diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index a2aad3c..43f8106 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -297,6 +297,11 @@ jobs:
         echo "Testing: help shows credential commands"
         $BINARY_PATH --help | grep -q "credential" && echo "✅ Credential commands documented in help" || echo "❌ Credential commands missing from help"
 
+        # Test --debug flag
+        echo "Testing: --debug flag works without breaking logic"
+        $BINARY_PATH --hostname=localhost --port=4010 --debug breeder list
+        echo "✅ --debug flag works"
+
     - name: Cleanup Prism container
       if: always()
       run: |
diff --git a/src/godon/breeder.nim b/src/godon/breeder.nim
index f02cd51..d35f408 100644
--- a/src/godon/breeder.nim
+++ b/src/godon/breeder.nim
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ proc createBreeder*(client: GodonClient, request: BreederCreateRequest): ApiResp
       "name": request.name,
       "config": request.config
     }
-    echo "Sending JSON: ", $jsonData
+    if client.debug:
+      echo "Sending JSON: ", $jsonData
     client.httpClient.headers = newHttpHeaders({"Content-Type": "application/json"})
     let response = client.httpClient.post(url, $jsonData)
     result = handleResponse[BreederSummary](client, response)
diff --git a/src/godon/client.nim b/src/godon/client.nim
index 28cd049..8e79360 100644
--- a/src/godon/client.nim
+++ b/src/godon/client.nim
@@ -14,18 +14,20 @@ type
     config*: ApiConfig
     httpClient*: HttpClient
     insecure*: bool
+    debug*: bool
 
-proc newGodonClient*(hostname: string = DefaultHostname, 
-                     port: int = DefaultPort, 
+proc newGodonClient*(hostname: string = DefaultHostname,
+                     port: int = DefaultPort,
                      apiVersion: string = DefaultApiVersion,
-                     insecure: bool = false): GodonClient =
+                     insecure: bool = false,
+                     debug: bool = false): GodonClient =
   ## Create a new Godon API client
   let config = ApiConfig(
     hostname: hostname,
     port: port,
     apiVersion: apiVersion
   )
-  
+
   # Configure HTTP client with SSL verification settings
   var httpClient: HttpClient
   if insecure:
@@ -35,7 +37,7 @@ proc newGodonClient*(hostname: string = DefaultHostname,
   else:
     httpClient = newHttpClient()
   
-  GodonClient(config: config, httpClient: httpClient, insecure: insecure)
+  GodonClient(config: config, httpClient: httpClient, insecure: insecure, debug: debug)
 
 proc baseUrl*(client: GodonClient): string =
   ## Get the base URL for API requests
@@ -61,7 +63,8 @@ proc handleResponse*[T](client: GodonClient; response: Response): ApiResponse[T]
   let statusCode = parseInt(split(response.status, " ")[0])
   if statusCode >= 200 and statusCode < 300:
     try:
-      echo "Raw response body: ", response.body
+      if client.debug:
+        echo "Raw response body: ", response.body
       let jsonData = parseJson(response.body)
       
       # Handle nested response structures like {"breeders": [...]} or {"credentials": [...]}
@@ -90,7 +93,8 @@ proc handleResponse*[T](client: GodonClient; response: Response): ApiResponse[T]
       result = ApiResponse[T](success: false, data: default(T), error: "JSON parse error: " & e.msg)
   else:
     try:
-      echo "HTTP Error Response Body: ", response.body
+      if client.debug:
+        echo "HTTP Error Response Body: ", response.body
       let errorJson = parseJson(response.body)
       let errorMsg = errorJson{"message"}.getStr("HTTP Error: " & $statusCode)
       result = ApiResponse[T](success: false, data: default(T), error: errorMsg)
diff --git a/src/godon_cli.nim b/src/godon_cli.nim
index eb7edec..e7eb983 100644
--- a/src/godon_cli.nim
+++ b/src/godon_cli.nim
@@ -48,12 +48,13 @@ proc writeError(message: string) =
   stderr.writeLine("Error: " & message)
   quit(1)
 
-proc parseArgs(): (string, string, int, string, bool, OutputFormat, seq[string]) =
+proc parseArgs(): (string, string, int, string, bool, bool, OutputFormat, seq[string]) =
   var command = ""
   var hostname = "localhost"
   var port = 8080
   var apiVersion = "v0"
   var insecure = false
+  var debug = false
   var outputFormat = OutputFormat.Text
   var args: seq[string] = @[]
 
@@ -91,6 +92,8 @@ proc parseArgs(): (string, string, int, string, bool, OutputFormat, seq[string])
         args.add("--id=" & val)
       of "insecure":
         insecure = true
+      of "debug":
+        debug = true
       of "output", "o":
         if val.len == 0:
           writeError("Output option requires a value (text, json, or yaml)")
@@ -116,7 +119,11 @@ proc parseArgs(): (string, string, int, string, bool, OutputFormat, seq[string])
     writeHelp()
     quit(0)
 
-  (command, hostname, port, apiVersion, insecure, outputFormat, args)
+  # Also check for DEBUG environment variable
+  if existsEnv("DEBUG"):
+    debug = true
+
+  (command, hostname, port, apiVersion, insecure, debug, outputFormat, args)
 
 proc formatOutput*[T](data: T, outputFormat: OutputFormat) =
   ## Format data according to output format preference
@@ -354,9 +361,9 @@ proc handleCredentialCommand(client: GodonClient, command: string, args: seq[str
   else:
     writeError("Unknown credential command: " & subCommand)
 
-let (command, hostname, port, apiVersion, insecure, outputFormat, args) = parseArgs()
+let (command, hostname, port, apiVersion, insecure, debug, outputFormat, args) = parseArgs()
 
-let godonClient = newGodonClient(hostname, port, apiVersion, insecure)
+let godonClient = newGodonClient(hostname, port, apiVersion, insecure, debug)
 
 case command:
 of "breeder":