diff --git a/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-boot-features.adoc b/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-boot-features.adoc
index aace21c061..c8e2aa66c7 100644
--- a/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-boot-features.adoc
+++ b/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-boot-features.adoc
@@ -1072,9 +1072,14 @@ default `ERROR`, `WARN` and `INFO` level messages are logged. You can also enabl
 NOTE: you can also specify `debug=true` in your `application.properties`.
 
 When the debug mode is enabled, a selection of core loggers (embedded container, Hibernate
-and Spring) are configured to output more information. Enabling the debug mode does _not_
+and Spring Boot) are configured to output more information. Enabling the debug mode does _not_
 configure your application to log all messages with `DEBUG` level.
 
+Alternatively, you can enable a "`trace`" mode by starting your application with a `--trace`
+flag (or `trace=true` in your `application.properties`). This will enable trace logging for a
+selection of core loggers (embedded container, Hibernate schema generation and the whole Spring
+portfolio).
+
 [[boot-features-logging-color-coded-output]]
 ==== Color-coded output
 If your terminal supports ANSI, color output will be used to aid readability. You can set
diff --git a/spring-boot/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListener.java b/spring-boot/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListener.java
index 413740fbc4..537bbed344 100644
--- a/spring-boot/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListener.java
+++ b/spring-boot/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListener.java
@@ -284,15 +284,20 @@ public class LoggingApplicationListener implements GenericApplicationListener {
 
 	private void initializeEarlyLoggingLevel(ConfigurableEnvironment environment) {
 		if (this.parseArgs && this.springBootLogging == null) {
-			if (environment.containsProperty("debug")) {
+			if (isSet(environment, "debug")) {
 				this.springBootLogging = LogLevel.DEBUG;
 			}
-			if (environment.containsProperty("trace")) {
+			if (isSet(environment, "trace")) {
 				this.springBootLogging = LogLevel.TRACE;
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
+	private boolean isSet(ConfigurableEnvironment environment, String property) {
+		String value = environment.getProperty(property);
+		return !(value == null || value.equals("false"));
+	}
+
 	private void initializeSystem(ConfigurableEnvironment environment,
 			LoggingSystem system, LogFile logFile) {
 		LoggingInitializationContext initializationContext = new LoggingInitializationContext(
diff --git a/spring-boot/src/main/resources/META-INF/additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json b/spring-boot/src/main/resources/META-INF/additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json
index bd48282134..80a1d91811 100644
--- a/spring-boot/src/main/resources/META-INF/additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json
+++ b/spring-boot/src/main/resources/META-INF/additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json
@@ -160,6 +160,13 @@
     "type": "java.lang.String",
     "sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.context.config.ConfigFileApplicationListener",
     "description": "Unconditionally activate the specified comma separated profiles."
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "trace",
+    "type": "java.lang.Boolean",
+    "description": "Enable trace logs.",
+    "sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.logging.LoggingApplicationListener",
+    "defaultValue": false
   }
 ],"hints": [
   {
diff --git a/spring-boot/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListenerTests.java b/spring-boot/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListenerTests.java
index a908cd9844..419cbf6128 100644
--- a/spring-boot/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListenerTests.java
+++ b/spring-boot/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/logging/LoggingApplicationListenerTests.java
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.not;
  * @author Dave Syer
  * @author Phillip Webb
  * @author Andy Wilkinson
+ * @author Stephane Nicoll
  */
 public class LoggingApplicationListenerTests {
 
@@ -231,6 +232,26 @@ public class LoggingApplicationListenerTests {
 		assertThat(this.outputCapture.toString()).contains("testattrace");
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	public void disableDebugArg() {
+		disableDebugTraceArg("debug=false");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void disableTraceArg() {
+		disableDebugTraceArg("trace=false");
+	}
+
+	private void disableDebugTraceArg(String... environment) {
+		EnvironmentTestUtils.addEnvironment(this.context, environment);
+		this.initializer.initialize(this.context.getEnvironment(),
+				this.context.getClassLoader());
+		this.logger.debug("testatdebug");
+		this.logger.trace("testattrace");
+		assertThat(this.outputCapture.toString()).doesNotContain("testatdebug");
+		assertThat(this.outputCapture.toString()).doesNotContain("testattrace");
+	}
+
 	@Test
 	public void parseLevels() throws Exception {
 		EnvironmentTestUtils.addEnvironment(this.context,