diff --git a/setup-local/dist/index.js b/setup-local/dist/index.js
index dcd45c09..b4e1f771 100644
--- a/setup-local/dist/index.js
+++ b/setup-local/dist/index.js
@@ -66817,277 +66817,6 @@ var union = baseRest(function(arrays) {
 module.exports = union;
 
 
-/***/ }),
-
-/***/ 80994:
-/***/ ((module) => {
-
-"use strict";
-
-
-function hasKey(obj, keys) {
-	var o = obj;
-	keys.slice(0, -1).forEach(function (key) {
-		o = o[key] || {};
-	});
-
-	var key = keys[keys.length - 1];
-	return key in o;
-}
-
-function isNumber(x) {
-	if (typeof x === 'number') { return true; }
-	if ((/^0x[0-9a-f]+$/i).test(x)) { return true; }
-	return (/^[-+]?(?:\d+(?:\.\d*)?|\.\d+)(e[-+]?\d+)?$/).test(x);
-}
-
-function isConstructorOrProto(obj, key) {
-	return (key === 'constructor' && typeof obj[key] === 'function') || key === '__proto__';
-}
-
-module.exports = function (args, opts) {
-	if (!opts) { opts = {}; }
-
-	var flags = {
-		bools: {},
-		strings: {},
-		unknownFn: null,
-	};
-
-	if (typeof opts.unknown === 'function') {
-		flags.unknownFn = opts.unknown;
-	}
-
-	if (typeof opts.boolean === 'boolean' && opts.boolean) {
-		flags.allBools = true;
-	} else {
-		[].concat(opts.boolean).filter(Boolean).forEach(function (key) {
-			flags.bools[key] = true;
-		});
-	}
-
-	var aliases = {};
-
-	function aliasIsBoolean(key) {
-		return aliases[key].some(function (x) {
-			return flags.bools[x];
-		});
-	}
-
-	Object.keys(opts.alias || {}).forEach(function (key) {
-		aliases[key] = [].concat(opts.alias[key]);
-		aliases[key].forEach(function (x) {
-			aliases[x] = [key].concat(aliases[key].filter(function (y) {
-				return x !== y;
-			}));
-		});
-	});
-
-	[].concat(opts.string).filter(Boolean).forEach(function (key) {
-		flags.strings[key] = true;
-		if (aliases[key]) {
-			[].concat(aliases[key]).forEach(function (k) {
-				flags.strings[k] = true;
-			});
-		}
-	});
-
-	var defaults = opts.default || {};
-
-	var argv = { _: [] };
-
-	function argDefined(key, arg) {
-		return (flags.allBools && (/^--[^=]+$/).test(arg))
-			|| flags.strings[key]
-			|| flags.bools[key]
-			|| aliases[key];
-	}
-
-	function setKey(obj, keys, value) {
-		var o = obj;
-		for (var i = 0; i < keys.length - 1; i++) {
-			var key = keys[i];
-			if (isConstructorOrProto(o, key)) { return; }
-			if (o[key] === undefined) { o[key] = {}; }
-			if (
-				o[key] === Object.prototype
-				|| o[key] === Number.prototype
-				|| o[key] === String.prototype
-			) {
-				o[key] = {};
-			}
-			if (o[key] === Array.prototype) { o[key] = []; }
-			o = o[key];
-		}
-
-		var lastKey = keys[keys.length - 1];
-		if (isConstructorOrProto(o, lastKey)) { return; }
-		if (
-			o === Object.prototype
-			|| o === Number.prototype
-			|| o === String.prototype
-		) {
-			o = {};
-		}
-		if (o === Array.prototype) { o = []; }
-		if (o[lastKey] === undefined || flags.bools[lastKey] || typeof o[lastKey] === 'boolean') {
-			o[lastKey] = value;
-		} else if (Array.isArray(o[lastKey])) {
-			o[lastKey].push(value);
-		} else {
-			o[lastKey] = [o[lastKey], value];
-		}
-	}
-
-	function setArg(key, val, arg) {
-		if (arg && flags.unknownFn && !argDefined(key, arg)) {
-			if (flags.unknownFn(arg) === false) { return; }
-		}
-
-		var value = !flags.strings[key] && isNumber(val)
-			? Number(val)
-			: val;
-		setKey(argv, key.split('.'), value);
-
-		(aliases[key] || []).forEach(function (x) {
-			setKey(argv, x.split('.'), value);
