diff --git a/tools/exclude_list.sh b/tools/exclude_list.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b14a6db87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/exclude_list.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# NOTE: paths containing * are treated as regex => escape them with \ (ex: \*)
+
+OMIT_DIRS_LIST=(
+    .\*
+    .git\*
+    .vscode
+    android
+    apple
+    build
+    ci/\*
+    docs
+    tmp
+    tools
+    windows
+    # Directories specific to your local environment that are not part of the repository
+    venv
+)
+OMIT_DIRS_LIST=("${OMIT_DIRS_LIST[@]/#/*\/}") # */ prefix to each element
+GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST=(
+    # .gitinore
+    CMakeFiles
+    build\*
+    deps
+    iio-emu
+    html/\*
+    build_arm64-v8a/\*
+    .cache/\*
+    build/\*
+    .vscode/\*
+    windows/\*
+    bin/\*
+    lib/\*
+    docs/_build/\*
+    share/\*
+    # ci/flatpak/.gitinore
+    ci/flatpak/build
+    ci/flatpak/repo
+)
+GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST=("${GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST[@]/#/*\/}") # */ prefix to each element
+
+OMIT_FILES_LIST=(
+    .clang-format
+    .clangformatignore
+    .cmake-format
+    .gitignore
+    .gitmodules
+    LICENSE
+    \*.md
+    \*.png
+    \*.rst
+    azure-pipelines.yml
+    requirements.txt
+    \*.html
+    \*.svg
+    \*.icns
+    \*.ico
+    \*.qmodel
+    \*.ui
+    \*.json
+    \*.qrc
+    \*.ts
+    \*.gif
+    \*.theme
+    \*.ttf
+    \*.zip
+    \*.csv
+    \*.bin
+    \*.xml
+    \*.cmakein
+    # Files specific to your local environment that are not part of the repository
+    \*.build
+    \*.git
+    \*.gitrepo
+    \*.mat
+    \*.user
+)
+OMIT_FILES_LIST=("${OMIT_FILES_LIST[@]/#/*\/}")
+GITINORE_FILES_LIST=(
+    # .gitinore
+    CMakeLists.txt.user
+    CMakeCache.txt
+    cmake_install.cmake
+    Makefile
+    moc_\*.cpp
+    \*_automoc.cpp
+    ui_\*.h
+    resources/scopy_osp.html
+    resources/stylesheets/default.qss
+    resources/stylesheets/light.qss
+    resources/credits.html
+    resources/scopy_home.html
+    resources/about.html
+    \*qt.conf
+    \*.swp
+    \*.DS_Store
+    android-build
+    android\*.sh
+    \*.apk
+    \*.aab
+    ci/general/gh-actions.envs
+    core/include/scopy-core_config.h
+    core/include/scopy-core_export.h
+    core/include/core/scopy-core_config.h
+    core/include/core/scopy-core_export.h
+    common/include/common/scopy-common_config.h
+    common/include/common/scopy-common_export.h
+    gr-util/include/gr-util/scopy-gr-util_export.h
+    gui/include/gui/scopy-gui_export.h
+    gui/include/gui/scopy-gui_config.h
+    iio-widgets/include/iio-widgets/scopy-iio-widgets_export.h
+    iioutil/include/iioutil/scopy-iioutil_export.h
+    pluginbase/include/pluginbase/scopy-pluginbase_config.h
+    pluginbase/include/pluginbase/scopy-pluginbase_export.h
+    # gui/res/.gitinore
+    gui/res/about.html
+    gui/res/scopy_osp.html
+    gui/res/buildinfo.html
+    gui/res/credits.html
+    # ci/flatpak/.gitinore
+    ci/flatpak/Scopy.flatpak
+    ci/flatpak/.flatpak-builder
+    ci/flatpak/org.adi.Scopy.json
+    ci/flatpak/tmp.json
+    # plugins/adc/.gitinore
+    plugins/adc/include/adc/scopy-adc_export.h
+    plugins/adc/include/adc/scopy-adc_config.h
+    # plugins/dac/.gitinore
+    plugins/dac/include/dac/scopy-dac_export.h
+    plugins/dac/include/dac/scopy-dac_config.h
+    # plugins/m2k/.gitinore
+    plugins/m2k/include/m2k/scopy-m2k_export.h
+    plugins/m2k/include/m2k/scopy-m2k_config.h
+    # plugins/pqm/.gitinore
+    plugins/pqm/include/pqm/scopy-pqm_export.h
+    plugins/pqm/include/pqm/scopy-pqm_config.h
+    # plugins/test/.gitinore
+    plugins/test/include/test/scopy-test_export.h
+    # plugins/swiot/.gitinore
+    plugins/swiot/include/swiot/scopy-swiot_export.h
+    plugins/swiot/include/swiot/scopy-swiot_config.h
+    # plugins/test2/.gitinore
+    plugins/test2/include/test2/scopy-test2_export.h
+    # plugins/guitest/.gitinore
+    plugins/guitest/include/guitest/scopy-guitest_export.h
+    # plugins/debugger/.gitinore
+    plugins/debugger/include/debugger/scopy-debugger_export.h
+    plugins/debugger/include/debugger/scopy-debugger_config.h
+    # plugins/datalogger/.gitinore
+    plugins/datalogger/include/datalogger/scopy-datalogger_export.h
+    plugins/datalogger/include/datalogger/scopy-datalogger_config.h
+    # plugins/bareminimum/.gitinore
+    plugins/bareminimum/include/bareminimum/scopy-bareminimum_export.h
+    # plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/.gitinore
+    plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/include/m2k-gui/scopy-m2k-gui_export.h
+    plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/include/m2k-gui/scopy-m2k-gui_config.h
+    plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/gr-gui/include/gr-gui/scopy-gr-gui_export.h
+    plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/gr-gui/include/gr-gui/scopy-gr-gui_config.h
+    plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/sigrok-gui/include/sigrok-gui/scopy-sigrok-gui_export.h
+    plugins/m2k/m2k-gui/sigrok-gui/include/sigrok-gui/scopy-sigrok-gui_config.h
+    # plugins/regmap/.gitinore
+    plugins/regmap/include/regmap/scopy-regmap_export.h
+    plugins/regmap/include/regmap/scopy-regmap_config.h
+)
+GITINORE_FILES_LIST=("${GITINORE_FILES_LIST[@]/#/*\/}")
diff --git a/tools/license-header/add_license_header.sh b/tools/license-header/add_license_header.sh
index fdea63e23..20252b921 100755
--- a/tools/license-header/add_license_header.sh
+++ b/tools/license-header/add_license_header.sh
@@ -240,9 +240,10 @@ function main() {
     
