diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil.cs
index c4ad0986..634b3313 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil.cs
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ namespace NMF.AnyText
     /// </summary>
     public static class AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil
     {
-        private static readonly TraceSource _traceSource = CreateTraceSource();
-
         /// <summary>
         /// Creates a StreamJSON RPC object for the given transport
         /// </summary>
@@ -22,7 +20,6 @@ public static class AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil
         public static JsonRpc CreateServer(WebSocket webSocket, ILspServer server)
         {
             var rpc = new JsonRpc(new WebSocketMessageHandler(webSocket, CreateFormatter()));
-            rpc.TraceSource = _traceSource;
             rpc.AddLocalRpcTarget(server, CreateTargetOptions());
             return rpc;
         }
@@ -36,7 +33,6 @@ public static JsonRpc CreateServer(WebSocket webSocket, ILspServer server)
         public static JsonRpc CreateServer(IDuplexPipe pipe, ILspServer server)
         {
             var rpc = new JsonRpc(new HeaderDelimitedMessageHandler(pipe, CreateFormatter()));
-            rpc.TraceSource = _traceSource;
             rpc.AddLocalRpcTarget(server, CreateTargetOptions());
             return rpc;
         }
@@ -50,7 +46,6 @@ public static JsonRpc CreateServer(IDuplexPipe pipe, ILspServer server)
         public static JsonRpc CreateServer(Stream stream, ILspServer server)
         {
             var rpc = new JsonRpc(new HeaderDelimitedMessageHandler(stream, CreateFormatter()));
-            rpc.TraceSource = _traceSource;
             rpc.AddLocalRpcTarget(server, CreateTargetOptions());
             return rpc;
         }
@@ -62,7 +57,6 @@ public static JsonRpc CreateServer(Stream stream, ILspServer server)
         public static JsonRpc CreateServer(Stream stream)
         {
             var rpc = new JsonRpc(new HeaderDelimitedMessageHandler(stream, CreateFormatter()));
-            rpc.TraceSource = _traceSource;
             return rpc;
         }
 
@@ -84,15 +78,20 @@ private static JsonRpcTargetOptions CreateTargetOptions()
                 EventNameTransform = name => name.ToLowerInvariant()
             };
         }
-
-        private static TraceSource CreateTraceSource()
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Creates and configures a <see cref="TraceSource"/> instance for logging trace information.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="sourceLevels">The SourceLevel used to filter messages by type and severity. Defaults to <see cref="SourceLevels.All"/>.</param>
+        /// <returns>A <see cref="TraceSource"/> instance configured for the specified logging level.</returns>
+        public static TraceSource CreateTraceSource(SourceLevels sourceLevels = SourceLevels.All)
         {
-            var traceSource = new TraceSource("LSP", SourceLevels.All);
-            // use error stream such that VS Code can see the stdout
-            traceSource.Listeners.Add(new ConsoleTraceListener(true));
+            var traceSource = new TraceSource("LSP", sourceLevels);
+            // Use error stream (stderr) so that VS Code can capture the output
+            traceSource.Listeners.Add(new ConsoleTraceListener(useErrorStream: true));
             return traceSource;
         }
 
+
         private static IJsonRpcMessageFormatter CreateFormatter()
         {
             return new JsonMessageFormatter();
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/ILspServer.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/ILspServer.cs
index 0a0cb29c..5919e241 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/ILspServer.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/ILspServer.cs
@@ -41,5 +41,13 @@ public InitializeResult Initialize(
 
