diff --git a/litellm/_logging.py b/litellm/_logging.py
index 36fd51206c2..fbb35b72be2 100644
--- a/litellm/_logging.py
+++ b/litellm/_logging.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 from datetime import datetime
 from logging import Formatter
-from typing import Any, Final
+from typing import Any, Final, TextIO
 
 import litellm
 from litellm.constants import (
@@ -234,11 +234,65 @@ class CorrelationContextFilter(logging.Filter):
 _correlation_filter: Final = CorrelationContextFilter()
 
 
-json_logs = bool(os.getenv("JSON_LOGS", False))
+_LOG_FORMAT_PREFIX: Final = "%(asctime)s - %(name)s:%(levelname)s"
+_LOG_FORMAT_SUFFIX: Final = ": %(filename)s:%(lineno)s - %(message)s"
+_PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT: Final = _LOG_FORMAT_PREFIX + _LOG_FORMAT_SUFFIX
+_COLOR_LOG_FORMAT: Final = f"\033[92m{_LOG_FORMAT_PREFIX}\033[0m{_LOG_FORMAT_SUFFIX}"
+
+
+def _stream_is_tty(stream: TextIO | None) -> bool:
+    """True when the stream is an open interactive terminal; never raises.
+
+    A stream can be None (pythonw/embedded interpreters), lack isatty entirely
+    (GUI log-redirect shims), or be closed; import must survive all three.
+    """
+    try:
+        return stream is not None and stream.isatty()
+    except (AttributeError, ValueError):
+        return False
+
+
+def _plain_log_format(stdout: TextIO | None, stderr: TextIO | None) -> str:
+    """The plain-text log format, colorized only when both streams are an interactive terminal.
+
+    Honors the NO_COLOR convention from no-color.org: color is disabled when
+    NO_COLOR is present with a non-empty value.
+    """
+    if os.environ.get("NO_COLOR"):
+        return _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT
+    return _COLOR_LOG_FORMAT if _stream_is_tty(stdout) and _stream_is_tty(stderr) else _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT
+
+
+class LevelRoutingStreamHandler(logging.StreamHandler):
+    """Writes records below WARNING to stdout and WARNING and above to stderr.
+
+    Collectors that derive severity from the stream report every stderr line as an error.
+    """
+
+    def emit(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> None:
+        preferred: Final = sys.stdout if record.levelno < logging.WARNING else sys.stderr
+        if preferred is None or getattr(preferred, "closed", False):
+            self.stream = sys.stderr  # rebind-ok: fall back to the pre-fix stream rather than raising per record
+        else:
+            self.stream = preferred  # rebind-ok: StreamHandler.emit writes self.stream under the handler lock
+        super().emit(record)
+
+
+def _parse_json_logs_env(value: str | None) -> bool:
+    """Strict opt-in parse for the JSON_LOGS env var: only "true" (any case) enables JSON logs.
+
+    Matches the reader in litellm-proxy-extras/_logging.py. The previous
+    bool(os.getenv(...)) treated any non-empty value, including "false" and "0",
+    as enabled.
+    """
+    return (value or "").lower() == "true"
+
+
+json_logs: Final = _parse_json_logs_env(os.getenv("JSON_LOGS"))
 # Create a handler for the logger (you may need to adapt this based on your needs)
 log_level: Final = os.getenv("LITELLM_LOG", "DEBUG")
 numeric_level: Final[str] = getattr(logging, log_level.upper())
-handler: Final = logging.StreamHandler()
+handler: Final = LevelRoutingStreamHandler()
 handler.setLevel(numeric_level)
 handler.addFilter(_secret_filter)
 handler.addFilter(_correlation_filter)
@@ -447,7 +501,7 @@ if json_logs:
     _setup_json_exception_handlers(JsonFormatter())
 else:
     formatter: Final = CorrelationPlainFormatter(
-        "\033[92m%(asctime)s - %(name)s:%(levelname)s\033[0m: %(filename)s:%(lineno)s - %(message)s",
+        _plain_log_format(sys.stdout, sys.stderr),
         datefmt="%H:%M:%S",
     )
 
@@ -628,7 +682,7 @@ def _turn_on_json():
 
     - Adds a JSON formatter to all loggers
     """
-    handler: Final = logging.StreamHandler()
+    handler: Final = LevelRoutingStreamHandler()
     handler.setFormatter(JsonFormatter())
     _initialize_loggers_with_handler(handler)
     # Set up exception handlers
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/test_logging.py b/tests/test_litellm/test_logging.py
index db8dfaa3ad6..087a1c8b3ad 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/test_logging.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/test_logging.py
@@ -12,13 +12,18 @@ import logging
 
 import litellm
 from litellm._logging import (
+    _COLOR_LOG_FORMAT,
+    _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT,
     ALL_LOGGERS,
     CorrelationContextFilter,
     CorrelationPlainFormatter,
     JsonFormatter,
+    LevelRoutingStreamHandler,
     SecretRedactionFilter,
     StdoutLogTruncationFilter,
     _initialize_loggers_with_handler,
+    _parse_json_logs_env,
+    _plain_log_format,
     _stdout_truncation_marker,
     _turn_on_json,
     session_id_var,
@@ -57,11 +62,10 @@ def test_json_mode_emits_one_record_per_logger(capfd):
     verbose_router_logger.info("second info from router")
     verbose_proxy_logger.info("third info from proxy")
 