     FILE_EXTENSION="${FILE##*.}"
 
-    COMMENT_STYLE=${COMMENT_STYLES[$FILE_EXTENSION]}
+    COMMENT_STYLE=${COMMENT_STYLES[$FILE_EXTENSION]:-}
     if [[ -z "$COMMENT_STYLE" ]]; then
-        echo "Unsupported file extension: $FILE_EXTENSION" >&2
+        echo "Error: Unsupported file extension '${FILE_EXTENSION}' found in file '${FILE}'" >&2
+        echo "Define 'COMMENT_STYLE' for '$FILE_EXTENSION' in .comment_styles.conf" >&2
         exit 1
     fi
 
diff --git a/tools/license-header/batch_add_license_headers.sh b/tools/license-header/batch_add_license_headers.sh
index 317757189..99eb59f04 100755
--- a/tools/license-header/batch_add_license_headers.sh
+++ b/tools/license-header/batch_add_license_headers.sh
@@ -81,6 +81,10 @@ function process_files() {
         "$add_license_header" "$file" \
             --template "$TEMPLATE_FILE" \
             --params "$PARAMS_FILE"
+        if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then
+            echo "Error: Failed to add license header to $file"
+            exit 1
+        fi
     done <"$file_list"
 }
 
diff --git a/tools/license-header/scan_missing_headers.sh b/tools/license-header/scan_missing_headers.sh
index 145322ece..179831665 100755
--- a/tools/license-header/scan_missing_headers.sh
+++ b/tools/license-header/scan_missing_headers.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ BASE_DIR_PATH=""
 FILES_WITHOUT_LICENSE=()
 FILE_EXTENSIONS=()
 N_LINES=80 # When searching for license headers, use the first N lines of the file
-VERBOSE=false
 
 # Define colors used for logging
 NC='\033[0m'         # No Color
@@ -38,14 +37,12 @@ Options:
 
     -h, --help          Display this help message.
 