         [JsonRpcMethod(Methods.ShutdownName)]
         void Shutdown();
+
+        /// <summary>
+        ///     Handles the <c>*/setTrace</c> request from the client. This is used to set the trace setting of the server.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="arg">The JSON token containing the parameters of the request. (SetTraceParams)</param>
+        [JsonRpcMethod(MethodConstants.SetTrace)]
+        public void SetTrace(JToken arg);
+
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Diagnostics.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Diagnostics.cs
index 1afcce79..e05e2878 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Diagnostics.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Diagnostics.cs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ public partial class LspServer
         
         private async void SendDiagnostics(string uri, ParseContext context)
         {
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Starting diagnostics generation for URI: {uri}");
             var diagnostics = new List<Diagnostic>();
             var errors = context.Errors;
             foreach (var error in errors)
@@ -38,10 +39,13 @@ private async void SendDiagnostics(string uri, ParseContext context)
             try
             {
                 await _rpc.NotifyWithParameterObjectAsync(Methods.TextDocumentPublishDiagnosticsName, diagnosticsParams);
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Diagnostics published successfully for URI: {uri} with {diagnostics.Count} issue(s).");
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
-                Console.Error.WriteLine($"Error publishing Diagnostics: {ex.Message}");
+                var errorMessage = $"Error publishing diagnostics for URI: {uri}. Exception: {ex.Message}";
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Error, errorMessage);
+                Console.Error.WriteLine(errorMessage);
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Registration.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Registration.cs
index ddaed1b7..a005b221 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Registration.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Registration.cs
@@ -35,11 +35,15 @@ private async void RegisterCapabilities(Registration[] registrations)
 
             try
             {
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "Sending capabilities registration request to client.");
                 await _rpc.InvokeWithParameterObjectAsync(Methods.ClientRegisterCapabilityName, registrationParams);
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "Capabilities registration request completed successfully.");
             }
             catch (Exception ex)
             {
-                Console.Error.WriteLine($"Error register capabilities: {ex.Message}");
+                var errorMessage = $"Error registering capabilities: {ex.Message}";
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Error, errorMessage);
+                Console.Error.WriteLine(errorMessage);
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.SemanticToken.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.SemanticToken.cs
index d103a14e..4697dd9f 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.SemanticToken.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.SemanticToken.cs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ public partial class LspServer
         /// <inheritdoc cref="ILspServer.QuerySemanticTokens"/>
         public SemanticTokens QuerySemanticTokens(JToken arg)
         {
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "Received request for full semantic tokens.");
             var semanticTokensParams = arg.ToObject<SemanticTokensParams>();
             var uri = semanticTokensParams.TextDocument.Uri;
             
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ public SemanticTokens QuerySemanticTokens(JToken arg)
         /// <inheritdoc cref="ILspServer.QuerySemanticTokensDelta"/>
         public SemanticTokensDelta QuerySemanticTokensDelta(JToken arg)
         {
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "Received request for semantic tokens delta.");
             var semanticTokensParams = arg.ToObject<SemanticTokensDeltaParams>();
             var uri = semanticTokensParams.TextDocument.Uri;
 
@@ -74,6 +76,7 @@ public SemanticTokensDelta QuerySemanticTokensDelta(JToken arg)
         /// <inheritdoc cref="ILspServer.QuerySemanticTokensDelta"/>
         public SemanticTokens QuerySemanticTokensRange(JToken arg)
         {
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "Received request for semantic tokens in a range.");
             var semanticTokensRangeParams = arg.ToObject<SemanticTokensRangeParams>();
             var uri = semanticTokensRangeParams.TextDocument.Uri;
             var range = semanticTokensRangeParams.Range;
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Trace.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Trace.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..61a33a2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.Trace.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+using LspTypes;
+using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+
+namespace NMF.AnyText
+{
+    public partial class LspServer
+    {
+        /// <inheritdoc cref="ILspServer.SetTrace"/>
+        public void SetTrace(JToken arg)
+        {
+            var setTraceParams = arg.ToObject<SetTraceParams>();
+
+            UpdateTraceSource(setTraceParams.Value);
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Trace level updated to: {setTraceParams.Value}");
+        }
+
+        private void UpdateTraceSource(TraceValue traceValue)
+        {
+            _rpc.TraceSource =
+                AnyTextJsonRpcServerUtil.CreateTraceSource(MapTraceValueToSourceLevels(traceValue));
+        }
+        private static SourceLevels MapTraceValueToSourceLevels(TraceValue traceValue)
+        {
+            return traceValue switch
+            {
+                TraceValue.Off => SourceLevels.Off,
+                TraceValue.Messages => SourceLevels.Information,
+                TraceValue.Verbose => SourceLevels.Verbose,
+                _ => SourceLevels.All
+            };
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.cs
index ae3b8af8..a2af3d9c 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/LspServer.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using LspTypes;
+using LspTypes;
 using Newtonsoft.Json;
 using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
 using NMF.AnyText.Grammars;
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ public LspServer(IEnumerable<Grammar> grammars)
             _languages = grammars?.ToDictionary(sp => sp.LanguageId);
         }
 
