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LOGROTATE(8)		 System Administrator's Manual		  LOGROTATE(8)

NAME
       logrotate - rotates, compresses, and mails system logs

SYNOPSIS
       logrotate [-dv] [-f|--force] [-s|--state file] config_file+

DESCRIPTION
       logrotate  is  designed to ease administration of systems that generate
       large numbers of log files.  It allows automatic rotation, compression,
       removal, and mailing of log files.  Each log file may be handled daily,
       weekly, monthly, or when it grows too large.

       Normally, logrotate is run as a daily cron job.	It will not  modify  a
       log  multiple  times  in	 one  day unless the criterium for that log is
       based on the log's size and logrotate is being run multiple times  each
       day, or unless the -f or -force option is used.

       Any number of config files may be given on the command line. Later con‐
       fig files may override the options given in earlier files, so the order
       in  which  the logrotate config files are listed in is important.  Nor‐
       mally, a single config file which includes any other config files which
       are  needed  should  be used.  See below for more information on how to
       use the include directive to accomplish this.  If a directory is	 given
       on  the	command line, every file in that directory is used as a config
       file.

       If no command line arguments are given, logrotate  will	print  version
       and  copyright  information,  along with a short usage summary.	If any
       errors occur while rotating logs, logrotate  will  exit	with  non-zero
       status.

OPTIONS
       -d     Turns  on	 debug mode and implies -v.  In debug mode, no changes
	      will be made to the logs or to the logrotate state file.

       -f, --force
	      Tells logrotate to force the rotation, even if it doesn't	 think
	      this  is	necessary.   Sometimes this is useful after adding new
	      entries to logrotate, or if old log files have been  removed  by
	      hand,  as	 the  new files will be created, and logging will con‐
	      tinue correctly.

       -m, --mail <command>
	      Tells logrotate which command to use  when  mailing  logs.  This
	      command  should accept two arguments: 1) the subject of the mes‐
	      sage, and 2) the recipient. The command must then read a message
	      on standard input and mail it to the recipient. The default mail
	      command is /bin/mail -s.

       -s, --state <statefile>
	      Tells logrotate to use an alternate state file.  This is	useful
	      if  logrotate  is being run as a different user for various sets
	      of log files.  The default state file is /var/lib/logrotate.sta‐
	      tus.

       --usage
	      Prints a short usage message.

       -v     Turns on verbose mode.

CONFIGURATION FILE
       logrotate  reads	 everything  about the log files it should be handling
       from the series of configuration files specified on the	command	 line.
       Each configuration file can set global options (local definitions over‐
       ride global ones, and later  definitions	 override  earlier  ones)  and
       specify	logfiles  to  rotate.  A  simple configuration file looks like
       this:

       # sample logrotate configuration file
       compress

       /var/log/messages {
	   rotate 5
	   weekly
	   postrotate
	       /sbin/killall -HUP syslogd
	   endscript
       }

       "/var/log/httpd/access.log" /var/log/httpd/error.log {
	   rotate 5
	   mail www@my.org
	   size=100k
	   sharedscripts
	   postrotate
	       /sbin/killall -HUP httpd
	   endscript
       }

       /var/log/news/* {
	   monthly
	   rotate 2
	   olddir /var/log/news/old
	   missingok
	   postrotate
	       kill -HUP `cat /var/run/inn.pid`
	   endscript
	   nocompress
       }

       The first few lines set global options; in the example, logs  are  com‐
       pressed after they are rotated.	Note that comments may appear anywhere
       in the config file as long as the first non-whitespace character on the
       line is a #.

       The next section of the config files defined how to handle the log file
       /var/log/messages. The log will go through five weekly rotations before
       being  removed. After the log file has been rotated (but before the old
       version of the log has been compressed), the command /sbin/killall -HUP
       syslogd will be executed.

