diff --git a/lix/legacy/build-remote.cc b/lix/legacy/build-remote.cc
index 416b4fb38..d0fb8f61a 100644
--- a/lix/legacy/build-remote.cc
+++ b/lix/legacy/build-remote.cc
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ static int main_build_remote(AsyncIoRoot & aio, std::string programName, Strings
         if (argv.size() != 1)
             throw UsageError("called without required arguments");
 
-        verbosity = (Verbosity) std::stoll(argv.front());
+        setVerbosity((Verbosity) std::stoll(argv.front()));
 
         auto conn = aio.kj.lowLevelProvider->wrapUnixSocketFd(1);
         capnp::TwoPartyServer srv(kj::heap<Instance>());
diff --git a/lix/legacy/builtin-builder.cc b/lix/legacy/builtin-builder.cc
index 8132439c0..0d03cceab 100644
--- a/lix/legacy/builtin-builder.cc
+++ b/lix/legacy/builtin-builder.cc
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ static int main_builtin_builder(AsyncIoRoot & aio, std::string programName, Stri
     };
 
     if (auto val = string2Int<int>(getArg("verbosity"))) {
-        verbosity = verbosityFromIntClamped(*val);
+        setVerbosity(verbosityFromIntClamped(*val));
     } else {
         throw Error("expected a verbosity argument");
     }
diff --git a/lix/legacy/nix-store.cc b/lix/legacy/nix-store.cc
index d6155489b..263627ca9 100644
--- a/lix/legacy/nix-store.cc
+++ b/lix/legacy/nix-store.cc
@@ -948,7 +948,7 @@ opServe(std::shared_ptr<Store> store, AsyncIoRoot & aio, Strings opFlags, String
     auto getBuildSettings = [&]() {
         // FIXME: changing options here doesn't work if we're
         // building through the daemon.
-        verbosity = lvlError;
+        setVerbosity(lvlError);
         settings.keepLog.override(false);
         settings.useSubstitutes.override(false);
         settings.maxSilentTime.override(readNum<unsigned>(in));
diff --git a/lix/libmain/common-args.cc b/lix/libmain/common-args.cc
index 6fdaa4fb5..36c9469a3 100644
--- a/lix/libmain/common-args.cc
+++ b/lix/libmain/common-args.cc
@@ -16,21 +16,21 @@ MixCommonArgs::MixCommonArgs(const std::string & programName)
         .shortName = 'v',
         .description = "Increase the logging verbosity level.",
         .category = loggingCategory,
-        .handler = {[]() { verbosity = verbosityFromIntClamped(int(verbosity) + 1); }},
+        .handler = {[]() { setVerbosity(verbosityFromIntClamped(int(getVerbosity()) + 1)); }},
     });
 
     addFlag({
         .longName = "quiet",
         .description = "Decrease the logging verbosity level.",
         .category = loggingCategory,
-        .handler = {[]() { verbosity = verbosityFromIntClamped(int(verbosity) - 1); }},
+        .handler = {[]() { setVerbosity(verbosityFromIntClamped(int(getVerbosity()) - 1)); }},
     });
 
     addFlag({
         .longName = "debug",
         .description = "Set the logging verbosity level to 'debug'.",
         .category = loggingCategory,
-        .handler = {[]() { verbosity = lvlDebug; }},
+        .handler = {[]() { setVerbosity(lvlDebug); }},
     });
 
     addFlag({
diff --git a/lix/libmain/progress-bar.cc b/lix/libmain/progress-bar.cc
index 39af11c20..490b1105f 100644
--- a/lix/libmain/progress-bar.cc
+++ b/lix/libmain/progress-bar.cc
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ bool ProgressBar::isVerbose()
 
 Logger::BufferState ProgressBar::log(Verbosity lvl, std::string_view s)
 {
-    if (lvl > verbosity) {
+    if (lvl > getVerbosity()) {
         return BufferState::HasSpace;
     }
     auto state(state_.lock());
@@ -142,8 +142,9 @@ Logger::BufferState ProgressBar::startActivityImpl(
 {
     auto state(state_.lock());
 
-    if (lvl <= verbosity && !s.empty() && type != actBuildWaiting)
+    if (lvl <= getVerbosity() && !s.empty() && type != actBuildWaiting) {
         (void) log(*state, lvl, s + "...");
+    }
 
     state->activities.emplace_back(ActInfo {
         .s = s,
diff --git a/lix/libstore/build/hook-instance.cc b/lix/libstore/build/hook-instance.cc
index 742cf5518..07c8bc093 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/build/hook-instance.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/build/hook-instance.cc
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ try {
 
     auto buildHook = canonPath(buildHookArgs.front());
     buildHookArgs.emplace(std::next(buildHookArgs.begin()), baseNameOf(buildHook));
-    buildHookArgs.push_back(std::to_string(verbosity));
+    buildHookArgs.push_back(std::to_string(getVerbosity()));
 
