diff --git a/build-scripts/autogen b/build-scripts/autogen
index 7037b0dee..fe3d664e7 100755
--- a/build-scripts/autogen
+++ b/build-scripts/autogen
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ nova)
     ;;
 *)
     if [ -z "${PROJECT}" ]; then
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Expected environment variable PROJECT=[community|nova]"
+        log_error "Expected environment variable PROJECT=[community|nova]"
     else
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Unknown project '$PROJECT', expected 'community' or 'nova'"
+        log_error "Unknown project '$PROJECT', expected 'community' or 'nova'"
     fi
     echo "Usage: PROJECT=[community|nova] $0"
     exit 42
@@ -51,15 +51,14 @@ fi
 # running the autogen.sh.
 for proj in $projects; do
     if [ ! -d "$BASEDIR/$proj" ]; then
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Expected to find the '$proj' repository in '$BASEDIR', but it's not there"
-        exit 1
+        fatal "Expected to find the '$proj' repository in '$BASEDIR', but it's not there"
     fi
 done
 
 # Run autogen.sh on each repository
 for proj in $projects; do
     # autogen.sh is quite verbose, so only print the output in case of failure
-    echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running autogen.sh for project $proj..."
+    log_debug "Running autogen.sh for project $proj..."
     (
         cd "$BASEDIR/$proj"
         NO_CONFIGURE=1 run_and_print_on_failure ./autogen.sh
diff --git a/build-scripts/bootstrap-tarballs b/build-scripts/bootstrap-tarballs
index 89da8dd75..bf3b12c9d 100755
--- a/build-scripts/bootstrap-tarballs
+++ b/build-scripts/bootstrap-tarballs
@@ -94,12 +94,12 @@ cd "$BASEDIR"/core
 rm -f cfengine-3.*.tar.gz
 git rev-parse HEAD >"$BASEDIR"/output/core-commitID
 # Configure in order to run "make dist", deleted later.
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running configure on core repository..."
+log_debug "Running configure on core repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure ./configure -C
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make dist on core repository..."
+log_debug "Running make dist on core repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure make dist
 mv cfengine-3.*.tar.gz "$BASEDIR"/output/tarballs/
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make distclean on core repository..."
+log_debug "Running make distclean on core repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure make distclean
 
 # Build tarballs from masterfiles repository
@@ -107,14 +107,14 @@ cd "$BASEDIR"/masterfiles
 rm -f cfengine-masterfiles*.tar.gz
 git rev-parse HEAD >"$BASEDIR"/output/masterfiles-commitID
 # Configure in order to run "make dist", deleted later.
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running configure on masterfiles repository..."
+log_debug "Running configure on masterfiles repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure ./configure
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make dist on masterfiles repository..."
+log_debug "Running make dist on masterfiles repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure make dist # source tarball
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make tar-package on masterfiles repository..."
+log_debug "Running make tar-package on masterfiles repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure make tar-package # package tarball (containing all files as if they were installed under "prefix".)
 mv cfengine-masterfiles*.tar.gz "$BASEDIR"/output/tarballs/
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make distclean on masterfiles repository..."
+log_debug "Running make distclean on masterfiles repository..."
 run_and_print_on_failure make distclean
 
 # Compute a checksum list that can be used to verify the integrity of the
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ sha256sum -- *.tar.gz >sha256sums.txt
 CKSUM=$(sum sha256sums.txt | cut -d ' ' -f 1)
 mv sha256sums.txt sha256sums."$CKSUM".txt
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing javascript npm dependencies..."
+log_debug "Installing javascript npm dependencies..."
 (
     if test -f "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/public/scripts/package.json; then
         cd "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/public/scripts
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing javascript npm dependencies..."
     fi
 )
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing PHP composer dependencies from mission-portal repository..."
+log_debug "Installing PHP composer dependencies from mission-portal repository..."
 (
     if test -f "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/composer.json; then
         cd "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing PHP composer dependencies from mission
     fi
 )
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing PHP composer dependencies from nova repository..."
+log_debug "Installing PHP composer dependencies from nova repository..."
 (
     if test -f "$BASEDIR"/nova/api/http/composer.json; then
         cd "$BASEDIR"/nova/api/http
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing PHP composer dependencies from nova re
     fi
 )
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Compiling Mission Portal styles..."
+log_debug "Compiling Mission Portal styles..."
 (
     if test -f "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/public/themes/default/bootstrap/cfengine_theme.less; then
         cd "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/public/themes/default/bootstrap
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Compiling Mission Portal styles..."
     fi
 )
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Installing LDAP API PHP composer dependencies..."
+log_debug "Installing LDAP API PHP composer dependencies..."
 (
     if test -f "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/ldap/composer.json; then
         cd "$BASEDIR"/mission-portal/ldap
diff --git a/build-scripts/clean-buildmachine b/build-scripts/clean-buildmachine
index 93f0c6e5c..6ea134c57 100755
--- a/build-scripts/clean-buildmachine
+++ b/build-scripts/clean-buildmachine
@@ -12,11 +12,10 @@
 uninstall_cfbuild
 
