Linux Logrotate Config Generator

Create safe, production-ready log rotation policies for Nginx, Apache, or custom Linux applications to prevent full disks.

Log File Path(s)

Target specific files or use *.log to match all logs in a folder.

Frequency

How often to trigger a rotation cycle.

Max Size (Safety)

Force rotation early if file exceeds this size.

Max Files to Keep

Oldest files are deleted after this count.

Permissions (User/Group)

Ownership of the new empty log file created after rotation.

Post-Rotate Command

A command to run after rotation. Usually reloads the service so it writes to the new file.

Options

Compress (gzip) Compresses old logs to save ~90% disk space.

Delay Compress Wait one cycle before compressing. Vital if the app keeps writing to the old file briefly.

Missing OK Do not throw an error if the log file doesn't exist.

Not If Empty Skip rotation if the log file is empty (0 bytes).

Copytruncate For apps that can't reload. Copies content and truncates original. Can lose data.

Log Rotation Explained

🚫 The Problem: The "Full Disk" Crash

Applications write logs continuously. If left unchecked, a single access.log can grow to 50GB+ over months. Eventually, your server runs out of disk space, the database locks up, and your application crashes. You cannot simply delete the file while the app is running, or logging will stop completely.

✅ The Solution: Automated Hygiene

Logrotate is a Linux system utility that runs in the background. It automatically Renames your current log file, Creates a fresh empty one for the app to write to, Compresses the old data to save space, and Deletes files that are too old.

How Rotation Works (Visualized)

Current
app.log
(Writing)

→

Yesterday
app.log.1
(Renamed)

→

Older
app.log.2.gz
(Compressed)

→

Oldest
app.log.14.gz
(Expired)

→

Deleted
Cleanup

Installation Guide

1. Create a file in the logrotate configuration directory:

sudo nano /etc/logrotate.d/myapp

2. Paste the code generated above and save.

3. Test for syntax errors (Dry Run):

sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/myapp