-    -v, --verbose       Display verbose output.
-
 EOF
 }
 
 function parse_arguments() {
-    LONG_OPTS=dirs:,files:,path:,help,verbose
-    OPTIONS=d:f:p:h:v
+    LONG_OPTS=dirs:,files:,path:,help
+    OPTIONS=d:f:p:h
     VALID_ARGS=$(getopt --options=$OPTIONS --longoptions=$LONG_OPTS --name "$0" -- "$@")
 
     if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then
@@ -56,7 +53,7 @@ function parse_arguments() {
 
     getopt --test >/dev/null && true
     if [[ $? -ne 4 ]]; then
-        echo "$(getopt --test) failed in this environment."
+        echo "$(getopt --test) failed in this environment."  >&2
         exit 1
     fi
 
@@ -84,10 +81,6 @@ function parse_arguments() {
             BASE_DIR_PATH="$2"
             shift 2
             ;;
-        -v | --verbose)
-            VERBOSE=true
-            shift
-            ;;
         --)
             shift
             break
@@ -248,7 +241,8 @@ function identify_license() {
     depth=$(echo "$relative_path" | awk -F'/' '{print NF-1}')
     indent=$(printf "%*s" $((depth * 4)) "")
 
-    local header=$(read_header "$file" "$n_lines" | normalize_text) 
+    # Sanitize the header text -> remove null characters and normalize the text
+    local header=$(read_header "$file" "$n_lines" | tr -d '\0' | normalize_text)
 
     ((total_checks++))
 
@@ -256,9 +250,7 @@ function identify_license() {
         ((no_license_count++))
         FILES_WITHOUT_LICENSE+=("$relative_path")
 
-        if $VERBOSE; then
-            echo -e "${indent}${RED}├── $relative_path (No License)${NC}"
-        fi
+        echo -e "${indent}${RED}├── $relative_path (No License)${NC}"  >&2
         # Stop execution if no license is found
         return 
     fi
@@ -307,22 +299,20 @@ function identify_license() {
         ((unknown_license_count++))
     fi
 
-    if $VERBOSE; then
-        # Join the elements of found_licenses_list with a | separator
-        local joined_licenses=$(
-            IFS='|'
-            echo "${found_licenses_list[*]}"
-        )
-
-        # Check if the joined string is empty
-        if [ -z "$joined_licenses" ]; then
-            joined_licenses="Unknown"
-        fi
+    # Join the elements of found_licenses_list with a | separator
+    local joined_licenses=$(
+        IFS='|'
+        echo "${found_licenses_list[*]}"
+    )
 
-        # Update the echo command to use the joined string
-        echo -e "${indent}${color}├── $relative_path (${joined_licenses})${NC}"
+    # Check if the joined string is empty
+    if [ -z "$joined_licenses" ]; then
+        joined_licenses="Unknown"
     fi
 
+    # Update the echo command to use the joined string
+    echo -e "${indent}${color}├── $relative_path (${joined_licenses})${NC}" >&2
+
     local found=false
     for license in "${found_licenses_list[@]}"; do
         if [[ "$license" == "Scopy_GPL" ]]; then
@@ -346,16 +336,16 @@ function scan_directory() {
     # Use the --build option to exclude directories
     if [ ${#OMITTED_DIRS[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
         for dir in "${OMITTED_DIRS[@]}"; do
-            dir_excludes+=(-o -iname "$dir")
+            dir_excludes+=(-o -iwholename "$dir")
         done
-        dir_excludes=(-type d \( -iname "${dir_excludes[@]:2}" \) -prune)
+        dir_excludes=(-type d \( -iwholename "${dir_excludes[@]:2}" \) -prune)
     fi
     # Use the --files option to exclude figles
     if [ ${#OMITTED_FILES[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
         for file in "${OMITTED_FILES[@]}"; do
-            file_excludes+=(-o -iname "$file")
+            file_excludes+=(-o -iwholename "$file")
         done
-        file_excludes=(-type f ! \( -iname "${file_excludes[@]:2}" \))
+        file_excludes=(-type f ! \( -iwholename "${file_excludes[@]:2}" \))
     fi
 
     # Build the find command
@@ -393,41 +383,38 @@ function main() {
     unknown_license_count=0
 
     # Store the number of unique file extensions
-    if $VERBOSE; then
-        # Find all files recursively in the base directory and extract unique file extensions
-        mapfile -t FILE_EXTENSIONS < <(scan_directory "$BASE_DIR_PATH" -type f | awk -F. '{if (NF>1) print $NF}' | sort -u)
-        echo "Unique file extensions: ${FILE_EXTENSIONS[*]}"
-    fi
+    # Find all files recursively in the base directory and extract unique file extensions
+    mapfile -t FILE_EXTENSIONS < <(scan_directory "$BASE_DIR_PATH" -type f | awk -F. '{if (NF>1) print $NF}' | sort -u)
+    echo "Unique file extensions: ${FILE_EXTENSIONS[*]}" >&2
 
