diff --git a/core/Listener/BeforeMessageLoggedEventListener.php b/core/Listener/BeforeMessageLoggedEventListener.php
index 9010f7755eb4c..52254cc6705c4 100644
--- a/core/Listener/BeforeMessageLoggedEventListener.php
+++ b/core/Listener/BeforeMessageLoggedEventListener.php
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 declare(strict_types=1);
 
 /**
- * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024-2025 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
  */
 
@@ -13,11 +13,16 @@
 use OCP\EventDispatcher\Event;
 use OCP\EventDispatcher\IEventDispatcher;
 use OCP\EventDispatcher\IEventListener;
+use OCP\ILogger;
 use OCP\Log\BeforeMessageLoggedEvent;
 use OCP\Server;
 
 /**
- * Listen to log calls and output them to STDOUT for debug purposes
+ * Event listener that outputs log messages to STDOUT for debugging in CLI context.
+ * Activated with debug CLI options and safe for use during command-line development.
+ *
+ * After processing debug flags, cleans up CLI arguments to avoid interfering with other handlers.
+ *
  * @template-implements IEventListener<BeforeMessageLoggedEvent>
  */
 class BeforeMessageLoggedEventListener implements IEventListener {
@@ -27,34 +32,61 @@ public function __construct(
 	}
 
 	public function handle(Event $event): void {
-		if (!$event instanceof BeforeMessageLoggedEvent) {
+		if (!($event instanceof BeforeMessageLoggedEvent)) {
 			return;
 		}
+
 		if ($event->getLevel() < $this->level) {
 			return;
 		}
-		echo
-			match($event->getLevel()) {
-				0 => '[debug]',
-				1 => '[info]',
-				2 => '[warning]',
-				3 => '[error]',
-				4 => '[fatal]',
-				default => '[' . $event->getLevel() . ']',
-			}
-		. ' [' . $event->getApp() . '] '
-		. $event->getMessage()['message']
-		. "\n";
+
+		if (PHP_SAPI !== 'cli') {
+			return;
+		}
+
+		echo $this->formatLogLine($event);
+	}
+
+	private function formatLogLine(BeforeMessageLoggedEvent $event): string {
+		$level = $event->getLevel();
+		$levelStr = match($level) {
+			ILogger::DEBUG => '[debug]',
+			ILogger::INFO => '[info]',
+			ILogger::WARN => '[warning]',
+			ILogger::ERROR => '[error]',
+			ILogger::FATAL => '[fatal]',
+			default => '[' . $level . ']',
+		};
+		$app = $event->getApp();
+		$msg = $event->getMessage()['message'] ?? '';
+		return sprintf("%s [%s] %s\n", $levelStr, $app, $msg);
 	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Register listener to log messages and remove debug options from $_SERVER['argv']
+	 *
+	 * The debug CLI options (e.g., --debug-log and --debug-log-level=)
+	 * are used solely by this listener for runtime log output control.
+	 *
+	 * After parsing and using them, they are removed from $_SERVER['argv']
+	 * so that other CLI components (such as Symfony Console) do not see
+	 * unrecognized options, preventing errors or accidental exposure of internal flags.
 	 */
 	public static function setup(): void {
 		$eventDispatcher = Server::get(IEventDispatcher::class);
+
+		/** @psalm-suppress TypeDoesNotContainType */
+		if (!isset($_SERVER['argv']) || !is_array($_SERVER['argv'])) {
+			// Likely reached here outside of CLI mode somehow
+			return;
+		}
+
 		$argv = $_SERVER['argv'];
-		$level = 0;
+		$level = ILogger::DEBUG;
+
 		foreach ($argv as $key => $arg) {
+			// Remove debug option(s) from the CLI arguments after using, so that other
+			// parts of the CLI framework do not encounter unknown options.
 			if ($arg === '--' . ReservedOptions::DEBUG_LOG) {
 				unset($argv[$key]);
 			} elseif (str_starts_with($arg, '--' . ReservedOptions::DEBUG_LOG_LEVEL . '=')) {
@@ -63,7 +95,10 @@ public static function setup(): void {
 			}
 		}
 		$_SERVER['argv'] = array_values($argv);
+
+		// create a new instance of the current class and pass the desired log $level (from the CLI) options
 		$debugLoggerEventListener = new self($level);
+		// register a new event listener for the BeforeMessageLoggedEvent
 		$eventDispatcher->addListener(BeforeMessageLoggedEvent::class, $debugLoggerEventListener->handle(...));
 	}
 }