       The     next	section	   defines    the    parameters	   for	  both
       /var/log/httpd/access.log  and  /var/log/httpd/error.log.    They   are
       rotated whenever it grows over 100k in size, and the old logs files are
       mailed (uncompressed) to www@my.org after going	through	 5  rotations,
       rather  than being removed. The sharedscripts means that the postrotate
       script will only be run once (after the old logs have been compressed),
       not  once  for  each  log which is rotated. Note that the double quotes
       around the first filename at  the  beginning  of	 this  section	allows
       logrotate  to rotate logs with spaces in the name. Normal shell quoting
       rules apply, with ', ", and \ characters supported.

       The last section defines	 the  parameters  for  all  of	the  files  in
       /var/log/news.  Each  file is rotated on a monthly basis.  This is con‐
       sidered a single rotation directive and if errors occur for  more  than
       one file, the log files are not compressed.

       Please  use  wildcards  with caution.  If you specify *, logrotate will
       rotate all files, including previously rotated ones.  A way around this
       is  to  use  the	 olddir	 directive  or	a more exact wildcard (such as
       *.log).

       Here is more information on the directives which may be included	 in  a
       logrotate configuration file:

       addextension ext
	      Log  files  are given the final extension ext after rotation. If
	      the original file already ends with ext, the  extension  is  not
	      duplicated,  but merely moved to the end, i.e. both filename and
	      filenameext would get rotated to filename.1ext.  If  compression
	      is  used, the compression extension (normally .gz) appears after
	      ext.

       compress
	      Old versions of log files are compressed with gzip  by  default.
	      See also nocompress.

       compresscmd
	      Specifies	 which	command	 to  use  to  compress log files.  The
	      default is gzip.	See also compress.

       uncompresscmd
	      Specifies which command to use to	 uncompress  log  files.   The
	      default is gunzip.

       compressext
	      Specifies which extension to use on compressed logfiles, if com‐
	      pression is enabled.  The default follows that of the configured
	      compression command.

       compressoptions
	      Command  line  options may be passed to the compression program,
	      if one is in use.	 The default, for gzip, is "-9" (maximum  com‐
	      pression).

       copy   Make  a  copy  of the log file, but don't change the original at
	      all.  This option can be used, for instance, to make a  snapshot
	      of  the  current	log  file, or when some other utility needs to
	      truncate or parse the file.  When this option is used, the  cre‐
	      ate  option  will	 have  no effect, as the old log file stays in
	      place.

       copytruncate
	      Truncate the original log file in place after creating  a	 copy,
	      instead of moving the old log file and optionally creating a new
	      one.  It can be used when some program cannot be told  to	 close
	      its  logfile  and thus might continue writing (appending) to the
	      previous log file forever.  Note that there is a very small time
	      slice  between  copying the file and truncating it, so some log‐
	      ging data might be lost.	When this option is used,  the	create
	      option will have no effect, as the old log file stays in place.

       create mode owner group
	      Immediately after rotation (before the postrotate script is run)
	      the log file is created (with the same name as the log file just
	      rotated).	  mode	specifies  the	mode for the log file in octal
	      (the same as chmod(2)), owner specifies the user name  who  will
	      own  the	log  file,  and group specifies the group the log file
	      will belong to. Any of the log file attributes may  be  omitted,
	      in  which	 case  those  attributes for the new file will use the
	      same values as the original log file for the omitted attributes.
	      This option can be disabled using the nocreate option.

       daily  Log files are rotated every day.

       dateext
	      Archive  old versions of log files adding a daily extension like
	      YYYYMMDD instead of simply adding a number.

       dateformat
	      Specify the extension for dateext using the notation similar  to
	      strftime(3)  function. Only %Y %m and %d specifiers are allowed.
	      The default value is -%Y%m%d. Note that also the character sepa‐
	      rating  log  name	 from  the extension is part of the dateformat
	      string.

       delaycompress
	      Postpone compression of the previous log file to the next	 rota‐
	      tion  cycle.  This has only effect when used in combination with
	      compress.	 It can be used when some program cannot  be  told  to
	      close  its logfile and thus might continue writing to the previ‐
	      ous log file for some time.

