diff --git a/args.js b/args.js
index e877f675..ce1db6cf 100644
--- a/args.js
+++ b/args.js
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ const CLI_OPTIONS = {
   'include-hooks': { type: 'boolean' },
   'trust-proxy-enabled': { type: 'boolean' },
   help: { type: 'boolean', short: 'h' },
-  'debug-port': { type: 'string', short: 'I' }
+  'debug-port': { type: 'string', short: 'I' },
+  yaml: { type: 'boolean' }
 }
 
 module.exports = function parseCliArgs (args) {
@@ -68,7 +69,11 @@ module.exports = function parseCliArgs (args) {
   const configFileOptions = commandLineArguments.config ? requireModule(commandLineArguments.config) : undefined
 
   const additionalArgs = commandLineArguments['--'] || []
-  const pluginParsed = parseArgs(additionalArgs, { options: {}, strict: false })
+  const pluginParsed = parseArgs(additionalArgs, {
+    coerceUnknownNumbers: true,
+    inferUnknownOptions: true,
+    strict: true
+  })
   const { _, ...pluginOptions } = pluginParsed
   const ignoreWatchArg = commandLineArguments.ignoreWatch || configFileOptions?.ignoreWatch || ''
   const followWatchArg = commandLineArguments.followWatch || configFileOptions?.followWatch || ''
diff --git a/generate-plugin.js b/generate-plugin.js
index 8a8c88e4..0c71a68f 100755
--- a/generate-plugin.js
+++ b/generate-plugin.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ const {
 } = require('node:fs').promises
 const { existsSync } = require('node:fs')
 const path = require('node:path')
-const chalk = require('chalk')
+const chalk = require('chalk').default
 const generify = require('generify')
 const parseArgs = require('./lib/parse-args')
 const cliPkg = require('./package')
@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ async function generate (dir, template) {
   pkg.scripts = Object.assign(pkg.scripts || {}, template.scripts)
   pkg.dependencies = Object.assign(pkg.dependencies || {}, template.dependencies)
   pkg.devDependencies = Object.assign(pkg.devDependencies || {}, template.devDependencies)
-  pkg.tstyche = Object.assign(pkg.tstyche || {}, template.tstyche)
+  if (template.tstyche) {
+    pkg.tstyche = Object.assign(pkg.tstyche || {}, template.tstyche)
+  }
 
   log('debug', 'edited package.json, saving')
 
diff --git a/generate.js b/generate.js
index 407ccef8..ddc5b6f2 100755
--- a/generate.js
+++ b/generate.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ const {
   existsSync
 } = require('node:fs')
 const path = require('node:path')
-const chalk = require('chalk')
+const chalk = require('chalk').default
 const generify = require('generify')
 const parseArgs = require('./lib/parse-args')
 const cliPkg = require('./package')
diff --git a/lib/parse-args.js b/lib/parse-args.js
index 6b7f5995..e3ef814c 100644
--- a/lib/parse-args.js
+++ b/lib/parse-args.js
@@ -74,12 +74,21 @@ function normalizeArgs (args, options) {
         }
       } else {
         // Non-boolean option: --key value
-        normalized.push(`--${keyKebab}`)
         i++
         if (i < args.length) {
           // Convert to string because parseArgs requires string values
-          normalized.push(String(args[i]))
+          const value = String(args[i])
+          // util.parseArgs treats a dash-prefixed separate value as
+          // ambiguous; use the inline form for negative numeric values.
+          if (/^-\d/.test(value)) {
+            normalized.push(`--${keyKebab}=${value}`)
+          } else {
+            normalized.push(`--${keyKebab}`)
+            normalized.push(value)
+          }
           i++
+        } else {
+          normalized.push(`--${keyKebab}`)
         }
       }
       continue
@@ -100,8 +109,79 @@ function normalizeArgs (args, options) {
   return normalized
 }
 
