diff --git a/lib/Service/Remote/RemoteService.php b/lib/Service/Remote/RemoteService.php
index c9732a2..defc245 100644
--- a/lib/Service/Remote/RemoteService.php
+++ b/lib/Service/Remote/RemoteService.php
@@ -73,9 +73,13 @@ class RemoteService {
 		}
 		// debugging
 		if ($service->getDebug()) {
-			$logDir = dirname(__DIR__, 5) . '/var/log/jmap/' . $service->identifier() . '.json';
+			$logDirectory = dirname(__DIR__, 5) . '/var/logs/jmap';
+			if (!is_dir($logDirectory) && !mkdir($logDirectory, 0775, true) && !is_dir($logDirectory)) {
+				throw new \RuntimeException(sprintf('Unable to create JMAP log directory: %s', $logDirectory));
+			}
+			$logFile = $logDirectory . '/' . $service->identifier() . '.json';
 			$client->configureTransportLogState(true);
-			$client->configureTransportLogLocation($logDir);
+			$client->configureTransportLogLocation($logFile);
 		}
 		// return
 		return $client;