diff --git a/cmd/spawn/local-interchain.go b/cmd/spawn/local-interchain.go
index 03141cf9..3542330d 100644
--- a/cmd/spawn/local-interchain.go
+++ b/cmd/spawn/local-interchain.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path"
@@ -31,30 +30,32 @@ var LocalICCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		debugBinaryLoc, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool(FlagLocationPath)
 
+		logger := GetLogger()
+
 		loc := whereIsLocalICInstalled()
 		if loc == "" {
-			fmt.Println("local-ic not found. Please run `make get-localic`")
+			logger.Error("local-ic not found. Please run `make get-localic`")
 			return
 		}
 
 		if debugBinaryLoc {
-			fmt.Println(loc)
+			logger.Debug("local-ic binary", "location", loc)
 			return
 		}
 
 		if err := os.Chmod(loc, 0755); err != nil {
-			fmt.Println("Error setting local-ic permissions:", err)
+			logger.Error("Error setting local-ic permissions", "err", err)
 		}
 
 		// set to use the current dir if it is not overrriden
 		if os.Getenv("ICTEST_HOME") == "" {
 			if err := os.Setenv("ICTEST_HOME", "."); err != nil {
-				fmt.Println("Error setting ICTEST_HOME:", err)
+				logger.Error("Error setting ICTEST_HOME", "err", err)
 			}
 		}
 
 		if err := spawn.ExecCommand(loc, args...); err != nil {
-			fmt.Println("Error calling local-ic:", err)
+			logger.Error("Error calling local-ic", "err", err)
 		}
 	},
 }
diff --git a/cmd/spawn/main.go b/cmd/spawn/main.go
index 98d52ab0..0decbe65 100644
--- a/cmd/spawn/main.go
+++ b/cmd/spawn/main.go
@@ -3,25 +3,52 @@ package main
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
+	"log/slog"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
 
+	"github.com/lmittmann/tint"
+	"github.com/mattn/go-isatty"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
 // Set in the makefile ld_flags on compile
 var SpawnVersion = ""
 
+var LogLevelFlag = "log-level"
+
 func main() {
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(newChain)
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(LocalICCmd)
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(versionCmd)
 
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().String(LogLevelFlag, "info", "log level (debug, info, warn, error)")
+
 	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "error while executing your CLI. Err: %v\n", err)
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
 
+func GetLogger() *slog.Logger {
+	w := os.Stderr
+
+	logLevel := parseLogLevelFromFlags()
+
+	slog.SetDefault(slog.New(
+		// TODO: Windows support colored logs: https://github.com/mattn/go-colorable `tint.NewHandler(colorable.NewColorable(w), nil)`
+		tint.NewHandler(w, &tint.Options{
+			Level:      logLevel,
+			TimeFormat: time.Kitchen,
+			// Enables colors only if the terminal supports it
+			NoColor: !isatty.IsTerminal(w.Fd()),
+		}),
+	))
+
+	return slog.Default()
+}
+
 var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "spawn",
 	Short: "Entry into the Interchain",
@@ -42,3 +69,27 @@ var versionCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		fmt.Println(SpawnVersion)
 	},
 }
+
+func parseLogLevelFromFlags() slog.Level {
+	logLevel, err := rootCmd.PersistentFlags().GetString(LogLevelFlag)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	var lvl slog.Level
+
+	switch strings.ToLower(logLevel) {
+	case "debug", "d", "dbg":
+		lvl = slog.LevelDebug
+	case "info", "i", "inf":
+		lvl = slog.LevelInfo
+	case "warn", "w", "wrn":
+		lvl = slog.LevelWarn
+	case "error", "e", "err", "fatal", "f", "ftl":
+		lvl = slog.LevelError
+	default:
+		lvl = slog.LevelInfo
+	}
+
+	return lvl
+}
diff --git a/cmd/spawn/new-chain.go b/cmd/spawn/new-chain.go
index 99e09526..948a814d 100644
--- a/cmd/spawn/new-chain.go
+++ b/cmd/spawn/new-chain.go
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ var newChain = &cobra.Command{
 	Args:    cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 	Aliases: []string{"new", "init", "create"},
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		logger := GetLogger()
+
 		projName := strings.ToLower(args[0])
 		homeDir := "." + projName
 
