diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e660fd93d31..1db601cb117 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 bin/
+.openshift-install.log
diff --git a/cmd/openshift-install/create.go b/cmd/openshift-install/create.go
index 20f2b2e6020..9ba7ec7974d 100644
--- a/cmd/openshift-install/create.go
+++ b/cmd/openshift-install/create.go
@@ -133,6 +133,12 @@ func newCreateCmd() *cobra.Command {
 
 func runTargetCmd(targets ...asset.WritableAsset) func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	return func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+		cleanup, err := setupFileHook(rootOpts.dir)
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to setup logging hook")
+		}
+		defer cleanup()
+
 		assetStore, err := asset.NewStore(rootOpts.dir)
 		if err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to create asset store")
@@ -167,6 +173,12 @@ func runTargetCmd(targets ...asset.WritableAsset) func(cmd *cobra.Command, args
 // FIXME: pulling the kubeconfig and metadata out of the root
 // directory is a bit cludgy when we already have them in memory.
 func destroyBootstrap(ctx context.Context, directory string) (err error) {
+	cleanup, err := setupFileHook(rootOpts.dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to setup logging hook")
+	}
+	defer cleanup()
+
 	logrus.Info("Waiting for bootstrap completion...")
 	config, err := clientcmd.BuildConfigFromFlags("", filepath.Join(directory, "auth", "kubeconfig"))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/openshift-install/destroy.go b/cmd/openshift-install/destroy.go
index 4fa90102eaf..95ea3b8ed12 100644
--- a/cmd/openshift-install/destroy.go
+++ b/cmd/openshift-install/destroy.go
@@ -43,13 +43,18 @@ func newDestroyClusterCmd() *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 func runDestroyCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+	cleanup, err := setupFileHook(rootOpts.dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to setup logging hook")
+	}
+	defer cleanup()
+
 	destroyer, err := destroy.New(logrus.StandardLogger(), rootOpts.dir)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "Failed while preparing to destroy cluster")
 	}
 	if err := destroyer.Run(); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "Failed to destroy cluster")
-
 	}
 
 	store, err := asset.NewStore(rootOpts.dir)
diff --git a/cmd/openshift-install/log.go b/cmd/openshift-install/log.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ca1275c5514
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/openshift-install/log.go
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+type fileHook struct {
+	file      io.Writer
+	formatter logrus.Formatter
+	level     logrus.Level
+}
+
+func newFileHook(file io.Writer, level logrus.Level, formatter logrus.Formatter) *fileHook {
+	return &fileHook{
+		file:      file,
+		formatter: formatter,
+		level:     level,
+	}
+}
+
+func (h fileHook) Levels() []logrus.Level {
+	var levels []logrus.Level
+	for _, level := range logrus.AllLevels {
+		if level <= h.level {
+			levels = append(levels, level)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return levels
+}
+
+func (h *fileHook) Fire(entry *logrus.Entry) error {
+	line, err := h.formatter.Format(entry)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	_, err = h.file.Write(line)
+	return err
+}
+
+func setupFileHook(baseDir string) (func(), error) {
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(baseDir, 0755); err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to create base directory for logs")
+	}
+
+	logfile, err := os.OpenFile(filepath.Join(baseDir, ".openshift_install.log"), os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND|os.O_CREATE, 0666)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to open log file")
+	}
+
+	originalHooks := logrus.LevelHooks{}
+	for k, v := range logrus.StandardLogger().Hooks {
+		originalHooks[k] = v
+	}
+	logrus.AddHook(newFileHook(logfile, logrus.TraceLevel, &logrus.TextFormatter{
+		DisableColors:          true,
+		DisableTimestamp:       false,
+		FullTimestamp:          true,
+		DisableLevelTruncation: false,
+	}))
+
+	return func() {
+		logfile.Close()
+		logrus.StandardLogger().ReplaceHooks(originalHooks)
+	}, nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/openshift-install/main.go b/cmd/openshift-install/main.go
index 8e43179a87a..41d585d3352 100644
--- a/cmd/openshift-install/main.go
+++ b/cmd/openshift-install/main.go
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
+
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"golang.org/x/crypto/ssh/terminal"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -50,14 +54,24 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 }
 
 func runRootCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	logrus.SetFormatter(&logrus.TextFormatter{
-		DisableTimestamp:       true,
-		DisableLevelTruncation: true,
-	})
+	logrus.SetOutput(ioutil.Discard)
+	logrus.SetLevel(logrus.TraceLevel)
+
 	level, err := logrus.ParseLevel(rootOpts.logLevel)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "invalid log-level")
 	}
-	logrus.SetLevel(level)
+
+	logrus.AddHook(newFileHook(os.Stderr, level, &logrus.TextFormatter{
+		// Setting ForceColors is necessary because logrus.TextFormatter determines
+		// whether or not to enable colors by looking at the output of the logger.
+		// In this case, the output is ioutil.Discard, which is not a terminal.
+		// Overriding it here allows the same check to be done, but against the
+		// hook's output instead of the logger's output.
+		ForceColors:            terminal.IsTerminal(int(os.Stderr.Fd())),
+		DisableTimestamp:       true,
+		DisableLevelTruncation: true,
+	}))
+
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/docs/user/troubleshooting.md b/docs/user/troubleshooting.md
index f1f6371508a..76bff13eeab 100644
--- a/docs/user/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/user/troubleshooting.md
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ This is safe to ignore and merely indicates that the etcd bootstrapping is still
 
 ### Installer Fails to Create Resources
 
-The easiest way to get more debugging information from the installer is to increase the logging level. This can be done by adding `--log-level=debug` to the command line arguments. Of course, this cannot be retroactively applied, so it won't help to debug an installation that has already failed. The installation will have to be attempted again.
+The easiest way to get more debugging information from the installer is to check the log file (`.openshift-install.log`) in the install directory. Regardless of the logging level specified, the installer will write its logs in case they need to be inspected retroactively.
 
 ## Generic Troubleshooting