diff --git a/lib/commands/hook.js b/lib/commands/hook.js
index 08bf3ca794142..2ff6ac01ce527 100644
--- a/lib/commands/hook.js
+++ b/lib/commands/hook.js
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ class Hook extends BaseCommand {
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(Object.keys(hook).join('\t'))
       this.npm.output(Object.keys(hook).map(k => hook[k]).join('\t'))
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`+ ${this.hookName(hook)} ${
         opts.unicode ? ' ➜ ' : ' -> '
       } ${hook.endpoint}`)
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class Hook extends BaseCommand {
       })
     } else if (!hooks.length) {
       this.npm.output("You don't have any hooks configured yet.")
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       if (hooks.length === 1) {
         this.npm.output('You have one hook configured.')
       } else {
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class Hook extends BaseCommand {
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(Object.keys(hook).join('\t'))
       this.npm.output(Object.keys(hook).map(k => hook[k]).join('\t'))
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`- ${this.hookName(hook)} ${
         opts.unicode ? ' ✘ ' : ' X '
       } ${hook.endpoint}`)
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ class Hook extends BaseCommand {
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(Object.keys(hook).join('\t'))
       this.npm.output(Object.keys(hook).map(k => hook[k]).join('\t'))
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`+ ${this.hookName(hook)} ${
         opts.unicode ? ' ➜ ' : ' -> '
       } ${hook.endpoint}`)
diff --git a/lib/commands/org.js b/lib/commands/org.js
index 0e4a39bcd788f..f3d344ca33e3d 100644
--- a/lib/commands/org.js
+++ b/lib/commands/org.js
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ class Org extends BaseCommand {
         this.npm.output(
           [memDeets.org.name, memDeets.org.size, memDeets.user, memDeets.role].join('\t')
         )
-      } else if (!opts.silent) {
+      } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
         this.npm.output(
           `Added ${memDeets.user} as ${memDeets.role} to ${memDeets.org.name}. You now have ${
             memDeets.org.size
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ class Org extends BaseCommand {
         } else if (opts.parseable) {
           this.npm.output(['user', 'org', 'userCount', 'deleted'].join('\t'))
           this.npm.output([user, org, userCount, true].join('\t'))
-        } else if (!opts.silent) {
+        } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
           this.npm.output(
             `Successfully removed ${user} from ${org}. You now have ${userCount} member${
               userCount === 1 ? '' : 's'
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ class Org extends BaseCommand {
         Object.keys(roster).forEach(user => {
           this.npm.output([user, roster[user]].join('\t'))
         })
-      } else if (!opts.silent) {
+      } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
         const table = new Table({ head: ['user', 'role'] })
         Object.keys(roster)
           .sort()
diff --git a/lib/commands/team.js b/lib/commands/team.js
index 3cb00e3f8f7cb..1e13a83f52b09 100644
--- a/lib/commands/team.js
+++ b/lib/commands/team.js
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ class Team extends BaseCommand {
       }))
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(`${entity}\tcreated`)
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`+@${entity}`)
     }
   }
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ class Team extends BaseCommand {
       }))
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(`${entity}\tdeleted`)
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`-@${entity}`)
     }
   }
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class Team extends BaseCommand {
       }))
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(`${user}\t${entity}\tadded`)
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`${user} added to @${entity}`)
     }
   }
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ class Team extends BaseCommand {
       }))
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(`${user}\t${entity}\tremoved`)
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       this.npm.output(`${user} removed from @${entity}`)
     }
   }
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ class Team extends BaseCommand {
       this.npm.output(JSON.stringify(users, null, 2))
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(users.join('\n'))
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       const plural = users.length === 1 ? '' : 's'
       const more = users.length === 0 ? '' : ':\n'
       this.npm.output(`\n@${entity} has ${users.length} user${plural}${more}`)
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ class Team extends BaseCommand {
       this.npm.output(JSON.stringify(teams, null, 2))
     } else if (opts.parseable) {
       this.npm.output(teams.join('\n'))
-    } else if (!opts.silent) {
+    } else if (!this.npm.silent) {
       const plural = teams.length === 1 ? '' : 's'
       const more = teams.length === 0 ? '' : ':\n'
       this.npm.output(`\n@${entity} has ${teams.length} team${plural}${more}`)
diff --git a/test/fixtures/mock-npm.js b/test/fixtures/mock-npm.js
index 2c82d4af612fb..4846d9a485841 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/mock-npm.js
+++ b/test/fixtures/mock-npm.js
@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ class MockNpm {
       get: (k) => ({ ...realConfig.defaults, ...config })[k],
       set: (k, v) => {
         config[k] = v
+        // mock how real npm derives silent
         if (k === 'loglevel') {
           this.flatOptions.silent = v === 'silent'
           this.silent = v === 'silent'
@@ -168,9 +169,8 @@ class MockNpm {
       setLoglevel(t, config.loglevel)
     }
 
