diff --git a/codex/codex_test.go b/codex/codex_test.go
index d0cb91f..deb7cb7 100644
--- a/codex/codex_test.go
+++ b/codex/codex_test.go
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@ package codex
 import "testing"
 
 func TestCodexVersion(t *testing.T) {
-	node := newCodexNode(t, withNoStart())
+	config := defaultConfigHelper(t)
+	node, err := New(config)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create Codex node: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	version, err := node.Version()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -17,7 +21,11 @@ func TestCodexVersion(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCodexRevision(t *testing.T) {
-	node := newCodexNode(t, withNoStart())
+	config := defaultConfigHelper(t)
+	node, err := New(config)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to create Codex node: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	revision, err := node.Revision()
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/codex/debug_test.go b/codex/debug_test.go
index a3be06c..ba4f7b4 100644
--- a/codex/debug_test.go
+++ b/codex/debug_test.go
@@ -32,38 +32,19 @@ func TestUpdateLogLevel(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	defer os.Remove(tmpFile.Name())
 
-	node, err := New(Config{
-		LogFile:        tmpFile.Name(),
-		MetricsEnabled: false,
+	node := newCodexNode(t, Config{
+		LogLevel:  "INFO",
+		LogFile:   tmpFile.Name(),
+		LogFormat: LogFormatNoColors,
 	})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Failed to create Codex node: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	t.Cleanup(func() {
-		if err := node.Stop(); err != nil {
-			t.Logf("cleanup codex: %v", err)
-		}
-
-		if err := node.Destroy(); err != nil {
-			t.Logf("cleanup codex: %v", err)
-		}
-	})
-
-	if err := node.Start(); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Failed to start Codex node: %v", err)
-	}
 
 	content, err := os.ReadFile(tmpFile.Name())
+
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to read log file: %v", err)
 	}
-	if !strings.Contains(string(content), "Started codex node") {
-		t.Errorf("Log file does not contain 'Started codex node' %s", string(content))
-	}
-
-	if err := node.Stop(); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("Failed to stop Codex node: %v", err)
+	if !strings.Contains(string(content), "INF") {
+		t.Errorf("Log file does not contain INFO statement %s", string(content))
 	}
 
 	err = node.UpdateLogLevel("ERROR")
@@ -71,6 +52,11 @@ func TestUpdateLogLevel(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("UpdateLogLevel call failed: %v", err)
 	}
 
+	if err := node.Stop(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to stop Codex node: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Clear the file
 	if err := os.WriteFile(tmpFile.Name(), []byte{}, 0644); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to clear log file: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -85,8 +71,8 @@ func TestUpdateLogLevel(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to read log file: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if strings.Contains(string(content), "Starting discovery node") {
-		t.Errorf("Log file contains 'Starting discovery node'")
+	if strings.Contains(string(content), "INF") {
+		t.Errorf("Log file contains INFO statement after log level update: %s", string(content))
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/codex/download_test.go b/codex/download_test.go
index c680498..edfc2a5 100644
--- a/codex/download_test.go
+++ b/codex/download_test.go
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func TestDownloadStreamWithAutosize(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDownloadStreamWithNotExisting(t *testing.T) {
-	codex := newCodexNode(t, withBlockRetries(1))
+	codex := newCodexNode(t, Config{BlockRetries: 1})
 
 	opt := DownloadStreamOptions{}
 	if err := codex.DownloadStream(context.Background(), "bafybeihdwdcefgh4dqkjv67uzcmw7ojee6xedzdetojuzjevtenxquvyku", opt); err == nil {
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ func TestDownloadManifest(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDownloadManifestWithNotExistingCid(t *testing.T) {
-	codex := newCodexNode(t, withBlockRetries(1))
+	codex := newCodexNode(t, Config{BlockRetries: 1})
 
 	manifest, err := codex.DownloadManifest("bafybeihdwdcefgh4dqkjv67uzcmw7ojee6xedzdetojuzjevtenxquvyku")
 	if err == nil {
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ func TestDownloadManifestWithNotExistingCid(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDownloadInitWithNotExistingCid(t *testing.T) {
-	codex := newCodexNode(t, withBlockRetries(1))
+	codex := newCodexNode(t, Config{BlockRetries: 1})
 
 	if err := codex.DownloadInit("bafybeihdwdcefgh4dqkjv67uzcmw7ojee6xedzdetojuzjevtenxquvyku", DownloadInitOptions{}); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error when initializing download for non-existent cid")
diff --git a/codex/storage_test.go b/codex/storage_test.go
index f002bb2..bca6381 100644
--- a/codex/storage_test.go
+++ b/codex/storage_test.go
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ func TestFetch(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestFetchCidDoesNotExist(t *testing.T) {
-	codex := newCodexNode(t, withBlockRetries(1))
+	codex := newCodexNode(t, Config{BlockRetries: 1})
 
 	_, err := codex.Fetch("bafybeihdwdcefgh4dqkjv67uzcmw7ojee6xedzdetojuzjevtenxquvyku")
 	if err == nil {
diff --git a/codex/testutil.go b/codex/testutil.go
index c02e54f..7521be4 100644
--- a/codex/testutil.go
+++ b/codex/testutil.go
@@ -6,52 +6,50 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 )
 
-type codexNodeTestOption func(*codexNodeTestOptions)
+func defaultConfigHelper(t *testing.T) Config {
+	t.Helper()
 
-type codexNodeTestOptions struct {
-	noStart      bool
-	blockRetries int
-}
-
-func withNoStart() codexNodeTestOption {
-	return func(o *codexNodeTestOptions) { o.noStart = true }
-}
-
-func withBlockRetries(n int) codexNodeTestOption {
-	return func(o *codexNodeTestOptions) { o.blockRetries = n }
-}
-
-func newCodexNode(t *testing.T, opts ...codexNodeTestOption) *CodexNode {
-	o := codexNodeTestOptions{
-		blockRetries: 3000,
-	}
-	for _, opt := range opts {
-		opt(&o)
-	}
-
-	node, err := New(Config{
+	return Config{
 		DataDir:        t.TempDir(),
 		LogFormat:      LogFormatNoColors,
 		MetricsEnabled: false,
-		BlockRetries:   o.blockRetries,
+		BlockRetries:   3000,
 		LogLevel:       "ERROR",
-	})
+	}
+}
+
+func newCodexNode(t *testing.T, opts ...Config) *CodexNode {
+	config := defaultConfigHelper(t)
+
+	if len(opts) > 0 {
+		c := opts[0]
+
+		if c.BlockRetries > 0 {
+			config.BlockRetries = c.BlockRetries
+		}
+
+		if c.LogLevel != "" {
+			config.LogLevel = c.LogLevel
+		}
+
+		if c.LogFile != "" {
+			config.LogFile = c.LogFile
+		}
+	}
+
+	node, err := New(config)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to create Codex node: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	if !o.noStart {
-		err = node.Start()
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("Failed to start Codex node: %v", err)
-		}
+	err = node.Start()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to start Codex node: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	t.Cleanup(func() {
-		if !o.noStart {
-			if err := node.Stop(); err != nil {
-				t.Logf("cleanup codex: %v", err)
-			}
+		if err := node.Stop(); err != nil {
+			t.Logf("cleanup codex: %v", err)
 		}
 
 		if err := node.Destroy(); err != nil {