diff --git a/cli/cmd/dev/dev.go b/cli/cmd/dev/dev.go
index 03f6085b..8f65587d 100644
--- a/cli/cmd/dev/dev.go
+++ b/cli/cmd/dev/dev.go
@@ -105,18 +105,6 @@ func createMicroshift(kmd *cobra.Command, cliCtx cliutils.SoftwareFactoryConfigC
 		msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath = rootDir + "/ansible-microshift-role"
 		ctrl.Log.Info("No path to ansible-microshift-role provided, the role will be cloned into " + msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath)
 	}
-	defaultSFOperatorRepositoryPath, _ := os.Getwd()
-	msSFOperatorRepositoryPath := cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath
-	if msSFOperatorRepositoryPath == "" {
-		if defaultSFOperatorRepositoryPath != "" {
-			msSFOperatorRepositoryPath = defaultSFOperatorRepositoryPath
-			ctrl.Log.Info("Using current working directory for sf-operator-repository-path: " + msSFOperatorRepositoryPath)
-		} else {
-			ctrl.Log.Error(errMissingArg, "The path to the sf-operator repository must be set in `dev` section of the configuration file")
-			os.Exit(1)
-		}
-	}
-
 	options := ms.MkAnsiblePlaybookOptions(msHost, msUser, msOpenshiftPullSecret, rootDir)
 	varsFile := ms.MkTemporaryVarsFile(
 		cliCtx.FQDN, msDiskFileSize, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, rootDir, msEtcdOnRamdisk)
@@ -124,27 +112,27 @@ func createMicroshift(kmd *cobra.Command, cliCtx cliutils.SoftwareFactoryConfigC
 	// Ensure ansible-microshift-role is available
 	ms.MkMicroshiftRoleSetupPlaybook(rootDir)
 	if !dryRun {
-		ms.RunMicroshiftRoleSetup(rootDir, msSFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
+		ms.RunMicroshiftRoleSetup(rootDir, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
 	}
 	// Ensure tooling and prerequisites are installed
 	if !skipLocalSetup {
 		ms.MkLocalSetupPlaybook(rootDir)
 		if !dryRun {
-			ms.RunLocalSetup(rootDir, msSFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
+			ms.RunLocalSetup(rootDir, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
 		}
 	}
 	// Deploy MicroShift
 	if !skipDeploy {
 		ms.MkDeployMicroshiftPlaybook(rootDir)
 		if !dryRun {
-			ms.RunDeploy(rootDir, msSFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
+			ms.RunDeploy(rootDir, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
 		}
 	}
 	// Configure cluster for development and testing
 	if !skipPostInstall {
 		ms.MkPostInstallPlaybook(rootDir)
 		if !dryRun {
-			ms.RunPostInstall(rootDir, msSFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
+			ms.RunPostInstall(rootDir, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, msAnsibleMicroshiftRolePath, options)
 		}
 	}
 	if !dryRun {
@@ -157,7 +145,6 @@ func createMicroshift(kmd *cobra.Command, cliCtx cliutils.SoftwareFactoryConfigC
 func devRunTests(kmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 	cliCtx := cliutils.GetCLIctxOrDie(kmd, args, runTestsAllowedArgs)
 	target := args[0]
-	sfOperatorRepositoryPath := cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath
 	vars, _ := kmd.Flags().GetStringSlice("extra-var")
 	extraVars := cliutils.VarListToMap(vars)
 	if len(extraVars) == 0 {
@@ -166,10 +153,6 @@ func devRunTests(kmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 	if extraVars == nil {
 		extraVars = make(map[string]string)
 	}
-	if sfOperatorRepositoryPath == "" {
-		ctrl.Log.Error(errMissingArg, "The path to the sf-operator repository must be set in `dev` section of the configuration")
-		os.Exit(1)
-	}
 	var verbosity string
 	verbose, _ := kmd.Flags().GetBool("v")
 	debug, _ := kmd.Flags().GetBool("vvv")
@@ -196,7 +179,7 @@ func devRunTests(kmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			reposPath = "deploy"
 		}
 		extraVars["demo_repos_path"] = reposPath
-		createDemoEnv(env, restConfig, fqdn, reposPath, sfOperatorRepositoryPath, false)
+		createDemoEnv(env, restConfig, fqdn, reposPath, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, false)
 	}
 	// use config file and context for CLI calls in the tests
 	var cliGlobalFlags string
@@ -212,11 +195,11 @@ func devRunTests(kmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 	}
 	extraVars["cli_global_flags"] = cliGlobalFlags
 	if target == "olm" {
-		runTestOLM(extraVars, sfOperatorRepositoryPath, verbosity)
+		runTestOLM(extraVars, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, verbosity)
 	} else if target == "standalone" {
-		runTestStandalone(extraVars, sfOperatorRepositoryPath, verbosity)
+		runTestStandalone(extraVars, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, verbosity)
 	} else if target == "upgrade" {
-		runTestUpgrade(extraVars, sfOperatorRepositoryPath, verbosity)
+		runTestUpgrade(extraVars, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, verbosity)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -260,13 +243,8 @@ func devCreate(kmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			ctrl.Log.Info("Demo repos path unset; repos will be cloned into ./deploy")
 			reposPath = "deploy"
 		}
-		sfOperatorRepositoryPath := cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath
-		if sfOperatorRepositoryPath == "" {
-			ctrl.Log.Error(errMissingArg, "The path to the sf-operator repository must be set in `dev` section of the configuration")
-			os.Exit(1)
-		}
 		keepDemoTenantDefinition, _ := kmd.Flags().GetBool("keep-demo-tenant")
-		createDemoEnv(env, restConfig, fqdn, reposPath, sfOperatorRepositoryPath, keepDemoTenantDefinition)
+		createDemoEnv(env, restConfig, fqdn, reposPath, cliCtx.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath, keepDemoTenantDefinition)
 
