diff --git a/pkg/cli/exec.go b/pkg/cli/exec.go
index abe540a13c..706e8e4834 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/exec.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/exec.go
@@ -103,8 +103,12 @@ func execCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		gpus = "all"
 	}
 
+	// Use human-readable log format for local development
+	env := make([]string, len(envFlags))
+	copy(env, envFlags)
+	env = append(env, "LOG_FORMAT=console")
+
 	// Automatically propagate RUST_LOG for Rust coglet debugging
-	env := envFlags
 	if rustLog := os.Getenv("RUST_LOG"); rustLog != "" {
 		env = append(env, "RUST_LOG="+rustLog)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/cli/serve.go b/pkg/cli/serve.go
index 5ef1047c1c..a09c36e95e 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/serve.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/serve.go
@@ -109,8 +109,12 @@ func cmdServe(cmd *cobra.Command, arg []string) error {
 		args = append(args, "--upload-url", uploadURL)
 	}
 
+	// Use human-readable log format for local development
+	env := make([]string, len(envFlags))
+	copy(env, envFlags)
+	env = append(env, "LOG_FORMAT=console")
+
 	// Automatically propagate RUST_LOG for Rust coglet debugging
-	env := envFlags
 	if rustLog := os.Getenv("RUST_LOG"); rustLog != "" {
 		env = append(env, "RUST_LOG="+rustLog)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/predict/predictor.go b/pkg/predict/predictor.go
index 2de3046603..8ea42f5507 100644
--- a/pkg/predict/predictor.go
+++ b/pkg/predict/predictor.go
@@ -60,12 +60,19 @@ type Predictor struct {
 }
 
 func NewPredictor(ctx context.Context, runOptions command.RunOptions, isTrain bool, dockerCommand command.Command) (*Predictor, error) {
+	// Use human-readable log format for local development
+	env := make([]string, len(runOptions.Env))
+	copy(env, runOptions.Env)
+	env = append(env, "LOG_FORMAT=console")
+
 	if global.Debug {
-		runOptions.Env = append(runOptions.Env, "COG_LOG_LEVEL=debug")
+		env = append(env, "COG_LOG_LEVEL=debug")
 	} else {
-		runOptions.Env = append(runOptions.Env, "COG_LOG_LEVEL=warning")
+		env = append(env, "COG_LOG_LEVEL=warning")
 	}
 
+	runOptions.Env = env
+
 	return &Predictor{
 		runOptions:   runOptions,
 		isTrain:      isTrain,