       extension ext
	      Log files with ext extension can keep it after the rotation.  If
	      compression  is  used,  the compression extension (normally .gz)
	      appears  after  ext.  For	 example  you  have  a	logfile	 named
	      mylog.foo	 and  want  to	rotate it to mylog.1.foo.gz instead of
	      mylog.foo.1.gz.

       ifempty
	      Rotate the  log  file  even  if  it  is  empty,  overriding  the
	      notifempty option (ifempty is the default).

       include file_or_directory
	      Reads the file given as an argument as if it was included inline
	      where the include directive appears. If a	 directory  is	given,
	      most of the files in that directory are read in alphabetic order
	      before processing of the	including  file	 continues.  The  only
	      files  which  are	 ignored are files which are not regular files
	      (such as directories and named pipes) and files whose names  end
	      with  one	 of the taboo extensions, as specified by the tabooext
	      directive.  The include directive may not appear inside of a log
	      file definition.

       mail address
	      When a log is rotated out-of-existence, it is mailed to address.
	      If no mail should be generated by a particular log,  the	nomail
	      directive may be used.

       mailfirst
	      When using the mail command, mail the just-rotated file, instead
	      of the about-to-expire file.

       maillast
	      When using the mail  command,  mail  the	about-to-expire	 file,
	      instead of the just-rotated file (this is the default).

       maxage count
	      Remove  rotated  logs  older  than <count> days. The age is only
	      checked if the logfile is to be rotated. The files are mailed to
	      the configured address if maillast and mail are configured.

       minsize size
	      Log files are rotated when they grow bigger than size bytes, but
	      not before the  additionally  specified  time  interval  (daily,
	      weekly, monthly, or yearly).  The related size option is similar
	      except that it is mutually  exclusive  with  the	time  interval
	      options,	and  it	 causes log files to be rotated without regard
	      for the last rotation time.  When minsize is used, both the size
	      and timestamp of a log file are considered.

       missingok
	      If  the log file is missing, go on to the next one without issu‐
	      ing an error message. See also nomissingok.

       monthly
	      Log files are rotated the first time logrotate is run in a month
	      (this is normally on the first day of the month).

       nocompress
	      Old versions of log files are not compressed with gzip. See also
	      compress.

       nocopy Do not copy the original log file and leave it in place.	 (this
	      overrides the copy option).

       nocopytruncate
	      Do  not truncate the original log file in place after creating a
	      copy (this overrides the copytruncate option).

       nocreate
	      New log  files  are  not	created	 (this	overrides  the	create
	      option).

       nodelaycompress
	      Do not postpone compression of the previous log file to the next
	      rotation cycle (this overrides the delaycompress option).

       nodateext
	      Do not archive  old versions of log files	 with  date  extension
	      (this overrides the dateext option).

       nomail Don't mail old log files to any address.

       nomissingok
	      If  a  log  file	does  not  exist,  issue an error. This is the
	      default.

       noolddir
	      Logs are rotated in the same directory the log normally  resides
	      in (this overrides the olddir option).

       nosharedscripts
	      Run prerotate and postrotate scripts for every log file which is
	      rotated (this is the default, and	 overrides  the	 sharedscripts
	      option).	If  the scripts exit with error, the remaining actions
	      will not be executed for the affected log only.

       noshred
	      Do not use shred when deleting old log files. See also shred.

       notifempty
	      Do not rotate the log if it is empty (this overrides the ifempty
	      option).

       olddir directory
	      Logs  are	 moved into directory for rotation. The directory must
	      be on the same physical device as the log	 file  being  rotated,
	      and  is  assumed to be relative to the directory holding the log
	      file unless an absolute path name is specified. When this option
	      is  used	all old versions of the log end up in directory.  This
	      option may be overriden by the noolddir option.

       postrotate/endscript
	      The lines between postrotate and endscript (both of  which  must
	      appear  on  lines by themselves) are executed after the log file
	      is rotated. These directives may only appear  inside  of	a  log
	      file  definition.	  See prerotate as well. See sharedscripts and
	      nosharedscripts for error handling.