-		});
-	}
-
-	Object.keys(flags.bools).forEach(function (key) {
-		setArg(key, defaults[key] === undefined ? false : defaults[key]);
-	});
-
-	var notFlags = [];
-
-	if (args.indexOf('--') !== -1) {
-		notFlags = args.slice(args.indexOf('--') + 1);
-		args = args.slice(0, args.indexOf('--'));
-	}
-
-	for (var i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
-		var arg = args[i];
-		var key;
-		var next;
-
-		if ((/^--.+=/).test(arg)) {
-			// Using [\s\S] instead of . because js doesn't support the
-			// 'dotall' regex modifier. See:
-			// http://stackoverflow.com/a/1068308/13216
-			var m = arg.match(/^--([^=]+)=([\s\S]*)$/);
-			key = m[1];
-			var value = m[2];
-			if (flags.bools[key]) {
-				value = value !== 'false';
-			}
-			setArg(key, value, arg);
-		} else if ((/^--no-.+/).test(arg)) {
-			key = arg.match(/^--no-(.+)/)[1];
-			setArg(key, false, arg);
-		} else if ((/^--.+/).test(arg)) {
-			key = arg.match(/^--(.+)/)[1];
-			next = args[i + 1];
-			if (
-				next !== undefined
-				&& !(/^(-|--)[^-]/).test(next)
-				&& !flags.bools[key]
-				&& !flags.allBools
-				&& (aliases[key] ? !aliasIsBoolean(key) : true)
-			) {
-				setArg(key, next, arg);
-				i += 1;
-			} else if ((/^(true|false)$/).test(next)) {
-				setArg(key, next === 'true', arg);
-				i += 1;
-			} else {
-				setArg(key, flags.strings[key] ? '' : true, arg);
-			}
-		} else if ((/^-[^-]+/).test(arg)) {
-			var letters = arg.slice(1, -1).split('');
-
-			var broken = false;
-			for (var j = 0; j < letters.length; j++) {
-				next = arg.slice(j + 2);
-
-				if (next === '-') {
-					setArg(letters[j], next, arg);
-					continue;
-				}
-
-				if ((/[A-Za-z]/).test(letters[j]) && next[0] === '=') {
-					setArg(letters[j], next.slice(1), arg);
-					broken = true;
-					break;
-				}
-
-				if (
-					(/[A-Za-z]/).test(letters[j])
-					&& (/-?\d+(\.\d*)?(e-?\d+)?$/).test(next)
-				) {
-					setArg(letters[j], next, arg);
-					broken = true;
-					break;
-				}
-
-				if (letters[j + 1] && letters[j + 1].match(/\W/)) {
-					setArg(letters[j], arg.slice(j + 2), arg);
-					broken = true;
-					break;
-				} else {
-					setArg(letters[j], flags.strings[letters[j]] ? '' : true, arg);
-				}
-			}
-
-			key = arg.slice(-1)[0];
-			if (!broken && key !== '-') {
-				if (
-					args[i + 1]
-					&& !(/^(-|--)[^-]/).test(args[i + 1])
-					&& !flags.bools[key]
-					&& (aliases[key] ? !aliasIsBoolean(key) : true)
-				) {
-					setArg(key, args[i + 1], arg);
-					i += 1;
-				} else if (args[i + 1] && (/^(true|false)$/).test(args[i + 1])) {
-					setArg(key, args[i + 1] === 'true', arg);
-					i += 1;
-				} else {
-					setArg(key, flags.strings[key] ? '' : true, arg);
-				}
-			}
-		} else {
-			if (!flags.unknownFn || flags.unknownFn(arg) !== false) {
-				argv._.push(flags.strings._ || !isNumber(arg) ? arg : Number(arg));
-			}
-			if (opts.stopEarly) {
-				argv._.push.apply(argv._, args.slice(i + 1));
-				break;
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	Object.keys(defaults).forEach(function (k) {
-		if (!hasKey(argv, k.split('.'))) {
-			setKey(argv, k.split('.'), defaults[k]);
-
-			(aliases[k] || []).forEach(function (x) {
-				setKey(argv, x.split('.'), defaults[k]);
-			});
-		}
-	});
-
-	if (opts['--']) {
-		argv['--'] = notFlags.slice();
-	} else {
-		notFlags.forEach(function (k) {
-			argv._.push(k);
-		});
-	}
-
-	return argv;
-};
-
-
 /***/ }),
 