-        [JsonRpcMethod(Methods.InitializeName)]
         public InitializeResult Initialize(
             int? processId
             , _InitializeParams_ClientInfo clientInfo
@@ -72,8 +71,12 @@ public InitializeResult Initialize(
                     WorkDoneProgress = false
                 }
             };
+            UpdateTraceSource(trace);
+            
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "LSP Server initialization completed.");
             return new InitializeResult { Capabilities = serverCapabilities };
         }
+
         public void Initialized() { }
 
         public void Shutdown() { }
@@ -87,11 +90,13 @@ public void DidChange(JToken arg)
             {
                 document.Update(changes.ContentChanges.Select(AsTextEdit));
                 SendDiagnostics(changes.TextDocument.Uri, document.Context);
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Document {changes.TextDocument.Uri} updated."); 
             }
         }
 
         public void DidSave(TextDocumentIdentifier textDocument, string text)
         {
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Document {textDocument.Uri} saved.");
         }
 
         private static ParsePosition AsParsePosition(Position position) => new ParsePosition((int)position.Line, (int)position.Character);
@@ -108,6 +113,7 @@ public void DidClose(JToken arg)
             if (_documents.TryGetValue(closeParams.TextDocument.Uri, out var document))
             {
                 _documents.Remove(closeParams.TextDocument.Uri);
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Document {closeParams.TextDocument.Uri} closed.");
             }
         }
 
@@ -126,20 +132,43 @@ public void DidOpen(JToken arg)
 
                     RegisterCapabilitiesOnOpen(openParams.TextDocument.LanguageId, parser);
                     SendDiagnostics(openParams.TextDocument.Uri, parser.Context);
+                    SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, $"Document {openParams.TextDocument.Uri} opened with language {openParams.TextDocument.LanguageId}.");
                 }
                 else
                 {
-                    throw new NotSupportedException($"No grammar found for extension {openParams.TextDocument.LanguageId}");
+                    var errorMessage = $"No grammar found for extension {openParams.TextDocument.LanguageId}";
+                    SendLogMessage(MessageType.Error, errorMessage);
+                    throw new NotSupportedException(errorMessage);
                 }
             }
             else
             {
-                throw new NotSupportedException($"Cannot open URI {openParams.TextDocument.Uri}");
+                var errorMessage = $"Cannot open URI {openParams.TextDocument.Uri}";
+                SendLogMessage(MessageType.Error, errorMessage);
+                throw new NotSupportedException(errorMessage);
             }
         }
         public void Exit()
         {
+            SendLogMessage(MessageType.Info, "LSP Server exiting.");
             throw new NotImplementedException();
         }
+        
+        // <summary>
+        /// Sends a log message to the client.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="type">The type of the message (Info, Warning, Error).</param>
+        /// <param name="message">The message content.</param>
+        private void SendLogMessage(MessageType type, string message)
+        {
+            var logMessageParams = new LogMessageParams
+            {
+                MessageType = type,
+                Message = message
+            };
+            
+            _rpc.NotifyWithParameterObjectAsync(Methods.WindowLogMessageName, logMessageParams);
+
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/MethodConstants.cs b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/MethodConstants.cs
index 2327fe9d..3054d8d1 100644
--- a/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/MethodConstants.cs
+++ b/AnyText/AnyText.Lsp/MethodConstants.cs
@@ -3,5 +3,6 @@ namespace NMF.AnyText
     public static class MethodConstants
     {
         public const string RegisterSemanticTokens = "textDocument/semanticTokens";
+        public const string SetTrace = "$/setTrace";
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/AnyText/Tests/AnyTextExtension/package.json b/AnyText/Tests/AnyTextExtension/package.json
index 14dee364..55fb94a7 100644
--- a/AnyText/Tests/AnyTextExtension/package.json
+++ b/AnyText/Tests/AnyTextExtension/package.json
@@ -38,13 +38,13 @@
       "type": "object",
       "title": "Example configuration",
       "properties": {
-        "languageServerExample.maxNumberOfProblems": {
+        "anytext.maxNumberOfProblems": {
           "scope": "resource",
           "type": "number",
           "default": 100,
           "description": "Controls the maximum number of problems produced by the server."
         },
-        "languageServerExample.trace.server": {
+        "anytext.trace.server": {
           "scope": "window",
           "type": "string",
           "enum": [
diff --git a/Glsp/Glsp/Processing/Layouting/LayeredLayoutService.cs b/Glsp/Glsp/Processing/Layouting/LayeredLayoutService.cs
index c96c1dde..8c37aa65 100644
--- a/Glsp/Glsp/Processing/Layouting/LayeredLayoutService.cs
+++ b/Glsp/Glsp/Processing/Layouting/LayeredLayoutService.cs
@@ -20,15 +20,35 @@ public class LayeredLayoutService : AglLayoutService
         /// </summary>
         public static readonly LayeredLayoutService Instance = new LayeredLayoutService();
 