-    if (config.loglevel === 'silent') {
-      this.flatOptions.silent = true
-      this.silent = true
+    if (config.loglevel) {
+      this.config.set('loglevel', config.loglevel)
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/doctor.js b/test/lib/commands/doctor.js
index 06528554ab6dd..dee2110ff3c89 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/doctor.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/doctor.js
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ const { join } = require('path')
 const fs = require('fs')
 const ansiTrim = require('../../../lib/utils/ansi-trim.js')
 const isWindows = require('../../../lib/utils/is-windows.js')
+const { fake: mockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 // getuid and getgid do not exist in windows, so we shim them
 // to return 0, as that is the value that lstat will assign the
@@ -61,24 +62,18 @@ const clearLogs = () => {
   }
 }
 
-const npm = {
+const npm = mockNpm({
   flatOptions: {
     registry: 'https://registry.npmjs.org/',
   },
-  set loglevel (v) {
-    this.flatOptions.silent = v === 'silent'
-    this.silent = v === 'silent'
-    this._loglevel = v
+  config: {
+    loglevel: 'info',
   },
-  get loglevel () {
-    return this._loglevel
-  },
-  _loglevel: 'info',
   version: '7.1.0',
   output: data => {
     output.push(data)
   },
-}
+})
 
 let latestNpm = npm.version
 const pacote = {
@@ -220,7 +215,7 @@ t.test('node versions', t => {
         npm.globalDir = dir
         npm.localBin = dir
         npm.globalBin = dir
-        npm.loglevel = 'silent'
+        npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
 
         st.teardown(() => {
           delete npm.cache
@@ -229,7 +224,7 @@ t.test('node versions', t => {
           delete npm.globalDir
           delete npm.localBin
           delete npm.globalBin
-          npm.loglevel = 'info'
+          npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
           clearLogs()
         })
 
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/hook.js b/test/lib/commands/hook.js
index 5d364d8a5fc64..60a59a3fe7a3b 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/hook.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/hook.js
@@ -1,18 +1,20 @@
 const t = require('tap')
+const { fake: mockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const output = []
-const npm = {
+const npm = mockNpm({
   flatOptions: {
     json: false,
     parseable: false,
-    silent: false,
-    loglevel: 'info',
     unicode: false,
   },
+  config: {
+    loglevel: 'info',
+  },
   output: msg => {
     output.push(msg)
   },
-}
+})
 
