diff --git a/lua/oil/adapters/files.lua b/lua/oil/adapters/files.lua
index 9cd38ed1..ac56c4e7 100644
--- a/lua/oil/adapters/files.lua
+++ b/lua/oil/adapters/files.lua
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ local config = require("oil.config")
 local constants = require("oil.constants")
 local fs = require("oil.fs")
 local git = require("oil.git")
+local log = require("oil.log")
 local permissions = require("oil.adapters.files.permissions")
 local trash = require("oil.adapters.files.trash")
 local util = require("oil.util")
@@ -311,7 +312,8 @@ local function fetch_entry_metadata(parent_dir, entry, require_stat, cb)
   if entry[FIELD_TYPE] == "link" then
     read_link_data(entry_path, function(link_err, link, link_stat)
       if link_err then
-        return cb(link_err)
+        log.warn("Error reading link data %s: %s", entry_path, link_err)
+        return cb()
       end
       meta.link = link
       if link_stat then
@@ -322,7 +324,8 @@ local function fetch_entry_metadata(parent_dir, entry, require_stat, cb)
         -- The link is broken, so let's use the stat of the link itself
         uv.fs_lstat(entry_path, function(stat_err, stat)
           if stat_err then
-            return cb(stat_err)
+            log.warn("Error lstat link file %s: %s", entry_path, stat_err)
+            return cb()
           end
           meta.stat = stat
           cb()
@@ -335,7 +338,8 @@ local function fetch_entry_metadata(parent_dir, entry, require_stat, cb)
   elseif require_stat then
     uv.fs_stat(entry_path, function(stat_err, stat)
       if stat_err then
-        return cb(stat_err)
+        log.warn("Error stat file %s: %s", entry_path, stat_err)
+        return cb()
       end
       assert(stat)
       entry[FIELD_TYPE] = stat.type
diff --git a/lua/oil/log.lua b/lua/oil/log.lua
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..28a4f9cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lua/oil/log.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+local uv = vim.uv or vim.loop
+local levels_reverse = {}
+for k, v in pairs(vim.log.levels) do
+  levels_reverse[v] = k
+end
+
+local Log = {}
+
+---@type integer
+Log.level = vim.log.levels.WARN
+
+---@return string
+Log.get_logfile = function()
+  local fs = require("oil.fs")
+
+  local ok, stdpath = pcall(vim.fn.stdpath, "log")
+  if not ok then
+    stdpath = vim.fn.stdpath("cache")
+  end
+  assert(type(stdpath) == "string")
+  return fs.join(stdpath, "oil.log")
+end
+
+---@param level integer
+---@param msg string
+---@param ... any[]
+---@return string
+local function format(level, msg, ...)
+  local args = vim.F.pack_len(...)
+  for i = 1, args.n do
+    local v = args[i]
+    if type(v) == "table" then
+      args[i] = vim.inspect(v)
+    elseif v == nil then
+      args[i] = "nil"
+    end
+  end
+  local ok, text = pcall(string.format, msg, vim.F.unpack_len(args))
+  -- TODO figure out how to get formatted time inside luv callback
+  -- local timestr = vim.fn.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
+  local timestr = ""
+  if ok then
+    local str_level = levels_reverse[level]
+    return string.format("%s[%s] %s", timestr, str_level, text)
+  else
+    return string.format(
+      "%s[ERROR] error formatting log line: '%s' args %s",
+      timestr,
+      vim.inspect(msg),
+      vim.inspect(args)
+    )
+  end
+end
+
+---@param line string
+local function write(line)
+  -- This will be replaced during initialization
+end
+
+local initialized = false
+local function initialize()
+  if initialized then
+    return
+  end
+  initialized = true
+  local filepath = Log.get_logfile()
+
+  local stat = uv.fs_stat(filepath)
+  if stat and stat.size > 10 * 1024 * 1024 then
+    local backup = filepath .. ".1"
+    uv.fs_unlink(backup)
+    uv.fs_rename(filepath, backup)
+  end
+
+  local parent = vim.fs.dirname(filepath)
+  require("oil.fs").mkdirp(parent)
+
+  local logfile, openerr = io.open(filepath, "a+")
+  if not logfile then
+    local err_msg = string.format("Failed to open oil.nvim log file: %s", openerr)
+    vim.notify(err_msg, vim.log.levels.ERROR)
+  else
+    write = function(line)
+      logfile:write(line)
+      logfile:write("\n")
+      logfile:flush()
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+---Override the file handler e.g. for tests
+---@param handler fun(line: string)
+function Log.set_handler(handler)
+  write = handler
+  initialized = true
+end
+
+function Log.log(level, msg, ...)
+  if Log.level <= level then
+    initialize()
+    local text = format(level, msg, ...)
+    write(text)
+  end
+end
+
+function Log.trace(...)
+  Log.log(vim.log.levels.TRACE, ...)
+end
+
+function Log.debug(...)
+  Log.log(vim.log.levels.DEBUG, ...)
+end
+
+function Log.info(...)
+  Log.log(vim.log.levels.INFO, ...)
+end
+
+function Log.warn(...)
+  Log.log(vim.log.levels.WARN, ...)
+end
+
+function Log.error(...)
+  Log.log(vim.log.levels.ERROR, ...)
+end
+
+return Log