Normally, log rotation in Linux is handled by daily cron job.
The default configuration file is /etc/logrotate.conf and service or server specific configurations are stored in /etc/logrotate.d directory.
Sometimes it needs to force rotation of some files manually.
Below you will find how to debug and force logrotate manually.
Cool Tip: Everything you should know about crontab: the format of crontab, cron job syntax and examples of how to run cron job every minute, 5 minutes, hour, day (daily), etc. Read more →
Force Log Rotation
Check what will happen when logrotate is forced (no changes will be made):
$ logrotate -vdf CONFIG_FILE
Manually force logrotate:
$ logrotate -vf CONFIG_FILE
The options passed to the logrotate command:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-d, --debug |
Dry run logrotate. |
-f, --force |
Force logrotate. |
-v, --verbose |
Shows more information. |
Info: With the -f, --force option the logrotate will force the rotation of files even if they do not meet the specified criteria such as minsize, age, etc.