diff --git a/tutor/__main__.py b/tutor/__main__.py
index 46041c5..64301ed 100644
--- a/tutor/__main__.py
+++ b/tutor/__main__.py
@@ -68,10 +68,26 @@ class SearchHandler(tornado.web.RequestHandler):
 
 @click.group()
 @click.option("--database", type=click.Path(dir_okay=False), required=True)
+@click.option(
+    "--log-level",
+    type=click.Choice(
+        ["debug", "info", "warn", "error"],
+        case_sensitive=False,
+    ),
+    default="warn",
+)
 @click.pass_context
-def cli(ctx, database):
+def cli(ctx, database, log_level):
+    logging.basicConfig(
+        level={
+            "debug": logging.DEBUG,
+            "info": logging.INFO,
+            "warn": logging.WARN,
+            "error": logging.ERROR,
+        }.get(log_level.lower())
+    )
     ctx.ensure_object(dict)
-    ctx.obj['database'] = database
+    ctx.obj["database"] = database
 
 
 @cli.command()
@@ -97,5 +113,4 @@ def import_cards(ctx, filename):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
     cli()