 if [ -z "$PREFIX" ] || [ "$PREFIX" = "/" ]; then
-    echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: \$PREFIX is not defined, is empty, or is set to the root directory. Aborting to prevent accidental deletion."
-    exit 1
+    fatal "\$PREFIX is not defined, is empty, or is set to the root directory. Aborting to prevent accidental deletion."
 fi
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Cleaning build host by deleting $PREFIX"
+log_debug "Cleaning build host by deleting $PREFIX"
 case $OS in
 aix)
     sudo rm -rf "$PREFIX"/*
diff --git a/build-scripts/compare-versions b/build-scripts/compare-versions
index a567ee73f..1e9f66aef 100755
--- a/build-scripts/compare-versions
+++ b/build-scripts/compare-versions
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ nova)
     ;;
 *)
     if [ -z "${PROJECT}" ]; then
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Expected environment variable PROJECT=[community|nova]"
+        log_error "Expected environment variable PROJECT=[community|nova]"
     else
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Unknown project '$PROJECT', expected 'community' or 'nova'"
+        log_error "Unknown project '$PROJECT', expected 'community' or 'nova'"
     fi
     echo "Usage: PROJECT=[community|nova] $0"
     exit 42
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ for proj_i in $projects; do
         version_j=$(<"$BASEDIR/$proj_j/CFVERSION" tr ' ' '\n' |
             sed -e 's/\([0-9]*\.[0-9]*\.[0-9]*\).*/\1/')
         if [ "$version_i" != "$version_j" ]; then
-            echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Detected version mismatch: $proj_i $version_i != $proj_j $version_j"
+            log_error "Detected version mismatch: $proj_i $version_i != $proj_j $version_j"
             exit 33
         fi
     done
diff --git a/build-scripts/compile b/build-scripts/compile
index 75746cf6a..c9c5aafa4 100755
--- a/build-scripts/compile
+++ b/build-scripts/compile
@@ -28,30 +28,30 @@ nova)
     NOVA=yes
     ;;
 *)
-    echo "$(basename "$0"): Error: Unknown project '$PROJECT'"
+    log_error "Unknown project '$PROJECT'"
     exit 42
     ;;
 esac
 
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make in core repo..."
+log_debug "Running make in core repo..."
 run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/core -k
-echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make install in core repo..."
+log_debug "Running make install in core repo..."
 run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/core install DESTDIR="$BASEDIR"/cfengine/dist
 
 if [ "$NOVA" = yes ]; then
-    echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make in enterprise repo..."
+    log_debug "Running make in enterprise repo..."
     run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/enterprise -k
-    echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make install in enterprise repo..."
+    log_debug "Running make install in enterprise repo..."
     run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/enterprise install DESTDIR="$BASEDIR"/cfengine/dist
     if [ "$ROLE" = hub ]; then
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make in nova repo..."
+        log_debug "Running make in nova repo..."
         run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/nova -k
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make install in nova repo..."
+        log_debug "Running make install in nova repo..."
         run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/nova install DESTDIR="$BASEDIR"/cfengine/dist
-        echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make install in masterfiles repo..."
+        log_debug "Running make install in masterfiles repo..."
         run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/masterfiles install DESTDIR="$BASEDIR"/cfengine/dist
     fi
 else
-    echo "$(basename "$0"): Debug: Running make install in masterfiles repo..."
+    log_debug "Running make install in masterfiles repo..."
     run_and_print_on_failure "$MAKE" -C "$BASEDIR"/masterfiles install DESTDIR="$BASEDIR"/cfengine/dist
 fi
diff --git a/build-scripts/detect-environment b/build-scripts/detect-environment
index 2dea044c6..5c6db9d42 100644
--- a/build-scripts/detect-environment
+++ b/build-scripts/detect-environment
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ detect_cross_target() {
     esac
 
     if [ -n "$CROSS_TARGET" ]; then
-        echo "Detected cross target $CROSS_TARGET"
+        log_debug "Detected cross target $CROSS_TARGET"
     else
-        echo "No cross target detected"
+        log_debug "No cross target detected"
     fi
 }
 
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ detect_os() {
             OS_VERSION=$UNAME_R
             ;;
         *)
-            echo "Unable to detect operating system: $UNAME_S"
+            log_error "Unable to detect operating system: $UNAME_S"
             exit 42
             ;;
         esac
@@ -101,12 +101,12 @@ detect_os() {
         OS=mingw
         ;;
     *)
-        echo "Unknown cross-compilation target: $CROSS_TARGET"
+        log_error "Unknown cross-compilation target: $CROSS_TARGET"
         exit 42
         ;;
     esac
 
-    echo "Detected OS $OS $OS_VERSION"
+    log_debug "Detected OS $OS $OS_VERSION"
     export OS OS_VERSION
 }
 
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ detect_distribution() {
             OS=rhel
             ;;
         *)
-            echo "Error: Could not determine Linux distro from /etc/redhat-release: $REL"
+            log_error "Could not determine Linux distro from /etc/redhat-release: $REL"
             exit 42
             ;;
         esac
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ detect_distribution() {
 
