diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 8159a22..ef6a7c3 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2822,6 +2822,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tokio-util",
  "toml",
  "tracing",
+ "tracing-appender",
  "tracing-subscriber",
  "url",
  "webpki-roots",
@@ -3148,6 +3149,18 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing-core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tracing-appender"
+version = "0.2.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "786d480bce6247ab75f005b14ae1624ad978d3029d9113f0a22fa1ac773faeaf"
+dependencies = [
+ "crossbeam-channel",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
+ "time",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-attributes"
 version = "0.1.31"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 04228a9..a5f1fec 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ bytes = "1.9"
 thiserror = "2.0"
 tracing = "0.1"
 tracing-subscriber = { version = "0.3", features = ["env-filter"] }
+tracing-appender = "0.2"
 parking_lot = "0.12"
 dashmap = "6.1"
 arc-swap = "1.7"
diff --git a/src/logging.rs b/src/logging.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f372798
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/logging.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,291 @@
+//! Logging configuration for telemt.
+//!
+//! Supports multiple log destinations:
+//! - stderr (default, works with systemd journald)
+//! - syslog (Unix only, for traditional init systems)
+//! - file (with optional rotation)
+
+#![allow(dead_code)] // Infrastructure module - used via CLI flags
+
+use std::path::Path;
+
+use tracing_subscriber::layer::SubscriberExt;
+use tracing_subscriber::util::SubscriberInitExt;
+use tracing_subscriber::{EnvFilter, fmt, reload};
+
+/// Log destination configuration.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default)]
+pub enum LogDestination {
+    /// Log to stderr (default, captured by systemd journald).
+    #[default]
+    Stderr,
+    /// Log to syslog (Unix only).
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    Syslog,
+    /// Log to a file with optional rotation.
+    File {
+        path: String,
+        /// Rotate daily if true.
+        rotate_daily: bool,
+    },
+}
+
+/// Logging options parsed from CLI/config.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default)]
+pub struct LoggingOptions {
+    /// Where to send logs.
+    pub destination: LogDestination,
+    /// Disable ANSI colors.
+    pub disable_colors: bool,
+}
+
+/// Guard that must be held to keep file logging active.
+/// When dropped, flushes and closes log files.
+pub struct LoggingGuard {
+    _guard: Option<tracing_appender::non_blocking::WorkerGuard>,
+}
+
+impl LoggingGuard {
+    fn new(guard: Option<tracing_appender::non_blocking::WorkerGuard>) -> Self {
+        Self { _guard: guard }
+    }
+
+    /// Creates a no-op guard for stderr/syslog logging.
+    pub fn noop() -> Self {
+        Self { _guard: None }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Initialize the tracing subscriber with the specified options.
+///
+/// Returns a reload handle for dynamic log level changes and a guard
+/// that must be kept alive for file logging.
+pub fn init_logging(
+    opts: &LoggingOptions,
+    initial_filter: &str,
+) -> (reload::Handle<EnvFilter, impl tracing::Subscriber + Send + Sync>, LoggingGuard) {
+    let (filter_layer, filter_handle) = reload::Layer::new(EnvFilter::new(initial_filter));
+
+    match &opts.destination {
+        LogDestination::Stderr => {
+            let fmt_layer = fmt::Layer::default()
+                .with_ansi(!opts.disable_colors)
+                .with_target(true);
+
+            tracing_subscriber::registry()
+                .with(filter_layer)
+                .with(fmt_layer)
+                .init();
+
+            (filter_handle, LoggingGuard::noop())
+        }
+
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        LogDestination::Syslog => {
+            // Use a custom fmt layer that writes to syslog
+            let fmt_layer = fmt::Layer::default()
+                .with_ansi(false)
+                .with_target(true)
+                .with_writer(SyslogWriter::new);
+
+            tracing_subscriber::registry()
+                .with(filter_layer)
+                .with(fmt_layer)
+                .init();
+
+            (filter_handle, LoggingGuard::noop())
+        }
+
+        LogDestination::File { path, rotate_daily } => {
+            let (non_blocking, guard) = if *rotate_daily {
+                // Extract directory and filename prefix
+                let path = Path::new(path);
+                let dir = path.parent().unwrap_or(Path::new("/var/log"));
+                let prefix = path.file_name()
+                    .and_then(|s| s.to_str())
+                    .unwrap_or("telemt");
+
+                let file_appender = tracing_appender::rolling::daily(dir, prefix);
+                tracing_appender::non_blocking(file_appender)
+            } else {
+                let file = std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+                    .create(true)
+                    .append(true)
+                    .open(path)
+                    .expect("Failed to open log file");
+                tracing_appender::non_blocking(file)
+            };
+
+            let fmt_layer = fmt::Layer::default()
+                .with_ansi(false)
+                .with_target(true)
+                .with_writer(non_blocking);
