diff --git a/unittest/commands/test_simple_commands.cpp b/unittest/commands/test_simple_commands.cpp
index d3fef447ac..e8a1aab23f 100644
--- a/unittest/commands/test_simple_commands.cpp
+++ b/unittest/commands/test_simple_commands.cpp
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 #include <mpi.h>
 
 // whether to print verbose output (i.e. not capturing LAMMPS screen output).
-bool verbose = false;
+bool verbose = true;
 
 namespace LAMMPS_NS {
 using ::testing::ContainsRegex;