 /***/ 4469:
@@ -105819,7 +105548,7 @@ class ActionInput {
    * @returns {{
    *  accessKey: String,
    *  localTesting: String,
-   *  localArgs: String,
+   *  localArgs: Array<String>,
    *  localIdentifier: String,
    *  localLoggingLevel: Number
    * }}
@@ -105845,7 +105574,6 @@ module.exports = ActionInput;
 
 const core = __nccwpck_require__(37484);
 const { v4: uuidv4 } = __nccwpck_require__(12048);
-const parseArgs = __nccwpck_require__(80994);
 const constants = __nccwpck_require__(69350);
 
 const {
@@ -105929,28 +105657,70 @@ class InputValidator {
     return inputLocalIdentifier.split(/\s+/).join('-');
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Splits a string into tokens on whitespace, keeping single/double quoted
+   * sections together (the quotes themselves are removed).
+   * @param {String} argString Raw args string
+   * @returns {Array<String>} Tokens
+   */
+  static _tokenizeArgs(argString) {
+    const tokens = [];
+    let current = '';
+    let inToken = false;
+    let quoteChar = null;
+
+    for (const char of argString) {
+      if (quoteChar) {
+        if (char === quoteChar) {
+          quoteChar = null;
+        } else {
+          current += char;
+        }
+      } else if (char === '"' || char === "'") {
+        quoteChar = char;
+        inToken = true;
+      } else if (/\s/.test(char)) {
+        if (inToken) {
+          tokens.push(current);
+          current = '';
+          inToken = false;
+        }
+      } else {
+        current += char;
+        inToken = true;
+      }
+    }
+    if (inToken) tokens.push(current);
+
+    return tokens;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Validates the local-args input. Removes any args which might conflict with
    * the input args taken from the action input for the Local Binary.
+   * Every value following a flag is preserved, so flags taking multiple values
+   * (e.g. --include-hosts host1 host2) are passed to the binary intact.
    * @param {String} inputLocalArgs Action input for 'local-args'
-   * @returns {String} Parsed args
+   * @returns {Array<String>} Parsed args, one element per argv entry
    */
   static validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs) {
-    const parsedArgs = parseArgs(inputLocalArgs.split(/\s+/));
+    if (!inputLocalArgs) return [];
 
-    delete parsedArgs._;
-    RESTRICTED_LOCAL_ARGS.forEach((arg) => {
-      delete parsedArgs[arg];
-    });
+    const tokens = InputValidator._tokenizeArgs(inputLocalArgs);
+    const isFlag = (token) => /^-{1,2}[^-\d]/.test(token);
 
-    let parsedArgsString = '';
-    for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(parsedArgs)) {
-      const argKey = key.length === 1 ? `-${key}` : `--${key}`;
-      const argValue = value === true ? '' : value;
-      parsedArgsString += `${argKey} ${argValue} `;
-    }
+    const keptTokens = [];
+    // Tokens before the first flag have no flag to belong to and are dropped.
+    let keepCurrentGroup = false;
+    tokens.forEach((token) => {
+      if (isFlag(token)) {
+        const flagName = token.replace(/^-{1,2}/, '').split('=')[0];
+        keepCurrentGroup = !RESTRICTED_LOCAL_ARGS.includes(flagName);
+      }
+      if (keepCurrentGroup) keptTokens.push(token);
+    });
 
-    return parsedArgsString;
+    return keptTokens;
   }
 }
 
@@ -106097,20 +105867,22 @@ class BinaryControl {
       localTesting: binaryAction,
     } = this.stateForBinary;
 
