diff --git a/cmd/plugin-backend.go b/cmd/plugin-backend.go
index 7d97c375..aa2e8c61 100644
--- a/cmd/plugin-backend.go
+++ b/cmd/plugin-backend.go
@@ -13,16 +13,16 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	portArg             = flag.Int("port", 0, "server port to listen on (default: 9443)\nports 9444 and 9445 reserved for other use")
+	portArg             = flag.Int("port", 9443, "server port to listen on\nports 9444 and 9445 reserved for other use")
 	certArg             = flag.String("cert", "", "cert file path to enable TLS (disabled by default)")
 	keyArg              = flag.String("key", "", "private key file path to enable TLS (disabled by default)")
 	featuresArg         = flag.String("features", "", "enabled features, comma separated.\noptions: ['acm-alerting', 'incidents', 'dev-config', 'perses-dashboards']")
-	staticPathArg       = flag.String("static-path", "", "static files path to serve frontend (default: './web/dist')")
-	configPathArg       = flag.String("config-path", "", "config files path (default: './config')")
-	pluginConfigArg     = flag.String("plugin-config-path", "", "plugin yaml configuration")
-	logLevelArg         = flag.String("log-level", logrus.InfoLevel.String(), "verbosity of logs\noptions: ['panic', 'fatal', 'error', 'warn', 'info', 'debug', 'trace']\n'trace' level will log all incoming requests\n(default 'error')")
-	alertmanagerUrlArg  = flag.String("alertmanager", "", "alertmanager url to proxy to for acm mode")
-	thanosQuerierUrlArg = flag.String("thanos-querier", "", "thanos querier url to proxy to for acm mode")
+	staticPathArg       = flag.String("static-path", "/opt/app-root/web/dist", "static files path to serve frontend")
+	configPathArg       = flag.String("config-path", "/opt/app-root/config", "config files path")
+	pluginConfigArg     = flag.String("plugin-config-path", "/etc/plugin/config.yaml", "plugin yaml configuration")
+	logLevelArg         = flag.String("log-level", logrus.InfoLevel.String(), "verbosity of logs\noptions: ['panic', 'fatal', 'error', 'warn', 'info', 'debug', 'trace']\n'trace' level will log all incoming requests")
+	alertmanagerUrlArg  = flag.String("alertmanager", "", "Alertmanager URL to proxy to for ACM mode")
+	thanosQuerierUrlArg = flag.String("thanos-querier", "", "Thanos Querier URL to proxy to for ACM mode")
 	tlsMinVersionArg    = flag.String("tls-min-version", "VersionTLS12", "minimum TLS version\noptions: ['VersionTLS10', 'VersionTLS11', 'VersionTLS12', 'VersionTLS13']")
 	tlsMaxVersionArg    = flag.String("tls-max-version", "", "maximum TLS version\noptions: ['VersionTLS10', 'VersionTLS11', 'VersionTLS12', 'VersionTLS13']\n(default is the highest supported by Go)")
 	tlsCipherSuitesArg  = flag.String("tls-cipher-suites", "", "comma-separated list of cipher suites for the server\nvalues are from tls package constants (https://golang.org/pkg/crypto/tls/#pkg-constants)")
@@ -32,19 +32,19 @@ var (
 func main() {
 	flag.Parse()
 
-	port := mergeEnvValueInt("PORT", *portArg, 9443)
-	cert := mergeEnvValue("CERT_FILE_PATH", *certArg, "")
-	key := mergeEnvValue("PRIVATE_KEY_FILE_PATH", *keyArg, "")
-	features := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_FEATURES", *featuresArg, "")
-	staticPath := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_STATIC_PATH", *staticPathArg, "/opt/app-root/web/dist")
-	configPath := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_MANIFEST_CONFIG_PATH", *configPathArg, "/opt/app-root/config")
-	pluginConfigPath := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_CONFIG_PATH", *pluginConfigArg, "/etc/plugin/config.yaml")
-	logLevel := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_LOG_LEVEL", *logLevelArg, logrus.InfoLevel.String())
-	alertmanagerUrl := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_ALERTMANAGER", *alertmanagerUrlArg, "")
-	thanosQuerierUrl := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_THANOS_QUERIER", *thanosQuerierUrlArg, "")
-	tlsMinVersion := mergeEnvValue("TLS_MIN_VERSION", *tlsMinVersionArg, "")
-	tlsMaxVersion := mergeEnvValue("TLS_MAX_VERSION", *tlsMaxVersionArg, "")
-	tlsCipherSuites := mergeEnvValue("TLS_CIPHER_SUITES", *tlsCipherSuitesArg, "")
+	port := mergeEnvValueInt("PORT", *portArg)
+	cert := mergeEnvValue("CERT_FILE_PATH", *certArg)
+	key := mergeEnvValue("PRIVATE_KEY_FILE_PATH", *keyArg)
+	features := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_FEATURES", *featuresArg)
+	staticPath := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_STATIC_PATH", *staticPathArg)
+	configPath := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_MANIFEST_CONFIG_PATH", *configPathArg)
+	pluginConfigPath := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_CONFIG_PATH", *pluginConfigArg)
+	logLevel := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_LOG_LEVEL", *logLevelArg)
+	alertmanagerUrl := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_ALERTMANAGER", *alertmanagerUrlArg)
+	thanosQuerierUrl := mergeEnvValue("MONITORING_PLUGIN_THANOS_QUERIER", *thanosQuerierUrlArg)
+	tlsMinVersion := mergeEnvValue("TLS_MIN_VERSION", *tlsMinVersionArg)
+	tlsMaxVersion := mergeEnvValue("TLS_MAX_VERSION", *tlsMaxVersionArg)
+	tlsCipherSuites := mergeEnvValue("TLS_CIPHER_SUITES", *tlsCipherSuitesArg)
 
 	featuresList := strings.Fields(strings.Join(strings.Split(strings.ToLower(features), ","), " "))
 
@@ -98,33 +98,27 @@ func main() {
 	}
 }
 
-func mergeEnvValue(key string, arg string, defaultValue string) string {
+func mergeEnvValue(key string, arg string) string {
 	if arg != "" {
 		return arg
 	}
 
-	envValue := os.Getenv(key)
-
-	if envValue != "" {
-		return envValue
-	}
-
-	return defaultValue
+	return os.Getenv(key)
 }
 
-func mergeEnvValueInt(key string, arg int, defaultValue int) int {
+func mergeEnvValueInt(key string, arg int) int {
 	if arg != 0 {
 		return arg
 	}
 
 	envValue := os.Getenv(key)
 
-	num, err := strconv.Atoi(envValue)
-	if err != nil && num != 0 {
-		return num
+	i, err := strconv.Atoi(envValue)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0
 	}
 
-	return defaultValue
+	return i
 }
 
 func getCipherSuitesMap() map[string]uint16 {