diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cbc4cb13..2f76741d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,10 +5,19 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.5.3] - 2021-09-19
+### Fixed
+- Regression in v0.5.2 where plotting processes that lack log files caused a traceback.
+  ([#926](https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/pull/926))
+- Create the directory for the new disk spaces log file.
+  ([#929](https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/pull/929))
+- Better handle non-interactive uses that had trouble while detecting the (non-existant) terminal size.
+  ([#918](https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/pull/918))
+
 ## [0.5.2] - 2021-09-12
 ### Fixed
 - Temp files are correctly identified for cleanup.
-  ([#912](https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/pull/913))
+  ([#912](https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/pull/912))
 - Correct where trailing `/` on dst directories resulted in them being considered unused.
   ([#920](https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/pull/920))
 ### Added
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index cb0c939a..be14282b 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.5.2
+0.5.3
diff --git a/src/plotman/analyzer.py b/src/plotman/analyzer.py
index a083de16..43303140 100644
--- a/src/plotman/analyzer.py
+++ b/src/plotman/analyzer.py
@@ -10,7 +10,11 @@
 
 
 def analyze(
-    logfilenames: typing.List[str], clipterminals: bool, bytmp: bool, bybitfield: bool
+    logfilenames: typing.List[str],
+    clipterminals: bool,
+    bytmp: bool,
+    bybitfield: bool,
+    columns: int,
 ) -> None:
     data: typing.Dict[str, typing.Dict[str, typing.List[float]]] = {}
     for logfilename in logfilenames:
@@ -165,7 +169,6 @@ def analyze(
 
         tab.add_row(row)
 
-    (rows, columns) = os.popen("stty size", "r").read().split()
     tab.set_max_width(int(columns))
     s = tab.draw()
     print(s)
diff --git a/src/plotman/configuration.py b/src/plotman/configuration.py
index dff7d679..c10a39ac 100644
--- a/src/plotman/configuration.py
+++ b/src/plotman/configuration.py
@@ -328,6 +328,7 @@ def setup(self) -> None:
         os.makedirs(self.plots, exist_ok=True)
         os.makedirs(self.transfers, exist_ok=True)
         os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(self.application), exist_ok=True)
+        os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(self.disk_spaces), exist_ok=True)
 
     def create_plot_log_path(self, time: pendulum.DateTime) -> str:
         return self._create_log_path(
@@ -343,13 +344,6 @@ def create_transfer_log_path(self, time: pendulum.DateTime) -> str:
             group="transfer",
         )
 
-    def create_tdisk_space_log_path(self, time: pendulum.DateTime) -> str:
-        return self._create_log_path(
-            time=time,
-            directory=self.disk_spaces,
-            group="disk_space",
-        )
-
     def _create_log_path(
         self, time: pendulum.DateTime, directory: str, group: str
     ) -> str:
diff --git a/src/plotman/job.py b/src/plotman/job.py
index 198ff674..1dc1444f 100644
--- a/src/plotman/job.py
+++ b/src/plotman/job.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import glob
 import time
 from datetime import datetime
+import sys
 import typing
 
 import attr
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ class Job:
 
     plotter: "plotman.plotters.Plotter"
 
-    logfile: str = ""
+    logfile: typing.Optional[str] = None
     job_id: int = 0
     proc: psutil.Process
 
@@ -189,10 +190,11 @@ def get_running_jobs(
                                 plotter=plotter,
                                 logroot=logroot,
                             )
-                            # TODO: stop reloading every time...
-                            with open(job.logfile, "rb") as f:
-                                r = f.read()
-                            job.plotter.update(chunk=r)
+                            if job.logfile is not None:
+                                # TODO: stop reloading every time...
+                                with open(job.logfile, "rb") as f:
+                                    r = f.read()
+                                job.plotter.update(chunk=r)
                             jobs.append(job)
 
         return jobs
@@ -254,6 +256,10 @@ def status_str_long(self) -> str:
         #     )
 
     def print_logs(self, follow: bool = False) -> None:
+        if self.logfile is None:
+            print("no log file available for this plotting process", file=sys.stderr)
+            return
+
         with open(self.logfile, "r") as f:
             if follow:
                 line = ""
diff --git a/src/plotman/plotman.py b/src/plotman/plotman.py
index fc0fa68a..e111f5a3 100755
--- a/src/plotman/plotman.py
+++ b/src/plotman/plotman.py
@@ -161,12 +161,16 @@ def parse_args(self) -> typing.Any:
         return args
 
 
-def get_term_width() -> int:
-    try:
-        (rows_string, columns_string) = os.popen("stty size", "r").read().split()
-        columns = int(columns_string)
-    except:
-        columns = 120  # 80 is typically too narrow.  TODO: make a command line arg.
+def get_term_width(cfg: configuration.PlotmanConfig) -> int:
+    default_columns = 120  # 80 is typically too narrow.
+    if cfg.user_interface.use_stty_size:
+        try:
+            (rows_string, columns_string) = os.popen("stty size", "r").read().split()
+            columns = int(columns_string)
+        except:
+            columns = default_columns
+    else:
+        columns = default_columns
     return columns
 
 
@@ -293,7 +297,11 @@ def main() -> None:
         elif args.cmd == "analyze":
 
             analyzer.analyze(
-                args.logfile, args.clipterminals, args.bytmp, args.bybitfield
+                args.logfile,
+                args.clipterminals,
+                args.bytmp,
+                args.bybitfield,
+                get_term_width(cfg),
             )
 
         #
@@ -317,7 +325,7 @@ def main() -> None:
                     result = reporting.json_report(jobs)
                 else:
                     result = "{0}\n\n{1}\n\nUpdated at: {2}".format(
-                        reporting.status_report(jobs, get_term_width()),
+                        reporting.status_report(jobs, get_term_width(cfg)),
                         reporting.summary(jobs),
                         datetime.datetime.today().strftime("%c"),
                     )
@@ -335,7 +343,7 @@ def main() -> None:
                         cfg.directories,
                         cfg.archiving,
                         cfg.scheduling,
-                        get_term_width(),
+                        get_term_width(cfg),
                     )
                 )
 
diff --git a/src/plotman/resources/plotman.yaml b/src/plotman/resources/plotman.yaml
index c9d38a10..f3cb1c54 100644
--- a/src/plotman/resources/plotman.yaml
+++ b/src/plotman/resources/plotman.yaml
@@ -3,14 +3,17 @@
 # https://github.com/ericaltendorf/plotman/wiki/Configuration#versions
 version: [2]
 
-logging:
-        # One directory in which to store all plot job logs (the STDOUT/
-        # STDERR of all plot jobs).  In order to monitor progress, plotman
-        # reads these logs on a regular basis, so using a fast drive is
-        # recommended.
-        plots: /home/chia/chia/logs
-        # transfers:
-        # application:
+#logging:
+#        # One directory in which to store all plot job logs (the STDOUT/
+#        # STDERR of all plot jobs).  In order to monitor progress, plotman
+#        # reads these logs on a regular basis, so using a fast drive is
+#        # recommended.
+#        # For Linux, these paths default to a directory under ~/.local/share/plotman/
+#         plots: <directory>
+#         transfers: <directory>
+#        # For Linux, these paths default to a file at ~/.cache/plotman/log/
+#         application: <file>
+#         disk_spaces: <file>
 
 # Options for display and rendering
 user_interface: