diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7d3078e..dc50b55 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ and emit; their records flow into the handlers `log_setup` wired.
 ## Install
 
 ```
-log_setup @ git+ssh://git@git.rethinkstudios.io/rethink-public/log_setup.git@v0.1.0
+log_setup @ git+ssh://git@git.rethinkstudios.io/rethink-public/log_setup.git@v0.2.0
 ```
 
 No dependencies — stdlib only.
@@ -52,6 +52,37 @@ emits; the records land in the configured root.
 - **console=True** (off by default) also logs to stdout in the same format — opt in when
   you want live terminal output alongside the file.
 
+## Output format (`output=`)
+
+Two formats, two needs. Default is `"text"`; the live-file name is the same either way
+(`run.log`, never auto-renamed), so a service can switch text↔json without breaking the
+Promtail glob, bind-mount path, or your `tail` command.
+
+- **`output="text"`** (default) — human-readable
+  `2026-06-27 19:55:05 | module.name | INFO | message`, **local time**. The
+  single-machine `tail -f` path. `fmt`/`datefmt` override it. Unchanged from v0.1.x.
+- **`output="json"`** — structured **one JSON object per line** (JSON Lines) for the
+  Grafana/Loki pipeline (Promtail → Loki → Grafana); Loki parses JSON fields into labels
+  natively, no regex.
+
+```python
+setup_logging(name="run", output="json")
+logging.getLogger("bot.core").info("ready", extra={"monitor": "heartbeat"})
+# -> {"time": "2026-06-28T14:03:11Z", "level": "INFO", "module": "bot.core",
+#     "message": "ready", "monitor": "heartbeat"}
+```
+
+- **Fields:** `time`, `level`, `module`, `message` always; any `extra={...}` keys land
+  as **top-level** fields (stamp `monitor`/`service`/request-id for Loki labels — the lib
+  stays domain-agnostic); error records carry the traceback in `exc_info` (never dropped).
+- **Time is UTC ISO-8601 with a `Z`** (`2026-06-28T14:03:11Z`), not local. json is the
+  aggregation path — logs from many servers/containers sort unambiguously only in UTC;
+  Grafana converts to local for display. (Text mode stays local — that's a human on one
+  box.)
+- Both file and console use the chosen format. `fmt`/`datefmt` apply to text only (json
+  builds fields, not a format string). An unknown `output` falls back to text + warns,
+  never crashes. **Zero new deps** — stdlib `json` only.
+
 ## Signature
 
 ```python
@@ -65,8 +96,9 @@ setup_logging(
     compress=True,            # gzip rolled files
     console=False,            # also log to stdout (off by default; opt in)
     queue=False,              # route through a background QueueListener (async-friendly)
-    fmt=None,                 # override the format string
-    datefmt=None,             # override the date format
+    output="text",            # "text" (human, local time) | "json" (structured, UTC)
+    fmt=None,                 # override the text format string (text mode only)
+    datefmt=None,             # override the text date format (text mode only)
 ) -> logging.Logger           # returns the configured root logger
 ```
 
@@ -97,8 +129,9 @@ handlers. Getting files to a backend is a separate concern (e.g. Promtail tails
 backend can change without touching any app, and the consistent format here is what
 makes downstream parsing and alerting easy.
 
-Also out of v0.1.0 (possible later additions): structured/JSON logging, color
-formatting, per-logger filters, remote handlers.
+Structured/JSON output is **in** as of v0.2.0 (`output="json"`) — text and json only.
+Still deliberately out: logfmt or other formats, a format DSL, per-handler formats,
+color formatting, per-logger filters, remote handlers.
 
 ## Versioning
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 894ec37..0acaa09 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "log_setup"
-version = "0.1.1"
+version = "0.2.0"
 description = "stdlib app-entry-point logging setup: live run.log, rotation, gzip, retention, consistent format"
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = []
diff --git a/src/log_setup/formats.py b/src/log_setup/formats.py
index 2eba61d..ddd8769 100644
--- a/src/log_setup/formats.py
+++ b/src/log_setup/formats.py
@@ -1,15 +1,67 @@
-"""default log format + datefmt for the app-wide setup.
+"""log formats for the app-wide setup: human-readable text + structured JSON lines.
 
