diff --git a/.secrets.baseline b/.secrets.baseline
index 5901ed1..c96422d 100644
--- a/.secrets.baseline
+++ b/.secrets.baseline
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@
         "filename": "gen3workflow/config-default.yaml",
         "hashed_secret": "afc848c316af1a89d49826c5ae9d00ed769415f3",
         "is_verified": false,
-        "line_number": 37
+        "line_number": 39
       }
     ],
     "migrations/versions/e1886270d9d2_create_system_key_table.py": [
@@ -209,5 +209,5 @@
       }
     ]
   },
-  "generated_at": "2025-01-09T21:36:04Z"
+  "generated_at": "2025-01-24T23:29:16Z"
 }
diff --git a/gen3workflow/app.py b/gen3workflow/app.py
index 13b0a77..faa1539 100644
--- a/gen3workflow/app.py
+++ b/gen3workflow/app.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from fastapi import FastAPI
 import httpx
 from importlib.metadata import version
+import logging
 import os
 
 from cdislogging import get_logger
@@ -24,10 +25,14 @@ def get_app(httpx_client=None) -> FastAPI:
     app = FastAPI(
         title="Gen3Workflow",
         version=version("gen3workflow"),
-        debug=debug,
+        debug=config["DEBUG"],
         root_path=config["DOCS_URL_PREFIX"],
     )
+
+    # httpx_logger = logging.getLogger("httpx")
+    # httpx_logger.setLevel(logging.WARNING)
     app.async_client = httpx_client or httpx.AsyncClient()
+
     app.include_router(ga4gh_tes_router, tags=["GA4GH TES"])
     app.include_router(s3_router, tags=["S3"])
     app.include_router(storage_router, tags=["Storage"])
diff --git a/gen3workflow/config-default.yaml b/gen3workflow/config-default.yaml
index 5d79e16..8a9f302 100644
--- a/gen3workflow/config-default.yaml
+++ b/gen3workflow/config-default.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 
 HOSTNAME: localhost
 DEBUG: false
+# gunicorn debug mode is very verbose, so the setting is separate from the main app debug mode
+GUNICORN_DEBUG: false
 DOCS_URL_PREFIX: /gen3workflow
 
 # override the default Arborist URL; ignored if already set as an environment variable
diff --git a/gen3workflow/config.py b/gen3workflow/config.py
index 77ec3a6..f54f26e 100644
--- a/gen3workflow/config.py
+++ b/gen3workflow/config.py
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ def validate_top_level_configs(self) -> None:
             "properties": {
                 "HOSTNAME": {"type": "string"},
                 "DEBUG": {"type": "boolean"},
+                "GUNICORN_DEBUG": {"type": "boolean"},
                 "DOCS_URL_PREFIX": {"type": "string"},
                 "ARBORIST_URL": {"type": ["string", "null"]},
                 "MOCK_AUTH": {"type": "boolean"},
diff --git a/gunicorn.conf.py b/gunicorn.conf.py
index 3138302..6e39ff0 100644
--- a/gunicorn.conf.py
+++ b/gunicorn.conf.py
@@ -29,13 +29,17 @@ def __init__(self, cfg):
 
         self._remove_handlers(logging.getLogger())
         cdislogging.get_logger(
-            None, log_level="debug" if app_config["DEBUG"] else "warn"
+            None,
+            log_level="debug" if app_config["GUNICORN_DEBUG"] else "warn",
+            # None,
+            # log_level="warn",
         )
         for logger_name in ["gunicorn", "gunicorn.error", "gunicorn.access"]:
             self._remove_handlers(logging.getLogger(logger_name))
             cdislogging.get_logger(
                 logger_name,
-                log_level="debug" if app_config["DEBUG"] else "info",
+                # log_level="debug" if app_config["DEBUG"] else "info",
+                log_level="info",
             )