Man Logrotate en anglais
LOGROTATE(8)             System Administrator's Manual            LOGROTATE(8)



 

NAME


       logrotate - rotates, compresses, and mails system logs

 

SYNOPSIS


       logrotate [-dv] [-f|--force] [-s|--state statefile] 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  more  than  once  in  one day unless the criterion for that log is
       based on the log's size and logrotate is being run more than once  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     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 
              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 /usr/bin/mail -s.


       -s, --state 
              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, --verbose
              Display messages during rotation.


 

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 some 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/news.crit {
           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 file defines 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.    Each   is
       rotated  whenever it grows over 100k in size, and the old log 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 log file names may be
       enclosed in quotes (and that quotes are required if the  name  contains
       spaces).  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).

       If the directory /var/log/news does not exist, this will  cause  logro-
       tate  to report an error. This error cannot be stopped with the missin-
       gok directive.

       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(1).  See also compress.


       uncompresscmd
              Specifies  which  command  to  use to uncompress log files.  The
              default is gunzip(1).


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


       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 pare the file.  When this option is used, the create
              option will have no effect, as the old log file stays in  place.


       copytruncate
              Truncate  the original log file to zero size in place after cre-
              ating 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 truncat-
              ing it, so some logging 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.


       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 are given the final extension ext after  rotation.  If
              compression  is  used,  the compression extension (normally .gz)
              appears after ext.


       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  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.


       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).


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


       nomail Do not 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 directory they normally reside in (this
              overrides the olddir option).


       nosharedscripts
              Run prerotate and postrotate scripts  for  every  log  which  is
              rotated  (this  is  the default, and overrides the sharedscripts
              option).


       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 after the log file
              is rotated. These directives may only appear inside a  log  file
              definition.  See also prerotate.


       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 a log  file  definition.   See
              also postrotate.


       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. 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 a log file def-
              inition. 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.


       sharedscripts
              Normally,  prerotate and postrotate 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 sharedscripts 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. This
              option overrides the nosharedscripts option and  implies  create
              option.


       size size[G|M|k]
              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  G  suffix  is used, the size is in gigabytes.  If the k
              suffix is used, the size is in  kilobytes.  So  size  100,  size
              100k, size 100M and size 1G are all valid.


       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
              rotate directive.


       tabooext [+] list
              The current taboo extension list is  changed  (see  the  include
              directive  for information on the taboo extensions). If a + pre-
              cedes list, the current taboo extension  list  is  augmented  by
              list,  otherwise it is replaced. At startup, the taboo extension
              list contains .rpmorig, .rpmsave, .dpkg-dist, .dpkg-old,  .dpkg-
              new,  .disabled,  ,v,  .swp,  .rpmnew, and ~. The members of the
              list are separated by spaces, not commas.



       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 if logrotate is not being
              run every night a log rotation will happen at  the  first  valid
              opportunity.


 

FILES


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

 

SEE ALSO


       gzip(1)

 

NOTES


       The killall(1) program in Debian is found in the psmisc package.

 

AUTHORS


       Erik Troan 
       Preston Brown 
       Corrections and changes for Debian by Paul Martin 



4th Berkeley Distribution       Wed Nov 5 2002                    LOGROTATE(8)