 	} else {
 		ctrl.Log.Error(errors.New("unsupported target"), "Invalid argument '"+target+"'")
diff --git a/cli/cmd/utils/utils.go b/cli/cmd/utils/utils.go
index f3f15626..513a7c16 100644
--- a/cli/cmd/utils/utils.go
+++ b/cli/cmd/utils/utils.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import (
 	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 
+	"go.uber.org/zap/zapcore"
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
 
 	apiv1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ import (
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log/zap"
 
 	monitoring "github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/pkg/apis/monitoring/v1"
 
@@ -119,7 +121,42 @@ func getContextFromFile(command *cobra.Command) (ctxName string, cliContext Soft
 	return ctxName, cliContext, errors.New("context not found")
 }
 
+// SetLogger enables the DEBUG LogLevel in the Logger when the debug flag is set
+func SetLogger(command *cobra.Command) {
+	debug, _ := command.Flags().GetBool("debug")
+	logLevel := zapcore.InfoLevel
+	if debug {
+		logLevel = zapcore.DebugLevel
+	}
+
+	opts := zap.Options{
+		Development: true,
+		Level:       logLevel,
+		DestWriter:  os.Stderr,
+	}
+	ctrl.SetLogger(zap.New(zap.UseFlagOptions(&opts)))
+}
+
+// logI logs a message with the INFO log Level
+func logI(msg string) {
+	ctrl.Log.Info(msg)
+}
+
+// logI logs a message with the DEBUG log Level
+func logD(msg string) {
+	ctrl.Log.V(1).Info(msg)
+}
+
+// logI logs a message with the Error log Level
+func logE(err error, msg string) {
+	ctrl.Log.Error(err, msg)
+}
+
 func GetCLIContext(command *cobra.Command) (SoftwareFactoryConfigContext, error) {
+
+	// This is usually called for every CLI command so here let's set the Logger settings
+	SetLogger(command)
+
 	var cliContext SoftwareFactoryConfigContext
 	var ctxName string
 	var err error
@@ -127,9 +164,10 @@ func GetCLIContext(command *cobra.Command) (SoftwareFactoryConfigContext, error)
 	if configPath != "" {
 		ctxName, cliContext, err = getContextFromFile(command)
 		if err != nil {
-			ctrl.Log.Error(err, "Could not load config file")
+			logE(err, "Could not load config file")
+			os.Exit(1)
 		} else {
-			ctrl.Log.V(5).Info("Using configuration context " + ctxName)
+			logD("Using configuration context " + ctxName)
 		}
 	}
 	// Override with defaults
@@ -149,6 +187,16 @@ func GetCLIContext(command *cobra.Command) (SoftwareFactoryConfigContext, error)
 	if cliContext.FQDN == "" {
 		cliContext.FQDN = fqdn
 	}
+	if cliContext.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath == "" {
+		defaultSFOperatorRepositoryPath, getwdErr := os.Getwd()
+		if getwdErr != nil {
+			logE(getwdErr,
+				"sf-operator-repository-path is not set in `dev` section of the configuration file and unable to determine the current working directory")
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
+		cliContext.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath = defaultSFOperatorRepositoryPath
+		logD("Using current working directory for sf-operator-repository-path: " + cliContext.Dev.SFOperatorRepositoryPath)
+	}
 	return cliContext, nil
 }
 
