-?

Prints help message.

-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

Tells logrotate to force the rotation, even if it doesn't think this is necessary. Sometimes this is useful after adding newentries 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.

-l

Tells logrotate to log verbose output into the log_file. The verbose output logged to that file is the same as when runninglogrotate with -v switch. The log file is overwritten on every logrotate execution.

-m

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 defaultmail command is /bin/mail -s.

-s

Tells logrotate to use an alternate state file. This is useful if logrotate is being run as a different user for various setsof log files. The default state file is /var/lib/logrotate/status.

--usage

Prints a short usage message.

-v

Turns on verbose mode, ie. display messages during rotation.CONFIGURATION FILElogrotate reads everything about the log files it should be handling from the series of configuration files specified on the commandline. Each configuration file can set global options (local definitions override global ones, and later definitions override earlierones) and specify logfiles to rotate. A simple configuration file looks like this:# sample logrotate configuration filecompress/var/log/messages {rotate 5weeklypostrotate/usr/bin/killall -HUP syslogdendscript}"/var/log/httpd/access.log" /var/log/httpd/error.log {rotate 5mail www@my.orgsize 100ksharedscriptspostrotate/usr/bin/killall -HUP httpdendscript}/var/log/news/* {monthlyrotate 2olddir /var/log/news/oldmissingokpostrotatekill -HUP `cat /var/run/inn.pid`endscriptnocompress}~/log/*.log {}The first few lines set global options; in the example, logs are compressed after they are rotated. Note that comments may appearanywhere in the config file as long as the first non-whitespace character on the line is a #.Values are separated from directives by whitespace and/or an optional =. Numbers must be specified in a format understood by str‐toul(3).The next section of the config file defines how to handle the log file /var/log/messages. The log will go through five weekly rota‐tions before being removed. After the log file has been rotated (but before the old version of the log has been compressed), the com‐mand /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 itgrows over 100k in size, and the old logs files are mailed (uncompressed) to www@my.org after going through 5 rotations, rather thanbeing 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 namecontains spaces). Normal shell quoting rules apply, with ', ", and \ characters supported.The next 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.The last section uses tilde expansion to rotate log files in the home directory of the current user. This is only available, if yourglob library supports tilde expansion. GNU glob does support this.Please use wildcards with caution. If you specify *, logrotate will rotate all files, including previously rotated ones. A wayaround 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:compressOld versions of log files are compressed with gzip(1) by default. See also nocompress.compresscmdSpecifies which command to use to compress log files. The default is gzip(1). See also compress.uncompresscmdSpecifies which command to use to uncompress log files. The default is gunzip(1).compressextSpecifies which extension to use on compressed logfiles, if compression is enabled. The default follows that of the config‐ured compression command.compressoptionsCommand line options may be passed to the compression program, if one is in use. The default, for gzip(1), is "-6" (biasedtowards high compression at the expense of speed). If you use a different compression command, you may need to change thecompressoptions to match.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 snapshotof the current log file, or when some other utility needs to truncate or parse the file. When this option is used, the createoption will have no effect, as the old log file stays in place.copytruncateTruncate the original log file to zero size in place after creating a copy, instead of moving the old log file and optionallycreating 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 trun‐cating it, so some logging data might be lost. When this option is used, the create option will have no effect, as the oldlog file stays in place.create mode owner group, create owner groupImmediately after rotation (before the postrotate script is run) the log file is created (with the same name as the log filejust rotated). mode specifies the mode for the log file in octal (the same as chmod(2)), owner specifies the user name whowill own the log file, and group specifies the group the log file will belong to. Any of the log file attributes may be omit‐ted, in which case those attributes for the new file will use the same values as the original log file for the omittedattributes. This option can be disabled using the nocreate option.createolddir mode owner groupIf the directory specified by olddir directive does not exist, it is created. mode specifies the mode for the olddir directoryin octal (the same as chmod(2)), owner specifies the user name who will own the olddir directory, and group specifies thegroup the olddir directory will belong to. This option can be disabled using the nocreateolddir option.daily Log files are rotated every day.dateextArchive old versions of log files adding a date extension like YYYYMMDD instead of simply adding a number. The extension maybe configured using the dateformat and dateyesterday options.dateformat format_stringSpecify the extension for dateext using the notation similar to strftime(3) function. Only %Y %m %d %H %M %S %V and %s speci‐fiers are allowed. The default value is -%Y%m%d except hourly, which uses -%Y%m%d%H as default value. Note that also thecharacter separating log name from the extension is part of the dateformat string. The system clock must be set past Sep 9th2001 for %s to work correctly. Note that the datestamps generated by this format must be lexically sortable (i.e., first theyear, 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 itis later). This is because when using the rotate option, logrotate sorts all rotated filenames to find out which logfiles areolder and should be removed.dateyesterdayUse yesterday's instead of today's date to create the dateext extension, so that the rotated log file has a date in its namethat is the same as the timestamps within it.delaycompressPostpone compression of the previous log file to the next rotation cycle. This only has effect when used in combination withcompress. 