+    echo "Scanning project for license headers from path: $BASE_DIR_PATH ..." >&2
     while read -r file; do
         if [[ -f "$file" ]]; then
             identify_license "$file" "$N_LINES"
         fi
     done < <(scan_directory "$BASE_DIR_PATH" | sort)
 
-    if $VERBOSE; then
-        echo -e "##################################################"
-        echo -e "License count summary:"
-        echo -e "LGPL : [$lgpl_count/$total_checks]"
-        echo -e "Scopy_GPL: [$scopy_gpl_count/$total_checks]"
-        echo -e "GPL: [$gpl_count/$total_checks]"
-        echo -e "ADI-BSD: [$adi_bsd_count/$total_checks]"
-        echo -e "GNU Radio: [$gr_count/$total_checks]"
-        echo -e "No-license: [$no_license_count/$total_checks]"
-        echo -e "Unknown-license: [$unknown_license_count/$total_checks]\n"
-        echo "Scanning project for license headers from path: $BASE_DIR_PATH ..." >&2
-    fi
-
+    echo -e "##################################################" >&2
+    echo -e "License count summary:" >&2
+    echo -e "LGPL : [$lgpl_count/$total_checks]" >&2
+    echo -e "Scopy_GPL: [$scopy_gpl_count/$total_checks]" >&2
+    echo -e "GPL: [$gpl_count/$total_checks]" >&2
+    echo -e "ADI-BSD: [$adi_bsd_count/$total_checks]" >&2
+    echo -e "GNU Radio: [$gr_count/$total_checks]" >&2
+    echo -e "No-license: [$no_license_count/$total_checks]" >&2
+    echo -e "Unknown-license: [$unknown_license_count/$total_checks]\n" >&2
+    echo -e "##################################################" >&2
     if [ ${#FILES_WITHOUT_LICENSE[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
         for file in "${FILES_WITHOUT_LICENSE[@]}"; do
             echo -e "$BASE_DIR_PATH/$file"
         done
         exit 1
+    else
+        echo "All files have a form of license." >&2
     fi
-
-    echo "All files have a license."
+    echo -e "##################################################" >&2
     if [ "$total_checks" -ne "$scopy_gpl_count" ]; then
-        echo "Error: Not all files have the Scopy GPL license."
+        echo "Error: Not all files have the Scopy GPL license."  >&2
         exit 1
     fi
     exit 0
diff --git a/tools/license.sh b/tools/license.sh
index ef92b4709..65400ce28 100755
--- a/tools/license.sh
+++ b/tools/license.sh
@@ -6,57 +6,92 @@ CI_SCRIPT=${CI_SCRIPT:-"OFF"}
 
 REPOSTORY=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
 PATH_OPTION=" --path $REPOSTORY"
-OMIT_DIRS_OPTION=" --dirs .git*,build,.vscode,android,apple,ci,docs,tmp,tools,windows"
-OMIT_FILES_OPTION=" --files .clang-format,.clangformatignore,.cmake-format,.gitignore,.gitmodules,*.md,LICENSE,*.png,*.rst,azure-pipelines.yml,requirements.txt,*.html,*.svg,*.icns,*.ico,*.qmodel,*.ui,*.json,*.qrc,*.ts,*.gif,*.theme,*.ttf,*.zip,*.csv,*.bin,*.xml,*.cmakein"
-
-VERBOSE=""
-CLEANUP="true"
-# VERBOSE: Increasese processing time but provides detailed output. Use for manual inspection
-# VERBOSE="--verbose"
-# CLEANUP="" # true
-
 LICENSE_UTILS_PATH=$REPOSTORY/tools/license-header
 RESULTS_PATH=$LICENSE_UTILS_PATH/results
 
-cleanup() {
-    if [ "$CLEANUP" == "true" ] && [ -d "$RESULTS_PATH" ]; then
-        rm -rf "$RESULTS_PATH"
-    fi
-}
+source $REPOSTORY/tools/exclude_list.sh
+
+# Build options
+OMIT_DIRS_OPTION=""
+if [ ${#OMIT_DIRS_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ] && [ ${#GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    OMIT_DIRS_OPTION=" --dirs $(
+        IFS=,
+        echo "${OMIT_DIRS_LIST[*]},${GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST[*]}"
+    )"
+elif [ ${#OMIT_DIRS_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    OMIT_DIRS_OPTION=" --dirs $(
+        IFS=,
+        echo "${OMIT_DIRS_LIST[*]}"
+    )"
+elif [ ${#GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    OMIT_DIRS_OPTION=" --dirs $(
+        IFS=,
+        echo "${GITIGNORE_DIRS_LIST[*]}"
+    )"
+fi
+
+OMIT_FILES_OPTION=""
+if [ ${#OMIT_FILES_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ] && [ ${#GITINORE_FILES_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    OMIT_FILES_OPTION=" --files $(
+        IFS=,
+        echo "${OMIT_FILES_LIST[*]},${GITINORE_FILES_LIST[*]}"
+    )"
+elif [ ${#OMIT_FILES_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    OMIT_FILES_OPTION=" --files $(
+        IFS=,
+        echo "${OMIT_FILES_LIST[*]}"
+    )"
+elif [ ${#GITINORE_FILES_LIST[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    OMIT_FILES_OPTION=" --files $(
+        IFS=,
+        echo "${GITINORE_FILES_LIST[*]}"
+    )"
+fi
 
