Understanding Logrotate — The Silent Hero of Linux Logs

[Sascha]

Ever wondered how Linux systems manage logs so efficiently without filling up disk space?

That’s where Logrotate comes in — a simple yet powerful tool that automatically handles log file rotation, compression, and cleanup.

What Logrotate Does:

1. 
   Rotates logs based on size or time
   
   
2. 
   Compresses old logs to save disk space
   
   
3. 
   Deletes outdated logs automatically
   
   
4. 
   Keeps your services running smoothly — no restarts needed!
   

Example:
If your application writes to /var/log/app.log, Logrotate can:

Rename it to app.log.1, app.log.2.gz, etc.

Create a new, clean app.log for fresh entries

Remove older files after a few rotations

Пожалуйста Авторизируйтесь или Зарегистрируйтесь для просмотра скрытого текста.

Why It Matters:

In production environments — especially with Docker, web servers, or microservices — logs can grow to gigabytes quickly.
Without Logrotate, this can lead to disk full errors and potential downtime.
With it, space is freed automatically — no system or service restart required.

Integrate Logrotate with Docker volumes or systemd units for complete automation across environments.

> “Logrotate silently keeps your servers clean, efficient, and logging — without ever needing a restart.”

Источник:

Пожалуйста Авторизируйтесь или Зарегистрируйтесь для просмотра скрытого текста.