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verbosity

Last updated: September 29, 2026

The --verbosity parameter controls how much narration Liquibase prints around the results of a command. You can set --verbosity to the following values:

  • quiet: Print the results payload only. Liquibase omits the banner, the license line, changeset headers and comments, summaries, and the trailing confirmation messages, and lowers the log level to SEVERE.

  • normal (default): Print the same output that Liquibase 5.x prints today, with the log level at OFF.

  • verbose: Add diagnostic detail and raise the log level to FINE.

The results payload is never suppressed. For example, update-sql --verbosity=quiet still prints the generated SQL.

The --verbosity default value is normal.

Uses

The --verbosity parameter applies to all Liquibase commands. Use quiet when a command's output feeds another tool, so that only the payload reaches the next step in a pipeline. Use verbose when you are diagnosing a failure and want stack traces and tracing detail.

Because the results payload is never suppressed, quiet is safe to use with commands whose output you depend on, such as update-sql, diff, and history.

Using the --verbosity parameter

For best results, specify all commands and parameters in the --kebab-case format in the CLI. If your preference is camelCase, it also works in the CLI.

--verbosity is an optional parameter that is either set in the Liquibase properties file or specified on the command line. The value specified on the command line overrides the value set in the properties file.

Examples

liquibase --verbosity=quiet update-sql --changelog-file=example-changelog.xml

liquibase --verbosity=verbose update --changelog-file=example-changelog.xml

Syntax

You can set this parameter in the following ways:

Option

Syntax

Liquibase properties file (defaults file)

liquibase.verbosity: <string>

Global flow file argument

globalArgs: { verbosity: "<string>" }

Global CLI parameter

liquibase --verbosity=<string> update --changelog-file=example-changelog.xml

JVM system property (JAVA_OPTS environment variable)

Unix: JAVA_OPTS=-Dliquibase.verbosity=<string> Windows: JAVA_OPTS=-D"liquibase.verbosity"=<string>

Liquibase environment variable

LIQUIBASE_VERBOSITY=<string>

Using --verbosity alongside --log-level

Each verbosity tier implies a log level, which Liquibase applies only when --log-level is not set. An explicitly set --log-level always wins.

Verbosity

Implied log level

quiet

SEVERE

normal

OFF

verbose

FINE

Note: Setting --verbosity does not change the SQL log level. Use --sql-log-level to control that separately.

If you pass an unrecognized value, Liquibase reports Invalid --verbosity value. Valid values: 'quiet', 'normal', 'verbose'.