diff --git a/ans-sdk-agent-client/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/agent/AnsVerifiedClient.java b/ans-sdk-agent-client/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/agent/AnsVerifiedClient.java
index cd61b52..045ba22 100644
--- a/ans-sdk-agent-client/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/agent/AnsVerifiedClient.java
+++ b/ans-sdk-agent-client/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/agent/AnsVerifiedClient.java
@@ -345,8 +345,9 @@ public CompletableFuture<AnsConnection> connectAsync(String serverUrl) {
                 .exceptionally(e -> {
                     Throwable cause = e instanceof CompletionException && e.getCause() != null
                         ? e.getCause() : e;
-                    LOGGER.warn("SCITT preflight failed: {}", cause.getMessage());
-                    return ScittPreVerifyResult.parseError("Preflight failed: " + cause.getMessage());
+                    String detail = describe(cause);
+                    LOGGER.warn("SCITT preflight to {}:{} failed: {}", hostname, port, detail, cause);
+                    return ScittPreVerifyResult.parseError("Preflight failed: " + detail);
                 });
         } else {
             scittFuture = CompletableFuture.completedFuture(ScittPreVerifyResult.notPresent());
@@ -390,6 +391,15 @@ public void clearCapturedCertificates(String host) {
         });
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Renders a throwable for diagnostics. Many TLS/IO exceptions carry a null message, which
+     * would otherwise surface as "null" and hide the failing class. Falls back to the class name.
+     */
+    private static String describe(Throwable t) {
+        String message = t.getMessage();
+        return message != null ? t.getClass().getName() + ": " + message : t.getClass().getName();
+    }
+
     private void assertScittResult(ScittPreVerifyResult scittPreResult, boolean scittVerified) {
         // Reject invalid SCITT headers regardless of mode (prevents garbage header attacks)
         if (policy.rejectsInvalidScittHeaders() && scittPreResult.isPresent() && !scittVerified) {
diff --git a/ans-sdk-core/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfiguration.java b/ans-sdk-core/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfiguration.java
index 6764baa..9b73e8b 100644
--- a/ans-sdk-core/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfiguration.java
+++ b/ans-sdk-core/src/main/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfiguration.java
@@ -206,8 +206,8 @@ public Builder enableRetry(int maxRetries) {
          * @throws NullPointerException if required fields are not set
          */
         public AnsConfiguration build() {
-            if (this.environment == null) {
-                throw new IllegalStateException("Environment is required");
+            if (this.environment == null && this.baseUrl == null) {
+                throw new IllegalStateException("Either an environment or a base URL is required");
             }
             return new AnsConfiguration(this);
         }
diff --git a/ans-sdk-core/src/test/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfigurationTest.java b/ans-sdk-core/src/test/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfigurationTest.java
index ff14821..cc5c018 100644
--- a/ans-sdk-core/src/test/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfigurationTest.java
+++ b/ans-sdk-core/src/test/java/com/godaddy/ans/sdk/config/AnsConfigurationTest.java
@@ -115,13 +115,25 @@ void shouldThrowExceptionWhenCredentialsProviderIsNull() {
     }
 
     @Test
-    @DisplayName("Should throw when environment is not set")
-    void shouldThrowWhenEnvironmentNotSet() {
+    @DisplayName("Should throw when neither environment nor base URL is set")
+    void shouldThrowWhenEnvironmentAndBaseUrlNotSet() {
         assertThatThrownBy(() -> AnsConfiguration.builder()
             .credentialsProvider(testProvider)
             .build())
             .isInstanceOf(IllegalStateException.class)
-            .hasMessageContaining("Environment is required");
+            .hasMessageContaining("environment or a base URL");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("Should allow custom base URL without an environment")
+    void shouldAllowBaseUrlWithoutEnvironment() {
+        AnsConfiguration config = AnsConfiguration.builder()
+            .baseUrl("http://localhost:18080")
+            .credentialsProvider(testProvider)
+            .build();
+
+        assertThat(config.getBaseUrl()).isEqualTo("http://localhost:18080");
+        assertThat(config.getEnvironment()).isNull();
     }
 
     @Test