diff --git a/servers/slapd/slapcommon.c b/servers/slapd/slapcommon.c
index 74b9e1b332..a5d4b4f5c9 100644
--- a/servers/slapd/slapcommon.c
+++ b/servers/slapd/slapcommon.c
@@ -233,6 +233,7 @@ slap_tool_init(
 	/* tools default to "none", so that at least LDAP_DEBUG_ANY 
 	 * messages show up; use -d 0 to reset */
 	slap_debug = LDAP_DEBUG_NONE;
+	ldif_debug = slap_debug;
 #endif
 	ldap_syslog = 0;