diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fdf4f8d1a..3e3971660 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -31,11 +31,11 @@ $(C2C): output/bootstrap/bootstrap $(C2C_DEPS)
 	@rm -rf output/bootstrap/cgen
 	@mv -f output/c2c/* output/bootstrap
 	@echo "---- running c2c (no plugins$(C2FLAGS)) ----"
-	@output/bootstrap/c2c $(C2FLAGS) --noplugins --fast c2c $(PLUGINS)
+	@output/bootstrap/c2c $(C2FLAGS) --noplugins --fast --quiet c2c $(PLUGINS)
 	@mv -f output/c2c/c2c output/c2c/c2c_fast
 	@./install_plugins.sh
 	@echo "---- running c2c (optimized with plugins$(C2FLAGS)) ----"
-	@output/c2c/c2c_fast $(C2FLAGS)
+	@output/c2c/c2c_fast $(C2FLAGS) --quiet
 	@./install_plugins.sh
 
 output/bootstrap/bootstrap:
@@ -48,43 +48,43 @@ ubsan:;	@$(MAKE) -B UBSAN=1
 debug:;	@$(MAKE) -B DEBUG=1
 
 output/tester/tester: tools/tester/*.c2 $(C2C_DEPS) $(C2C)
-	@$(C2C) tester
+	@$(C2C) tester --quiet
 
 test-bootstrap: $(C2C)
-	@$(C2C) c2c -o c2c_bootstrap --bootstrap
+	@$(C2C) c2c -o c2c_bootstrap --bootstrap --quiet
 
 rebuild-bootstrap: $(C2C)
 	@echo "generating bootstrap files for various systems/architectures"
-	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-linux-x86_64.yaml  --no-build --bootstrap
+	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-linux-x86_64.yaml  --no-build --bootstrap --quiet
 	mv -f output/linux-x86_64/c2c/cgen/build.c bootstrap/bootstrap.c
-	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-darwin-x86_64.yaml --no-build --bootstrap
+	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-darwin-x86_64.yaml --no-build --bootstrap --quiet
 	( diff bootstrap/bootstrap.c output/darwin-x86_64/c2c/cgen/build.c > bootstrap/bootstrap-darwin-x86_64.patch ; true )
-	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-darwin-arm64.yaml  --no-build --bootstrap
+	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-darwin-arm64.yaml  --no-build --bootstrap --quiet
 	( diff bootstrap/bootstrap.c output/darwin-arm64/c2c/cgen/build.c > bootstrap/bootstrap-darwin-arm64.patch ; true )
-	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-freebsd-amd64.yaml --no-build --bootstrap
+	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-freebsd-amd64.yaml --no-build --bootstrap --quiet
 	( diff bootstrap/bootstrap.c output/freebsd-amd64/c2c/cgen/build.c > bootstrap/bootstrap-freebsd-amd64.patch ; true )
-	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-openbsd-amd64.yaml --no-build --bootstrap
+	$(C2C) c2c -b bootstrap/build-openbsd-amd64.yaml --no-build --bootstrap --quiet
 	( diff bootstrap/bootstrap.c output/openbsd-amd64/c2c/cgen/build.c > bootstrap/bootstrap-openbsd-amd64.patch ; true )
 
 test: output/tester/tester
 	@echo "---- running tests ----"
-	@output/tester/tester -t test
+	@output/tester/tester -q test
 
 testv: output/tester/tester
 	@echo "---- running verbose tests ----"
 	@output/tester/tester -v test
 
 output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace: $(C2C_DEPS)
-	$(C2C) c2c --trace-calls -o c2c_trace --fast
+	$(C2C) c2c --trace-calls -o c2c_trace --fast --quiet
 
 trace_calls: $(C2C) output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace
-	C2_TRACE="min=10;min2=1;mode=3;name=*;fd=2" output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace c2c -o c2c_calls --test 2> output/c2c/calls
+	C2_TRACE="min=10;min2=1;mode=3;name=*;fd=2" output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace c2c -o c2c_calls --quiet --test 2> output/c2c/calls
 
 trace: trace_calls
 	cat output/c2c/calls
 
 alloc_trace: $(C2C) output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace
-	C2_TRACE="min=10;min2=1;mode=3;name=stdlib.malloc,stdlib.calloc,stdlib.realloc;fd=2" output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace c2c -o c2c_alloc --test 2> output/c2c/calls
+	C2_TRACE="min=10;min2=1;mode=3;name=stdlib.malloc,stdlib.calloc,stdlib.realloc;fd=2" output/c2c_trace/c2c_trace --quiet c2c -o c2c_alloc --test 2> output/c2c/calls
 	cat output/c2c/calls
 
 errors:
diff --git a/common/console.c2 b/common/console.c2
index 37ce1df96..83b6eccde 100644
--- a/common/console.c2
+++ b/common/console.c2
@@ -20,33 +20,55 @@ import color local;
 import stdarg local;
 import stdio local;
 
