diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 15324ad..c22de6d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,16 +33,30 @@ Right now the package uses `window.console` as log appender and produces the fol
 [WARN] mail: it's just a warning, carry on { app: 'mail', uid: 'christoph' }
 ```
 
+### Log level
 The logger tries to detect the server configured logging level by default,
 which can be configured using the `loglevel_frontend` option in the `config.php`.
-In case no logging level was configured or detection failed, the logger will fallback to the *warning* level.
 
-If the server is set to the debug mode the configured logging level will be set to the *debug* level.
+In case no logging level was configured or detection failed, the logger will fallback to the *warning* level.
+If the server is set to the debug mode the fallback will be the *debug* instead of the *warning* level.
 
 Any message with a lower level than the configured will not be printed on the console.
 
-You can override the logging level in both cases by setting it manually using the `setLogLevel` function
-when building the logger.
+#### Override the log level
+You can override the logging level in both cases by setting it manually
+using the `setLogLevel` function when building the logger.
+
+It is also possible to debug an app without the need of manually recompile it to change the `setLogLevel`.
+To do so the runtime debugging configuration can be changed by running this in the browser console:
+
+```js
+// debug a single app
+window.__NC_LOGGER_DEBUG__=['YOUR_APP_ID']
+// debug multiple apps
+window.__NC_LOGGER_DEBUG__=['files', 'viewer']
+```
+
+This will enforce the *debug* logging level for the specified apps.
 
 ## Contributing
 
diff --git a/REUSE.toml b/REUSE.toml
index 8e28c03..c15aed3 100644
--- a/REUSE.toml
+++ b/REUSE.toml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ SPDX-PackageSupplier = "Nextcloud <info@nextcloud.com>"
 SPDX-PackageDownloadLocation = "https://github.com/nextcloud-libraries/nextcloud-logger"
 
 [[annotations]]
-path = ["package-lock.json", "package.json", "tsconfig.json"]
+path = ["package-lock.json", "package.json", "tsconfig.json", "tests/tsconfig.json"]
 precedence = "aggregate"
 SPDX-FileCopyrightText = "2019-2024 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors"
 SPDX-License-Identifier = "GPL-3.0-or-later"
diff --git a/lib/ALogger.ts b/lib/ALogger.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4c465c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ALogger.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/**
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+ */
+
+import type { IContext, ILogger } from './contracts.ts'
+
+import { LogLevel } from './contracts.ts'
+
+/**
+ * Abstract base logger implementing common functionality
+ */
+export abstract class ALogger implements ILogger {
+	/**
+	 * The initial logging context set by the constructor (LoggerBuilder factory)
+	 */
+	protected abstract context: IContext
+
+	/**
+	 * Log a message with the specified level and context
+	 *
+	 * @param level - The log level requested
+	 * @param message - The log message
+	 * @param context - The logging context
+	 */
+	protected abstract log(level: LogLevel, message: string, context: IContext): void
+
+	public debug(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
+		this.logIfNeeded(LogLevel.Debug, message, { ...context, ...this.context })
+	}
+
+	public info(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
+		this.logIfNeeded(LogLevel.Info, message, { ...context, ...this.context })
+	}
+
+	public warn(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
+		this.logIfNeeded(LogLevel.Warn, message, { ...context, ...this.context })
+	}
+
+	public error(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
+		this.logIfNeeded(LogLevel.Error, message, { ...context, ...this.context })
+	}
+
+	public fatal(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
+		this.logIfNeeded(LogLevel.Fatal, message, { ...context, ...this.context })
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check if the message should be logged and prepare the context
+	 *
+	 * @param level - The logging level requested
+	 * @param message - The log message or Error object
+	 * @param context - The logging context
+	 */
+	private logIfNeeded(level: LogLevel, message: string | Error, context: IContext): void {
+		// Skip if level is configured and this is below the level
+		if (typeof this.context?.level === 'number' && level < this.context?.level && !this.debuggingEnabled()) {
+			return
+		}
+