       prerotate/endscript
	      The lines between prerotate and endscript (both  of  which  must
	      appear  on lines by themselves) are executed before the log file
	      is rotated and only if the log will actually be  rotated.	 These
	      directives may only appear inside of a log file definition.  See
	      postrotate as well.  See sharedscripts and  nosharedscripts  for
	      error handling.

       firstaction/endscript
	      The  lines between firstaction and endscript (both of which must
	      appear on lines by themselves) are executed once before all  log
	      files that match the wildcarded pattern are rotated, before pre‐
	      rotate script is run and only if at least one log will  actually
	      be  rotated.  These  directives  may only appear inside of a log
	      file definition. If the script exits with error, no further pro‐
	      cessing is done. See lastaction as well.

       lastaction/endscript
	      The  lines  between lastaction and endscript (both of which must
	      appear on lines by themselves) are executed once after  all  log
	      files  that  match  the  wildcarded  pattern  are rotated, after
	      postrotate script is run	and  only  if  at  least  one  log  is
	      rotated.	These  directives may only appear inside of a log file
	      definition. If the script exits with error, just an  error  mes‐
	      sage  is	shown (as this is the last action). See firstaction as
	      well.

       rotate count
	      Log files are rotated <count>  times  before  being  removed  or
	      mailed to the address specified in a mail directive. If count is
	      0, old versions are removed rather than rotated.

       size size
	      Log files are rotated when they grow bigger than size bytes.  If
	      size  is	followed by M, the size if assumed to be in megabytes.
	      If the k is used, the size is in kilobytes. So  size  100,  size
	      100k, and size 100M are all valid.

       sharedscripts
	      Normally,	 prescript and postscript scripts are run for each log
	      which is rotated, meaning that a single script may be run multi‐
	      ple  times for log file entries which match multiple files (such
	      as the /var/log/news/* example). If sharedscript	is  specified,
	      the scripts are only run once, no matter how many logs match the
	      wildcarded pattern.  However, if none of the logs in the pattern
	      require  rotating,  the  scripts	will not be run at all. If the
	      scripts exit with error, the remaining actions will not be  exe‐
	      cuted  for  any  logs. This option overrides the nosharedscripts
	      option and implies create option.

       shred  Delete log files using  shred  -u	 instead  of  unlink().	  This
	      should  ensure  that logs are not readable after their scheduled
	      deletion; this is off by default.	 See also noshred.

       shredcycles count
	      Asks GNU shred to overwite log files count  times	 before	 dele‐
	      tion.  Without this option, shred's default will be used.

       start count
	      This is the number to use as the base for rotation. For example,
	      if you specify 0, the logs will be created with a	 .0  extension
	      as they are rotated from the original log files.	If you specify
	      9, log files will be created with a  .9,	skipping  0-8.	 Files
	      will  still  be  rotated	the number of times specified with the
	      count directive.

       su user group
	      Rotate log files with the specified user and  group  instead  of
	      using the default (usually root).

       tabooext [+] list
	      The  current  taboo  extension  list is changed (see the include
	      directive for information on the taboo extensions). If a +  pre‐
	      cedes  the  list of extensions, the current taboo extension list
	      is augmented, otherwise it is replaced. At  startup,  the	 taboo
	      extension	 list  contains .rpmorig, .rpmsave, ,v, .swp, .rpmnew,
	      ~, .cfsaved and .rhn-cfg-tmp-*.

       weekly Log files are rotated if the current weekday is  less  than  the
	      weekday  of  the last rotation or if more than a week has passed
	      since the last rotation. This is normally the same  as  rotating
	      logs on the first day of the week, but it works better if logro‐
	      tate is not run every night.

       yearly Log files are rotated if the current year is not the same as the
	      last rotation.

FILES
       /var/lib/logrotate.status  Default state file.
       /etc/logrotate.conf	  Configuration options.

SEE ALSO
       gzip(1)

AUTHORS
       Erik Troan <ewt@redhat.com>
       Preston Brown <pbrown@redhat.com>

Red Hat Linux			Wed Nov 5 2002			  LOGROTATE(8)
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