-bool use_color = false;
-bool show_debug = false;
-bool show_timing = false;
+public type Config struct @(opaque) {
+    // TODO: add color customisation
+    bool use_color;
+    bool quiet_mode;
+    bool show_debug;
+    bool show_timing;
+}
+
+Config config;
 
 const u32 BUF_SIZE = 4096;
 
-public fn void init() {
-    use_color = color.useColor();
+public fn void init(const Config *c = nil) {
+    if (c) {
+        setConfig(c);
+    } else {
+        config.use_color = color.useColor();
+    }
+}
+
+public fn void setQuiet(bool enable) {
+    config.quiet_mode = enable;
 }
 
 public fn void setDebug(bool enable) {
-    show_debug = enable;
+    config.show_debug = enable;
 }
 
 public fn void setTiming(bool enable) {
-    show_timing = enable;
+    config.show_timing = enable;
+}
+
+public fn Config* getConfig() {
+    return &config;
+}
+
+public fn void setConfig(const Config* c) @(unused) {
+    config = *c;
 }
 
 public fn void debug(const char* format @(printf_format), ...) {
-    if (!show_debug) return;
+    if (!config.show_debug) return;
 
     char[BUF_SIZE] buf;
     va_list args;
     va_start(args, format);
     vsnprintf(buf, elemsof(buf), format, args);
     va_end(args);
-    if (use_color) {
+    if (config.use_color) {
         printf("%s%s%s\n", color.Blue.str(), buf, color.Normal.str());
     } else {
         printf("%s\n", buf);
@@ -54,6 +76,8 @@ public fn void debug(const char* format @(printf_format), ...) {
 }
 
 public fn void log(const char* format @(printf_format), ...) {
+    if (config.quiet_mode) return;
+
     char[BUF_SIZE] buf;
     va_list args;
     va_start(args, format);
@@ -68,7 +92,7 @@ public fn void warn(const char* format @(printf_format), ...) {
     va_start(args, format);
     vsnprintf(buf, elemsof(buf), format, args);
     va_end(args);
-    if (use_color) {
+    if (config.use_color) {
         fprintf(stderr, "%swarning: %s%s\n", color.Yellow.str(), buf, color.Normal.str());
     } else {
         fprintf(stderr, "warning: %s\n", buf);
@@ -81,7 +105,7 @@ public fn void error(const char* format @(printf_format), ...) {
     va_start(args, format);
     vsnprintf(buf, elemsof(buf), format, args);
     va_end(args);
-    if (use_color) {
+    if (config.use_color) {
         fprintf(stderr, "%serror: %s%s\n", color.Red.str(), buf, color.Normal.str());
     } else {
         fprintf(stderr, "error: %s\n", buf);
@@ -94,7 +118,7 @@ public fn void error_diag(const char* loc, const char* format @(printf_format),
     va_start(args, format);
     vsnprintf(buf, elemsof(buf), format, args);
     va_end(args);
-    if (use_color) {
+    if (config.use_color) {
         fprintf(stderr, "%s%s: error: %s%s\n", color.Red.str(), loc, buf, color.Normal.str());
     } else {
         fprintf(stderr, "%s: error: %s\n", loc, buf);
@@ -102,8 +126,9 @@ public fn void error_diag(const char* loc, const char* format @(printf_format),
 }
 
 public fn void log_time(const char* item, u64 duration) {
-    if (!show_timing) return;
-    if (use_color) {
+    if (!config.show_timing) return;
+
+    if (config.use_color) {
         printf("%s%s took %d usec%s\n", color.Blue.str(), item, duration, color.Normal.str());
     } else {
         printf("%s took %d usec\n", item, duration);
diff --git a/compiler/main.c2 b/compiler/main.c2
index f252123f5..efdc20260 100644
--- a/compiler/main.c2
+++ b/compiler/main.c2
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ type Options struct {
     bool print_timing;
     bool show_targets;
     bool show_plugins;
+    bool quiet_mode;
     bool no_plugins;
     bool use_ir_backend;
     bool trace_calls;
@@ -213,6 +214,7 @@ const char[] Usage_help =
     "  --showplugins     print available plugins\n"
     "  --target [triple] cross compile for a specified architecture\n"
     "  --targets         show available targets in recipe\n"
+    "  -q  --quiet       prevent compiler logging messages\n"
     "  --test            test mode (do not check for main() function)\n"
     "  --trace-calls     generate code that traces function calls\n"
     "  --version         print version\n";
@@ -288,6 +290,9 @@ fn void parse_long_opt(ArgumentParser *ap, const char* arg, compiler.Options* co
     case "noplugins":
         opts.no_plugins = true;
         break;
+    case "quiet":
+        opts.quiet_mode = true;
+        break;
     case "showlibs":
         comp_opts.show_libs = true;
         break;
@@ -386,6 +391,9 @@ fn void parse_arguments(ArgumentParser *ap, compiler.Options* comp_opts, Options
                 case 'o':
                     opts.output_name = argarg;
                     break;
+                case 'q':
+                    opts.quiet_mode = true;
+                    break;
                 case 'r':
                     comp_opts.print_reports += 1;
                     break;
@@ -485,6 +493,7 @@ fn void Context.handle_args(Context* c, i32 argc, char** argv) {
 