-    let argsString = `--key ${key} --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction `;
+    // Built as an argv array (not a command string) so that values containing
+    // spaces/quotes/backslashes reach the binary verbatim, without re-parsing.
+    const args = ['--key', key, '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction'];
 
     switch (binaryAction) {
       case LOCAL_TESTING.START: {
-        if (localArgs) argsString += `${localArgs} `;
-        if (localIdentifier) argsString += `--local-identifier ${localIdentifier} `;
+        if (localArgs && localArgs.length) args.push(...localArgs);
+        if (localIdentifier) args.push('--local-identifier', localIdentifier);
         if (verbose) {
           this._generateLogFileMetadata();
-          argsString += `--verbose ${verbose} --log-file ${this.logFilePath} `;
+          args.push('--verbose', `${verbose}`, '--log-file', this.logFilePath);
         }
         break;
       }
       case LOCAL_TESTING.STOP: {
-        if (localIdentifier) argsString += `--local-identifier ${localIdentifier} `;
+        if (localIdentifier) args.push('--local-identifier', localIdentifier);
         break;
       }
       default: {
@@ -106118,7 +105890,7 @@ class BinaryControl {
       }
     }
 
-    this.binaryArgs = argsString;
+    this.binaryArgs = args;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -106129,8 +105901,8 @@ class BinaryControl {
     let triggerOutput = '';
     let triggerError = '';
     await exec.exec(
-      `${LOCAL_BINARY_NAME} ${this.binaryArgs} --daemon ${operation}`,
-      [],
+      LOCAL_BINARY_NAME,
+      [...this.binaryArgs, '--daemon', operation],
       {
         listeners: {
           stdout: (data) => {
diff --git a/setup-local/package-lock.json b/setup-local/package-lock.json
index afe9ac51..ee785f30 100644
--- a/setup-local/package-lock.json
+++ b/setup-local/package-lock.json
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
         "@actions/github": "^6.0.0",
         "@actions/io": "^1.0.2",
         "@actions/tool-cache": "^1.6.0",
-        "minimist": "^1.2.6",
         "uuid": "^8.3.0"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/setup-local/package.json b/setup-local/package.json
index bdcf24e4..5f6c6c39 100644
--- a/setup-local/package.json
+++ b/setup-local/package.json
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@
     "@actions/github": "^6.0.0",
     "@actions/io": "^1.0.2",
     "@actions/tool-cache": "^1.6.0",
-    "minimist": "^1.2.6",
     "uuid": "^8.3.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/setup-local/src/actionInput/index.js b/setup-local/src/actionInput/index.js
index 87b2fcbb..6446d8ce 100644
--- a/setup-local/src/actionInput/index.js
+++ b/setup-local/src/actionInput/index.js
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ class ActionInput {
    * @returns {{
    *  accessKey: String,
    *  localTesting: String,
-   *  localArgs: String,
+   *  localArgs: Array<String>,
    *  localIdentifier: String,
    *  localLoggingLevel: Number
    * }}
diff --git a/setup-local/src/actionInput/inputValidator.js b/setup-local/src/actionInput/inputValidator.js
index ae278607..f348c11f 100644
--- a/setup-local/src/actionInput/inputValidator.js
+++ b/setup-local/src/actionInput/inputValidator.js
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 const core = require('@actions/core');
 const { v4: uuidv4 } = require('uuid');
-const parseArgs = require('minimist');
 const constants = require('../../config/constants');
 
 const {
@@ -84,28 +83,70 @@ class InputValidator {
     return inputLocalIdentifier.split(/\s+/).join('-');
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Splits a string into tokens on whitespace, keeping single/double quoted
+   * sections together (the quotes themselves are removed).
+   * @param {String} argString Raw args string
+   * @returns {Array<String>} Tokens
+   */
+  static _tokenizeArgs(argString) {
+    const tokens = [];
+    let current = '';
+    let inToken = false;
+    let quoteChar = null;
+
+    for (const char of argString) {
+      if (quoteChar) {
+        if (char === quoteChar) {
+          quoteChar = null;
+        } else {
+          current += char;
+        }
+      } else if (char === '"' || char === "'") {
+        quoteChar = char;
+        inToken = true;
+      } else if (/\s/.test(char)) {
+        if (inToken) {
+          tokens.push(current);
+          current = '';
+          inToken = false;
+        }
+      } else {
+        current += char;
+        inToken = true;
+      }
+    }
+    if (inToken) tokens.push(current);
+
+    return tokens;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Validates the local-args input. Removes any args which might conflict with
    * the input args taken from the action input for the Local Binary.
+   * Every value following a flag is preserved, so flags taking multiple values
+   * (e.g. --include-hosts host1 host2) are passed to the binary intact.
    * @param {String} inputLocalArgs Action input for 'local-args'
-   * @returns {String} Parsed args
+   * @returns {Array<String>} Parsed args, one element per argv entry
    */
   static validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs) {
-    const parsedArgs = parseArgs(inputLocalArgs.split(/\s+/));
+    if (!inputLocalArgs) return [];
 
