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1 perry 1 LOGROTATE
2 !!!LOGROTATE
3 NAME
4 SYNOPSIS
5 DESCRIPTION
6 OPTIONS
7 CONFIGURATION FILE
8 FILES
9 SEE ALSO
10 NOTES
11 AUTHORS
12 ----
13 !!NAME
14
15
16 logrotate - rotates, compresses, and mails system logs
17 !!SYNOPSIS
18
19
20 __logrotate__ [[__-dv__] [[__-f__|__--force__]
21 [[__-s__|__--state__ ''statefile'']
22 ''config_file'' ..
23 !!DESCRIPTION
24
25
26 __logrotate__ is designed to ease administration of
27 systems that generate large numbers of log files. It allows
28 automatic rotation, compression, removal, and mailing of log
29 files. Each log file may be handled daily, weekly, monthly,
30 or when it grows too large.
31
32
33 Normally, __logrotate__ is run as a daily cron job. It
34 will not modify a log more than once in one day unless the
35 criterion for that log is based on the log's size and
36 __logrotate__ is being run more than once each day, or
37 unless the __-f__ or __--force__ option is
38 used.
39
40
41 Any number of config files may be given on the command line.
42 Later config files may override the options given in earlier
43 files, so the order in which the __logrotate__ config
44 files are listed is important. Normally, a single config
45 file which includes any other config files which are needed
46 should be used. See below for more information on how to use
47 the __include__ directive to accomplish this. If a
48 directory is given on the command line, every file in that
49 directory is used as a config file.
50
51
52 If no command line arguments are given, __logrotate__
53 will print version and copyright information, along with a
54 short usage summary. If any errors occur while rotating
55 logs, __logrotate__ will exit with non-zero
56 status.
57 !!OPTIONS
58
59
60 __-d__
61
62
63 Turns on debug mode and implies __-v__. In debug mode, no
64 changes will be made to the logs or to the __logrotate__
65 state file.
66
67
68 __-f__, __--force__
69
70
71 Tells __logrotate__ to force the rotation, even if it
72 doesn't think this is necessary. Sometimes this is useful
73 after adding new entries to a __logrotate__ config file,
74 or if old log files have been removed by hand, as the new
75 files will be created, and logging will continue
76 correctly.
77
78
79 __-s__, __--state__ ''statefile''
80
81
82 Tells __logrotate__ to use an alternate state file. This
83 is useful if __logrotate__ is being run as different
84 users for various sets of log files. The default state file
85 is ''/var/lib/logrotate/status''.
86
87
88 __--usage__
89
90
91 Prints a short usage message.
92
93
94 __-v__, __--verbose__
95
96
97 Display messages during rotation.
98 !!CONFIGURATION FILE
99
100
101 __logrotate__ reads everything about the log files it
102 should be handling from the series of configuration files
103 specified on the command line. Each configuration file can
104 set global options (local definitions override global ones,
105 and later definitions override earlier ones) and specify
106 some logfiles to rotate. A simple configuration file looks
107 like this:
108
109
110 # sample logrotate configuration file
111 compress
112 /var/log/messages {
113 rotate 5
114 weekly
115 postrotate
116 /sbin/killall -HUP syslogd
117 endscript
118 }
119 The first few lines set global options; in the example, logs are compressed 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 __#__.
120
121
122 The next section of the config file defines how to handle
123 the log file ''/var/log/messages''. The log will go
124 through five weekly rotations before being removed. After
125 the log file has been rotated (but before the old version of
126 the log has been compressed), the command ''/sbin/killall
127 -HUP syslogd'' will be executed.
128
129
130 The next section defines the parameters for both
131 ''/var/log/httpd/access.log'' and
132 ''/var/log/httpd/error.log''. Each is rotated whenever it
133 grows over 100k in size, and the old logs files are mailed
134 (uncompressed) to www@my.org after going through 5
135 rotations, rather then being removed. The
136 __sharedscripts__ means that the __postrotate__ script
137 will only be run once, not once for each log which is
138 rotated. Note that log file names may be enclosed in quotes
139 (and that quotes are required if the name contains spaces).
140 Normal shell quoting rules apply, with __'__,
141 ____, and __\__ characters
142 supported.