+// Infer option types for the plugin-specific arguments that are intentionally
+// not known by fastify-cli. This preserves yargs-parser's `--key value`
+// behavior while still using util.parseArgs for the actual parsing.
+function inferUnknownOptions (args) {
+  const options = {}
+
+  function addOption (key, type, short) {
+    if (!key) return
+
+    const current = options[key]
+    if (current?.type === 'string' || (type === 'boolean' && current)) return
+
+    options[key] = { type }
+    if (short) options[key].short = short
+  }
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
+    const arg = String(args[i])
+    if (arg === '--') break
+
+    if (arg.startsWith('--')) {
+      const equals = arg.indexOf('=')
+      if (equals > 2) {
+        addOption(arg.slice(2, equals), 'string')
+        continue
+      }
+
+      const key = arg.slice(2)
+      const next = args[i + 1]
+      const hasValue = next !== undefined &&
+        (!String(next).startsWith('-') || /^-\d/.test(String(next)))
+      addOption(key, hasValue ? 'string' : 'boolean')
+      if (hasValue) i++
+      continue
+    }
+
+    if (arg.startsWith('-') && arg.length > 1) {
+      const shortOptions = arg.slice(1)
+      if (shortOptions.length > 1 && !shortOptions.includes('=')) {
+        for (const short of shortOptions) addOption(short, 'boolean', short)
+        continue
+      }
+
+      const equals = shortOptions.indexOf('=')
+      const key = equals === -1 ? shortOptions : shortOptions.slice(0, equals)
+      if (equals !== -1) {
+        addOption(key, 'string', key)
+      } else {
+        const next = args[i + 1]
+        const hasValue = next !== undefined &&
+          (!String(next).startsWith('-') || /^-\d/.test(String(next)))
+        addOption(key, hasValue ? 'string' : 'boolean', key)
+        if (hasValue) i++
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return options
+}
+
+function coerceUnknownNumber (value) {
+  if (Array.isArray(value)) return value.map(coerceUnknownNumber)
+  if (typeof value !== 'string' || value.length === 0) return value
+
+  const numeric = /^[+-]?(?:\d+\.?\d*|\.\d+)(?:e[+-]?\d+)?$/i.test(value) ||
+    /^0x[\da-f]+$/i.test(value)
+  return numeric ? Number(value) : value
+}
+
 function parseArgsStandard (args, config) {
-  const options = config.options || {}
+  const options = config.inferUnknownOptions
+    ? inferUnknownOptions(args)
+    : config.options || {}
 
   // Build full options map
   const fullOptions = {}
@@ -186,6 +266,14 @@ function parseArgsStandard (args, config) {
     }
   }
 
+  if (config.coerceUnknownNumbers) {
+    for (const key of Object.keys(result)) {
+      if (key !== '_' && key !== '--') {
+        result[key] = coerceUnknownNumber(result[key])
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   return result
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/watch/fork.js b/lib/watch/fork.js
index d4ee7922..9f800430 100644
--- a/lib/watch/fork.js
+++ b/lib/watch/fork.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict'
 
-const chalk = require('chalk')
+const chalk = require('chalk').default
 const { stop, runFastify } = require('../../start')
 
 const {
diff --git a/lib/watch/index.js b/lib/watch/index.js
index b4f53859..d8c736b1 100644
--- a/lib/watch/index.js
+++ b/lib/watch/index.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 const path = require('node:path')
 const cp = require('node:child_process')
-const chalk = require('chalk')
+const chalk = require('chalk').default
 const { arrayToRegExp, logWatchVerbose } = require('./utils')
 const { GRACEFUL_SHUT } = require('./constants.js')
 
diff --git a/lib/watch/utils.js b/lib/watch/utils.js
index dae37507..6f49c3c6 100644
--- a/lib/watch/utils.js
+++ b/lib/watch/utils.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict'
 
-const chalk = require('chalk')
+const chalk = require('chalk').default
 const path = require('node:path')
 
 const arrayToRegExp = (arr) => {
diff --git a/log.js b/log.js
index 84987b9a..ffeeb3c1 100644
--- a/log.js
+++ b/log.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 'use strict'
 
-const chalk = require('chalk')
+const chalk = require('chalk').default
 
 const levels = {
   debug: 0,
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ac281f4b..dcfb4e82 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     "unit:cjs": "node suite-runner.js \"templates/app/test/**/*.test.js\"",
     "unit:esm": "node suite-runner.js \"templates/app-esm/test/**/*.test.js\"",
     "unit:ts-cjs": "cross-env TS_NODE_PROJECT=./test/configs/ts-cjs.tsconfig.json node -r ts-node/register suite-runner.js \"templates/app-ts/test/**/*.test.ts\"",
-    "unit:ts-esm": "cross-env TS_NODE_PROJECT=./test/configs/ts-esm.tsconfig.json FASTIFY_AUTOLOAD_TYPESCRIPT=1 node -r ts-node/register --loader ts-node/esm suite-runner.js \"templates/app-ts-esm/test/**/*.test.ts\"",
+    "unit:ts-esm": "cross-env TS_NODE_PROJECT=./test/configs/ts-esm.tsconfig.json FASTIFY_AUTOLOAD_TYPESCRIPT=1 node suite-runner.js \"templates/app-ts-esm/test/**/*.test.ts\" \"--loader=ts-node/esm\"",
     "unit:suites": "node should-skip-test-suites.js || npm run all-suites",
     "all-suites": "npm run unit:cjs && npm run unit:esm && npm run unit:ts-cjs && npm run unit:ts-esm",
     "unit:cli-js-esm": "node suite-runner.js \"test/esm/**/*.test.js\"",
@@ -83,4 +83,4 @@
     "typescript": "~6.0.2",
     "walker": "^1.0.8"
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/start.js b/start.js
index ef0d614c..ed61cd34 100755
--- a/start.js
+++ b/start.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 const { loadEnvQuitely } = require('./env-loader')
 loadEnvQuitely()
-const isDocker = require('is-docker')
+const isDocker = require('is-docker').default
 