-    delete parsedArgs._;
-    RESTRICTED_LOCAL_ARGS.forEach((arg) => {
-      delete parsedArgs[arg];
-    });
+    const tokens = InputValidator._tokenizeArgs(inputLocalArgs);
+    const isFlag = (token) => /^-{1,2}[^-\d]/.test(token);
 
-    let parsedArgsString = '';
-    for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(parsedArgs)) {
-      const argKey = key.length === 1 ? `-${key}` : `--${key}`;
-      const argValue = value === true ? '' : value;
-      parsedArgsString += `${argKey} ${argValue} `;
-    }
+    const keptTokens = [];
+    // Tokens before the first flag have no flag to belong to and are dropped.
+    let keepCurrentGroup = false;
+    tokens.forEach((token) => {
+      if (isFlag(token)) {
+        const flagName = token.replace(/^-{1,2}/, '').split('=')[0];
+        keepCurrentGroup = !RESTRICTED_LOCAL_ARGS.includes(flagName);
+      }
+      if (keepCurrentGroup) keptTokens.push(token);
+    });
 
-    return parsedArgsString;
+    return keptTokens;
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/setup-local/src/binaryControl.js b/setup-local/src/binaryControl.js
index 1be93293..49ee2b57 100644
--- a/setup-local/src/binaryControl.js
+++ b/setup-local/src/binaryControl.js
@@ -98,20 +98,22 @@ class BinaryControl {
       localTesting: binaryAction,
     } = this.stateForBinary;
 
-    let argsString = `--key ${key} --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction `;
+    // Built as an argv array (not a command string) so that values containing
+    // spaces/quotes/backslashes reach the binary verbatim, without re-parsing.
+    const args = ['--key', key, '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction'];
 
     switch (binaryAction) {
       case LOCAL_TESTING.START: {
-        if (localArgs) argsString += `${localArgs} `;
-        if (localIdentifier) argsString += `--local-identifier ${localIdentifier} `;
+        if (localArgs && localArgs.length) args.push(...localArgs);
+        if (localIdentifier) args.push('--local-identifier', localIdentifier);
         if (verbose) {
           this._generateLogFileMetadata();
-          argsString += `--verbose ${verbose} --log-file ${this.logFilePath} `;
+          args.push('--verbose', `${verbose}`, '--log-file', this.logFilePath);
         }
         break;
       }
       case LOCAL_TESTING.STOP: {
-        if (localIdentifier) argsString += `--local-identifier ${localIdentifier} `;
+        if (localIdentifier) args.push('--local-identifier', localIdentifier);
         break;
       }
       default: {
@@ -119,7 +121,7 @@ class BinaryControl {
       }
     }
 
