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 criterion 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 is important.  Normally,
       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, --debug
	      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 a logrotate config file, or if	 old  log  files  have
	      been removed by hand, as the new files will be created, and log-
	      ging will continue 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.


       --?, --help
	      -Prints help message.


       -v, --verbose
	      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
	       /usr/bin/killall -HUP syslogd
	   endscript
       }

       "/var/log/httpd/access.log" /var/log/httpd/error.log {
	   rotate 5
	   mail www@my.org
	   size 100k
	   sharedscripts
	   postrotate
	       /usr/bin/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:


       compress
	      Old  versions  of	 log  files  are  compressed  with  gzip(1) 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(1), is "-9" (maximum
	      compression).


       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, create 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.


       createolddir mode owner group
	      If the directory specified by olddir directive does  not	exist,
	      it  is created. mode specifies the mode for the olddir directory
	      in octal (the same as chmod(2)), owner specifies the  user  name
	      who will own the olddir directory, and group specifies the group
	      the olddir directory will belong to. This option can be disabled
	      using the nocreateolddir 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. The extension may be
	      configured using the dateformat option.


       dateformat format_string
	      Specify  the extension for dateext using the notation similar to
	      strftime(3) function. Only  %Y  %m  %d  and  %s  specifiers  are
	      allowed.	The default value is -%Y%m%d. Note that also the char-
	      acter separating log name from the  extension  is	 part  of  the
	      dateformat  string.  The	system	clock must be set past Sep 9th
	      2001 for %s to work correctly.  Note that the datestamps	gener-
	      ated  by this format must be lexically sortable (i.e., first the
	      year, then the month then the day. e.g., 2001/12/01 is  ok,  but
	      01/12/2001 is not, since 01/11/2002 would sort lower while it is
	      later).  This is because when using the rotate option, logrotate
	      sorts all rotated filenames to find out which logfiles are older
	      and should be removed.


       delaycompress
	      Postpone compression of the previous log file to the next	 rota-
	      tion  cycle.  This only has 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	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.


       maxsize size
	      Log files are rotated when they grow bigger than size bytes even
	      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 maxsize is used,  both	the  size  and
	      timestamp of a log file are considered.


       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. 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).


       nocreateolddir
	      olddir directory is not created by logrotate when	 it  does  not
	      exist.


       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).	The  absolute  path to the log file is passed as first
	      argument to the script. 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 overridden by the noolddir option.


       postrotate/endscript
	      The lines between postrotate and endscript (both of  which  must
	      appear  on  lines	 by  themselves)  are executed (using /bin/sh)
	      after the log file is rotated. These directives may only	appear
	      inside a log file definition. Normally, the absolute path to the
	      log file is passed as first argument to the script.  If  shared-
	      scripts  is  specified,  whole  pattern is passed to the script.
	      See also prerotate. 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  (using  /bin/sh)
	      before the log file is rotated and only if the log will actually
	      be rotated. These directives may only appear inside a  log  file
	      definition.  Normally,  the  absolute  path  to  the log file is
	      passed as first argument to the script.	If   sharedscripts  is
	      specified,  whole	 pattern  is  passed  to the script.  See also
	      postrotate.  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 (using /bin/sh) once
	      before  all  log	files  that  match  the wildcarded pattern are
	      rotated, before prerotate script is run and only if at least one
	      log  will actually be rotated.  These directives may only appear
	      inside a log file definition. Whole pattern  is  passed  to  the
	      script  as  first	 argument.  If the script exits with error, no
	      further processing is done. See also lastaction.


       lastaction/endscript
	      The lines between lastaction and endscript (both of  which  must
	      appear on lines by themselves) are executed (using /bin/sh) 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	a  log
	      file  definition. Whole pattern is passed to the script as first
	      argument. If the script exits with error, just an error  message
	      is shown (as this is the last action). See also firstaction.


       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 only if they grow bigger then size bytes.
	      If size is followed by k, the size is assumed  to	 be  in	 kilo-
	      bytes.   If the M is used, the size is in megabytes, and if G is
	      used, the size is in gigabytes. So size  100,  size  100k,  size
	      100M and size 100Gare all valid.


       sharedscripts
	      Normally,	 prerotate and postrotate scripts are run for each log
	      which is rotated and the absolute path to the log file is passed
	      as  first argument to the script. That means a single script may
	      be run multiple times for log file entries which match  multiple
	      files (such as the /var/log/news/* example). If sharedscripts is
	      specified, the scripts are only run once,	 no  matter  how  many
	      logs  match  the wildcarded pattern, and whole pattern is passed
	      to them.	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 executed  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(1) 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.


       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)

       <http://fedorahosted.org/logrotate/>

AUTHORS
       Erik Troan, Preston Brown, Jan Kaluza.

       <logrotate-owner@fedoraproject.org>




Linux				Wed Nov 5 2002			  LOGROTATE(8)