 main() {
     mkdir -p "$RESULTS_PATH"
-    if [ -f "$RESULTS_PATH/scan.txt" ]; then
-        rm "$RESULTS_PATH/scan.txt"
-    fi
-    touch "$RESULTS_PATH"/scan.txt
+    [ -f "$RESULTS_PATH/scan_output.txt" ] && rm "$RESULTS_PATH/scan_output.txt"
+    touch "$RESULTS_PATH"/scan_output.txt
+
+    [ -f "$RESULTS_PATH/log.txt" ] && rm "$RESULTS_PATH/log.txt"
+    touch "$RESULTS_PATH"/log.txt
 
     echo "# Running license scanner utility ..."
     $LICENSE_UTILS_PATH/scan_missing_headers.sh \
         $PATH_OPTION \
         $OMIT_DIRS_OPTION \
         $OMIT_FILES_OPTION \
-        $VERBOSE \
-        >$RESULTS_PATH/scan.txt
+        >$RESULTS_PATH/scan_output.txt 2>$RESULTS_PATH/log.txt
     EXIT_CODE=$?
-    echo "## Stored results under: $RESULTS_PATH/scan.txt"
+
+    echo "## Missing header scan paths: $RESULTS_PATH/scan_output.txt"
+    echo "## Missing headers (detailed logs): $RESULTS_PATH/log.txt"
 
     # CI should fail if missing headers are detected
     if [ "$CI_SCRIPT" == "ON" ]; then
+        echo "## CI mode: Exiting with scan results"
+        echo "## Log results:"
+        cat "$RESULTS_PATH"/log.txt
         echo "## Report results:"
-        cat "$RESULTS_PATH"/scan.txt
+        cat "$RESULTS_PATH"/scan_output.txt
+
+        if [ $EXIT_CODE -ne 0 ]; then
+            echo "### Error: Missing headers found"
+        else
+            echo "### Success: All scanned files contain license headers"
+        fi
         exit $EXIT_CODE
     fi
 
-    if [ $EXIT_CODE -ne 0 ] && [ "$VERBOSE" != "--verbose" ]; then
-        pushd "$LICENSE_UTILS_PATH" || exit 1
+    if [ $EXIT_CODE -ne 0 ]; then
+        pushd "$LICENSE_UTILS_PATH" || exit 1 >/dev/null
         echo "### Warning: Missing headers found"
-
+        echo "# Adding missing headers ..."
         TEMPLATE_OPTION=" --template $LICENSE_UTILS_PATH/templates/Scopy/LICENSE"
         PARAMS_OPTION=" --params $LICENSE_UTILS_PATH/templates/Scopy/params.conf"
-        $LICENSE_UTILS_PATH/batch_add_license_headers.sh $RESULTS_PATH/scan.txt $TEMPLATE_OPTION $PARAMS_OPTION
+        $LICENSE_UTILS_PATH/batch_add_license_headers.sh $RESULTS_PATH/scan_output.txt $TEMPLATE_OPTION $PARAMS_OPTION
         ERROR_CODE=$?
-        popd || exit 1
+        popd || exit 1 >/dev/null
 
         if [ $ERROR_CODE -ne 0 ]; then
             echo "### Error: Failed to add missing headers"
@@ -64,14 +99,15 @@ main() {
         else
             echo "### Success: Missing headers added"
         fi
-
-        echo "# Formatting files ..."
-        "$REPOSTORY"/tools/format.sh >/dev/null 2>&1
-        exit 0
+    elif [ $EXIT_CODE -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "### All scanned files contain license headers ... no action required"
     else
-        echo "### Success: All scanned files contain license headers"
+        echo "### Erorr: Unknown error"
+        exit 1
     fi
+    echo "# Formatting files ..."
+    "$REPOSTORY"/tools/format.sh >/dev/null 2>&1
+    exit 0
 }
 
-trap cleanup EXIT
 main "$@"