         # Make sure we actually found a match
         if [ -z "$version_string" ]; then
-            echo "Error: Could not determine version number from /etc/redhat-release: $REL"
+            log_error "Could not determine version number from /etc/redhat-release: $REL"
             exit 42
         fi
         OS_VERSION=$version_string
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ detect_distribution() {
         case "$REL" in
         [0-9][0-9].[0-9][0-9]) ;;
         *)
-            echo "Unknown Ubuntu release: $REL"
+            log_error "Unknown Ubuntu release: $REL"
             exit 42
             ;;
         esac
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ detect_distribution() {
 
         REL=$(cat /etc/debian_version)
         if ! echo "$REL" | grep -E '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?$' >/dev/null; then
-            echo "Unable to detect version of Debian: $REL"
+            log_error "Unable to detect version of Debian: $REL"
             exit 42
         fi
 
@@ -222,12 +222,12 @@ detect_distribution() {
     fi
 
     if [ -z "$OS" ]; then
-        echo "Failed to detect Linux distribution"
+        log_error "Failed to detect Linux distribution"
         exit 42
     fi
 
     if [ -z "$OS_VERSION" ]; then
-        echo "Failed to detect Linux distribution version"
+        log_error "Failed to detect Linux distribution version"
         exit 42
     fi
 }
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ detect_packaging() {
     elif [ -f /usr/sbin/swinstall ]; then
         DEP_PACKAGING=hpux
     else
-        echo "Unknown packaging system"
+        log_error "Unknown packaging system"
         exit 42
     fi
 
@@ -268,8 +268,8 @@ detect_packaging() {
         ;;
     esac
 
-    echo "Detected dependency packaging $DEP_PACKAGING"
-    echo "Detected packaging $PACKAGING"
+    log_debug "Detected dependency packaging $DEP_PACKAGING"
+    log_debug "Detected packaging $PACKAGING"
     export DEP_PACKAGING PACKAGING
 }
 
@@ -293,7 +293,8 @@ detect_arch() {
             ARCH=i86pc
             ;;
         *)
-            echo "Unknown Solaris architecture: $UNAME_M"
+            log_error "Unknown Solaris architecture: $UNAME_M"
+            exit 42
             ;;
         esac
         ;;
@@ -305,7 +306,7 @@ detect_arch() {
         ARCH=$UNAME_M
         ;;
     *)
-        echo "Unknown packaging system"
+        log_error "Unknown packaging system"
         exit 42
         ;;
     esac
@@ -322,12 +323,12 @@ detect_arch() {
         ARCH=x64
         ;;
     *)
-        echo "Unknown cross-compilation target: $CROSS_TARGET"
+        log_error "Unknown cross-compilation target: $CROSS_TARGET"
         exit 42
         ;;
     esac
 
-    echo "Detected architecture $ARCH"
+    log_debug "Detected architecture $ARCH"
     export ARCH
 }
 
@@ -341,9 +342,9 @@ detect_tools() {
 
     if $MAKE -v | grep GNU; then
         export MAKE
-        echo "Detected make path $MAKE"
+        log_debug "Detected make path $MAKE"
     else
-        echo "Error: GNU Make not found"
+        log_error "GNU Make not found"
         exit 42
     fi
 
@@ -353,12 +354,12 @@ detect_tools() {
     # systems. We use it to kill processes that can mess with the build process.
     FUSER=$(func_whereis fuser)
     export FUSER
-    echo "Detected fuser path $FUSER"
+    log_debug "Detected fuser path $FUSER"
 
     # We use patch to apply patches to the dependencies.
     PATCH=$(func_whereis gpatch patch)
     export PATCH
-    echo "Detected patch path $PATCH"
+    log_debug "Detected patch path $PATCH"
 }
 
 # This function appends the -j/--jobs option to the MAKEFLAGS environment
@@ -368,29 +369,29 @@ detect_tools() {
 detect_cores() {
     case "$OS_FAMILY" in
     aix)
-        echo "Detected OS family is aix"
+        log_debug "Detected OS family is aix"
         NUM_CORES="$(lscfg | grep -c proc)"
         ;;
     solaris)
-        echo "Detected OS family is solaris"
+        log_debug "Detected OS family is solaris"
         NUM_CORES="$(psrinfo | wc -l)"
         ;;
     linux)
-        echo "Detected OS family is linux"
+        log_debug "Detected OS family is linux"
         NUM_CORES="$(grep -c '^processor' /proc/cpuinfo)"
         ;;
     hpux)
-        echo "Detected OS family is hpux"
+        log_debug "Detected OS family is hpux"
         NUM_CORES="$(ioscan -k -C processor | grep -c processor)"
         ;;
     *)
-        echo "Detected OS family is UNKNOWN, defaulting amount of CPU cores to 1"
+        log_debug "Detected OS family is UNKNOWN, defaulting amount of CPU cores to 1"
         NUM_CORES=1
         ;;
     esac
 
     # Make number of jobs one higher than core count, to account for I/O, network, etc.
-    echo "Detected amount of CPU cores is $NUM_CORES"
+    log_debug "Detected amount of CPU cores is $NUM_CORES"
     MAKEFLAGS="${MAKEFLAGS:--j$((NUM_CORES + 1))}"
     export MAKEFLAGS
 }