@@ -60,7 +62,6 @@ var newChain = &cobra.Command{
 		walletPrefix, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(FlagWalletPrefix)
 		binName, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(FlagBinDaemon)
 		denom, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(FlagTokenDenom)
-		debug, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool(FlagDebugging)
 		ignoreGitInit, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool(FlagNoGit)
 		githubOrg, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString(FlagGithubOrg)
 
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ var newChain = &cobra.Command{
 		if len(disabled) == 0 && !bypassPrompt {
 			items, err := selectItems(0, SupportedFeatures, true)
 			if err != nil {
-				fmt.Println("Error selecting disabled:", err)
+				logger.Error("Error selecting disabled", "err", err)
 				return
 			}
 			disabled = items.NOTSlice()
@@ -80,13 +81,13 @@ var newChain = &cobra.Command{
 			HomeDir:         homeDir,
 			BinDaemon:       binName,
 			Denom:           denom,
-			Debug:           debug,
 			GithubOrg:       githubOrg,
 			IgnoreGitInit:   ignoreGitInit,
 			DisabledModules: disabled,
+			Logger:          logger,
 		}
 		if err := cfg.Validate(); err != nil {
-			fmt.Println("Error validating config:", err)
+			logger.Error("Error validating config", "err", err)
 			return
 		}
 
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 4ab92051..7e7d4a29 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ require (
 	github.com/chzyer/readline v1.5.1 // indirect
 	github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc // indirect
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
+	github.com/lmittmann/tint v1.0.4 // indirect
+	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 // indirect
 	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.17.0 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index da9c2a7c..d26fccb2 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -14,8 +14,12 @@ github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc h1:U9qPSI2PIWSS1
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.2-0.20180830191138-d8f796af33cc/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 h1:wN+x4NVGpMsO7ErUn/mUI3vEoE6Jt13X2s0bqwp9tc8=
 github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0/go.mod h1:vpF70FUmC8bwa3OWnCshd2FqLfsEA9PFc4w1p2J65bw=
+github.com/lmittmann/tint v1.0.4 h1:LeYihpJ9hyGvE0w+K2okPTGUdVLfng1+nDNVR4vWISc=
+github.com/lmittmann/tint v1.0.4/go.mod h1:HIS3gSy7qNwGCj+5oRjAutErFBl4BzdQP6cJZ0NfMwE=
 github.com/manifoldco/promptui v0.9.0 h1:3V4HzJk1TtXW1MTZMP7mdlwbBpIinw3HztaIlYthEiA=
 github.com/manifoldco/promptui v0.9.0/go.mod h1:ka04sppxSGFAtxX0qhlYQjISsg9mR4GWtQEhdbn6Pgg=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 h1:xfD0iDuEKnDkl03q4limB+vH+GxLEtL/jb4xVJSWWEY=
+github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20/go.mod h1:W+V8PltTTMOvKvAeJH7IuucS94S2C6jfK/D7dTCTo3Y=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 h1:Jamvg5psRIccs7FGNTlIRMkT8wgtp5eCXdBlqhYGL6U=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/russross/blackfriday/v2 v2.1.0/go.mod h1:+Rmxgy9KzJVeS9/2gXHxylqXiyQDYRxCVz55jmeOWTM=
@@ -27,6 +31,7 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4 h1:CcVxjf3Q8PM0mHUKJCdn+eZZtm5yQwehR5yeSVQQcU
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4/go.mod h1:sz/lmYIOXD/1dqDmKjjqLyZ2RngseejIcXlSw2iwfAo=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20181122145206-62eef0e2fa9b/go.mod h1:STP8DvDyc/dI5b8T5hshtkjS+E42TnysNCUPdjciGhY=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220310020820-b874c991c1a5/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.6.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.17.0 h1:25cE3gD+tdBA7lp7QfhuV+rJiE9YXTcS3VG1SqssI/Y=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.17.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405 h1:yhCVgyC4o1eVCa2tZl7eS0r+SDo693bJlVdllGtEeKM=
diff --git a/spawn/chain_config.go b/spawn/chain_config.go
index 03e2d347..5257a31f 100644
--- a/spawn/chain_config.go
+++ b/spawn/chain_config.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"embed"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/fs"
+	"log/slog"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"strings"
@@ -30,10 +31,10 @@ type NewChainConfig struct {
 	GithubOrg string
 	// IgnoreGitInit is a flag to ignore git init
 	IgnoreGitInit bool
-	// Debug is a flag to enable debug logging
-	Debug bool
 
