diff --git a/infer/src/base/Logging.ml b/infer/src/base/Logging.ml
index 98dbeca0c..d021952ad 100644
--- a/infer/src/base/Logging.ml
+++ b/infer/src/base/Logging.ml
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ let set_log_file_identifier string_opt =
     err_formatter := err_fmt;
   )
 
+(* set up log files on startup if needed *)
+let () = set_log_file_identifier None
+
 let log_file_names () = (!out_file, !err_file)
 
 (** type of printable elements *)