no HTTP daemons and no writes to DBs",
+		"enable debug logging (same as -loglevel 1). If both debug and loglevel are specified, loglevel wins",
 	)
 	startCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(
 		&opts.verbose,
@@ -559,7 +563,7 @@ Feedback
 		"foreground",
 		"f",
 		false,
-		"start poller in foreground (only one poller, implies debug mode)",
+		"start single poller in foreground",
 	)
 	startCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVar(
 		&opts.daemon,
@@ -607,6 +611,8 @@ Feedback
 		"only start these objects (overrides collector config)",
 	)
 	_ = startCmd.PersistentFlags().MarkHidden("logtofile")
+	_ = startCmd.PersistentFlags().MarkHidden("verbose")
+	_ = startCmd.PersistentFlags().MarkHidden("trace")
 }
 
 // The management commands: start|status|stop|restart|kill
diff --git a/cmd/poller/options/options.go b/cmd/poller/options/options.go
index 7a2ce31cb..0979238f9 100644
--- a/cmd/poller/options/options.go
+++ b/cmd/poller/options/options.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import (
 type Options struct {
 	Poller     string   // name of the Poller
 	Daemon     bool     // if true, Poller is started as daemon
-	Debug      bool     // if true, Poller is started in debug mode, which means data will not be exported
+	Debug      bool     // if true, Poller is started with debug logging (same as -loglevel 1)
 	PromPort   int      // HTTP port that is assigned to Poller and can be used by the Prometheus exporter
 	Config     string   // filepath of Harvest config (defaults to "harvest.yml") can be relative or absolute path
 	HomePath   string   // path to harvest home (usually "/opt/harvest")
@@ -67,12 +67,10 @@ func (o *Options) MarshalZerologObject(e *zerolog.Event) {
 	e.Str("config", o.Config)
 	e.Str("confPath", o.ConfPath)
 	e.Bool("daemon", o.Daemon)
-	e.Bool("debug", o.Debug)
 	e.Int("profiling", o.Profiling)
 	e.Int("promPort", o.PromPort)
 	e.Str("homePath", o.HomePath)
 	e.Str("logPath", o.LogPath)
-	e.Str("logPath", o.LogPath)
 	e.Str("hostname", o.Hostname)
 	e.Bool("asup", o.Asup)
 }
@@ -86,6 +84,11 @@ func (o *Options) SetDefaults() *Options {
 	o.LogPath = conf.GetHarvestLogPath()
 	o.SetConfPath(o.ConfPath)
 
+	// If both debug and loglevel are set, loglevel wins
+	if o.Debug && o.LogLevel == 2 {
+		o.LogLevel = 1
+	}
+
 	return o
 }
 
diff --git a/cmd/poller/poller.go b/cmd/poller/poller.go
index dcb8a02c9..aa0291dea 100644
--- a/cmd/poller/poller.go
+++ b/cmd/poller/poller.go
@@ -1321,7 +1321,7 @@ func init() {
 
 	var flags = pollerCmd.Flags()
 	flags.StringVarP(&opts.Poller, "poller", "p", "", "Poller name as defined in config")
-	flags.BoolVarP(&opts.Debug, "debug", "d", false, "Debug mode, no data will be exported")
+	flags.BoolVarP(&opts.Debug, "debug", "d", false, "Enable debug logging (same as -loglevel 1). If both debug and loglevel are specified, loglevel wins")
 	flags.BoolVar(&opts.Daemon, "daemon", false, "Start as daemon")
 	flags.IntVarP(&opts.LogLevel, "loglevel", "l", 2, "Logging level (0=trace, 1=debug, 2=info, 3=warning, 4=error, 5=critical)")
 	flags.BoolVar(&opts.LogToFile, "logtofile", false, "When running in the foreground, log to file instead of stdout")
diff --git a/docs/help/troubleshooting.md b/docs/help/troubleshooting.md
index e5d41236a..7baa9bdfb 100644
--- a/docs/help/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/help/troubleshooting.md
@@ -58,14 +58,23 @@ harvest.yml
 
 ## How do I start Harvest in debug mode?
 
-Use the `--debug` flag when starting a poller. In debug mode, the poller will only collect metrics, but not write to databases. Another useful flag is `--foreground`, in which case all log messages are written to the terminal. Note that you can only start one poller in foreground mode.
-
-Finally, you can use `--loglevel=1` or `--verbose`, if you want to see a lot of log messages. For even more, you can use `--loglevel=0` or `--trace`.
+Use the `--debug` flag when starting a poller to enable debug logging (`--debug` is shorthand for `--loglevel 1`).
+Another useful flag is `--foreground`, which causes all log messages to be written to the terminal. 
+Note that you can only start one poller in foreground mode.
+
+The amount of logged information can be controlled with the `--loglevel` flag followed by an integer value.
+The integer values are as follows:
+- 0: Trace
+- 1: Debug
+- 2: Info (default)
+- 3: Warning
+- 4: Error
+- 5: Critical
 
 Examples:
 
 ```
-bin/harvest start $POLLER_NAME --foreground --debug --loglevel=0
+bin/harvest start $POLLER_NAME --foreground --debug
 or
 bin/harvest start $POLLER_NAME --loglevel=1 --collectors Zapi --objects Qtree
 ```