-    this.binaryArgs = argsString;
+    this.binaryArgs = args;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -130,8 +132,8 @@ class BinaryControl {
     let triggerOutput = '';
     let triggerError = '';
     await exec.exec(
-      `${LOCAL_BINARY_NAME} ${this.binaryArgs} --daemon ${operation}`,
-      [],
+      LOCAL_BINARY_NAME,
+      [...this.binaryArgs, '--daemon', operation],
       {
         listeners: {
           stdout: (data) => {
diff --git a/setup-local/test/actionInput/inputValidator.test.js b/setup-local/test/actionInput/inputValidator.test.js
index db883dc1..50e5ec7e 100644
--- a/setup-local/test/actionInput/inputValidator.test.js
+++ b/setup-local/test/actionInput/inputValidator.test.js
@@ -79,8 +79,50 @@ describe('InputValidator class to validate individual fields of the action input
     context('Validates local args', () => {
       it('Removes the restricted/not-alowed args from the local-args input and returns the string', () => {
         const inputLocalArgs = '--key someKey --proxy-host hostname --someOtherKey someValue -z --daemon start --ci-plugin someName -k anotherKey --only-automate --log-file some/path/ --verbose level --local-identifier someIdentifier';
-        const expectedLocalArgs = '--proxy-host hostname --someOtherKey someValue -z  ';
-        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs)).to.eq(expectedLocalArgs);
+        const expectedLocalArgs = ['--proxy-host', 'hostname', '--someOtherKey', 'someValue', '-z'];
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs)).to.deep.eq(expectedLocalArgs);
+      });
+
+      ['', null, undefined].forEach((value) => {
+        it(`Returns an empty array if the input is :${JSON.stringify(value)}`, () => {
+          expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(value)).to.deep.eq([]);
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('Keeps every value of a flag that takes multiple values (quoted)', () => {
+        const inputLocalArgs = '--include-hosts "hostA.example.com:443" "hostB.example.com:443" --force-local';
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs)).to.deep.eq([
+          '--include-hosts', 'hostA.example.com:443', 'hostB.example.com:443', '--force-local',
+        ]);
+      });
+
+      it('Keeps every value of a flag that takes multiple values (unquoted, multi-line)', () => {
+        const inputLocalArgs = '--include-hosts hostA.example.com\n  hostB.example.com\n--exclude-hosts hostC hostD';
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs)).to.deep.eq([
+          '--include-hosts', 'hostA.example.com', 'hostB.example.com', '--exclude-hosts', 'hostC', 'hostD',
+        ]);
+      });
+
+      it('Removes the values of restricted args even when they have multiple values', () => {
+        const inputLocalArgs = '--include-hosts hostA hostB --verbose 3 extra --local-identifier=abc --key=secret --proxy-port 8080';
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs)).to.deep.eq([
+          '--include-hosts', 'hostA', 'hostB', '--proxy-port', '8080',
+        ]);
+      });
+
+      it('Drops tokens that appear before the first flag', () => {
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs('stray value --force-local')).to.deep.eq(['--force-local']);
+      });
+
+      it('Keeps negative numbers as values rather than treating them as flags', () => {
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs('--some-flag -1 --other')).to.deep.eq(['--some-flag', '-1', '--other']);
+      });
+
+      it('Keeps quoted values with spaces, quotes and backslashes as single verbatim args', () => {
+        const inputLocalArgs = `--folder "C:\\my dir\\" --name 'say "hi"' --other "it's"`;
+        expect(InputValidator.validateLocalArgs(inputLocalArgs)).to.deep.eq([
+          '--folder', 'C:\\my dir\\', '--name', 'say "hi"', '--other', "it's",
+        ]);
       });
     });
   });
diff --git a/setup-local/test/binaryControl.test.js b/setup-local/test/binaryControl.test.js
index 864b8eea..74c564c0 100644
--- a/setup-local/test/binaryControl.test.js
+++ b/setup-local/test/binaryControl.test.js
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
         it('with localArgs, localIdentifier, localLoggingLevel', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '--arg1 val1 --arg2 val2',
+            localArgs: ['--arg1', 'val1', '--arg2', 'val2'],
             localIdentifier: 'someIdentifier',
             localLoggingLevel: 1,
             localTesting: 'start',
@@ -214,55 +214,59 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
             os.platform(),
             'BrowserStackLocal_someJobName_now.log',
           );
-          const expectedFinalArgs = `--key someKey --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction --arg1 val1 --arg2 val2 --local-identifier someIdentifier --verbose 1 --log-file ${expectedLogFilePath} `;
+          const expectedFinalArgs = [
+            '--key', 'someKey', '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction',
+            '--arg1', 'val1', '--arg2', 'val2',
+            '--local-identifier', 'someIdentifier', '--verbose', '1', '--log-file', expectedLogFilePath,
+          ];
           const binaryControl = new BinaryControl(stateForBinary);
           binaryControl._generateArgsForBinary();
-          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
+          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.deep.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
         });
 
         it('with localArgs, localIdentifier', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '--arg1 val1 --arg2 val2',
+            localArgs: ['--arg1', 'val1', '--arg2', 'val2'],
             localIdentifier: 'someIdentifier',
             localLoggingLevel: 0,
             localTesting: 'start',
           };
 