     console.setTiming(c.opts.print_timing);
     console.setDebug(c.opts.log_verbose);
+    console.setQuiet(c.opts.quiet_mode);
 
     const char[] notFound = "c2c: error: cannot find project root directory\n"
                             "     c2c requires a %s file in the project root,\n"
@@ -547,7 +556,7 @@ fn void Context.handle_args(Context* c, i32 argc, char** argv) {
         auto_found_buildfile = true;
     }
 
-    c.plugins = plugin_mgr.create(c.auxPool, c.opts.print_timing, c.opts.log_verbose, c.opts.no_plugins);
+    c.plugins = plugin_mgr.create(c.auxPool, console.getConfig(), c.opts.no_plugins);
 
     bool have_plugin_dir = false;
     if (c.opts.build_file) {
diff --git a/compiler/plugin_mgr.c2 b/compiler/plugin_mgr.c2
index 817de80bf..e5b98a949 100644
--- a/compiler/plugin_mgr.c2
+++ b/compiler/plugin_mgr.c2
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ type Plugin struct {
 
 public type Mgr struct @(opaque) {
     string_pool.Pool* auxPool;
-    bool console_timing;
-    bool console_debug;
+    console.Config* console_config;
     bool no_plugins;
 
     Plugin* plugins;
@@ -58,11 +57,10 @@ public type Mgr struct @(opaque) {
     char[256] error_msg;
 }
 
-public fn Mgr* create(string_pool.Pool* auxPool, bool console_timing, bool console_debug, bool no_plugins) {
+public fn Mgr* create(string_pool.Pool* auxPool, console.Config* console_config, bool no_plugins) {
     Mgr* m = stdlib.calloc(1, sizeof(Mgr));
     m.auxPool = auxPool;
-    m.console_timing = console_timing;
-    m.console_debug = console_debug;
+    m.console_config = console_config;
     m.no_plugins = no_plugins;
     m.paths.init(auxPool);
     return m;
@@ -170,7 +168,7 @@ fn bool Mgr.loadPlugin(Mgr* m, u32 name, u32 options, bool is_global) {
     }
     p.functions = handle_symbol;
     console.debug("plugins: loading %s", fullname);
-    p.arg = p.functions.load(m.auxPool.idx2str(options), m.console_timing, m.console_debug);
+    p.arg = p.functions.load(m.auxPool.idx2str(options), m.console_config);
     if (!p.arg) {
         dlclose(p.handle);
         stdio.snprintf(m.error_msg, elemsof(m.error_msg), "plugin %s failed to load", fullname);
diff --git a/examples/Makefile b/examples/Makefile
index b0a3e5db0..58d45d1f5 100644
--- a/examples/Makefile
+++ b/examples/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 all:
-	c2c
+	@echo "---- building examples ----"
+	@../output/c2c/c2c --quiet
 
 errors:
 	@( grep -n 'error:' `find . -name build.log` | sed -E 's/build.log:[0-9]+://' ; true )
diff --git a/install_plugins.sh b/install_plugins.sh
index afd814de7..83630959d 100755
--- a/install_plugins.sh
+++ b/install_plugins.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-echo "Installing C2C plugins in $C2_PLUGINDIR"
+echo "---- installing c2c plugins in $C2_PLUGINDIR"
 
 if [ $(uname -s) = 'Darwin' ] ; then
    LIB_EXT='.dylib'
diff --git a/plugins/deps_generator_plugin.c2 b/plugins/deps_generator_plugin.c2
index b04eb2f82..de5028313 100644
--- a/plugins/deps_generator_plugin.c2
+++ b/plugins/deps_generator_plugin.c2
@@ -36,11 +36,9 @@ type Plugin struct {
     plugin_info.Info* info;
 }
 
