diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 7b439f02..a13e30f3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -23,8 +23,13 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
     and is now set by `ROLLING_LOGS` (or via `--rolling-logs <DIRECTORY>`).
   - Replace stackable-operator `print_startup_string` with `tracing::info!` with fields.
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Use `json` file extension for log files ([#586]).
+
 [#572]: https://github.com/stackabletech/secret-operator/pull/572
 [#581]: https://github.com/stackabletech/secret-operator/pull/581
+[#586]: https://github.com/stackabletech/secret-operator/pull/586
 
 ## [25.3.0] - 2025-03-21
 
diff --git a/rust/olm-deployer/src/main.rs b/rust/olm-deployer/src/main.rs
index e4d7056c..deaa5ac7 100644
--- a/rust/olm-deployer/src/main.rs
+++ b/rust/olm-deployer/src/main.rs
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
                 Settings::builder()
                     .with_environment_variable(ENV_VAR_CONSOLE_LOG)
                     .with_default_level(LevelFilter::INFO)
-                    .file_log_settings_builder(log_directory, "tracing-rs.log")
+                    .file_log_settings_builder(log_directory, "tracing-rs.json")
                     .with_rotation_period(rotation_period)
                     .build()
             }))
diff --git a/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs b/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs
index ba0e6953..22a76f07 100644
--- a/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs
+++ b/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
                     Settings::builder()
                         .with_environment_variable(ENV_VAR_CONSOLE_LOG)
                         .with_default_level(LevelFilter::INFO)
-                        .file_log_settings_builder(log_directory, "tracing-rs.log")
+                        .file_log_settings_builder(log_directory, "tracing-rs.json")
                         .with_rotation_period(rotation_period)
                         .build()
                 }))