@@ -332,8 +380,8 @@ func RunCmdWithEnvOrDie(environ []string, cmd string, args ...string) string {
 	kmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), environ...)
 	out, err := kmd.CombinedOutput()
 	if err != nil {
-		ctrl.Log.Error(err, "Could not run command '"+cmd+"'")
-		ctrl.Log.Info("Captured output:\n" + string(out))
+		logE(err, "Could not run command '"+cmd+"'")
+		logI("Captured output:\n" + string(out))
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 	return string(out)
diff --git a/doc/developer/getting_started.md b/doc/developer/getting_started.md
index 2cae812f..41c4e8c6 100644
--- a/doc/developer/getting_started.md
+++ b/doc/developer/getting_started.md
@@ -48,19 +48,18 @@ kubectl create namespace sf
 kubectl config set-context microshift --namespace=sf
 ```
 
-[Create a sf-operator configuration file](../reference/cli/index.md#config) to your liking:
-
-```sh
-go run ./main.go init config --dev > /path/to/sfcli.yaml
+Ensure the following minimal settings in your sf-operator CLI file:
+
+```yaml
+contexts:
+  my-context:
+    namespace: sf
+    fqdn: sfop.me
+default-context: my-context
 ```
 
-Then edit it as necessary, for example by setting up a custom FQDN. Below is an example you can copy and edit.
-
-??? abstract "CLI configuration example"
-
-    ```yaml title="sfcli.yaml"
-    --8<-- "sfcli.yaml"
-    ```
+Consult [Create a sf-operator configuration file](../reference/cli/index.md#config) and
+[The configuration file schema](../reference/cli/index.md#configuration-file) if needed.
 
 Then run the `sf-operator` command:
 
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 9b439507..a23f901f 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/log/zap"
 
 	// Import all Kubernetes client auth plugins (e.g. Azure, GCP, OIDC, etc.)
 	// to ensure that exec-entrypoint and run can make use of them.
@@ -58,11 +57,6 @@ func operatorCmd(kmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 }
 
 func main() {
-	opts := zap.Options{
-		Development: true,
-		DestWriter:  os.Stderr,
-	}
-	ctrl.SetLogger(zap.New(zap.UseFlagOptions(&opts)))
 
 	var (
 		metricsAddr          string
@@ -93,6 +87,7 @@ func main() {
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&fqdn, "fqdn", "d", "", "The FQDN of the deployment (if no manifest is provided).")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&configFile, "config", "C", "", "Path to the CLI configuration file.")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&cliContext, "context", "c", "", "Context to use in the configuration file. Defaults to the \"default-context\" value in the config file if set, or the first available context in the config file.")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Bool("debug", false, "Enable DEBUG logs")
 
 	// Flags for the operator command
 	operatorCmd.Flags().StringVar(&metricsAddr, "metrics-bind-address", ":8080", "The address the metric endpoint binds to.")
diff --git a/playbooks/files/sf-operator-cli.yaml b/playbooks/files/sf-operator-cli.yaml
index 6e6785da..30cb29bb 100644
--- a/playbooks/files/sf-operator-cli.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/files/sf-operator-cli.yaml
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@ contexts:
   ci:
     namespace: sf
     fqdn: sfop.me
-    development:
-      sf-operator-repository-path: ./
   ext-ze:
     namespace: ext-ze
 default-context: ci