Improve error messages in helpers

**Description**
Currently config lacks proper logging support.

**Proposed solution**
Add configurable logging with sensible defaults.

**Priority**: Low/Medium

Start by locating the configuration and helper code responsible for current error handling and any existing logging setup. Define the configurable logging behavior and sensible defaults from the surrounding project conventions, then verify that helper errors produce the intended output.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.