Logrotate Overview and Configuration

Summary

The meeting provided an overview and detailed discussion around the configuration and operation of the logrotate utility, which automates the rotation, compression, and removal or mailing of system log files.
Attendees reviewed command-line options, configuration file structures, supported directives, and scripting integration, along with key files and reference resources.
No major decisions or action items were generated, as the meeting served primarily as a technical walkthrough and Q&A platform for logrotate setup and troubleshooting.

(No action items were assigned during this meeting.)

logrotate is used to automatically rotate, compress, and manage log files, especially for systems generating a large number of logs.
Typical use involves running logrotate as a daily cron job, handling log files according to specified criteria (time, size, etc.).
Multiple configuration files can be supplied; order of precedence is important.

logrotate offers options such as --force, --debug, --state, --skip-state-lock, --wait-for-state-lock, --verbose, --log, and --mail.
Debug and force options help with troubleshooting and testing new configurations.
State file handling and locking mechanisms were explained to avoid parallel executions and manage multiple runs/users.

logrotate uses configuration files to define how and when logs are rotated, compressed, removed, or mailed.
Global options may be set, but can be overridden by local definitions or later file inclusions.
Wildcards and file patterns are supported for batch operations, though caution is advised when using them.

Directives control rotation (frequency, count, target directories), file handling (creation/deletion/copying), compression settings, naming conventions, mailing, and script execution.
Rotation options include time-based (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), size-based, and combined approaches (minsize, maxsize).
File selection and error handling options (missingok, ifempty, etc.) can be customized.
Compression can be adjusted, including tool choice, options, and delay of compression.
Filenames, extensions, and timestamping of rotated logs are configurable.
Scripts (prerotate, postrotate, preremove, etc.) can be tied to rotation actions for advanced management.
Security precautions, particularly around file permissions and the include directive, were highlighted.

Scripts embedded in the configuration can perform actions before or after rotation, or upon removal.
Shared vs. individual script execution for wildcarded patterns is configurable.
Scripts inherit the environment and are executed under the invoking user's privileges.

File ownership for rotated logs can be set via the su directive, supporting both textual and numeric user/group IDs.

Default state and configuration files: /var/lib/logrotate/status and /etc/logrotate.conf.
Reference was made to related utilities: chmod, gunzip, gzip, mail, shred, strftime, strtoul, along with the logrotate GitHub repository.