diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index f54dc88f7..b7c213668 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
@@ -93,6 +94,54 @@ func main() {
 		log.Info("VLLM_METAL_SERVER_PATH", "path", vllmMetalServerPath)
 	}
 
+	// Determine log directory. When MODEL_RUNNER_LOG_DIR is set,
+	// use it. Otherwise auto-create a default directory so that the
+	// /logs API endpoint is available in all deployment modes.
+	logDir := envconfig.LogDir()
+	if logDir == "" {
+		logDir = filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "model-runner-logs")
+		if mkdirErr := os.MkdirAll(logDir, 0o755); mkdirErr != nil {
+			log.Warn("failed to create default log directory, /logs endpoint will be disabled",
+				"dir", logDir, "error", mkdirErr)
+			logDir = ""
+		}
+	}
+
+	// When a log directory is available, set up file-backed logging
+	// using tee writers (stderr + bracket-timestamped files) so that
+	// both `docker logs` and the /logs API work.
+	var engineLogFile *os.File
+	if logDir != "" {
+		serviceLogFile, openErr := os.OpenFile(
+			filepath.Join(logDir, dmrlogs.ServiceLogName),
+			os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND, 0o644,
+		)
+		if openErr != nil {
+			log.Warn("failed to open service log file, /logs endpoint will be disabled", "error", openErr)
+			logDir = ""
+		} else {
+			defer serviceLogFile.Close()
+			bracketW := logging.NewBracketWriter(serviceLogFile)
+			log = slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(
+				io.MultiWriter(os.Stderr, bracketW),
+				&slog.HandlerOptions{Level: envconfig.LogLevel()},
+			))
+		}
+
+		if logDir != "" {
+			var openErr error
+			engineLogFile, openErr = os.OpenFile(
+				filepath.Join(logDir, dmrlogs.EngineLogName),
+				os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND, 0o644,
+			)
+			if openErr != nil {
+				log.Warn("failed to open engine log file", "error", openErr)
+			} else {
+				defer engineLogFile.Close()
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Create llama.cpp configuration from environment variables
 	llamaCppConfig, err := createLlamaCppConfigFromEnv()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -117,7 +166,17 @@ func main() {
 		},
 		Backends: append(
 			routing.DefaultBackendDefs(routing.BackendsConfig{
-				Log:                  log,
+				Log: log,
+				ServerLogFactory: func(_ string) logging.Logger {
+					if engineLogFile == nil {
+						return log
+					}
+					bracketW := logging.NewBracketWriter(engineLogFile)
+					return slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(
+						io.MultiWriter(os.Stderr, bracketW),
+						&slog.HandlerOptions{Level: envconfig.LogLevel()},
+					))
+				},
 				LlamaCppVendoredPath: llamaServerPath,
 				LlamaCppUpdatedPath:  updatedServerPath,
 				LlamaCppConfig:       llamaCppConfig,
@@ -166,8 +225,9 @@ func main() {
 				}
 			})
 
-			// Logs endpoint (Docker Desktop mode only).
-			if logDir := envconfig.LogDir(); logDir != "" {
+			// Logs endpoint — available in both Docker Desktop and
+			// standalone (Docker CE) modes when a log directory exists.
+			if logDir != "" {
 				r.HandleFunc(
 					"GET /logs",
 					dmrlogs.NewHTTPHandler(logDir),
diff --git a/pkg/envconfig/envconfig.go b/pkg/envconfig/envconfig.go
index aaf4ed4a6..8be6bbd4d 100644
--- a/pkg/envconfig/envconfig.go
+++ b/pkg/envconfig/envconfig.go
@@ -160,8 +160,9 @@ func VLLMMetalServerPath() string {
 }
 