143
144
145 The last section defines the parameters for all of the files
146 in ''/var/log/news''. Each file is rotated on a monthly
147 basis. This is considered a single rotation directive and if
148 errors occur for more then one file, the log files are not
149 compressed.
150
151
152 If the directory ''/var/log/news'' does not exist, this
153 will cause __logrotate__ to report an error. This error
154 cannot be stopped with the __missingok__
155 directive.
156
157
158 Here is more information on the directives which may be
159 included in a __logrotate__ configuration
160 file:
161
162
163 __compress__
164
165
166 Old versions of log files are compressed with gzip(1)
167 by default. See also __nocompress__.
168
169
170 __compresscmd__
171
172
173 Specifies which command to use to compress log files. The
174 default is gzip(1). See also
175 __compress__.
176
177
178 __uncompresscmd__
179
180
181 Specifies which command to use to uncompress log files. The
182 default is gunzip(1).
183
184
185 __compressext__
186
187
188 Specifies which extension to use on compressed logfiles, if
189 compression is enabled. The default follows that of the
190 configured compression command.
191
192
193 __compressoptions__
194
195
196 Command line options may be passed to the compression
197 program, if one is in use. The default, for __gzip__, is
198 __
199
200
201 __copytruncate__
202
203
204 Truncate the original log file to zero size in place after
205 creating a copy, instead of moving the old log file and
206 optionally creating a new one. It can be used when some
207 program cannot be told to close its logfile and thus might
208 continue writing (appending) to the previous log file
209 forever. Note that there is a very small time slice between
210 copying the file and truncating it, so some logging data
211 might be lost. When this option is used, the __create__
212 option will have no effect, as the old log file stays in
213 place.
214
215
216 __create__ ''mode owner group''
217
218
219 Immediately after rotation (before the __postrotate__
220 script is run) the log file is created (with the same name
221 as the log file just rotated). ''mode'' specifies the
222 mode for the log file in octal (the same as
223 chmod(2)), ''owner'' specifies the user name who
224 will own the log file, and ''group'' specifies the group
225 the log file will belong to. Any of the log file attributes
226 may be omitted, in which case those attributes for the new
227 file will use the same values as the original log file for
228 the omitted attributes. This option can be disabled using
229 the __nocreate__ option.
230
231
232 __daily__
233
234
235 Log files are rotated every day.
236
237
238 __delaycompress__
239
240
241 Postpone compression of the previous log file to the next
242 rotation cycle. This only has effect when used in
243 combination with __compress__. It can be used when some
244 program cannot be told to close its logfile and thus might
245 continue writing to the previous log file for some
246 time.
247
248
249 __extension__ ''ext''
250
251
252 Log files are given the final extension ''ext'' after
253 rotation. If compression is used, the compression extension
254 (normally ''.gz'') appears after ''ext''.
255
256
257 __ifempty__
258
259
260 Rotate the log file even if it is empty, overriding the
261 __notifempty__ option (__ifempty__ is the
262 default).
263
264
265 __include__ ''file_or_directory''
266
267
268 Reads the file given as an argument as if it was included
269 inline where the __include__ directive appears. If a
270 directory is given, most of the files in that directory are
271 read before processing of the including file continues. The
272 only files which are ignored are files which are not regular
273 files (such as directories and named pipes) and files whose
274 names end with one of the taboo extensions, as specified by
275 the __tabooext__ directive. The __include__ directive
276 may not appear inside a log file definition.
277
278
279 __mail__ ''address''
280
281
282 When a log is rotated out of existence, it is mailed to
283 ''address''. If no mail should be generated by a
284 particular log, the __nomail__ directive may be
285 used.
286
287
288 __mailfirst__
289
290
291 When using the __mail__ command, mail the just-rotated
292 file, instead of the about-to-expire file.
293
294
295 __maillast__
296
297
298 When using the __mail__ command, mail the about-to-expire
299 file, instead of the just-rotated file (this is the
300 default).
301
302
303 __missingok__
304
305
306 If the log file is missing, go on to the next one without
307 issuing an error message. See also
308 __nomissingok__.
309
310
311 __monthly__
312
313
314 Log files are rotated the first time __logrotate__ is run
315 in a month (this is normally on the first day of the
316 month).
317
318
319 __nocompress__
320
321
322 Old versions of log files are not compressed. See also
323 __compress__.
