logrotate

manages log files by rotating, compressing, removing, and mailing them

TLDR

Force rotation manually

$ sudo logrotate --force [/etc/logrotate.conf]

Debug mode - show what would happen without making changes

$ logrotate --debug [/etc/logrotate.conf]

Verbose rotation

$ sudo logrotate --verbose [/etc/logrotate.conf]

Use a custom state file

$ sudo logrotate --state [/var/lib/logrotate/status] [/etc/logrotate.conf]

Log verbose output to file

$ sudo logrotate --verbose --log [/var/log/logrotate.log] [/etc/logrotate.conf]

SYNOPSIS

logrotate [options] configfile_

DESCRIPTION

logrotate manages log files by rotating, compressing, removing, and mailing them. It prevents logs from consuming excessive disk space and is typically run daily via cron.

PARAMETERS

-f, --force

Force rotation even if conditions are not met

-d, --debug

Debug mode; show what would happen without making changes

-v, --verbose

Verbose output

-s, --state FILE

Use alternate state file (default: /var/lib/logrotate/status)

-l, --log FILE

Log verbose output to file

--mail COMMAND

Use specified command to mail logs

INSTALL

sudo apt install logrotate

sudo dnf install logrotate

sudo pacman -S logrotate

sudo apk add logrotate

sudo zypper install logrotate

brew install logrotate

nix profile install nixpkgs#logrotate

CAVEATS

Configuration files in /etc/logrotate.d/ are included by the main config. The state file tracks when each log was last rotated. Typically run daily via cron or systemd timer.