     /* Create the communication pipes. */
     auto [selfRPC, hookRPC] = SocketPair::stream();
diff --git a/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc b/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc
index 436122c51..d982015db 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/build/local-derivation-goal.cc
@@ -897,7 +897,7 @@ try {
 
     if (drv->isBuiltin()) {
         args.push_back("builtin-builder");
-        args.push_back(std::to_string(verbosity));
+        args.push_back(std::to_string(getVerbosity()));
 
         std::map<std::string, AbstractConfig::SettingInfo> changedSettings;
         globalConfig.getChangedSettings(changedSettings);
@@ -984,7 +984,7 @@ try {
         auto groups = buildUser->getSupplementaryGIDs();
         creds.setSupplementaryGroups({groups.data(), groups.size()});
     }
-    request.setDebug(verbosity >= lvlDebug);
+    request.setDebug(getVerbosity() >= lvlDebug);
 
     fillBuilderConfig(request);
 
diff --git a/lix/libstore/daemon.cc b/lix/libstore/daemon.cc
index 019940c19..7c03d1ad8 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/daemon.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/daemon.cc
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ struct TunnelLogger : public Logger
 
     BufferState log(Verbosity lvl, std::string_view s) override
     {
-        if (lvl > verbosity) {
+        if (lvl > getVerbosity()) {
             return BufferState::HasSpace;
         }
 
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ struct TunnelLogger : public Logger
 
     BufferState logEI(const ErrorInfo & ei) override
     {
-        if (ei.level > verbosity) {
+        if (ei.level > getVerbosity()) {
             return BufferState::HasSpace;
         }
 
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ struct ClientSettings
         settings.keepFailed.override(keepFailed);
         settings.keepGoing.override(keepGoing);
         settings.tryFallback.override(tryFallback);
-        nix::verbosity = verbosity;
+        setVerbosity(verbosity);
         settings.maxBuildJobs.override(maxBuildJobs);
         settings.maxSilentTime.override(maxSilentTime);
         settings.verboseBuild = verboseBuild;
diff --git a/lix/libstore/filetransfer.cc b/lix/libstore/filetransfer.cc
index 7c5333098..c5fbef8ab 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/filetransfer.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/filetransfer.cc
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ struct TransferItem
             }
         }
 
-        if (verbosity >= lvlVomit) {
+        if (getVerbosity() >= lvlVomit) {
             curl_easy_setopt(req.get(), CURLOPT_VERBOSE, 1);
             curl_easy_setopt(req.get(), CURLOPT_DEBUGFUNCTION, TransferItem::debugCallback);
         }
diff --git a/lix/libstore/remote-store.cc b/lix/libstore/remote-store.cc
index 3c333b460..300a00e0f 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/remote-store.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/remote-store.cc
@@ -127,11 +127,12 @@ kj::Promise<Result<void>> RemoteStore::setOptions(Connection & conn)
 try {
     StringSink command;
 
+    // clang-format off
     command << WorkerProto::Op::SetOptions
        << settings.keepFailed
        << settings.keepGoing
        << settings.tryFallback
-       << verbosity
+       << getVerbosity()
        << settings.maxBuildJobs
        << settings.maxSilentTime
        << true
@@ -140,6 +141,7 @@ try {
        << 0 /* obsolete print build trace */
        << settings.buildCores
        << settings.useSubstitutes;
+    // clang-format on
 
     std::map<std::string, Config::SettingInfo> overrides;
     settings.getSettings(overrides, true); // libstore settings
diff --git a/lix/libstore/s3-binary-cache-store.cc b/lix/libstore/s3-binary-cache-store.cc
index 721257992..a0acfc0e3 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/s3-binary-cache-store.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/s3-binary-cache-store.cc
@@ -97,7 +97,10 @@ class AwsLogger : public Aws::Utils::Logging::FormattedLogSystem
     void ProcessFormattedStatement(Aws::String && statement) override
     {
         // FIXME: workaround for truly excessive log spam in debug level: https://github.com/aws/aws-sdk-cpp/pull/3003
-        if ((statement.find("(SSLDataIn)") != std::string::npos || statement.find("(SSLDataOut)") != std::string::npos) && verbosity <= lvlDebug) {
+        if ((statement.find("(SSLDataIn)") != std::string::npos
+             || statement.find("(SSLDataOut)") != std::string::npos)
+            && getVerbosity() <= lvlDebug)
+        {
             return;
         }
         debug("AWS: %s", chomp(statement));
@@ -116,9 +119,8 @@ static void initAWS()
            shared.cc), so don't let aws-sdk-cpp override it. */
         options.cryptoOptions.initAndCleanupOpenSSL = false;
 