 const pkgTypes = {
   semver: 'package',
@@ -179,9 +181,9 @@ t.test('npm hook add - parseable output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm hook add - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     hookArgs = null
     output.length = 0
   })
@@ -352,9 +354,9 @@ t.test('npm hook ls - parseable output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm hook ls - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     hookArgs = null
     output.length = 0
   })
@@ -413,9 +415,9 @@ t.test('npm hook rm - unicode output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm hook rm - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     hookArgs = null
     output.length = 0
   })
@@ -598,9 +600,9 @@ t.test('npm hook update - parseable output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm hook update - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     hookArgs = null
     output.length = 0
   })
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/org.js b/test/lib/commands/org.js
index 14b116d87510a..3ae951dd5c453 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/org.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/org.js
@@ -1,18 +1,20 @@
 const t = require('tap')
 const ansiTrim = require('../../../lib/utils/ansi-trim.js')
+const { fake: mockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const output = []
-const npm = {
+const npm = mockNpm({
   flatOptions: {
     json: false,
     parseable: false,
-    silent: false,
+  },
+  config: {
     loglevel: 'info',
   },
   output: msg => {
     output.push(msg)
   },
-}
+})
 
 let orgSize = 1
 let orgSetArgs = null
@@ -230,9 +232,9 @@ t.test('npm org add - parseable output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm org add - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     orgSetArgs = null
     output.length = 0
   })
@@ -426,9 +428,9 @@ t.test('npm org rm - parseable output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm org rm - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     orgRmArgs = null
     orgLsArgs = null
     output.length = 0
@@ -608,14 +610,14 @@ t.test('npm org ls - parseable output', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('npm org ls - silent output', async t => {
-  npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
   orgList = {
     one: 'developer',
     two: 'admin',
     three: 'owner',
   }
   t.teardown(() => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = false
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
     orgList = {}
     orgLsArgs = null
     output.length = 0
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/team.js b/test/lib/commands/team.js
index 96260835fa2b6..0d5378b530647 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/team.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/team.js
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 const t = require('tap')
+const { fake: mockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 let result = ''
 const libnpmteam = {
@@ -9,12 +10,15 @@ const libnpmteam = {
   async lsUsers () {},
   async rm () {},
 }
-const npm = {
+const npm = mockNpm({
   flatOptions: {},
+  config: {
+    loglevel: 'info',
+  },
   output: (...msg) => {
     result += msg.join('\n')
   },
-}
+})
 const mocks = {
   libnpmteam,
   'cli-columns': a => a.join(' '),
@@ -25,6 +29,7 @@ const mocks = {
 t.afterEach(() => {
   result = ''
   npm.flatOptions = {}
+  npm.config.set('loglevel', 'info')
 })
 
 const Team = t.mock('../../../lib/commands/team.js', mocks)
@@ -73,7 +78,7 @@ t.test('team add <scope:team> <user>', async t => {
   })
 
   t.test('--silent', async t => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
 
     await team.exec(['add', '@npmcli:developers', 'foo'])
 
@@ -115,7 +120,7 @@ t.test('team create <scope:team>', async t => {
   })
 
   t.test('--silent', async t => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
 
     await team.exec(['create', '@npmcli:newteam'])
 
@@ -149,7 +154,7 @@ t.test('team destroy <scope:team>', async t => {
   })
 
   t.test('--silent', async t => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
     await team.exec(['destroy', '@npmcli:newteam'])
     t.same(result, '', 'should not output destroy if silent')
   })
@@ -198,7 +203,7 @@ t.test('team ls <scope>', async t => {
   })
 
   t.test('--silent', async t => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
     await team.exec(['ls', '@npmcli'])
     t.same(result, '', 'should not list teams if silent')
   })
@@ -278,7 +283,7 @@ t.test('team ls <scope:team>', async t => {
   })
 
   t.test('--silent', async t => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
     await team.exec(['ls', '@npmcli:developers'])
     t.same(result, '', 'should not output users if silent')
   })
@@ -345,7 +350,7 @@ t.test('team rm <scope:team> <user>', async t => {
   })
 
   t.test('--silent', async t => {
-    npm.flatOptions.silent = true
+    npm.config.set('loglevel', 'silent')
     await team.exec(['rm', '@npmcli:newteam', 'foo'])
     t.same(result, '', 'should not output rm result if silent')
   })