-          const expectedFinalArgs = `--key someKey --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction --arg1 val1 --arg2 val2 --local-identifier someIdentifier `;
+          const expectedFinalArgs = ['--key', 'someKey', '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction', '--arg1', 'val1', '--arg2', 'val2', '--local-identifier', 'someIdentifier'];
           const binaryControl = new BinaryControl(stateForBinary);
           binaryControl._generateArgsForBinary();
-          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
+          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.deep.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
         });
 
         it('with localArgs', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '--arg1 val1 --arg2 val2',
+            localArgs: ['--arg1', 'val1', '--arg2', 'val2'],
             localIdentifier: '',
             localLoggingLevel: 0,
             localTesting: 'start',
           };
 
-          const expectedFinalArgs = `--key someKey --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction --arg1 val1 --arg2 val2 `;
+          const expectedFinalArgs = ['--key', 'someKey', '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction', '--arg1', 'val1', '--arg2', 'val2'];
           const binaryControl = new BinaryControl(stateForBinary);
           binaryControl._generateArgsForBinary();
-          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
+          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.deep.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
         });
 
         it('with the default args', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '',
+            localArgs: [],
             localIdentifier: '',
             localLoggingLevel: 0,
             localTesting: 'start',
           };
 
-          const expectedFinalArgs = `--key someKey --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction `;
+          const expectedFinalArgs = ['--key', 'someKey', '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction'];
           const binaryControl = new BinaryControl(stateForBinary);
           binaryControl._generateArgsForBinary();
-          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
+          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.deep.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
         });
       });
 
@@ -270,31 +274,31 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
         it('with localIdentifier', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '',
+            localArgs: [],
             localIdentifier: 'someIdentifier',
             localLoggingLevel: 0,
             localTesting: 'stop',
           };
 
-          const expectedFinalArgs = `--key someKey --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction --local-identifier someIdentifier `;
+          const expectedFinalArgs = ['--key', 'someKey', '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction', '--local-identifier', 'someIdentifier'];
           const binaryControl = new BinaryControl(stateForBinary);
           binaryControl._generateArgsForBinary();
-          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
+          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.deep.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
         });
 
         it('without localIdentifier', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '',
+            localArgs: [],
             localIdentifier: '',
             localLoggingLevel: 0,
             localTesting: 'stop',
           };
 
-          const expectedFinalArgs = `--key someKey --only-automate --ci-plugin GitHubAction `;
+          const expectedFinalArgs = ['--key', 'someKey', '--only-automate', '--ci-plugin', 'GitHubAction'];
           const binaryControl = new BinaryControl(stateForBinary);
           binaryControl._generateArgsForBinary();
-          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
+          expect(binaryControl.binaryArgs).to.deep.eq(expectedFinalArgs);
         });
       });
 
@@ -302,7 +306,7 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
         it('Throws error in case its not start/stop', () => {
           const stateForBinary = {
             accessKey: 'someKey',
-            localArgs: '',
+            localArgs: [],
             localIdentifier: 'someIdentifier',
             localLoggingLevel: 0,
             localTesting: 'someOperation',
@@ -322,7 +326,7 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
       beforeEach(() => {
         sinon.stub(exec, 'exec');
         binaryControl = new BinaryControl();
-        binaryControl.binaryArgs = 'someArgs ';
+        binaryControl.binaryArgs = ['someArgs'];
       });
 
       afterEach(() => {
@@ -331,7 +335,7 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
 
       it('Start Operation', async () => {
         const response = await binaryControl._triggerBinary(LOCAL_TESTING.START);
-        sinon.assert.calledWith(exec.exec, `${LOCAL_BINARY_NAME} someArgs  --daemon start`);
+        sinon.assert.calledWith(exec.exec, LOCAL_BINARY_NAME, ['someArgs', '--daemon', 'start']);
         expect(response).to.eql({
           output: '',
           error: '',
@@ -340,7 +344,7 @@ describe('Binary Control Operations', () => {
 
       it('Stop Operation', async () => {
         const response = await binaryControl._triggerBinary(LOCAL_TESTING.STOP);
-        sinon.assert.calledWith(exec.exec, `${LOCAL_BINARY_NAME} someArgs  --daemon stop`);
+        sinon.assert.calledWith(exec.exec, LOCAL_BINARY_NAME, ['someArgs', '--daemon', 'stop']);
         expect(response).to.eql({
           output: '',
           error: '',