Debian 10 Logrotate Not Rotating Application Logs

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

Application logs grow unbounded and increase disk-pressure risk over time.

Environment & Reproduction

Appears when logrotate policies are missing, invalid, or unable to signal services.

Root Cause Analysis

Rotation rules do not match log paths or post-rotate actions fail.

Quick Triage

Run dry-run rotation checks and inspect recent logrotate execution output.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Validate policy syntax, file ownership, and post-rotation command behavior.

Solution – Primary Fix

Fix logrotate policy and service reload hooks, then force a controlled rotation.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Use journald forwarding or centralized logging to reduce local rotation complexity.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Rotation occurs on schedule and log files remain within retention policy limits.

Rollback Plan

Restore previous rotation config if updated policy disrupts log ingestion.

Prevention & Hardening

Test rotation policies in CI and monitor log growth trends continuously.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Closely tied to /var capacity incidents and journald growth issues.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for Debian 10.

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Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Debian logrotate and operational logging lifecycle guidance.