diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index dccba1dca2..22e481e7ba 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -736,6 +736,9 @@ endif
 ifneq ($(HELPERS-y),)
 	$(call install-prog,$(HELPERS-y),$(DESTDIR)$(libexecdir))
 endif
+ifdef CONFIG_TRACE_SYSTEMTAP
+	$(INSTALL_PROG) "scripts/qemu-trace-stap" $(DESTDIR)$(bindir)
+endif
 ifneq ($(BLOBS),)
 	set -e; for x in $(BLOBS); do \
 		$(INSTALL_DATA) $(SRC_PATH)/pc-bios/$$x "$(DESTDIR)$(qemu_datadir)"; \
diff --git a/Makefile.target b/Makefile.target
index 39f72e81be..401dc1ea6f 100644
--- a/Makefile.target
+++ b/Makefile.target
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ config-target.h: config-target.h-timestamp
 config-target.h-timestamp: config-target.mak
 
 ifdef CONFIG_TRACE_SYSTEMTAP
-stap: $(QEMU_PROG).stp-installed $(QEMU_PROG).stp $(QEMU_PROG)-simpletrace.stp
+stap: $(QEMU_PROG).stp-installed $(QEMU_PROG).stp $(QEMU_PROG)-simpletrace.stp $(QEMU_PROG)-log.stp
 
 ifdef CONFIG_USER_ONLY
 TARGET_TYPE=user
@@ -84,6 +84,14 @@ $(QEMU_PROG)-simpletrace.stp: $(BUILD_DIR)/trace-events-all $(tracetool-y)
 		--probe-prefix=qemu.$(TARGET_TYPE).$(TARGET_NAME) \
 		$< > $@,"GEN","$(TARGET_DIR)$(QEMU_PROG)-simpletrace.stp")
 
+$(QEMU_PROG)-log.stp: $(BUILD_DIR)/trace-events-all $(tracetool-y)
+	$(call quiet-command,$(TRACETOOL) \
+		--group=all \
+		--format=log-stap \
+		--backends=$(TRACE_BACKENDS) \
+		--probe-prefix=qemu.$(TARGET_TYPE).$(TARGET_NAME) \
+		$< > $@,"GEN","$(TARGET_DIR)$(QEMU_PROG)-log.stp")
+
 else
 stap:
 endif
@@ -227,6 +235,7 @@ ifdef CONFIG_TRACE_SYSTEMTAP
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) "$(DESTDIR)$(qemu_datadir)/../systemtap/tapset"
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(QEMU_PROG).stp-installed "$(DESTDIR)$(qemu_datadir)/../systemtap/tapset/$(QEMU_PROG).stp"
 	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(QEMU_PROG)-simpletrace.stp "$(DESTDIR)$(qemu_datadir)/../systemtap/tapset/$(QEMU_PROG)-simpletrace.stp"
+	$(INSTALL_DATA) $(QEMU_PROG)-log.stp "$(DESTDIR)$(qemu_datadir)/../systemtap/tapset/$(QEMU_PROG)-log.stp"
 endif
 
 GENERATED_FILES += config-target.h
diff --git a/docs/devel/tracing.txt b/docs/devel/tracing.txt
index bc52f12485..53327cd35b 100644
--- a/docs/devel/tracing.txt
+++ b/docs/devel/tracing.txt
@@ -317,6 +317,38 @@ probes:
                          --target-name x86_64 \
                          <trace-events-all >qemu.stp
 
+To facilitate simple usage of systemtap where there merely needs to be printf
+logging of certain probes, a helper script "qemu-trace-stap" is provided
+
+This can list all probes available for a given QEMU emulator binary:
+
+     $ qemu-trace-stap list qemu-system-x86_64
+     ahci_check_irq
+     ahci_cmd_done
+     ahci_dma_prepare_buf
+     ahci_dma_prepare_buf_fail
+     ahci_dma_rw_buf
+     ahci_irq_lower
+     ...snip...
+
+Optionally restricted to a pattern prefix:
+
+     $ qemu-trace-stap list qemu-system-x86_64 qio*
+     qio_channel_command_abort
+     qio_channel_command_new_pid
+     qio_channel_command_new_spawn
+     qio_channel_command_wait
+     qio_channel_file_new_fd
+     ...snip...
+
+It can then run a simple systemtap script which prints each requested probe
+
+     $ qemu-trace-stap run qemu-system-x86_64 qio*
+     22806@1547735341399856820 qio_channel_socket_new Socket new ioc=0x56135d1d7c00
+     22806@1547735341399862570 qio_task_new Task new task=0x56135cd66eb0 source=0x56135d1d7c00 func=0x56135af746c0 opaque=0x56135bf06400
+     22806@1547735341399865943 qio_task_thread_start Task thread start task=0x56135cd66eb0 worker=0x56135af72e50 opaque=0x56135c071d70
+     22806@1547735341399976816 qio_task_thread_run Task thread run task=0x56135cd66eb0
+
 == Trace event properties ==
 