+
+            tracing_subscriber::registry()
+                .with(filter_layer)
+                .with(fmt_layer)
+                .init();
+
+            (filter_handle, LoggingGuard::new(Some(guard)))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Syslog writer for tracing.
+#[cfg(unix)]
+struct SyslogWriter {
+    _private: (),
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+impl SyslogWriter {
+    fn new() -> Self {
+        // Open syslog connection on first use
+        static INIT: std::sync::Once = std::sync::Once::new();
+        INIT.call_once(|| {
+            unsafe {
+                // Open syslog with ident "telemt", LOG_PID, LOG_DAEMON facility
+                let ident = b"telemt\0".as_ptr() as *const libc::c_char;
+                libc::openlog(ident, libc::LOG_PID | libc::LOG_NDELAY, libc::LOG_DAEMON);
+            }
+        });
+        Self { _private: () }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+impl std::io::Write for SyslogWriter {
+    fn write(&mut self, buf: &[u8]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
+        // Convert to C string, stripping newlines
+        let msg = String::from_utf8_lossy(buf);
+        let msg = msg.trim_end();
+
+        if msg.is_empty() {
+            return Ok(buf.len());
+        }
+
+        // Determine priority based on log level in the message
+        let priority = if msg.contains(" ERROR ") || msg.contains(" error ") {
+            libc::LOG_ERR
+        } else if msg.contains(" WARN ") || msg.contains(" warn ") {
+            libc::LOG_WARNING
+        } else if msg.contains(" INFO ") || msg.contains(" info ") {
+            libc::LOG_INFO
+        } else if msg.contains(" DEBUG ") || msg.contains(" debug ") {
+            libc::LOG_DEBUG
+        } else {
+            libc::LOG_INFO
+        };
+
+        // Write to syslog
+        let c_msg = std::ffi::CString::new(msg.as_bytes())
+            .unwrap_or_else(|_| std::ffi::CString::new("(invalid utf8)").unwrap());
+
+        unsafe {
+            libc::syslog(priority, b"%s\0".as_ptr() as *const libc::c_char, c_msg.as_ptr());
+        }
+
+        Ok(buf.len())
+    }
+
+    fn flush(&mut self) -> std::io::Result<()> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+impl<'a> tracing_subscriber::fmt::MakeWriter<'a> for SyslogWriter {
+    type Writer = SyslogWriter;
+
+    fn make_writer(&'a self) -> Self::Writer {
+        SyslogWriter::new()
+    }
+}
+
+/// Parse log destination from CLI arguments.
+pub fn parse_log_destination(args: &[String]) -> LogDestination {
+    let mut i = 0;
+    while i < args.len() {
+        match args[i].as_str() {
+            #[cfg(unix)]
+            "--syslog" => {
+                return LogDestination::Syslog;
+            }
+            "--log-file" => {
+                i += 1;
+                if i < args.len() {
+                    return LogDestination::File {
+                        path: args[i].clone(),
+                        rotate_daily: false,
+                    };
+                }
+            }
+            s if s.starts_with("--log-file=") => {
+                return LogDestination::File {
+                    path: s.trim_start_matches("--log-file=").to_string(),
+                    rotate_daily: false,
+                };
+            }
+            "--log-file-daily" => {
+                i += 1;
+                if i < args.len() {
+                    return LogDestination::File {
+                        path: args[i].clone(),
+                        rotate_daily: true,
+                    };
+                }
+            }
+            s if s.starts_with("--log-file-daily=") => {
+                return LogDestination::File {
+                    path: s.trim_start_matches("--log-file-daily=").to_string(),
+                    rotate_daily: true,
+                };
+            }
+            _ => {}
+        }
+        i += 1;
+    }
+    LogDestination::Stderr
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_log_destination_default() {
+        let args: Vec<String> = vec![];
+        assert!(matches!(parse_log_destination(&args), LogDestination::Stderr));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_log_destination_file() {
+        let args = vec!["--log-file".to_string(), "/var/log/telemt.log".to_string()];
+        match parse_log_destination(&args) {
+            LogDestination::File { path, rotate_daily } => {
+                assert_eq!(path, "/var/log/telemt.log");
+                assert!(!rotate_daily);
+            }
+            _ => panic!("Expected File destination"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_log_destination_file_daily() {
+        let args = vec!["--log-file-daily=/var/log/telemt".to_string()];
+        match parse_log_destination(&args) {
+            LogDestination::File { path, rotate_daily } => {
+                assert_eq!(path, "/var/log/telemt");
+                assert!(rotate_daily);
+            }
+            _ => panic!("Expected File destination"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_log_destination_syslog() {
+        let args = vec!["--syslog".to_string()];
+        assert!(matches!(parse_log_destination(&args), LogDestination::Syslog));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/maestro/helpers.rs b/src/maestro/helpers.rs
index 8caed2d..c376d0b 100644
--- a/src/maestro/helpers.rs
+++ b/src/maestro/helpers.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ use tracing::{debug, error, info, warn};
 
