diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 2b80c58..1b6d641 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -55,16 +55,21 @@ func main() {
 	luaExpr := args[1]
 	files := args[2:]
 
+	log.Printf("Parsed arguments: regexPattern=%s, luaExpr=%s, files=%v", regexPattern, luaExpr, files)
+
 	// Prepare the Lua expression
 	luaExpr = buildLuaScript(luaExpr)
+	log.Printf("Built Lua expression: %s", luaExpr)
 
 	if strings.Contains(regexPattern, "!num") {
 		regexPattern = strings.ReplaceAll(regexPattern, "!num", "(\\d*\\.?\\d+)")
+		log.Printf("Updated regexPattern after replacing !num: %s", regexPattern)
 	}
 
 	// Make sure the regex can match across multiple lines by adding (?s) flag
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(regexPattern, "(?s)") {
 		regexPattern = "(?s)" + regexPattern
+		log.Printf("Updated regexPattern to match across multiple lines: %s", regexPattern)
 	}
 
 	// Compile the pattern for file processing
@@ -76,6 +81,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	// Process each file
 	for _, file := range files {
+		log.Printf("Processing file: %s", file)
 		err := processFile(file, pattern, luaExpr)
 		if err != nil {
 			Error.Printf("Error processing file %s: %v", file, err)
@@ -85,7 +91,6 @@ func main() {
 
 // buildLuaScript creates a complete Lua script from the expression
 func buildLuaScript(luaExpr string) string {
-	// Check if the expression starts with an operator that needs special handling
 	if strings.HasPrefix(luaExpr, "*") {
 		luaExpr = "v1 = v1" + luaExpr
 	} else if strings.HasPrefix(luaExpr, "/") {
@@ -102,11 +107,16 @@ func buildLuaScript(luaExpr string) string {
 		// Handle direct assignment with = operator
 		luaExpr = "v1 " + luaExpr
 	}
+	// Check if the expression starts with an operator that needs special handling
+	if !strings.Contains(luaExpr, "=") {
+		luaExpr = "v1 = " + luaExpr
+	}
 
 	// Replace shorthand v1, v2, etc. with their direct variable names
 	shorthandRegex := regexp.MustCompile(`\bv\[(\d+)\]\b`)
 	luaExpr = shorthandRegex.ReplaceAllString(luaExpr, "v$1")
 
+	log.Printf("Final Lua expression after processing: %s", luaExpr)
 	return luaExpr
 }
 
@@ -170,6 +180,7 @@ function ceil(x) return math.ceil(x) end
 		captures := pattern.FindStringSubmatch(match)
 		if len(captures) <= 1 {
 			// No capture groups, return unchanged
+			log.Printf("No capture groups found for match: %s", match)
 			return match
 		}
 
@@ -179,8 +190,10 @@ function ceil(x) return math.ceil(x) end
 			floatVal, err := strconv.ParseFloat(capture, 64)
 			if err == nil {
 				L.SetGlobal(fmt.Sprintf("v%d", i+1), lua.LNumber(floatVal))
+				log.Printf("Set global v%d to float value: %f", i+1, floatVal)
 			} else {
 				L.SetGlobal(fmt.Sprintf("v%d", i+1), lua.LString(capture))
+				log.Printf("Set global v%d to string value: %s", i+1, capture)
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -195,12 +208,14 @@ function ceil(x) return math.ceil(x) end
 		for i := 0; i < 12; i++ {
 			varName := fmt.Sprintf("v%d", i+1)
 			returnValues[i] = L.GetGlobal(varName)
+			log.Printf("Retrieved value for %s: %v", varName, returnValues[i])
 		}
 
 		// Replace each capture group with its new value (if available)
 		result := match
 		for i := 0; i < len(captures)-1 && i < 12; i++ {
 			if returnValues[i] == lua.LNil {
+				log.Printf("Skipping replacement for %s as it is nil", captures[i+1])
 				continue // Skip if nil
 			}
 
@@ -218,6 +233,7 @@ function ceil(x) return math.ceil(x) end
 
 			// If we have a value, replace it
 			if newVal != "" {
+				log.Printf("Replacing %s with %s in match: %s", oldVal, newVal, match)
 				result = strings.Replace(result, oldVal, newVal, 1)
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/main_test.go b/main_test.go
index 16ae7e2..4f410b0 100644
--- a/main_test.go
+++ b/main_test.go
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ func TestShorthandNotation(t *testing.T) {
 	`
 
 	regex := regexp.MustCompile(`(?s)<value>(\d+)</value>`)
-	luaExpr := `v1 = v1 * 1.5` // Use direct assignment syntax
+	luaExpr := `v1 * 1.5` // Use direct assignment syntax
 	luaScript := buildLuaScript(luaExpr)
 
 	modifiedContent, err := process(fileContents, regex, luaScript)