diff --git a/crates/stackable-operator/CHANGELOG.md b/crates/stackable-operator/CHANGELOG.md
index a3db6d45..b8b44406 100644
--- a/crates/stackable-operator/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/crates/stackable-operator/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,12 +4,18 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- Adds the `--file-log-max-files` CLI argument and `FILE_LOG_MAX_FILES` environment variable
+  see detailed [stackable-telemetry changelog](../stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md) ([#1010]).
+
 ### Changed
 
 - BREAKING: Update and align telemetry related CLI arguments of `ProductOperatorRun`, see detailed
-  changelog [here](../stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md) ([#1009]).
+  changelog [stackable-telemetry changelog](../stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md) ([#1009]).
 
 [#1009]: https://github.com/stackabletech/operator-rs/pull/1009
+[#1010]: https://github.com/stackabletech/operator-rs/pull/1010
 
 ## [0.91.1] - 2025-04-09
 
diff --git a/crates/stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md b/crates/stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md
index 9e3c553c..d83b60b3 100644
--- a/crates/stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/crates/stackable-telemetry/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,8 +17,14 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
   - `FILE_LOG_LEVEL` instead of `FILE_LOG`.
   - `OTEL_LOG_EXPORTER_LEVEL` instead of `OTLP_LOG`.
   - `OTEL_TRACE_EXPORTER_LEVEL` instead of `OTLP_TRACE`.
+- BREAKING: Allow configuration of `file_log_max_files` ([#1010]).
+  - Adds the `--file-log-max-files` CLI argument (env: `FILE_LOG_MAX_FILES`).
+  - `FileLogSettingsBuilder::with_max_log_files` which took a `usize` was renamed to
+    `FileLogSettingsBuilder::with_max_files` and now takes an `impl Into<Option<usize>>`
+    for improved builder ergonomics.
 
 [#1009]: https://github.com/stackabletech/operator-rs/pull/1009
+[#1010]: https://github.com/stackabletech/operator-rs/pull/1010
 
 ## [0.5.0] - 2025-04-08
 
diff --git a/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/mod.rs b/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/mod.rs
index 708aac2a..0d7c8357 100644
--- a/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/mod.rs
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ pub enum Error {
 ///          console_log_disabled: false,
 ///          file_log_directory: None,
 ///          file_log_rotation_period: None,
+///          file_log_max_files: Some(6),
 ///          otel_trace_exporter_enabled: true,
 ///          otel_log_exporter_enabled: true,
 ///      };
@@ -348,6 +349,7 @@ impl Tracing {
             console_log_disabled,
             file_log_directory,
             file_log_rotation_period,
+            file_log_max_files,
             otel_trace_exporter_enabled,
             otel_log_exporter_enabled,
         } = options;
@@ -367,6 +369,7 @@ impl Tracing {
                     .with_default_level(LevelFilter::INFO)
                     .file_log_settings_builder(log_directory, Self::FILE_LOG_SUFFIX)
                     .with_rotation_period(file_log_rotation_period)
+                    .with_max_files(file_log_max_files)
                     .build()
             }))
             .with_otlp_log_exporter((
@@ -775,6 +778,13 @@ pub struct TelemetryOptions {
     )]
     pub file_log_rotation_period: Option<RotationPeriod>,
 
+    /// Maximum NUMBER of log files to keep.
+    #[cfg_attr(
+        feature = "clap",
+        arg(long, env, value_name = "NUMBER", requires = "file_log")
+    )]
+    pub file_log_max_files: Option<usize>,
+
     /// Enable exporting OpenTelemetry traces via OTLP.
     #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", arg(long, env))]
     pub otel_trace_exporter_enabled: bool,
@@ -1015,6 +1025,7 @@ mod test {
             console_log_disabled: false,
             file_log_directory: None,
             file_log_rotation_period: None,
+            file_log_max_files: None,
             otel_trace_exporter_enabled: true,
             otel_log_exporter_enabled: false,
         });
diff --git a/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/settings/file_log.rs b/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/settings/file_log.rs
index 60fb21f8..ad345c4b 100644
--- a/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/settings/file_log.rs
+++ b/crates/stackable-telemetry/src/tracing/settings/file_log.rs
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@ impl FileLogSettingsBuilder {
     }
 
     /// Set maximum number of log files to keep.
-    pub fn with_max_log_files(mut self, max_log_files: usize) -> Self {
-        self.max_log_files = Some(max_log_files);
+    pub fn with_max_files(mut self, max_log_files: impl Into<Option<usize>>) -> Self {
+        self.max_log_files = max_log_files.into();
         self
     }
 
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ mod test {
             .with_default_level(LevelFilter::DEBUG)
             .file_log_settings_builder(PathBuf::from("/logs"), "tracing-rs.log")
             .with_rotation_period(Rotation::HOURLY)
-            .with_max_log_files(6)
+            .with_max_files(6)
             .build();
 
         assert_eq!(expected, result);