324
325
326 __nocopytruncate__
327
328
329 Do not truncate the original log file in place after
330 creating a copy (this overrides the __copytruncate__
331 option).
332
333
334 __nocreate__
335
336
337 New log files are not created (this overrides the
338 __create__ option).
339
340
341 __nodelaycompress__
342
343
344 Do not postpone compression of the previous log file to the
345 next rotation cycle (this overrides the __delaycompress__
346 option).
347
348
349 __nomail__
350
351
352 Do not mail old log files to any address.
353
354
355 __nomissingok__
356
357
358 If a log file does not exist, issue an error. This is the
359 default.
360
361
362 __noolddir__
363
364
365 Logs are rotated in the directory they normally reside in
366 (this overrides the __olddir__ option).
367
368
369 __nosharedscripts__
370
371
372 Run __prerotate__ and __postrotate__ scripts for every
373 log that is rotated (this is the default, and overrides the
374 __sharedscripts__ option).
375
376
377 __notifempty__
378
379
380 Do not rotate the log if it is empty (this overrides the
381 __ifempty__ option).
382
383
384 __olddir__ ''directory''
385
386
387 Logs are moved into ''directory'' for rotation. The
388 ''directory'' must be on the same physical device as the
389 log file being rotated. When this option is used all old
390 versions of the log end up in ''directory''. This option
391 may be overridden by the __noolddir__
392 option.
393
394
395 __postrotate__/__endscript__
396
397
398 The lines between __postrotate__ and __endscript__
399 (both of which must appear on lines by themselves) are
400 executed after the log file is rotated. These directives may
401 only appear inside a log file definition. See also
402 __prerotate__.
403
404
405 __prerotate__/__endscript__
406
407
408 The lines between __prerotate__ and __endscript__
409 (both of which must appear on lines by themselves) are
410 executed before the log file is rotated. These directives
411 may only appear inside a log file definition. See also
412 __postrotate__.
413
414
415 __rotate__ ''count''
416
417
418 Log files are rotated ''count'' times before being
419 removed or mailed to the address specified in a __mail__
420 directive. If ''count'' is 0, old versions are removed
421 rather then rotated.
422
423
424 __sharedscripts__
425
426
427 Normally, __prerotate__ and __postrotate__ scripts are
428 run for each log which is rotated, meaning that a single
429 script may be run multiple times for log file entries which
430 match multiple files (such as the ''/var/log/news/*''
431 example). If __sharedscript__ is specified, the scripts
432 are only run once, no matter how many logs match the
433 wildcarded pattern. A side effect of this option is that the
434 scripts are always executed, even if no logs are rotated. If
435 this directive is not specified, the scripts are run only if
436 logs are actually rotated. This overrides the
437 __nosharedscripts__ option.
438
439
440 __size__ ''size''[[__M__|__k__]
441
442
443 Log files are rotated when they grow bigger than ''size''
444 bytes. If ''size'' is followed by __M__, the size is
445 assumed to be in megabytes. If __k__ is used, the size is
446 in kilobytes. So __size 100__, __size 100k__, and
447 __size 100M__ are all valid.
448
449
450 __tabooext__ [[__+__] ''list''
451
452
453 The current taboo extension list is changed (see the
454 __include__ directive for information on the taboo
455 extensions). If __+__ precedes ''list'', the current
456 taboo extension list is augmented by ''list'', otherwise
457 it is replaced. At startup, the taboo extension list
458 contains .rpmorig, .rpmsave, .dpkg-dist, .dpkg-old,
459 .dpkg-new, .disabled, ,v, .swp, .rpmnew, and ~. The members
460 of the list are separated by spaces, not
461 commas.
462
463
464 __weekly__
465
466
467 Log files are rotated if the current weekday is less than
468 the weekday of the last rotation or if more than a week has
469 passed since the last rotation. This is normally the same as
470 rotating logs on the first day of the week, but works better
471 if __logrotate__ is not run every night.
472 !!FILES
473
474
475 ''/var/lib/logrotate/status''
476
477
478 Default state file.
479
480
481 ''/etc/logrotate.conf'' Configuration
482 options.
483 !!SEE ALSO
484
485
486 gzip(1)
487 !!NOTES
488
489
490 The killall(1) program in Debian is found in the
491 ''psmisc'' package.
492 !!AUTHORS
493
494
495 Erik Troan
496 ----
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