 	DisabledModules []string
+
+	Logger *slog.Logger
 }
 
 func (cfg *NewChainConfig) Validate() error {
@@ -41,6 +42,10 @@ func (cfg *NewChainConfig) Validate() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("project name cannot contain special characters %s", cfg.ProjectName)
 	}
 
+	if cfg.Logger == nil {
+		cfg.Logger = slog.Default()
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -48,6 +53,7 @@ func (cfg *NewChainConfig) AnnounceSuccessfulBuild() {
 	projName := cfg.ProjectName
 	bin := cfg.BinDaemon
 
+	// no logger here, straight to stdout
 	fmt.Printf("\n\n🎉 New blockchain '%s' generated!\n", projName)
 	fmt.Println("🏅Getting started:")
 	fmt.Println("  - $ cd " + projName)
@@ -64,20 +70,21 @@ func (cfg *NewChainConfig) GithubPath() string {
 func (cfg *NewChainConfig) NewChain() {
 	NewDirName := cfg.ProjectName
 	disabled := cfg.DisabledModules
+	logger := cfg.Logger
 
-	fmt.Println("Spawning new app:", NewDirName)
-	fmt.Println("Disabled features:", disabled)
+	logger.Info("Spawning new app", "app", NewDirName)
+	logger.Info("Disabled features", "features", disabled)
 
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(NewDirName, 0755); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
 
 	if err := cfg.SetupMainChainApp(); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(fmt.Errorf("error setting up main chain app: %s", err))
+		logger.Error("Error setting up main chain app", "err", err)
 	}
 
 	if err := cfg.SetupInterchainTest(); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println(fmt.Errorf("error setting up interchain test: %s", err))
+		logger.Error("Error setting up interchain test", "err", err)
 	}
 
 	if !cfg.IgnoreGitInit {
@@ -117,13 +124,12 @@ func (cfg *NewChainConfig) SetupMainChainApp() error {
 		// *All Files
 		fc.ReplaceEverywhere(cfg)
 
-		return fc.Save(cfg.Debug)
+		return fc.Save()
 	})
 }
 
 func (cfg *NewChainConfig) SetupInterchainTest() error {
 	newDirName := cfg.ProjectName
-	debug := cfg.Debug
 
 	// Interchaintest e2e is a nested submodule. go.mod is renamed to go.mod_ to avoid conflicts
 	// It will be unwound during unpacking to properly nest it.
@@ -153,14 +159,14 @@ func (cfg *NewChainConfig) SetupInterchainTest() error {
 			fc.ReplaceAll(`Binary  = "wasmd"`, fmt.Sprintf(`Binary  = "%s"`, cfg.BinDaemon)) // else it would replace the Cosmwasm/wasmd import path
 			fc.ReplaceAll(`Bech32 = "wasm"`, fmt.Sprintf(`Bech32 = "%s"`, cfg.Bech32Prefix))
 
-			fc.FindAndReplaceAddressBech32("wasm", cfg.Bech32Prefix, debug)
+			fc.FindAndReplaceAddressBech32("wasm", cfg.Bech32Prefix)
 
 		}
 
 		// Removes any modules references after we modify interchaintest values
 		fc.RemoveDisabledFeatures(cfg)
 