 // LogDir returns the directory containing DMR log files.
-// Configured via MODEL_RUNNER_LOG_DIR; set by Docker Desktop when
-// it manages DMR. When empty, the /logs API endpoint is disabled.
+// Configured via MODEL_RUNNER_LOG_DIR. When empty, the server
+// auto-creates a default log directory so that the /logs API
+// endpoint is available in all deployment modes.
 func LogDir() string {
 	return Var("MODEL_RUNNER_LOG_DIR")
 }
diff --git a/pkg/logging/bracket_writer_test.go b/pkg/logging/bracket_writer_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a37ce4fd7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/logging/bracket_writer_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+package logging
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// timestampRe matches the bracket-timestamp prefix produced by BracketWriter.
+var timestampRe = regexp.MustCompile(
+	`^\[(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\.\d+Z)\] (.*)$`,
+)
+
+func TestBracketWriter_SingleLine(t *testing.T) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	bw := NewBracketWriter(&buf)
+
+	n, err := bw.Write([]byte("hello world\n"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if n != len("hello world\n") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected n=%d, got %d", len("hello world\n"), n)
+	}
+
+	output := buf.String()
+	matches := timestampRe.FindStringSubmatch(strings.TrimRight(output, "\n"))
+	if len(matches) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("output did not match expected format: %q", output)
+	}
+	if matches[2] != "hello world" {
+		t.Errorf("expected message %q, got %q", "hello world", matches[2])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBracketWriter_MultipleLines(t *testing.T) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	bw := NewBracketWriter(&buf)
+
+	input := "line one\nline two\nline three\n"
+	n, err := bw.Write([]byte(input))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if n != len(input) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected n=%d, got %d", len(input), n)
+	}
+
+	lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimRight(buf.String(), "\n"), "\n")
+	if len(lines) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 3 lines, got %d: %v", len(lines), lines)
+	}
+
+	expected := []string{"line one", "line two", "line three"}
+	for i, line := range lines {
+		matches := timestampRe.FindStringSubmatch(line)
+		if len(matches) != 3 {
+			t.Errorf("line %d did not match format: %q", i, line)
+			continue
+		}
+		if matches[2] != expected[i] {
+			t.Errorf("line %d: expected %q, got %q", i, expected[i], matches[2])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBracketWriter_PartialWrites(t *testing.T) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	bw := NewBracketWriter(&buf)
+
+	// Write partial line (no newline yet).
+	_, err := bw.Write([]byte("partial"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if buf.Len() != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected no output for partial line, got %q", buf.String())
+	}
+
+	// Complete the line.
+	_, err = bw.Write([]byte(" line\n"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	matches := timestampRe.FindStringSubmatch(strings.TrimRight(buf.String(), "\n"))
+	if len(matches) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("output did not match format: %q", buf.String())
+	}
+	if matches[2] != "partial line" {
+		t.Errorf("expected %q, got %q", "partial line", matches[2])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBracketWriter_EmptyLine(t *testing.T) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	bw := NewBracketWriter(&buf)
+
+	_, err := bw.Write([]byte("\n"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	output := strings.TrimRight(buf.String(), "\n")
+	matches := timestampRe.FindStringSubmatch(output)
+	if len(matches) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("output did not match format: %q", buf.String())
+	}
+	if matches[2] != "" {
+		t.Errorf("expected empty message, got %q", matches[2])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBracketWriter_NoTrailingNewline(t *testing.T) {
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	bw := NewBracketWriter(&buf)
+
+	// Write without trailing newline — should buffer without output.
+	_, err := bw.Write([]byte("no newline"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if buf.Len() != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected no output without newline, got %q", buf.String())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/pkg/logging/logging.go b/pkg/logging/logging.go
index 399628ec6..a8c725798 100644
--- a/pkg/logging/logging.go
+++ b/pkg/logging/logging.go
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@ package logging
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // Logger is the application logger type, backed by slog.
@@ -76,3 +80,49 @@ func (sw *slogWriter) Close() error {
 	<-sw.done
 	return err
 }
+
+// BracketWriter wraps an io.Writer and prefixes each complete line
+// with a [timestamp] in the format expected by the logs.MergeLogs
+// function. Partial writes are buffered until a newline is received.
+//
+// This is used to write log files in the same format that Docker
+// Desktop produces, so the /logs API endpoint can serve and
+// merge-sort them correctly.
+type BracketWriter struct {
+	w   io.Writer
+	mu  sync.Mutex
+	buf []byte
+}
+
+// NewBracketWriter creates a new BracketWriter that wraps w.
+func NewBracketWriter(w io.Writer) *BracketWriter {
+	return &BracketWriter{w: w}
+}
+
+// Write implements io.Writer. It buffers partial input and writes
+// each complete line to the underlying writer with a [timestamp]
+// prefix.
+func (bw *BracketWriter) Write(p []byte) (int, error) {
+	bw.mu.Lock()
+	defer bw.mu.Unlock()
+
+	n := len(p)
+	bw.buf = append(bw.buf, p...)
+
+	for {
+		idx := bytes.IndexByte(bw.buf, '\n')
+		if idx < 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		line := bw.buf[:idx]
+
+		ts := time.Now().UTC().Format("2006-01-02T15:04:05.000000000Z")
+		if _, err := fmt.Fprintf(bw.w, "[%s] %s\n", ts, line); err != nil {
+			return n, err
+		}
+		// Advance the buffer only after a successful write to
+		// avoid losing the line on transient I/O errors.
+		bw.buf = append(bw.buf[:0], bw.buf[idx+1:]...)
+	}
+	return n, nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/logging/testmain_test.go b/pkg/logging/testmain_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..24648b655
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/logging/testmain_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package logging
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"go.uber.org/goleak"
+)
+
+// TestMain runs goleak after the test suite to detect goroutine leaks.
+func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
+	goleak.VerifyTestMain(m)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/logs/merge.go b/pkg/logs/merge.go
index 3963a7541..fd4f54d2c 100644
--- a/pkg/logs/merge.go
+++ b/pkg/logs/merge.go
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Package logs provides shared log file reading, merging, and
 // following utilities for the Docker Model Runner service log and
-// engine log files created by Docker Desktop.
+// engine log files.
 package logs
 
 import (