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 extLog 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 ofmylog.foo.1.gz.hourly Log files are rotated every hour. Note that usually logrotate is configured to be run by cron daily. You have to change thisconfiguration and run logrotate hourly to be able to really rotate logs hourly.addextension extLog files are given the final extension ext after rotation. If the original file already ends with ext, the extension is notduplicated, but merely moved to the end, i.e. both filename and filenameext would get rotated to filename.1ext. If compressionis used, the compression extension (normally .gz) appears after ext.ifemptyRotate the log file even if it is empty, overriding the notifempty option (ifempty is the default).include file_or_directoryReads 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 onlyfiles which are ignored are files which are not regular files (such as directories and named pipes) and files whose names endwith one of the taboo extensions or patterns, as specified by the tabooext or taboopat directives, respectively.mail addressWhen a log is rotated out of existence, it is mailed to address. If no mail should be generated by a particular log, thenomail directive may be used.mailfirstWhen using the mail command, mail the just-rotated file, instead of the about-to-expire file.maillastWhen using the mail command, mail the about-to-expire file, instead of the just-rotated file (this is the default).minage countDo not rotate logs which are less than <count> days old.maxage countRemove rotated logs older than <count> days. The age is only checked if the logfile is to be rotated. The files are mailed tothe configured address if maillast and mail are configured.maxsize sizeLog 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 intervaloptions, and it causes log files to be rotated without regard for the last rotation time. When maxsize is used, both the sizeand timestamp of a log file are considered.minsize sizeLog 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 intervaloptions, and it causes log files to be rotated without regard for the last rotation time. When minsize is used, both the sizeand timestamp of a log file are considered.missingokIf the log file is missing, go on to the next one without issuing an error message. See also nomissingok.monthlyLog files are rotated the first time logrotate is run in a month (this is normally on the first day of the month).nocompressOld 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).nocopytruncateDo not truncate the original log file in place after creating a copy (this overrides the copytruncate option).nocreateNew log files are not created (this overrides the create option).nocreateolddirolddir directory is not created by logrotate when it does not exist.nodelaycompressDo not postpone compression of the previous log file to the next rotation cycle (this overrides the delaycompress option).nodateextDo not archive old versions of log files with date extension (this overrides the dateext option).nomail Do not mail old log files to any address.nomissingokIf a log file does not exist, issue an error. This is the default.noolddirLogs are rotated in the directory they normally reside in (this overrides the olddir option).nosharedscriptsRun prerotate and postrotate scripts for every log file which is rotated (this is the default, and overrides the sharedscriptsoption). The absolute path to the log file is passed as first argument to the script. If the scripts exit with error, theremaining actions will not be executed for the affected log only.noshredDo not use shred when deleting old log files. See also shred.notifemptyDo not rotate the log if it is empty (this overrides the ifempty option).olddir directoryLogs are moved into directory for rotation. The directory must be on the same physical device as the log file being rotated,unless copy, copytruncate or renamecopy option is used. The directory is assumed to be relative to the directory holding thelog 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/endscriptThe 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 tothe log file is passed as first argument to the script. If sharedscripts is specified, whole pattern is passed to the script.See also prerotate. See sharedscripts and nosharedscripts for error handling.prerotate/endscriptThe 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 logfile definition. Normally, the absolute path to the log file is passed as first argument to the script. If sharedscripts isspecified, whole pattern is passed to the script. See also postrotate. See sharedscripts and nosharedscripts for error han‐dling.firstaction/endscriptThe 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 leastone log will actually be rotated. These directives may only appear inside a log file definition. Whole pattern is passed tothe script as first argument. If the script exits with error, no further processing is done. See also lastaction.lastaction/endscriptThe 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 leastone log is rotated. These directives may only appear inside a log file definition. Whole pattern is passed to the script asfirst argument. If the script exits with error, just an error message is shown (as this is the last action). See also firstac‐tion.preremove/endscriptThe lines between preremove and endscript (both of which must appear on lines by themselves) are executed (using /bin/sh) oncejust before removal of a log file. The logrotate will pass the name of file which is soon to be removed. See also firstac‐tion.rotate countLog 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. Default is 0.renamecopyLog file is renamed to temporary filename in the same directory by adding ".tmp" extension to it. After that, postrotatescript is run and log file is copied from temporary filename to final filename. This allows storing rotated log files on thedifferent devices using olddir directive. In the end, temporary filename is removed.size sizeLog files are rotated only if they grow bigger than 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, size100M and size 100G are all valid.sharedscriptsNormally, prerotate and postrotate scripts are run for each log which is rotated and the absolute path to the log file ispassed as first argument to the script. That means a single script may be run multiple times for log file entries which matchmultiple files (such as the /var/log/news/* example). If sharedscripts is specified, the scripts are only run once, no matterhow many logs match the wildcarded pattern, and whole pattern is passed to them. However, if none of the logs in the patternrequire 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 scheduleddeletion; this is off by default. See also noshred.shredcycles countAsks GNU shred(1) to overwrite log files count times before deletion. Without this option, shred's default will be used.start countThis is the number to use as the base for rotation. For example, if you specify 0, the logs will be created with a .0 exten‐sion 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.su user groupRotate log files set under this user and group instead of using default user/group (usually root). user specifies the username used for rotation and group specifies the group used for rotation. If the user/group you specify here does not have suf‐ficient privilege to make files with the ownership you've specified in a create instruction, it will cause an error.tabooext [+] listThe 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 tabooextension list contains .rpmsave, .rpmorig, ~, .disabled, .dpkg-old, .dpkg-dist, .dpkg-new, .cfsaved, .ucf-old, .ucf-dist,.ucf-new, .rpmnew, .swp, .cfsaved, .rhn-cfg-tmp-*taboopat [+] listThe current taboo glob pattern list is changed (see the include directive for information on the taboo extensions and pat‐terns). If a + precedes the list of patterns, the current taboo pattern list is augmented, otherwise it is replaced. Atstartup, the taboo pattern list is empty.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 passedsince the last rotation. This is normally the same as rotating logs on the first day of the week, but it works better iflogrotate 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.