-		return fc.Save(cfg.Debug)
+		return fc.Save()
 	})
 }
 
@@ -173,19 +179,13 @@ func (cfg *NewChainConfig) getFileContent(newFilePath string, fs embed.FS, relPa
 		return nil, nil
 	}
 
-	fc := NewFileContent(relPath, newFilePath)
+	fc := NewFileContent(cfg.Logger, relPath, newFilePath)
 
 	if fc.HasIgnoreFile() {
-		if cfg.Debug {
-			fmt.Println("[!] Ignoring File: ", fc.NewPath)
-		}
+		cfg.Logger.Debug("Ignoring file", "file", fc.NewPath)
 		return nil, nil
 	}
 
-	if cfg.Debug {
-		fmt.Println(fc)
-	}
-
 	// Read the file contents from the embedded FS
 	if fileContent, err := fs.ReadFile(relPath); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
diff --git a/spawn/command.go b/spawn/command.go
index aaacb6f3..8e3b72b6 100644
--- a/spawn/command.go
+++ b/spawn/command.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package spawn
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 )
@@ -15,15 +14,15 @@ func ExecCommand(command string, args ...string) error {
 
 func (cfg *NewChainConfig) GitInitNewProjectRepo() {
 	if err := ExecCommand("git", "init", cfg.ProjectName, "--quiet"); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println("Error initializing git:", err)
+		cfg.Logger.Error("Error initializing git", "err", err)
 	}
 	if err := os.Chdir(cfg.ProjectName); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println("Error changing to project directory:", err)
+		cfg.Logger.Error("Error changing to project directory", "err", err)
 	}
 	if err := ExecCommand("git", "add", "."); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println("Error adding files to git:", err)
+		cfg.Logger.Error("Error adding files to git", "err", err)
 	}
 	if err := ExecCommand("git", "commit", "-m", "initial commit", "--quiet"); err != nil {
-		fmt.Println("Error committing initial files:", err)
+		cfg.Logger.Error("Error committing initial files", "err", err)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/spawn/file_content.go b/spawn/file_content.go
index 3afb61cd..c6174599 100644
--- a/spawn/file_content.go
+++ b/spawn/file_content.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package spawn
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"regexp"
@@ -17,13 +18,16 @@ type FileContent struct {
 	NewPath string
 	// The contents of the file from the embededFileSystem (initially unmodified)
 	Contents string
+
+	Logger *slog.Logger
 }
 
-func NewFileContent(relativePath, newPath string) *FileContent {
+func NewFileContent(logger *slog.Logger, relativePath, newPath string) *FileContent {
 	return &FileContent{
 		RelativePath: relativePath,
 		NewPath:      newPath,
 		Contents:     "",
+		Logger:       logger,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ func (fc *FileContent) HasIgnoreFile() bool {
 
 func (fc *FileContent) DeleteContents(path string) {
 	if fc.IsPath(path) {
-		fmt.Println("Deleting contents for", path)
+		fc.Logger.Debug("Deleting contents for", "path", path)
 		fc.Contents = ""
 	}
 }
@@ -139,14 +143,14 @@ func (fc *FileContent) ReplaceLocalInterchainJSON(cfg *NewChainConfig) {
 		fc.ReplaceAll("mydenom", cfg.Denom)
 		fc.ReplaceAll("wasmd", cfg.BinDaemon)
 
-		fc.FindAndReplaceAddressBech32("wasm", cfg.Bech32Prefix, cfg.Debug)
+		fc.FindAndReplaceAddressBech32("wasm", cfg.Bech32Prefix)
 	}
 
 }
 
 // FindAndReplaceStandardWalletsBech32 finds a prefix1... address and replaces it with a new prefix1... address
 // This works for both standard wallets (38 length after prefix1) and also smart contracts (58)
-func (fc *FileContent) FindAndReplaceAddressBech32(oldPrefix, newPrefix string, isDebugging bool) {
+func (fc *FileContent) FindAndReplaceAddressBech32(oldPrefix, newPrefix string) {
 	oldPrefix = strings.TrimSuffix(oldPrefix, "1")
 	newPrefix = strings.TrimSuffix(newPrefix, "1")
 
