diff --git a/openbao/install.sh b/openbao/install.sh
index 2a8557c..e1cf69d 100755
--- a/openbao/install.sh
+++ b/openbao/install.sh
@@ -47,9 +47,10 @@ GREEN='\033[0;32m'
 YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
 NC='\033[0m'
 
-log_info()  { echo -e "${GREEN}[INFO]${NC} $1"; }
-log_warn()  { echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $1"; }
-log_error() { echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1"; }
+# Logs go to stderr so callers can safely use $(fn) without capturing log noise.
+log_info()  { echo -e "${GREEN}[INFO]${NC} $1" >&2; }
+log_warn()  { echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $1" >&2; }
+log_error() { echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1" >&2; }
 
 # ============================================================
 # Generic helpers