diff --git a/src/libinput-util.h b/src/libinput-util.h
index 0ca522ce..7a2c0a92 100644
--- a/src/libinput-util.h
+++ b/src/libinput-util.h
@@ -57,13 +57,16 @@
 #define DEFAULT_MOUSE_DPI 1000
 #define DEFAULT_TRACKPOINT_SENSITIVITY 128
 
-#define trace(...) \
+#define _trace(file, ...) \
 	do { \
 	char buf_[1024]; \
 	snprintf(buf_, sizeof(buf_), __VA_ARGS__); \
-	printf(ANSI_BLUE "%s():%d - " ANSI_RED "%s" ANSI_NORMAL "\n", __func__, __LINE__, buf_); \
+	fprintf(file, ANSI_BLUE "%s():%d - " ANSI_RED "%s" ANSI_NORMAL "\n", __func__, __LINE__, buf_); \
 	} while (0)
 
+#define trace(...) _trace(stdout, __VA_ARGS__)
+#define etrace(...) _trace(stderr, __VA_ARGS__)
+
 #define LIBINPUT_EXPORT __attribute__ ((visibility("default")))
 #define LIBINPUT_UNUSED __attribute__ ((unused))