-fn void* load(const char* options, bool show_timing, bool show_debug) {
+fn void* load(const char* options, console.Config* config) {
     Plugin* p = calloc(1, sizeof(Plugin));
-    console.init();
-    console.setTiming(show_timing);
-    console.setDebug(show_debug);
+    console.init(config);
     // TODO handle options
     return p;
 }
diff --git a/plugins/git_version_plugin.c2 b/plugins/git_version_plugin.c2
index 039dc3278..ff572f8d9 100644
--- a/plugins/git_version_plugin.c2
+++ b/plugins/git_version_plugin.c2
@@ -38,11 +38,9 @@ type Plugin struct {
     char[128] version;
 }
 
-fn void* load(const char* options, bool show_timing, bool show_debug) {
+fn void* load(const char* options, console.Config* config) {
     Plugin* p = calloc(1, sizeof(Plugin));
-    console.init();
-    console.setTiming(show_timing);
-    console.setDebug(show_debug);
+    console.init(config);
     // TODO handle options
     strcpy(p.version, "unknown");
 
diff --git a/plugins/plugin_info.c2 b/plugins/plugin_info.c2
index 627952a4c..81a797f04 100644
--- a/plugins/plugin_info.c2
+++ b/plugins/plugin_info.c2
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import ast_builder;
 import ast_context;
 import build_target;
 import component;
+import console;
 import diagnostics;
 import file_utils;
 import source_mgr;
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ public fn bool Info.registerAttr(Info* info,
     post analysis   generate files outside project (refs, deps)
 */
 public type Plugin struct @(unused) {
-    fn void*(const char* options, bool console_timing, bool console_debug) load;
+    fn void*(const char* options, console.Config* config) load;
     fn void(void* arg) unload;
     fn void(void* arg, plugin_info.Info* info) init;
     fn void(void* arg) post_parse;
diff --git a/plugins/refs_generator_plugin.c2 b/plugins/refs_generator_plugin.c2
index fbc9e19bf..b9e05dcf4 100644
--- a/plugins/refs_generator_plugin.c2
+++ b/plugins/refs_generator_plugin.c2
@@ -37,11 +37,9 @@ type Plugin struct {
     plugin_info.Info* info;
 }
 
-fn void* load(const char* options, bool show_timing, bool show_debug) {
+fn void* load(const char* options, console.Config* config) {
     Plugin* p = calloc(1, sizeof(Plugin));
-    console.init();
-    console.setTiming(show_timing);
-    console.setDebug(show_debug);
+    console.init(config);
     // TODO handle options
     return p;
 }
diff --git a/plugins/shell_cmd_plugin.c2 b/plugins/shell_cmd_plugin.c2
index 5380dcb27..a8b9e3b5b 100644
--- a/plugins/shell_cmd_plugin.c2
+++ b/plugins/shell_cmd_plugin.c2
@@ -50,11 +50,9 @@ type Plugin struct {
     const char* config_file; // no ownership
 }
 
-fn void* load(const char* options, bool show_timing, bool show_debug) {
+fn void* load(const char* options, console.Config* config) {
     Plugin* p = calloc(1, sizeof(Plugin));
-    console.init();
-    console.setTiming(show_timing);
-    console.setDebug(show_debug);
+    console.init(config);
 
     assert(options);
     p.config_file = options; // options should point to a YAML file
diff --git a/plugins/unit_test_plugin.c2 b/plugins/unit_test_plugin.c2
index 9037b50cb..3a214ce95 100644
--- a/plugins/unit_test_plugin.c2
+++ b/plugins/unit_test_plugin.c2
@@ -47,14 +47,12 @@ type Plugin struct {
     bool teardown;
 }
 
-fn void* load(const char* options, bool show_timing, bool show_debug) {
+fn void* load(const char* options, console.Config* config) {
     Plugin* p = calloc(1, sizeof(Plugin));
     p.decls.init();
     p.tests.init();
 
-    console.init();
-    console.setTiming(show_timing);
-    console.setDebug(show_debug);
+    console.init(config);
 
     return p;
 }
diff --git a/tools/tester/tester.c2 b/tools/tester/tester.c2
index 3ecc4a586..f87a75054 100644
--- a/tools/tester/tester.c2
+++ b/tools/tester/tester.c2
@@ -288,8 +288,8 @@ fn void usage(const char* name) {
     printf("Usage: %s <options> target ...\n", name);
     printf("    -j[#] use multi-threading (optional # of threads)\n");
     printf("    -n    no multi-threading\n");
+    printf("    -q    quiet mode, only errors shown\n");
     printf("    -s    only run skipped tests\n");
-    printf("    -t    terse output, only errors shown\n");
     printf("    -v    verbose output\n");
     printf("    targets can be single files or full directories\n");
     exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ public fn i32 main(i32 argc, char** argv) {
             case "-s":
                 runSkipped = true;
                 break;
-            case "-t":
+            case "-q":
                 verboseLevel -= 1;
                 break;
             case "-v":