 const closeWithGrace = require('close-with-grace')
 const deepmerge = require('@fastify/deepmerge')({
diff --git a/suite-runner.js b/suite-runner.js
index 8a1408c5..ffe91b57 100644
--- a/suite-runner.js
+++ b/suite-runner.js
@@ -3,20 +3,26 @@ const { spec } = require('node:test/reporters')
 const path = require('node:path')
 const { glob } = require('glob')
 
-const pattern = process.argv[process.argv.length - 1]
+async function main () {
+  const [pattern, ...workerExecArgv] = process.argv.slice(2)
 
-console.info(`Running tests matching ${pattern}`)
-const timeout = 10 * 60 * 1000 // 10 minutes
-glob(pattern, (err, matches) => {
-  if (err) {
-    console.error(err)
-    process.exit(1)
-  }
+  console.info(`Running tests matching ${pattern}`)
+  const timeout = 10 * 60 * 1000 // 10 minutes
+  const matches = await glob(pattern)
   const resolved = matches.map(file => path.resolve(file))
-  const testRs = run({ files: resolved, timeout })
+  const runOptions = { files: resolved, timeout }
+  if (workerExecArgv.length > 0) {
+    runOptions.execArgv = workerExecArgv
+  }
+  const testRs = run(runOptions)
     .on('test:fail', () => {
       process.exitCode = 1
     })
     .compose(spec)
   testRs.pipe(process.stdout)
+}
+
+main().catch(err => {
+  console.error(err)
+  process.exit(1)
 })
diff --git a/test/args.test.js b/test/args.test.js
index b9934711..1e4a2199 100644
--- a/test/args.test.js
+++ b/test/args.test.js
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ test('should parse custom plugin options', t => {
       a: true,
       b: true,
       c: true,
-      hello: true
+      hello: 'world'
     },
     bodyLimit: 5242880,
     debug: true,
@@ -308,6 +308,17 @@ test('should parse custom plugin options', t => {
   })
 })
 
+test('should parse plugin options with negative values', t => {
+  const parsedArgs = parseArgs([
+    'app.js',
+    '--',
+    '--offset',
+    '-1'
+  ])
+
+  t.assert.equal(parsedArgs.pluginOptions.offset, -1)
+})
+
 test('should parse config file correctly and prefer config values over default ones', t => {
   t.plan(1)
 
diff --git a/test/configs/ts-cjs.tsconfig.json b/test/configs/ts-cjs.tsconfig.json
index 5e0e7973..2edc6e4b 100644
--- a/test/configs/ts-cjs.tsconfig.json
+++ b/test/configs/ts-cjs.tsconfig.json
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
   "extends": "../../node_modules/fastify-tsconfig/tsconfig.json",
   "compilerOptions": {
     "outDir": "dist",
-    "sourceMap": true
+    "sourceMap": true,
+    "types": ["node"]
   },
   "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
 }
diff --git a/test/configs/ts-esm.tsconfig.json b/test/configs/ts-esm.tsconfig.json
index b52b3ee8..f8d13235 100644
--- a/test/configs/ts-esm.tsconfig.json
+++ b/test/configs/ts-esm.tsconfig.json
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
     "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
     "module": "NodeNext",
     "target": "ES2022",
-    "esModuleInterop": true
+    "esModuleInterop": true,
+    "types": ["node"]
   },
   "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
 }
diff --git a/util.js b/util.js
index 7a0bb9d2..2e58fe32 100644
--- a/util.js
+++ b/util.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ const fs = require('node:fs')
 const path = require('node:path')
 const url = require('node:url')
 const semver = require('semver')
-const pkgUp = require('pkg-up')
+const { pkgUp } = require('pkg-up')
 const resolveFrom = require('resolve-from')
 
 const moduleSupport = semver.satisfies(process.version, '>= 14 || >= 12.17.0 < 13.0.0')