diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 16c762f38..7edcb0555 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ The original MRs are only visible on the [LIGO GitLab repository](https://git.li
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changes
+* The `bilby` logger no longer installs a `StreamHandler` at import time. It now has only a `NullHandler` attached, following the Python logging recommendation for libraries. To restore the previous behaviour, call `bilby.core.utils.setup_logger()` or `bilby.core.utils.enable_default_logging()` explicitly in your script (closes #834)
+
+### Additions
+* Added `enable_default_logging()` as a one-line convenience for downstream scripts that want the pre-2.8 logging behaviour
+
 ## [2.7.1]
 
 ### Fixes
diff --git a/bilby/core/utils/__init__.py b/bilby/core/utils/__init__.py
index 4b17c2b6c..fe6cd2e53 100644
--- a/bilby/core/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/bilby/core/utils/__init__.py
@@ -18,5 +18,15 @@
 
 #  Instantiate the default argument parser at runtime
 command_line_args, command_line_parser = set_up_command_line_arguments()
-#  Instantiate the default logging
-setup_logger(print_version=False, log_level=command_line_args.log_level)
+
+# As of bilby 2.8, we follow the Python logging recommendation for
+# libraries and do NOT install a StreamHandler at import time. The
+# ``bilby`` logger has only a NullHandler attached (see log.py). This
+# avoids interfering with downstream applications that want to manage
+# their own logging configuration.
+#
+# If the user runs bilby with a ``--log-level`` command-line argument we
+# honour it by calling :func:`setup_logger` explicitly, matching the
+# pre-2.8 behaviour for scripts that rely on this pattern.
+if command_line_args.log_level != 'INFO':
+    setup_logger(print_version=False, log_level=command_line_args.log_level)
diff --git a/bilby/core/utils/log.py b/bilby/core/utils/log.py
index b6c45152b..7146cc379 100644
--- a/bilby/core/utils/log.py
+++ b/bilby/core/utils/log.py
@@ -5,22 +5,40 @@
 import sys
 from importlib import metadata
 
+#: The ``bilby`` library logger. Following the recommended practice for
+#: libraries (https://docs.python.org/3/howto/logging.html#configuring-logging-for-a-library),
+#: this logger only has a :class:`logging.NullHandler` attached by default,
+#: so bilby does not emit any log records unless the application importing
+#: bilby has configured logging itself. To restore the previous bilby
+#: behaviour (a formatted stream handler writing to stderr), call
+#: :func:`setup_logger` or :func:`enable_default_logging` explicitly.
 logger = logging.getLogger('bilby')
+logger.addHandler(logging.NullHandler())
 
 
 def setup_logger(outdir='.', label=None, log_level='INFO', print_version=False):
-    """ Setup logging output: call at the start of the script to use
+    """Configure bilby's logger with a stream handler (and optional file handler).
+
+    This installs a :class:`logging.StreamHandler` on the bilby logger with
+    a timestamped formatter, and optionally a :class:`logging.FileHandler`
+    writing to ``outdir/label.log``. Calling ``setup_logger`` is now
+    **optional** — since bilby 2.8, the library attaches only a
+    :class:`logging.NullHandler` by default, per the Python logging
+    recommendations for libraries. Call this function from your script
+    (or use :func:`enable_default_logging`) if you want bilby log records
+    to appear on the console.
 
     Parameters
     ==========
     outdir, label: str
-        If supplied, write the logging output to outdir/label.log
-    log_level: str, optional
-        ['debug', 'info', 'warning']
-        Either a string from the list above, or an integer as specified
-        in https://docs.python.org/2/library/logging.html#logging-levels
+        If supplied, write the logging output to ``outdir/label.log``.
+    log_level: str or int, optional
+        One of ``['debug', 'info', 'warning', 'error', 'critical']`` (case
+        insensitive), or an integer as specified in
+        https://docs.python.org/3/library/logging.html#logging-levels
     print_version: bool
-        If true, print version information
+        If ``True``, print the bilby version information after configuring
+        the logger.
     """
 
     if isinstance(log_level, str):
@@ -35,14 +53,17 @@ def setup_logger(outdir='.', label=None, log_level='INFO', print_version=False):
     logger.propagate = False
     logger.setLevel(level)
 
-    if not any([isinstance(h, logging.StreamHandler) for h in logger.handlers]):
+    if not any(
+        isinstance(h, logging.StreamHandler) and not isinstance(h, logging.FileHandler)
+        for h in logger.handlers
+    ):
         stream_handler = logging.StreamHandler()
         stream_handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter(
             '%(asctime)s %(name)s %(levelname)-8s: %(message)s', datefmt='%H:%M'))
         stream_handler.setLevel(level)
         logger.addHandler(stream_handler)
 
-    if not any([isinstance(h, logging.FileHandler) for h in logger.handlers]):
+    if not any(isinstance(h, logging.FileHandler) for h in logger.handlers):
         if label:
             Path(outdir).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
             log_file = '{}/{}.log'.format(outdir, label)
@@ -54,13 +75,38 @@ def setup_logger(outdir='.', label=None, log_level='INFO', print_version=False):
             logger.addHandler(file_handler)
 
     for handler in logger.handlers:
-        handler.setLevel(level)
+        if not isinstance(handler, logging.NullHandler):
+            handler.setLevel(level)
 
     if print_version:
         version = get_version_information()
         logger.info('Running bilby version: {}'.format(version))
 
 
+def enable_default_logging(log_level='INFO'):
+    """Convenience alias for :func:`setup_logger` with default arguments.
+
+    This is a one-line way for downstream scripts, pipelines, or tutorials
+    to restore the pre-2.8 behaviour where bilby automatically emitted log
+    records to stderr.
+
+    Parameters
+    ==========
+    log_level: str or int, optional
+        Log level, defaults to ``'INFO'``. See :func:`setup_logger` for
+        accepted values.
+
+    Examples
+    ========
+    .. code-block:: python
+
+        import bilby
+        bilby.core.utils.enable_default_logging()
+        # bilby will now print its INFO-level log messages to stderr
+    """
+    setup_logger(log_level=log_level)
+
+
 def get_version_information():
     from bilby import __version__
     return __version__