Configure logrotate on Slackware (base)

1. Why use logrotate

• Avoid huge logs
• Keep history for debugging
• Reduce full-disk risk

2. Global config

Check the main file (typically):

/etc/logrotate.conf

Also check included directories (if present).

3. Example config for a custom log

/var/log/myapp/*.log {
    weekly
    rotate 8
    compress
    missingok
    notifempty
    create 0640 root root
    sharedscripts
    postrotate
        /etc/rc.d/rc.myapp restart >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
    endscript
}

4. Meaning of key options

• weekly: weekly rotation
• rotate 8: keep 8 archives
• compress: compress rotated logs
• missingok: do not fail if the file is missing
• notifempty: do not rotate empty files

5. Manual test

logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.conf   # debug, no changes
logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.conf   # force rotation

6. Checks

ls -lh /var/log/myapp
tail -n 50 /var/log/messages

7. Common errors

• Wrong permissions on logs or directories
• Wrong path in the rule
• Failing postrotate command
• Service not reopening the log file

Quick checklist

[ ] logrotate rule created
[ ] Test with -d completed
[ ] Test with -f completed (if appropriate)
[ ] create permissions verified
[ ] postrotate checked

Back to the Linux HowTo section