-        if (verbosity >= lvlDebug) {
-            options.loggingOptions.logLevel =
-                verbosity == lvlDebug
+        if (getVerbosity() >= lvlDebug) {
+            options.loggingOptions.logLevel = getVerbosity() == lvlDebug
                 ? Aws::Utils::Logging::LogLevel::Debug
                 : Aws::Utils::Logging::LogLevel::Trace;
             options.loggingOptions.logger_create_fn = [options]() {
diff --git a/lix/libutil/args.cc b/lix/libutil/args.cc
index 08d0f66b5..05b26861d 100644
--- a/lix/libutil/args.cc
+++ b/lix/libutil/args.cc
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ void RootArgs::parseCmdline(const Strings & _cmdline)
             throw UsageError("Invalid word number to get completion for: %zu\n. Your autocompletions might be misconfigured", n);
         *std::next(cmdline.begin(), n - 1) += completionMarker;
         completions = std::make_shared<Completions>();
-        verbosity = lvlError;
+        setVerbosity(lvlError);
     }
 
     for (auto pos = cmdline.begin(); pos != cmdline.end(); ) {
diff --git a/lix/libutil/logging.cc b/lix/libutil/logging.cc
index 70523c230..b0b656908 100644
--- a/lix/libutil/logging.cc
+++ b/lix/libutil/logging.cc
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ public:
 
     BufferState log(Verbosity lvl, std::string_view s) override
     {
-        if (lvl > verbosity) {
+        if (lvl > getVerbosity()) {
             return BufferState::HasSpace;
         }
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ public:
         ActivityId parent
     ) override
     {
-        if (lvl <= verbosity && !s.empty()) {
+        if (lvl <= getVerbosity() && !s.empty()) {
             return log(lvl, s + "...");
         }
         return BufferState::HasSpace;
@@ -136,7 +136,12 @@ public:
     }
 };
 
-Verbosity verbosity = lvlInfo;
+Verbosity detail::verbosity = lvlInfo;
+
+void setVerbosity(Verbosity v)
+{
+    detail::verbosity = v;
+}
 
 Verbosity verbosityFromIntClamped(int val)
 {
diff --git a/lix/libutil/logging.hh b/lix/libutil/logging.hh
index 0b93936a7..8ea3ec63f 100644
--- a/lix/libutil/logging.hh
+++ b/lix/libutil/logging.hh
@@ -319,10 +319,19 @@ Logger * makeSimpleLogger(bool printBuildLogs = true);
 
 Logger * makeJSONLogger(Logger & prevLogger);
 
+namespace detail {
+extern Verbosity verbosity;
+}
+
+inline Verbosity getVerbosity()
+{
+    return detail::verbosity;
+}
+
 /**
  * suppress msgs > this
  */
-extern Verbosity verbosity;
+void setVerbosity(Verbosity v);
 
 extern LoggerSettings loggerSettings;
 
@@ -388,7 +397,7 @@ extern LoggerSettings loggerSettings;
  */
 #define logErrorInfo(level, errorInfo...)                    \
     do {                                                     \
-        if ((level) <= ::nix::verbosity) {                   \
+        if ((level) <= ::nix::detail::verbosity) {           \
             (void) ::nix::logger->logEI((level), errorInfo); \
         }                                                    \
     } while (0)
@@ -401,14 +410,13 @@ extern LoggerSettings loggerSettings;
  * level. Note that this has to be implemented as a macro to ensure that the
  * arguments are evaluated lazily. The format string *must* be a literal.
  */
-#define printMsgUsing(loggerParam, level, fs, args...)                                            \
-    do {                                                                                          \
-        auto _lix_logger_print_lvl = level;                                                       \
-        const char * _lix_format = []<size_t N>(const char(&_lix_fs)[N]) { return _lix_fs; }(fs); \
-        if (_lix_logger_print_lvl <= ::nix::verbosity) {                                          \
-            (void                                                                                 \
-            ) loggerParam->log(_lix_logger_print_lvl, ::nix::HintFmt(_lix_format, ##args).str()); \
-        }                                                                                         \
+#define printMsgUsing(loggerParam, level, fs, args...)                                                 \
+    do {                                                                                               \
+        auto _lix_logger_print_lvl = level;                                                            \
+        const char * _lix_format = []<size_t N>(const char (&_lix_fs)[N]) { return _lix_fs; }(fs);     \
+        if (_lix_logger_print_lvl <= ::nix::detail::verbosity) {                                       \
+            (void) loggerParam->log(_lix_logger_print_lvl, ::nix::HintFmt(_lix_format, ##args).str()); \
+        }                                                                                              \
     } while (0)
 #define printMsg(level, fs, args...) printMsgUsing(::nix::logger, level, fs, ##args)
 