 Each event in the "trace-events-all" file can be prefixed with a space-separated
diff --git a/scripts/qemu-trace-stap b/scripts/qemu-trace-stap
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..2db7b1470c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/qemu-trace-stap
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+#!/usr/bin/python
+# -*- python -*-
+#
+#  Copyright (C) 2019 Red Hat, Inc
+#
+#  QEMU SystemTap Trace Tool
+#
+#  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+#  it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+#  the Free Software Foundation; under version 2 of the License.
+#
+#  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+#  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+#  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+#  GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+#  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+#  along with this program; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import argparse
+import copy
+import os.path
+import re
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+
+def probe_prefix(binary):
+    dirname, filename = os.path.split(binary)
+    return re.sub("-", ".", filename) + ".log"
+
+
+def which(binary):
+    for path in os.environ["PATH"].split(os.pathsep):
+        if os.path.exists(os.path.join(path, binary)):
+                return os.path.join(path, binary)
+
+    print("Unable to find '%s' in $PATH" % binary)
+    sys.exit(1)
+
+
+def tapset_dir(binary):
+    dirname, filename = os.path.split(binary)
+    if dirname == '':
+        thisfile = which(binary)
+    else:
+        thisfile = os.path.realpath(binary)
+        if not os.path.exists(thisfile):
+            print("Unable to find '%s'" % thisfile)
+            sys.exit(1)
+
+    basedir = os.path.split(thisfile)[0]
+    tapset = os.path.join(basedir, "..", "share", "systemtap", "tapset")
+    return os.path.realpath(tapset)
+
+
+def tapset_env(tapset_dir):
+    tenv = copy.copy(os.environ)
+    tenv["SYSTEMTAP_TAPSET"] = tapset_dir
+    return tenv
+
+def cmd_run(args):
+    prefix = probe_prefix(args.binary)
+    tapsets = tapset_dir(args.binary)
+
+    if args.verbose:
+        print("Using tapset dir '%s' for binary '%s'" % (tapsets, args.binary))
+
+    probes = []
+    for probe in args.probes:
+        probes.append("probe %s.%s {}" % (prefix, probe))
+    if len(probes) == 0:
+        probes.append("probe %s.* {}" % prefix)
+
+    script = " ".join(probes)
+    if args.verbose:
+        print("Compiling script '%s'" % script)
+        script = """probe begin { print("Running script, <Ctrl>-c to quit\\n") } """ + script
+    subprocess.call(["stap", "-e", script],
+                    env=tapset_env(tapsets))
+
+
+def cmd_list(args):
+    tapsets = tapset_dir(args.binary)
+
+    if args.verbose:
+        print("Using tapset dir '%s' for binary '%s'" % (tapsets, args.binary))
+
+    def print_probes(verbose, name):
+        prefix = probe_prefix(args.binary)
+        offset = len(prefix) + 1
+        script = prefix + "." + name
+
+        if verbose:
+            print("Listing probes with name '%s'" % script)
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(["stap", "-l", script],
+                                stdout=subprocess.PIPE, env=tapset_env(tapsets))
+        out, err = proc.communicate()
+        if proc.returncode != 0:
+            print("No probes found, are the tapsets installed in %s" % tapset_dir(args.binary))
+            sys.exit(1)
+
+        for line in out.splitlines():
+            if line.startswith(prefix):
+                print("%s" % line[offset:])
+
+    if len(args.probes) == 0:
+        print_probes(args.verbose, "*")
+    else:
+        for probe in args.probes:
+            print_probes(args.verbose, probe)
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="QEMU SystemTap trace tool")
+
+    subparser = parser.add_subparsers(help="commands")
+    subparser.required = True
+    subparser.dest = "command"
+
+    runparser = subparser.add_parser("run", help="Run a trace session",
+                                     formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
+                                     epilog="""
+
+To watch all trace points on the qemu-system-x86_64 binary:
+
+   %(argv0)s run qemu-system-x86_64
+
+To only watch the trace points matching the qio* and qcrypto* patterns
+
+   %(argv0)s run qemu-system-x86_64 qio* qcrypto*
+""" % {"argv0": sys.argv[0]})
+    runparser.set_defaults(func=cmd_run)
+    runparser.add_argument("-v", "--verbose", help="Print verbose progress info",
+                           action='store_true')
+    runparser.add_argument("binary", help="QEMU system or user emulator binary")
+    runparser.add_argument("probes", help="Probe names or wildcards",
+                           nargs=argparse.REMAINDER)
+
+    listparser = subparser.add_parser("list", help="List probe points",
+                                      formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
+                                      epilog="""
+
+To list all trace points on the qemu-system-x86_64 binary:
+
+   %(argv0)s list qemu-system-x86_64
+
+To only list the trace points matching the qio* and qcrypto* patterns
+
+   %(argv0)s list qemu-system-x86_64 qio* qcrypto*
+""" % {"argv0": sys.argv[0]})
+    listparser.set_defaults(func=cmd_list)
+    listparser.add_argument("-v", "--verbose", help="Print verbose progress info",
+                            action='store_true')
+    listparser.add_argument("binary", help="QEMU system or user emulator binary")
+    listparser.add_argument("probes", help="Probe names or wildcards",
+                            nargs=argparse.REMAINDER)
+
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    args.func(args)
+    sys.exit(0)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()
diff --git a/scripts/tracetool/format/log_stap.py b/scripts/tracetool/format/log_stap.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3ccbc09d61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/tracetool/format/log_stap.py
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+
+"""
+Generate .stp file that printfs log messages (DTrace with SystemTAP only).
+"""
+
+__author__     = "Daniel P. Berrange <berrange@redhat.com>"
+__copyright__  = "Copyright (C) 2014-2019, Red Hat, Inc."
+__license__    = "GPL version 2 or (at your option) any later version"
+
+__maintainer__ = "Daniel Berrange"
+__email__      = "berrange@redhat.com"
+
+import re
+
+from tracetool import out
+from tracetool.backend.dtrace import binary, probeprefix
+from tracetool.backend.simple import is_string
+from tracetool.format.stap import stap_escape
+
+def global_var_name(name):
+    return probeprefix().replace(".", "_") + "_" + name
+
+STATE_SKIP = 0
+STATE_LITERAL = 1
+STATE_MACRO = 2
+
+def c_macro_to_format(macro):
+    if macro.startswith("PRI"):
+        return macro[3]
+
+    if macro == "TARGET_FMT_plx":
+        return "%016x"
+
+    raise Exception("Unhandled macro '%s'" % macro)
+
+def c_fmt_to_stap(fmt):
+    state = 0
+    bits = []
+    literal = ""
+    macro = ""
+    escape = 0;
+    for i in range(len(fmt)):
+        if fmt[i] == '\\':
+            if escape:
+                escape = 0
+            else:
+                escape = 1
+            if state != STATE_LITERAL:
+                raise Exception("Unexpected escape outside string literal")
+            literal = literal + fmt[i]
+        elif fmt[i] == '"' and not escape:
+            if state == STATE_LITERAL:
+                state = STATE_SKIP
+                bits.append(literal)
+                literal = ""
+            else:
+                if state == STATE_MACRO:
+                    bits.append(c_macro_to_format(macro))
+                state = STATE_LITERAL
+        elif fmt[i] == ' ' or fmt[i] == '\t':
+            if state == STATE_MACRO:
+                bits.append(c_macro_to_format(macro))
+                macro = ""
+                state = STATE_SKIP
+            elif state == STATE_LITERAL:
+                literal = literal + fmt[i]
+        else:
+            escape = 0
+            if state == STATE_SKIP:
+                state = STATE_MACRO
+
+            if state == STATE_LITERAL:
+                literal = literal + fmt[i]
+            else:
+                macro = macro + fmt[i]
+
+    if state == STATE_MACRO:
+        bits.append(c_macro_to_format(macro))
+    elif state == STATE_LITERAL:
+        bits.append(literal)
+
+    fmt = re.sub("%(\d*)z(x|u|d)", "%\\1\\2", "".join(bits))
+    return fmt
+
+def generate(events, backend, group):
+    out('/* This file is autogenerated by tracetool, do not edit. */',
+        '')
+
+    for event_id, e in enumerate(events):
+        if 'disable' in e.properties:
+            continue
+
+        out('probe %(probeprefix)s.log.%(name)s = %(probeprefix)s.%(name)s ?',
+            '{',
+            probeprefix=probeprefix(),
+            name=e.name)
+
+        # Get references to userspace strings
+        for type_, name in e.args:
+            name = stap_escape(name)
+            if is_string(type_):
+                out('    try {',
+                    '        arg%(name)s_str = %(name)s ? ' +
+                    'user_string_n(%(name)s, 512) : "<null>"',
+                    '    } catch {}',
+                    name=name)
+
+        # Determine systemtap's view of variable names
+        fields = ["pid()", "gettimeofday_ns()"]
+        for type_, name in e.args:
+            name = stap_escape(name)
+            if is_string(type_):
+                fields.append("arg" + name + "_str")
+            else:
+                fields.append(name)
+
+        # Emit the entire record in a single SystemTap printf()
+        arg_str = ', '.join(arg for arg in fields)
+        fmt_str = "%d@%d " + e.name + " " + c_fmt_to_stap(e.fmt) + "\\n"
+        out('    printf("%(fmt_str)s", %(arg_str)s)',
+            fmt_str=fmt_str, arg_str=arg_str)
+
+        out('}')
+
+    out()