-    # Capture stdout
+    # All three records are INFO, so they must route to stdout and none to stderr
     out, err = capfd.readouterr()
-    print("out", out)
-    print("err", err)
-    lines = [l for l in err.splitlines() if l.strip()]
+    assert [raw for raw in err.splitlines() if raw.strip()] == []
+    lines = [raw for raw in out.splitlines() if raw.strip()]
 
     # Expect exactly three JSON lines
     assert len(lines) == 3, f"got {len(lines)} lines, want 3: {lines!r}"
@@ -831,3 +835,136 @@ def test_set_session_id_bounds_length():
         assert len(session_id_var.get()) == 256
     finally:
         session_id_var.reset(token)
+
+
+class _FakeStream:
+    def __init__(self, tty: bool) -> None:
+        self._tty = tty
+
+    def isatty(self) -> bool:
+        return self._tty
+
+
+def test_records_below_warning_go_to_stdout_and_the_rest_to_stderr(capsys):
+    logger = logging.getLogger("test_level_routing")
+    logger.handlers.clear()
+    logger.propagate = False
+    logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+    handler = LevelRoutingStreamHandler()
+    handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("%(levelname)s %(message)s"))
+    logger.addHandler(handler)
+
+    try:
+        logger.debug("d")
+        logger.info("i")
+        logger.warning("w")
+        logger.error("e")
+        logger.critical("c")
+    finally:
+        logger.handlers.clear()
+
+    out, err = capsys.readouterr()
+    assert out.splitlines() == ["DEBUG d", "INFO i"]
+    assert err.splitlines() == ["WARNING w", "ERROR e", "CRITICAL c"]
+
+
+def test_verbose_loggers_route_records_by_level():
+    for lg in (verbose_logger, verbose_router_logger, verbose_proxy_logger):
+        assert any(isinstance(h, LevelRoutingStreamHandler) for h in lg.handlers), lg.name
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "stdout_tty, stderr_tty, no_color, want_color",
+    [
+        (True, True, None, True),
+        (False, False, None, False),
+        (False, True, None, False),
+        (True, False, None, False),
+        (True, True, "1", False),
+        (True, True, "", True),
+    ],
+)
+def test_plain_log_format_colorizes_only_for_a_terminal(monkeypatch, stdout_tty, stderr_tty, no_color, want_color):
+    if no_color is None:
+        monkeypatch.delenv("NO_COLOR", raising=False)
+    else:
+        monkeypatch.setenv("NO_COLOR", no_color)
+
+    fmt = _plain_log_format(_FakeStream(stdout_tty), _FakeStream(stderr_tty))
+
+    assert fmt == (_COLOR_LOG_FORMAT if want_color else _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT)
+    assert ("\033[" in fmt) is want_color
+
+
+def test_plain_format_carries_no_ansi_codes():
+    assert "\033[" not in _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT
+
+
+class _Brokenstream:
+    """A write-only shim without isatty, like GUI log redirectors install."""
+
+
+class _ClosedStream:
+    closed = True
+
+    def isatty(self) -> bool:
+        raise ValueError("I/O operation on closed file")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "stdout, stderr",
+    [
+        (None, None),
+        (_FakeStream(True), None),
+        (_Brokenstream(), _FakeStream(True)),
+        (_ClosedStream(), _FakeStream(True)),
+    ],
+)
+def test_plain_log_format_survives_hostile_streams(stdout, stderr):
+    """sys.stdout/sys.stderr can be None, shimmed, or closed; import must not crash."""
+    assert _plain_log_format(stdout, stderr) == _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT
+
+
+def test_level_routing_handler_falls_back_to_stderr_when_stdout_is_unusable(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    logger = logging.getLogger("test_level_routing_fallback")
+    logger.handlers.clear()
+    logger.propagate = False
+    logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+    handler = LevelRoutingStreamHandler()
+    handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("%(levelname)s %(message)s"))
+    logger.addHandler(handler)
+
+    try:
+        monkeypatch.setattr(sys, "stdout", None)
+        logger.info("stdout is gone")
+    finally:
+        logger.handlers.clear()
+
+    err = capsys.readouterr().err
+    assert "INFO stdout is gone" in err
+    assert "--- Logging error ---" not in err
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "value, want",
+    [
+        ("true", True),
+        ("True", True),
+        ("TRUE", True),
+        ("false", False),
+        ("False", False),
+        ("0", False),
+        ("1", False),
+        ("", False),
+        (None, False),
+    ],
+)
+def test_parse_json_logs_env_enables_only_on_true(value, want):
+    """JSON_LOGS=false / 0 must not enable JSON logs (LIT-5558)."""
+    assert _parse_json_logs_env(value) is want
+
+
+def test_plain_log_format_survives_none_streams():
+    """sys.stdout/sys.stderr can be None in embedded interpreters; import must not crash."""
+    assert _plain_log_format(None, None) == _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT
+    assert _plain_log_format(_FakeStream(True), None) == _PLAIN_LOG_FORMAT