 use crate::cli;
 use crate::config::ProxyConfig;
+use crate::logging::LogDestination;
 use crate::transport::middle_proxy::{
     ProxyConfigData, fetch_proxy_config_with_raw, load_proxy_config_cache, save_proxy_config_cache,
 };
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ pub(crate) struct CliArgs {
     pub data_path: Option<PathBuf>,
     pub silent: bool,
     pub log_level: Option<String>,
+    pub log_destination: LogDestination,
 }
 
 pub(crate) fn parse_cli() -> CliArgs {
@@ -41,6 +43,9 @@ pub(crate) fn parse_cli() -> CliArgs {
 
     let args: Vec<String> = std::env::args().skip(1).collect();
 
+    // Parse log destination
+    let log_destination = crate::logging::parse_log_destination(&args);
+
     // Check for --init first (handled before tokio)
     if let Some(init_opts) = cli::parse_init_args(&args) {
         if let Err(e) = cli::run_init(init_opts) {
@@ -124,6 +129,7 @@ pub(crate) fn parse_cli() -> CliArgs {
         data_path,
         silent,
         log_level,
+        log_destination,
     }
 }
 
@@ -147,6 +153,12 @@ fn print_help() {
     eprintln!("  --help, -h              Show this help");
     eprintln!("  --version, -V           Show version");
     eprintln!();
+    eprintln!("Logging options:");
+    eprintln!("  --log-file <PATH>       Log to file (default: stderr)");
+    eprintln!("  --log-file-daily <PATH> Log to file with daily rotation");
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    eprintln!("  --syslog                Log to syslog (Unix only)");
+    eprintln!();
     #[cfg(unix)]
     {
         eprintln!("Daemon options (Unix only):");
diff --git a/src/maestro/mod.rs b/src/maestro/mod.rs
index b8eef7b..ecd7f6d 100644
--- a/src/maestro/mod.rs
+++ b/src/maestro/mod.rs
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ async fn run_inner(
     let data_path = cli_args.data_path;
     let cli_silent = cli_args.silent;
     let cli_log_level = cli_args.log_level;
+    let log_destination = cli_args.log_destination;
     let startup_cwd = match std::env::current_dir() {
         Ok(cwd) => cwd,
         Err(e) => {
@@ -213,17 +214,43 @@ async fn run_inner(
         )
         .await;
 