-one format for v0.1.0, used on both console and file. `%(name)s` is the getLogger
-name the emitting module used, so each library/module shows in the line.
+two output formats, two proven needs. `text` (default) is the human `tail -f` format
+(`time | module | level | message`, local time). `json` is the Grafana/Loki path —
+one JSON object per line (JSON Lines), fields parsed into labels natively, UTC
+timestamps so logs aggregated from many machines/containers sort unambiguously.
+`%(name)s` is the getLogger name the emitting module used, so each module shows.
 """
 
+import datetime
+import json
 import logging
 
 DEFAULT_FORMAT = "%(asctime)s | %(name)s | %(levelname)s | %(message)s"
 DEFAULT_DATEFMT = "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
 
+_RESERVED = frozenset(vars(logging.makeLogRecord({})).keys()) | {"message", "asctime"}
 
-def build_formatter(fmt=None, datefmt=None) -> logging.Formatter:
-    """build a logging.Formatter from overrides, falling back to the defaults"""
+
+class JsonLinesFormatter(logging.Formatter):
+    """format each record as a single-line JSON object (JSON Lines / .jsonl)
+
+    emits at minimum time/level/module/message. time is UTC ISO-8601 with a `Z`
+    suffix (e.g. 2026-06-28T14:03:11Z) so logs aggregated across machines and
+    containers sort unambiguously — Grafana converts to local for display. any
+    field passed via logging `extra={...}` lands as a top-level JSON field, which
+    is how a caller stamps monitor/service/request-id for Loki labels without the
+    lib knowing those domain concepts. a traceback (exc_info) is rendered into an
+    `exc_info` string field rather than dropped.
+    """
+
+    def format(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> str:
+        when = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(record.created, datetime.timezone.utc)
+        payload = {
+            "time": when.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ"),
+            "level": record.levelname,
+            "module": record.name,
+            "message": record.getMessage(),
+        }
+        for key, value in record.__dict__.items():
+            if key not in _RESERVED and not key.startswith("_"):
+                payload[key] = value
+        if record.exc_info:
+            payload["exc_info"] = self.formatException(record.exc_info)
+        elif record.exc_text:
+            payload["exc_info"] = record.exc_text
+        if record.stack_info:
+            payload["stack_info"] = self.formatStack(record.stack_info)
+        return json.dumps(payload, default=str)
+
+
+def build_formatter(output: str = "text", fmt=None, datefmt=None) -> logging.Formatter:
+    """build the formatter for the chosen output format
+
+    `output="text"` (default) returns the human-readable text formatter, honoring
+    the raw `fmt`/`datefmt` format-string overrides. `output="json"` returns the
+    structured `JsonLinesFormatter` (which ignores `fmt`/`datefmt` — it builds
+    fields, not a format string). an unrecognized `output` falls back to text and
+    warns, never raising — a bad format arg must not take the app down.
+    """
+    if output == "json":
+        return JsonLinesFormatter()
+    if output != "text":
+        logging.getLogger(__name__).warning(
+            "log_setup: unknown output %r; falling back to 'text'", output
+        )
     return logging.Formatter(fmt or DEFAULT_FORMAT, datefmt or DEFAULT_DATEFMT)
diff --git a/src/log_setup/setup.py b/src/log_setup/setup.py
index 1dcbb12..fc22915 100644
--- a/src/log_setup/setup.py
+++ b/src/log_setup/setup.py
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ def setup_logging(
     compress: bool = True,
     console: bool = False,
     queue: bool = False,
+    output: str = "text",
     fmt: Optional[str] = None,
     datefmt: Optional[str] = None,
 ) -> logging.Logger:
@@ -99,9 +100,14 @@ def setup_logging(
     `rotate` is "daily" (default), "size", "on_start", or None. `console=True` adds a
     stdout handler (off by default — the file is the output). `queue=True` routes records
     through a background QueueListener so file I/O never blocks the caller (the listener
-    is stopped at exit). idempotent: a repeat call clears only the handlers this function
-    added. never raises over logging — an unwritable `log_dir` falls back to console-only
-    with a warning even when `console` is off, so output is never silently lost.
+    is stopped at exit). `output` is "text" (default, human `time | module | level |
+    message`, local time) or "json" (structured one-JSON-object-per-line for the
+    Grafana/Loki path, UTC timestamps, `extra=` fields surfaced as top-level keys); both
+    file and console use the chosen format and the live-file name is the same regardless.
+    the raw `fmt`/`datefmt` overrides apply to text output only. idempotent: a repeat call
+    clears only the handlers this function added. never raises over logging — an
+    unwritable `log_dir` falls back to console-only with a warning even when `console` is
+    off, so output is never silently lost; an unknown `output` falls back to text.
     """
     global _listener
 
@@ -109,7 +115,7 @@ def setup_logging(
     root.setLevel(_level_value(level))
     _clear_owned(root)
 
-    formatter = build_formatter(fmt, datefmt)
+    formatter = build_formatter(output, fmt, datefmt)
     live_path = f"{name}.log"
 
     handlers = []