@@ -155,9 +159,7 @@ func (fc *FileContent) FindAndReplaceAddressBech32(oldPrefix, newPrefix string,
 	r := regexp.MustCompile(oldPrefix + `1([0-9a-z]{58}|[0-9a-z]{38})`)
 
 	foundAddrs := r.FindAllString(fc.Contents, -1)
-	if isDebugging {
-		fmt.Println("Regex: Found Addresses:", foundAddrs, fc.NewPath)
-	}
+	fc.Logger.Debug("Regex: Found Addresses", "addresses", foundAddrs, "path", fc.NewPath)
 
 	for _, addr := range foundAddrs {
 		_, bz, err := bech32.Decode(addr, 100)
@@ -180,7 +182,7 @@ func (fc *FileContent) RemoveGoModImport(importPath string) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	fmt.Println("removing go.mod import", fc.RelativePath, "for", importPath)
+	fc.Logger.Debug("removing go.mod import", "path", fc.RelativePath, "import", importPath)
 
 	lines := strings.Split(fc.Contents, "\n")
 
@@ -194,11 +196,9 @@ func (fc *FileContent) RemoveGoModImport(importPath string) {
 	fc.Contents = strings.Join(newLines, "\n")
 }
 
-func (fc *FileContent) Save(debug bool) error {
+func (fc *FileContent) Save() error {
 	if fc.Contents == "" {
-		if debug {
-			fmt.Printf("Save() No contents for %s. Not saving\n", fc.NewPath)
-		}
+		fc.Logger.Debug("Save() No contents for", "path", fc.NewPath)
 		return nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/spawn/parser.go b/spawn/parser.go
index 6e88af75..c4cdf3e8 100644
--- a/spawn/parser.go
+++ b/spawn/parser.go
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func (fc *FileContent) RemoveTaggedLines(name string, deleteLine bool) {
 
 			// the line which has the closing multiline end tag, we then continue to add lines as normal
 			startMultiLineDelete = false
-			fmt.Println("endIdx:", idx, line)
+			fc.Logger.Debug("endIdx", "idx", idx, "line", line)
 			continue
 		}
 
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ func (fc *FileContent) RemoveModuleFromText(removeText string, pathSuffix ...str
 			fmt.Printf("rm %s startIdx: %d, %s\n", removeText, idx, line)
 
 			if strings.TrimSpace(line) == ")" || strings.TrimSpace(line) == "}" {
-				fmt.Println("endIdx:", idx, line)
+				fc.Logger.Debug("endIdx", "idx", idx, "line", line)
 				startBatchDelete = false
 				continue
 			}
diff --git a/spawn/parser_test.go b/spawn/parser_test.go
index 389a1cd7..27a74342 100644
--- a/spawn/parser_test.go
+++ b/spawn/parser_test.go
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 package spawn
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
 	"path"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ func TestRemoveLineWithTag(t *testing.T) {
 
 	deleteLine := true
 	fc.RemoveTaggedLines("test", deleteLine)
-	// fmt.Println(fc.Contents)
 	require.Equal(t, 2, contentLen(fc))
 }
 
@@ -61,6 +60,7 @@ func TestBatchRemoveText(t *testing.T) {
 		)
 		third line of source
 		// some comment`,
+		Logger: slog.Default(),
 	}
 
 	fc.RemoveModuleFromText("test", path.Join("wrong-dir", "app.go"))
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ final line`
 
 	fc := &FileContent{
 		Contents: content,
+		Logger:   slog.Default(),
 	}
 
 	require.Equal(t, 8, contentLen(fc))
@@ -89,8 +90,6 @@ final line`
 	deleteLine := true
 	fc.RemoveTaggedLines("test", deleteLine)
 
-	fmt.Println(fc.Contents)
-
 	require.Equal(t, 2, contentLen(fc))
 }