diff --git a/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/__snapshots__/help.e2e.test.ts.snap b/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/__snapshots__/help.e2e.test.ts.snap
index 6d0973eca..1ca5a9802 100644
--- a/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/__snapshots__/help.e2e.test.ts.snap
+++ b/e2e/cli-e2e/tests/__snapshots__/help.e2e.test.ts.snap
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ Commands:
 
 
 Global Options:
-      --verbose         When true creates more verbose output. This is helpful w
-                        hen debugging. You may also set CP_VERBOSE env variable
-                        instead.       [boolean] [default: false]
+      --verbose         Toggles whether to print debug logs. The default value i
+                        s derived from the CP_VERBOSE environment variable (fals
+                        e if not set).                  [boolean]
       --config          Path to config file. By default it loads code-pushup.con
                         fig.(ts|mjs|js).                 [string]
       --tsconfig        Path to a TypeScript config, to be used when loading con
diff --git a/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/tests/plugin-create-nodes.e2e.test.ts b/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/tests/plugin-create-nodes.e2e.test.ts
index c7f911a2e..2b98174a1 100644
--- a/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/tests/plugin-create-nodes.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/e2e/nx-plugin-e2e/tests/plugin-create-nodes.e2e.test.ts
@@ -179,8 +179,6 @@ describe('nx-plugin', () => {
     // Run CLI executor
     expect(cleanStdout).toContain('DryRun execution of:');
     expect(cleanStdout).toContain('npx @code-pushup/cli');
-    expect(cleanStdout).not.toContain('--verbose');
-    expect(cleanStdout).toContain('CP_VERBOSE="true"');
   });
 
   it('should consider plugin option bin in executor target', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/README.md b/packages/cli/README.md
index 7d7e264aa..333de6d82 100644
--- a/packages/cli/README.md
+++ b/packages/cli/README.md
@@ -195,11 +195,11 @@ Each example is fully tested to demonstrate best practices for plugin testing as
 
 ### Global Options
 
-| Option           | Type      | Default                                      | Description                                                                                                                |
-| ---------------- | --------- | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| **`--verbose`**  | `boolean` | `false`                                      | When true creates more verbose output. This is helpful when debugging. You may also set `CP_VERBOSE` env variable instead. |
-| **`--config`**   | `string`  | looks for `code-pushup.config.{ts\|mjs\|js}` | Path to config file.                                                                                                       |
-| **`--tsconfig`** | `string`  | n/a                                          | Path to a TypeScript config, used to load config file.                                                                     |
+| Option           | Type      | Default                                               | Description                                            |
+| ---------------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
+| **`--verbose`**  | `boolean` | `process.env['CP_VERBOSE']` if set, otherwise `false` | Toggles whether to print debug logs.                   |
+| **`--config`**   | `string`  | looks for `code-pushup.config.{ts\|mjs\|js}`          | Path to config file.                                   |
+| **`--tsconfig`** | `string`  | n/a                                                   | Path to a TypeScript config, used to load config file. |
 
 > [!NOTE]  
 > By default, the CLI loads `code-pushup.config.(ts|mjs|js)` if no config path is provided with `--config`.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/global.options.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/global.options.ts
index 4340c1f1d..4691b18ec 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/global.options.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/implementation/global.options.ts
@@ -8,9 +8,8 @@ export function yargsGlobalOptionsDefinition(): Record<
   return {
     verbose: {
       describe:
-        'When true creates more verbose output. This is helpful when debugging. You may also set CP_VERBOSE env variable instead.',
+        'Toggles whether to print debug logs. The default value is derived from the CP_VERBOSE environment variable (false if not set).',
       type: 'boolean',
-      default: false,
     },
     config: {
       describe:
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/yargs-cli.int.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/yargs-cli.int.test.ts
index cfa097488..e34a04b8b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/yargs-cli.int.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/yargs-cli.int.test.ts
@@ -16,13 +16,6 @@ import { options } from './options.js';
 import { yargsCli } from './yargs-cli.js';
 
 describe('yargsCli', () => {
-  it('should provide correct default values for global options', async () => {
-    const parsedArgv = await yargsCli<GlobalOptions>([], {
-      options,
-    }).parseAsync();
-    expect(parsedArgv.verbose).toBe(false);
-  });
-
   it('should parse an empty array as a default onlyPlugins option', async () => {
     const parsedArgv = await yargsCli<GlobalOptions & FilterOptions>([], {
       options: { ...options, ...yargsFilterOptionsDefinition() },
@@ -144,7 +137,8 @@ describe('yargsCli', () => {
     expect(parsedArgv).toEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({
         // default values
-        verbose: false,
+        onlyCategories: [],
+        skipCategories: [],
         // overridden arguments
         persist: expect.objectContaining({
           outputDir: 'code-pushdown/output/dir',