diff --git a/include/libcamera/stream.h b/include/libcamera/stream.h
index 071b71698acb..ea228aea7d56 100644
--- a/include/libcamera/stream.h
+++ b/include/libcamera/stream.h
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ private:
 	StreamFormats formats_;
 };
 
+std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &out, StreamConfiguration cfg);
+
 enum class StreamRole {
 	Raw,
 	StillCapture,
diff --git a/src/libcamera/stream.cpp b/src/libcamera/stream.cpp
index 1f75dbbc5b64..179e75df445b 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/stream.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/stream.cpp
@@ -392,7 +392,23 @@ StreamConfiguration::StreamConfiguration(const StreamFormats &formats)
  */
 std::string StreamConfiguration::toString() const
 {
-	return size.toString() + "-" + pixelFormat.toString();
+	std::stringstream ss;
+	ss << *this;
+
+	return ss.str();
+}
+
+/**
+ * \brief Insert a text representation of a StreamConfiguration into an output
+ * stream
+ * \param[in] out The output stream
+ * \param[in] cfg The StreamConfiguration
+ * \return The output stream \a out
+ */
+std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &out, StreamConfiguration cfg)
+{
+	out << cfg.size.toString() + "-" + cfg.pixelFormat.toString();
+	return out;
 }
 
 /**