diff --git a/logtail/logtail.go b/logtail/logtail.go
index 6cb910ada..04cc0bf38 100644
--- a/logtail/logtail.go
+++ b/logtail/logtail.go
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
+	"tailscale.com/envknob"
 	"tailscale.com/logtail/backoff"
 	"tailscale.com/net/interfaces"
 	tslogger "tailscale.com/types/logger"
@@ -62,9 +64,9 @@ type Config struct {
 	// that's safe to embed in a JSON string literal without further escaping.
 	MetricsDelta func() string
 
-	// DrainLogs, if non-nil, disables automatic uploading of new logs,
-	// so that logs are only uploaded when a token is sent to DrainLogs.
-	DrainLogs <-chan struct{}
+	// FlushDelay, if non-zero, is how long to wait to accumulate logs before
+	// uploading them.
+	FlushDelay time.Duration
 
 	// IncludeProcID, if true, results in an ephemeral process identifier being
 	// included in logs. The ID is random and not guaranteed to be globally
@@ -109,6 +111,13 @@ func NewLogger(cfg Config, logf tslogger.Logf) *Logger {
 			procID = 7
 		}
 	}
+	if s := envknob.String("TS_DEBUG_LOGTAIL_FLUSHDELAY"); s != "" {
+		var err error
+		cfg.FlushDelay, err = time.ParseDuration(s)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatalf("invalid TS_DEBUG_LOGTAIL_FLUSHDELAY: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
 
 	stdLogf := func(f string, a ...any) {
 		fmt.Fprintf(cfg.Stderr, strings.TrimSuffix(f, "\n")+"\n", a...)
@@ -126,9 +135,9 @@ func NewLogger(cfg Config, logf tslogger.Logf) *Logger {
 		lowMem:         cfg.LowMemory,
 		buffer:         cfg.Buffer,
 		skipClientTime: cfg.SkipClientTime,
-		sent:           make(chan struct{}, 1),
+		drainWake:      make(chan struct{}, 1),
 		sentinel:       make(chan int32, 16),
-		drainLogs:      cfg.DrainLogs,
+		flushDelay:     cfg.FlushDelay,
 		timeNow:        cfg.TimeNow,
 		bo:             backoff.NewBackoff("logtail", stdLogf, 30*time.Second),
 		metricsDelta:   cfg.MetricsDelta,
@@ -162,8 +171,9 @@ type Logger struct {
 	skipClientTime bool
 	linkMonitor    *monitor.Mon
 	buffer         Buffer
-	sent           chan struct{}   // signal to speed up drain
-	drainLogs      <-chan struct{} // if non-nil, external signal to attempt a drain
+	drainWake      chan struct{} // signal to speed up drain
+	flushDelay     time.Duration // 0 to upload agressively, or >0 to batch at this delay
+	flushPending   atomic.Bool
 	sentinel       chan int32
 	timeNow        func() time.Time
 	bo             *backoff.Backoff
@@ -172,12 +182,14 @@ type Logger struct {
 	explainedRaw   bool
 	metricsDelta   func() string // or nil
 	privateID      PrivateID
+	httpDoCalls    atomic.Int32
 
 	procID              uint32
 	includeProcSequence bool
 
-	writeLock    sync.Mutex // guards increments of procSequence
+	writeLock    sync.Mutex // guards procSequence, flushTimer, buffer.Write calls
 	procSequence uint64
+	flushTimer   *time.Timer // used when flushDelay non-zero
 
 	shutdownStart chan struct{} // closed when shutdown begins
 	shutdownDone  chan struct{} // closed when shutdown complete
@@ -241,24 +253,16 @@ func (l *Logger) Close() {
 
 // drainBlock is called by drainPending when there are no logs to drain.
 //
-// In typical operation, every call to the Write method unblocks and triggers
-// a buffer.TryReadline, so logs are written with very low latency.
+// In typical operation, every call to the Write method unblocks and triggers a
+// buffer.TryReadline, so logs are written with very low latency.
 //
-// If the caller provides a DrainLogs channel, then unblock-drain-on-Write
-// is disabled, and it is up to the caller to trigger unblock the drain.
+// If the caller specified FlushInterface, drainWake is only sent to
+// periodically.
 func (l *Logger) drainBlock() (shuttingDown bool) {
-	if l.drainLogs == nil {
-		select {
-		case <-l.shutdownStart:
-			return true
-		case <-l.sent:
-		}
-	} else {
-		select {
-		case <-l.shutdownStart:
-			return true
-		case <-l.drainLogs:
-		}
+	select {
+	case <-l.shutdownStart:
+		return true
+	case <-l.drainWake:
 	}
 	return false
 }
@@ -426,6 +430,7 @@ func (l *Logger) upload(ctx context.Context, body []byte, origlen int) (uploaded
 		compressedNote = "compressed"
 	}
 
+	l.httpDoCalls.Add(1)
 	resp, err := l.httpc.Do(req)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, fmt.Errorf("log upload of %d bytes %s failed: %v", len(body), compressedNote, err)
@@ -463,16 +468,40 @@ func Disable() {
 	logtailDisabled.Store(true)
 }
 
+var debugWakesAndUploads = envknob.RegisterBool("TS_DEBUG_LOGTAIL_WAKES")
+
+// tryDrainWake tries to send to lg.drainWake, to cause an uploading wakeup.
+// It does not block.
+func (l *Logger) tryDrainWake() {
+	l.flushPending.Store(false)
+	if debugWakesAndUploads() {
+		// Using println instead of log.Printf here to avoid recursing back into
+		// ourselves.
+		println("logtail: try drain wake, numHTTP:", l.httpDoCalls.Load())
+	}
+	select {
+	case l.drainWake <- struct{}{}:
+	default:
+	}
+}
+
 func (l *Logger) sendLocked(jsonBlob []byte) (int, error) {
 	if logtailDisabled.Load() {
 		return len(jsonBlob), nil
 	}
+
 	n, err := l.buffer.Write(jsonBlob)
-	if l.drainLogs == nil {
-		select {
-		case l.sent <- struct{}{}:
-		default:
+
+	if l.flushDelay > 0 {
+		if l.flushPending.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
+			if l.flushTimer == nil {
+				l.flushTimer = time.AfterFunc(l.flushDelay, l.tryDrainWake)
+			} else {
+				l.flushTimer.Reset(l.flushDelay)
+			}
 		}
+	} else {
+		l.tryDrainWake()
 	}
 	return n, err
 }