-    // Configure color output based on config
-    let fmt_layer = if config.general.disable_colors {
-        fmt::Layer::default().with_ansi(false)
-    } else {
-        fmt::Layer::default().with_ansi(true)
-    };
+    // Initialize logging based on destination
+    let _logging_guard: Option<crate::logging::LoggingGuard>;
+    match log_destination {
+        crate::logging::LogDestination::Stderr => {
+            // Default: log to stderr (works with systemd journald)
+            let fmt_layer = if config.general.disable_colors {
+                fmt::Layer::default().with_ansi(false)
+            } else {
+                fmt::Layer::default().with_ansi(true)
+            };
+            tracing_subscriber::registry()
+                .with(filter_layer)
+                .with(fmt_layer)
+                .init();
+            _logging_guard = None;
+        }
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        crate::logging::LogDestination::Syslog => {
+            // Syslog: for OpenRC/FreeBSD
+            let logging_opts = crate::logging::LoggingOptions {
+                destination: log_destination,
+                disable_colors: true,
+            };
+            let (_, guard) = crate::logging::init_logging(&logging_opts, "info");
+            _logging_guard = Some(guard);
+        }
+        crate::logging::LogDestination::File { .. } => {
+            // File logging with optional rotation
+            let logging_opts = crate::logging::LoggingOptions {
+                destination: log_destination,
+                disable_colors: true,
+            };
+            let (_, guard) = crate::logging::init_logging(&logging_opts, "info");
+            _logging_guard = Some(guard);
+        }
+    }
 
-    tracing_subscriber::registry()
-        .with(filter_layer)
-        .with(fmt_layer)
-        .init();
     startup_tracker
         .complete_component(
             COMPONENT_TRACING_INIT,
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 0e872c5..26a10f9 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ mod crypto;
 mod daemon;
 mod error;
 mod ip_tracker;
+mod logging;
 mod service;
 #[cfg(test)]
 #[path = "tests/ip_tracker_hotpath_adversarial_tests.rs"]
diff --git a/src/service/mod.rs b/src/service/mod.rs
index c0a6f83..160c36c 100644
--- a/src/service/mod.rs
+++ b/src/service/mod.rs
@@ -181,18 +181,20 @@ r#"#!/sbin/openrc-run
 
 description="{description}"
 command="{exe}"
-command_args="--daemon --pid-file {pid_file} {config}"
+command_args="--daemon --syslog --pid-file {pid_file} {config}"
 command_user="{user}:{group}"
 pidfile="{pid_file}"
 
 depend() {{
     need net
+    use logger
     after firewall
 }}
 
 start_pre() {{
     checkpath --directory --owner {user}:{group} --mode 0755 /var/run
     checkpath --directory --owner {user}:{group} --mode 0755 /var/lib/telemt
+    checkpath --directory --owner {user}:{group} --mode 0755 /var/log/telemt
 }}
 
 reload() {{
@@ -246,7 +248,7 @@ load_rc_config $name
 
 pidfile="${{telemt_pidfile}}"
 command="{exe}"
-command_args="--daemon --pid-file ${{telemt_pidfile}} ${{telemt_config}}"
+command_args="--daemon --syslog --pid-file ${{telemt_pidfile}} ${{telemt_config}}"
 
 start_precmd="telemt_prestart"
 reload_cmd="telemt_reload"