diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d6b0453a..5b95c2ac 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,7 +11,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
     (or via `--rolling-logs <DIRECTORY>`).
   - Replace stackable-operator `print_startup_string` with `tracing::info!` with fields.
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Use `json` file extension for log files ([#846]).
+
 [#840]: https://github.com/stackabletech/kafka-operator/pull/840
+[#846]: https://github.com/stackabletech/kafka-operator/pull/846
 
 ## [25.3.0] - 2025-03-21
 
diff --git a/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs b/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs
index a16a8e6e..7356b448 100644
--- a/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs
+++ b/rust/operator-binary/src/main.rs
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ 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()
                 }))