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Test a logrotate configuration without rotating

harmless rootLogsdebian, ubuntu
Adjust the values, the command updates live
root@server
logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/nginx

With -d, logrotate reads the configuration, reports syntax errors and describes for each log file whether and why it would be rotated. Nothing is changed, and the state file stays untouched as well. The output contains lines like log does not need rotating that explain why a rotation does not happen.

Note: If everything looks plausible, logrotate -vf with the same file forces a real rotation.

Also searched as

  • test logrotate config
  • why is my log not rotating
  • check logrotate configuration
  • logrotate dry run

Related one-liners

All in Logs

Find the largest log files on the server

#du -ah /var/log 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -20
harmlessLogs

Force log rotation immediately

#logrotate -vf /etc/logrotate.d/nginx
cautionLogs

Search rotated and compressed logs too

#zgrep -h "Out of memory" /var/log/syslog*
harmlessLogs

Change service settings with an override

#systemctl edit mariadb
cautionsystemd

Check the Apache configuration for syntax errors

#apache2ctl configtest
harmlessApache

Check the current value of a PHP setting

$php -i | grep -i memory_limit
harmlessPHP

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