diff --git a/docs/api.md b/docs/api.md
index ec357fdda..634868957 100644
--- a/docs/api.md
+++ b/docs/api.md
@@ -369,6 +369,37 @@ documented in the [Browser API ⇗](/docs/browser.md) documentation.
 
 * See [Browser API ⇗](/docs/browser.md)
 
+#### `transport` (Object)
+
+The `transport` option is a shorthand for the [pino.transport()](#pino-transport) function.
+It supports the same input options:
+```js
+require('pino')({
+  transport: {
+    target: '/absolute/path/to/my-transport.mjs'
+  }
+})
+
+// or multiple transports
+require('pino')({
+  transport: {
+    targets: [
+      { target: '/absolute/path/to/my-transport.mjs', level: 'error' },
+      { target: 'some-file-transport', options: { destination: '/dev/null' }
+    ]
+  }
+})
+```
+
+If the transport option is supplied to `pino`, a [`destination`](#destination) parameter may not also be passed as a separate argument to `pino`:
+
+```js
+pino({ transport: {}}, '/path/to/somewhere') // THIS WILL NOT WORK, DO NOT DO THIS
+pino({ transport: {}}, process.stderr) // THIS WILL NOT WORK, DO NOT DO THIS
+when using the `transport` option. In this case an `Error` will be thrown.
+
+* See [pino.transport()](#pino-transport)
+
 <a id="destination"></a>
 ### `destination` (SonicBoom | WritableStream | String | Object)
 
diff --git a/lib/tools.js b/lib/tools.js
index a238c1957..63bb7466a 100644
--- a/lib/tools.js
+++ b/lib/tools.js
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ const {
   nestedKeyStrSym
 } = require('./symbols')
 const { isMainThread } = require('worker_threads')
+const transport = require('./transport')
 
 function noop () {}
 
@@ -395,10 +396,16 @@ function createArgsNormalizer (defaultOptions) {
       stream = buildSafeSonicBoom({ dest: opts, sync: true })
       opts = {}
     } else if (typeof stream === 'string') {
+      if (opts && opts.transport) {
+        throw Error('only one of option.transport or stream can be specified')
+      }
       stream = buildSafeSonicBoom({ dest: stream, sync: true })
     } else if (opts instanceof SonicBoom || opts.writable || opts._writableState) {
       stream = opts
       opts = null
+    } else if (opts.transport) {
+      stream = transport(opts.transport)
+      opts = null
     }
     opts = Object.assign({}, defaultOptions, opts)
     opts.serializers = Object.assign({}, defaultOptions.serializers, opts.serializers)
diff --git a/lib/transport.js b/lib/transport.js
index 7d478e139..f43c776f5 100644
--- a/lib/transport.js
+++ b/lib/transport.js
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ function transport (fullOptions) {
   let target = fullOptions.target
 
   if (target && targets) {
-    throw new Error('Only one of target or targets can be specified')
+    throw new Error('only one of target or targets can be specified')
   }
 
   if (targets) {
diff --git a/test/transport.test.js b/test/transport.test.js
index d77e99843..213b4472b 100644
--- a/test/transport.test.js
+++ b/test/transport.test.js
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ test('pino.transport with target and targets', async ({ fail, equal }) => {
     })
     fail('must throw')
   } catch (err) {
-    equal(err.message, 'Only one of target or targets can be specified')
+    equal(err.message, 'only one of target or targets can be specified')
   }
 })
 
@@ -386,3 +386,95 @@ test('stdout in worker', async ({ not }) => {
   await once(child, 'close')
   not(strip(actual).match(/Hello/), null)
 })
+
+test('pino transport options with target', async ({ teardown, same }) => {
+  const destination = join(
+    os.tmpdir(),
+    '_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9)
+  )
+  const instance = pino({
+    transport: {
+      target: '#pino/file',
+      options: { destination }
+    }
+  })
+  const transportStream = instance[pino.symbols.streamSym]
+  teardown(transportStream.end.bind(transportStream))
+  instance.info('transport option test')
+  await watchFileCreated(destination)
+  const result = JSON.parse(await readFile(destination))
+  delete result.time
+  same(result, {
+    pid,
+    hostname,
+    level: 30,
+    msg: 'transport option test'
+  })
+})
+
+test('pino transport options with targets', async ({ teardown, same }) => {
+  const dest1 = join(
+    os.tmpdir(),
+    '_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9)
+  )
+  const dest2 = join(
+    os.tmpdir(),
+    '_' + Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9)
+  )
+  const instance = pino({
+    transport: {
+      targets: [
+        { target: '#pino/file', options: { destination: dest1 } },
+        { target: '#pino/file', options: { destination: dest2 } }
+      ]
+    }
+  })
+  const transportStream = instance[pino.symbols.streamSym]
+  teardown(transportStream.end.bind(transportStream))
+  instance.info('transport option test')
+
+  await Promise.all([watchFileCreated(dest1), watchFileCreated(dest2)])
+  const result1 = JSON.parse(await readFile(dest1))
+  delete result1.time
+  same(result1, {
+    pid,
+    hostname,
+    level: 30,
+    msg: 'transport option test'
+  })
+  const result2 = JSON.parse(await readFile(dest2))
+  delete result2.time
+  same(result2, {
+    pid,
+    hostname,
+    level: 30,
+    msg: 'transport option test'
+  })
+})
+
+test('transport options with target and targets', async ({ fail, equal }) => {
+  try {
+    pino({
+      transport: {
+        target: {},
+        targets: {}
+      }
+    })
+    fail('must throw')
+  } catch (err) {
+    equal(err.message, 'only one of target or targets can be specified')
+  }
+})
+
+test('transport options with target and stream', async ({ fail, equal }) => {
+  try {
+    pino({
+      transport: {
+        target: {}
+      }
+    }, '/log/null')
+    fail('must throw')
+  } catch (err) {
+    equal(err.message, 'only one of option.transport or stream can be specified')
+  }
+})