+		// Handle logging when only an error was passed as log message
+		if (typeof message === 'object') {
+			if (context.error) {
+				context.error = [context.error, message]
+			} else {
+				context.error = message
+			}
+			if (level === LogLevel.Debug || this.debuggingEnabled()) {
+				context.stacktrace = message.stack
+			}
+			return this.log(level, `${message.name}: ${message.message}`, context)
+		}
+
+		this.log(level, message, context)
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check if debugging is enabled for the current app
+	 */
+	private debuggingEnabled(): boolean {
+		const debugContexts = window.__NC_LOGGER_DEBUG__
+		return typeof this.context.app === 'string'
+			&& Array.isArray(debugContexts)
+			&& debugContexts.includes(this.context.app)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/lib/ConsoleLogger.ts b/lib/ConsoleLogger.ts
index 1c9d7e4..7fdbb13 100644
--- a/lib/ConsoleLogger.ts
+++ b/lib/ConsoleLogger.ts
@@ -5,51 +5,19 @@
 
 import type { IContext, ILogger } from './contracts.ts'
 
+import { ALogger } from './ALogger.ts'
 import { LogLevel } from './contracts.ts'
 
 /* eslint-disable no-console -- This class is a console logger so it needs to write to the console. */
-export class ConsoleLogger implements ILogger {
-	private context: IContext
+export class ConsoleLogger extends ALogger implements ILogger {
+	protected context: IContext
 
 	constructor(context?: IContext) {
+		super()
 		this.context = context || {}
 	}
 
-	private formatMessage(message: string | Error, level: LogLevel, context?: IContext): string {
-		let msg = '[' + LogLevel[level].toUpperCase() + '] '
-
-		if (context && context.app) {
-			msg += context.app + ': '
-		}
-
-		if (typeof message === 'string') {
-			return msg + message
-		}
-
-		// basic error formatting
-		msg += `Unexpected ${message.name}`
-		if (message.message) {
-			msg += ` "${message.message}"`
-		}
-		// only add stack trace when debugging
-		if (level === LogLevel.Debug && message.stack) {
-			msg += `\n\nStack trace:\n${message.stack}`
-		}
-
-		return msg
-	}
-
-	log(level: LogLevel, message: string | Error, context: IContext) {
-		// Skip if level is configured and this is below the level
-		if (typeof this.context?.level === 'number' && level < this.context?.level) {
-			return
-		}
-
-		// Add error object to context
-		if (typeof message === 'object' && context?.error === undefined) {
-			context.error = message
-		}
-
+	protected log(level: LogLevel, message: string | Error, context: IContext) {
 		switch (level) {
 			case LogLevel.Debug:
 				console.debug(this.formatMessage(message, LogLevel.Debug, context), context)
@@ -70,24 +38,28 @@ export class ConsoleLogger implements ILogger {
 		}
 	}
 
-	debug(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
-		this.log(LogLevel.Debug, message, { ...this.context, ...context })
-	}
+	private formatMessage(message: string | Error, level: LogLevel, context?: IContext): string {
+		let msg = '[' + LogLevel[level].toUpperCase() + '] '
 
-	info(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
-		this.log(LogLevel.Info, message, { ...this.context, ...context })
-	}
+		if (context && context.app) {
+			msg += context.app + ': '
+		}
 
-	warn(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
-		this.log(LogLevel.Warn, message, { ...this.context, ...context })
-	}
+		if (typeof message === 'string') {
+			return msg + message
+		}
 
-	error(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
-		this.log(LogLevel.Error, message, { ...this.context, ...context })
-	}
+		// basic error formatting
+		msg += `Unexpected ${message.name}`
+		if (message.message) {
+			msg += ` "${message.message}"`
+		}
+		// only add stack trace when debugging
+		if (level === LogLevel.Debug && message.stack) {
+			msg += `\n\nStack trace:\n${message.stack}`
+		}
 
-	fatal(message: string | Error, context?: IContext): void {
-		this.log(LogLevel.Fatal, message, { ...this.context, ...context })
+		return msg
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/contracts.ts b/lib/contracts.ts
index 85c5330..208e0e9 100644
--- a/lib/contracts.ts
+++ b/lib/contracts.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
  * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019-2024 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
  */
+
 export enum LogLevel {
 	Debug = 0,
 	Info = 1,
diff --git a/lib/global.d.ts b/lib/global.d.ts
index 8efcdbf..b0ebbc6 100644
--- a/lib/global.d.ts
+++ b/lib/global.d.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import type { LogLevel } from './contracts.ts'
 
 declare global {
 	interface Window {
+		__NC_LOGGER_DEBUG__?: string[]
+
 		_oc_config: {
 			loglevel: LogLevel
 		}
diff --git a/tests/ConsoleLogger.spec.ts b/tests/ConsoleLogger.spec.ts
index 2fdd4c1..84f90ec 100644
--- a/tests/ConsoleLogger.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/ConsoleLogger.spec.ts
@@ -2,20 +2,20 @@
  * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023-2024 Nextcloud GmbH and Nextcloud contributors
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
  */
-import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, test, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { ConsoleLogger, buildConsoleLogger } from '../lib/ConsoleLogger'
+
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, test, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { buildConsoleLogger, ConsoleLogger } from '../lib/ConsoleLogger.ts'
 
 // Dummy Error
 class MyError extends Error {
-
 	constructor(msg: string) {
 		super(msg)
 		this.name = 'MyError'
 	}
-
 }
 
-afterEach(() => {
+beforeEach(() => {
+	delete window.__NC_LOGGER_DEBUG__
 	vi.resetAllMocks()
 })
 
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@ test('building the console logger', () => {
 })
 
 describe('ConsoleLogger', () => {
-	afterEach(() => { vi.resetAllMocks() })
-
 	it('logs debug messages', () => {
 		const logger = new ConsoleLogger()
 		const debug = vi.spyOn(window.console, 'debug').mockImplementation(() => {})
@@ -94,10 +92,10 @@ describe('ConsoleLogger', () => {
 		const logger = new ConsoleLogger({ one: 1, two: 2 })
 		const debug = vi.spyOn(window.console, 'debug').mockImplementation(() => {})
 
-		logger.debug('Should be logged', { two: 3 })
+		logger.debug('Should be logged', { three: 3 })
 		expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
 		expect(debug.mock.calls[0][0]).toBe('[DEBUG] Should be logged')
-		expect(debug.mock.calls[0][1]).toEqual({ one: 1, two: 3 })
+		expect(debug.mock.calls[0][1]).toEqual({ one: 1, two: 2, three: 3 })
 	})
 
 	it('allows extending empty global context', () => {
@@ -119,6 +117,20 @@ describe('ConsoleLogger', () => {
 		expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0)
 	})
 
+	it('respects the runtime debug configuration', () => {
+		const logger = new ConsoleLogger({ app: 'test', level: 2 })
+
+		const debug = vi.spyOn(window.console, 'debug')
+		debug.mockImplementationOnce(() => {})
+
+		logger.debug('Should not be logged')
+		expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0)
+
+		window.__NC_LOGGER_DEBUG__ = ['files', 'test']
+		logger.debug('Should be logged now')
+		expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+	})
+
 	it('logs Error objects', () => {
 		const error = new MyError('some message')
 		const logger = new ConsoleLogger({})
@@ -128,10 +140,9 @@ describe('ConsoleLogger', () => {
 
 		logger.warn(error)
 		expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('MyError')
-		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('some message')
-		expect(console[0][0]).not.toContain('Stack trace')
+		expect(console[0][0]).toMatch('MyError: some message')
 		expect(console[0][1]).toHaveProperty('error', error)
+		expect(console[0][1]).not.toHaveProperty('stacktrace', error.stack)
 	})
 
 	it('logs Error objects and stack trace on debug', () => {
@@ -143,9 +154,9 @@ describe('ConsoleLogger', () => {
 
 		logger.debug(error)
 		expect(debug).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
-		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('MyError')
-		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('some message')
-		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('Stack trace:')
+		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('MyError: some message')
+		expect(console[0][1]).toHaveProperty('error', error)
+		expect(console[0][1]).toHaveProperty('stacktrace', error.stack)
 	})
 
 	it('logs Error objects and does not override context', () => {
@@ -159,6 +170,8 @@ describe('ConsoleLogger', () => {
 		expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
 		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('MyError')
 		expect(console[0][0]).toContain('some message')
-		expect(console[0][1]).toHaveProperty('error', 'none')
+		expect(console[0][1]).toHaveProperty('error')
+		// @ts-expect-error - We know error is an array here
+		expect(console[0][1]!.error).toEqual(['none', error])
 	})
 })
diff --git a/tests/tsconfig.json b/tests/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6001899
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+	"extends": "../tsconfig.json",
+	"include": ["../lib", "."]
+}
\ No newline at end of file