+        private static readonly SugiyamaLayoutSettings _defaultSettings = new SugiyamaLayoutSettings
+        {
+            Transformation = PlaneTransformation.Rotation(Math.PI / 2),
+            EdgeRoutingSettings = { EdgeRoutingMode = EdgeRoutingMode.Rectilinear }
+        };
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Creates a new instance
+        /// </summary>
+        public LayeredLayoutService() : this(null) { }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Creates a new instance
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="settings">layout settings</param>
+        public LayeredLayoutService(SugiyamaLayoutSettings settings)
+        {
+            Settings = settings ?? _defaultSettings;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the layout settings for this layout service
+        /// </summary>
+        public SugiyamaLayoutSettings Settings { get; }
+
         /// <inheritdoc />
         protected override void ProcessLayout(GeometryGraph g)
         {
-            var settings = new SugiyamaLayoutSettings
-            {
-                Transformation = PlaneTransformation.Rotation(Math.PI / 2),
-                EdgeRoutingSettings = { EdgeRoutingMode = EdgeRoutingMode.Rectilinear }
-            };
-            var layout = new LayeredLayout(g, settings);
+            var layout = new LayeredLayout(g, Settings);
             layout.Run();
         }
     }
diff --git a/Models/Models/Repository/MetaRepository.cs b/Models/Models/Repository/MetaRepository.cs
index 2ca17999..fce4314d 100644
--- a/Models/Models/Repository/MetaRepository.cs
+++ b/Models/Models/Repository/MetaRepository.cs
@@ -13,11 +13,21 @@ namespace NMF.Models.Repository
     /// </summary>
     public sealed class MetaRepository : IModelRepository
     {
-        private static readonly MetaRepository instance = new MetaRepository();
+        private static readonly MetaRepository instance;
         private readonly ModelCollection entries;
         private readonly ModelSerializer serializer = new ModelSerializer();
         private readonly HashSet<Assembly> traversedAssemblies = new HashSet<Assembly>();
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Initializes the type
+        /// </summary>
+        static MetaRepository()
+        {
+            // we need an explicit static type constructor because the runtime is sometimes too lazy
+            // to initialize static variables in time, but they are needed for static lookup operations
+            instance = new MetaRepository();
+        }
+
         event EventHandler<BubbledChangeEventArgs> IModelRepository.BubbledChange
         {
             add { }