diff --git a/lix/nix/daemon.cc b/lix/nix/daemon.cc
index c8a613fae..eda7637a3 100644
--- a/lix/nix/daemon.cc
+++ b/lix/nix/daemon.cc
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ try {
                         "--for",
                         peer.pid ? fmt("%1%", *peer.pid) : "unknown",
                         "--log-level",
-                        fmt("%1%", int(verbosity)),
+                        fmt("%1%", int(getVerbosity())),
                         "--protocol",
                         std::string(socket.id()),
                     },
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ main_nix_daemon(AsyncIoRoot & aio, std::string programName, Strings argv, std::s
         }).parseCmdline(argv);
 
         if (isInstance) {
-            verbosity = Verbosity(std::min<uint64_t>(subdaemonLogLevel, lvlVomit));
+            setVerbosity(Verbosity(std::min<uint64_t>(subdaemonLogLevel, lvlVomit)));
             daemonInstance(daemon::getProtocol(protocol), aio, isTrustedOpt, peerPidArg);
         } else {
             runDaemon(aio, stdio, isTrustedOpt);
diff --git a/lix/nix/develop.cc b/lix/nix/develop.cc
index 698b285f3..baca10e21 100644
--- a/lix/nix/develop.cc
+++ b/lix/nix/develop.cc
@@ -599,8 +599,9 @@ struct CmdDevelop : Common, MixEnvironment
 
         auto script = makeRcScript(*state, store, buildEnvironment, (Path) tmpDir);
 
-        if (verbosity >= lvlDebug)
+        if (getVerbosity() >= lvlDebug) {
             script += "set -x\n";
+        }
 
         script += fmt("command rm -f '%s'\n", rcFilePath);
 
diff --git a/lix/nix/main.cc b/lix/nix/main.cc
index 1cdfcf2e2..75a6b12dc 100644
--- a/lix/nix/main.cc
+++ b/lix/nix/main.cc
@@ -505,9 +505,9 @@ int mainWrapped(AsyncIoRoot & aio, int argc, char ** argv)
 
     // FIXME: stop messing about with log verbosity depending on if it is interactive use
     if (isatty(STDERR_FILENO)) {
-        verbosity = lvlNotice;
+        setVerbosity(lvlNotice);
     } else {
-        verbosity = lvlInfo;
+        setVerbosity(lvlInfo);
     }
 
     registerCommands();
diff --git a/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs b/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs
index 4831b5b98..77b34c2ea 100644
--- a/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs
+++ b/perl/lib/Nix/Store.xs
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ void init()
 
 void setVerbosity(int level)
     CODE:
-        verbosity = (Verbosity) level;
+        setVerbosity((Verbosity) level);
 
 
 int isValidPath(char * path)
diff --git a/tests/unit/libstore/filetransfer.cc b/tests/unit/libstore/filetransfer.cc
index 8b9d809d7..ed2455575 100644
--- a/tests/unit/libstore/filetransfer.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/libstore/filetransfer.cc
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ TEST(FileTransfer, DISABLED_interrupt)
         }
     };
 
-    verbosity = lvlDebug;
+    setVerbosity(lvlDebug);
     logger = new InterruptingLogger;
 
     AsyncIoRoot aio;
diff --git a/tests/unit/libutil/logging.cc b/tests/unit/libutil/logging.cc
index f99f49527..788ab5993 100644
--- a/tests/unit/libutil/logging.cc
+++ b/tests/unit/libutil/logging.cc
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ namespace nix {
     }
 
     TEST(logEI, loggingErrorOnTalkativeLevel) {
-        verbosity = lvlTalkative;
+        setVerbosity(lvlTalkative);
 
         testing::internal::CaptureStderr();
 
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ namespace nix {
     }
 
     TEST(logEI, loggingErrorOnChattyLevel) {
-        verbosity = lvlChatty;
+        setVerbosity(lvlChatty);
 
         testing::internal::CaptureStderr();
 
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ namespace nix {
     }
 
     TEST(logEI, loggingErrorOnDebugLevel) {
-        verbosity = lvlDebug;
+        setVerbosity(lvlDebug);
 
         testing::internal::CaptureStderr();
 
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ namespace nix {
     }
 
     TEST(logEI, loggingErrorOnVomitLevel) {
-        verbosity = lvlVomit;
+        setVerbosity(lvlVomit);
 
         testing::internal::CaptureStderr();