diff --git a/packages/server/src/cli.ts b/packages/server/src/cli.ts
index dfbdc61a6..9be223ad4 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/cli.ts
@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@ export class Entry extends Command {
 
 				next();
 			});
+			// If we're not running from the binary and we aren't serving the static
+			// pre-built version, use webpack to serve the web files.
 			if (!isCli && !serveStatic) {
 				const webpackConfig = require(path.join(__dirname, "..", "..", "web", "webpack.config.js"));
 				const compiler = require("webpack")(webpackConfig);
diff --git a/packages/server/src/vscode/sharedProcess.ts b/packages/server/src/vscode/sharedProcess.ts
index 49d847b5d..6911c6407 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/vscode/sharedProcess.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/vscode/sharedProcess.ts
@@ -80,17 +80,30 @@ export class SharedProcess {
 		});
 		this.ipcHandler = new StdioIpcHandler(this.activeProcess);
 		this.ipcHandler.once("handshake:hello", () => {
+			let logLevel = LogLevel.Warning;
+			const envLevel = typeof global !== "undefined" && typeof global.process !== "undefined" ? global.process.env.LOG_LEVEL : process.env.LOG_LEVEL;
+			if (envLevel) {
+				switch (envLevel) {
+					case "trace": logLevel = LogLevel.Trace; break;
+					case "debug": logLevel = LogLevel.Debug; break;
+					case "info": logLevel = LogLevel.Info; break;
+					case "warn": logLevel = LogLevel.Warning; break;
+					case "error": logLevel = LogLevel.Error; break;
+					case "critical": logLevel = LogLevel.Critical; break;
+					case "off": logLevel = LogLevel.Off; break;
+				}
+			}
 			const data: {
 				sharedIPCHandle: string;
-				args: ParsedArgs;
+				args: Partial<ParsedArgs>;
 				logLevel: LogLevel;
 			} = {
 				args: {
 					"builtin-extensions-dir": this.builtInExtensionsDir,
 					"user-data-dir": this.userDataDir,
 					"extensions-dir": extensionsDir,
-				} as any,
-				logLevel: 0,
+				},
+				logLevel,
 				sharedIPCHandle: this.socketPath,
 			};
 			this.ipcHandler!.send("handshake:hey there", "", data);