Crontab Script for Rotating Log Files and Archiving

Log Rotation and Archiving with Crontab 🔄

Automating log rotation and archiving is essential for maintaining system health and managing disk space. Here's how to set up a crontab script to achieve this:

1. Create the Log Rotation Script 📜

First, create a script (e.g., /usr/local/bin/rotate_logs.sh) with the following content:

#!/bin/bash

# Configuration
LOG_DIR="/var/log"
LOG_PREFIX="app"
ARCHIVE_DIR="/var/log/archive"
DAYS_TO_KEEP=7
DATE=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")

# Ensure archive directory exists
mkdir -p "${ARCHIVE_DIR}"

# Rotate logs
find "${LOG_DIR}" -type f -name "${LOG_PREFIX}*.log" -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' log_file; do
  if [ -f "${log_file}" ]; then
    # Compress and move the log file to archive directory
    gzip -c "${log_file}" > "${ARCHIVE_DIR}/${LOG_PREFIX}_${DATE}_$(basename "${log_file}").gz"

    # Remove the original log file
    rm "${log_file}"
  fi
done

# Remove logs older than DAYS_TO_KEEP
find "${ARCHIVE_DIR}" -type f -name "${LOG_PREFIX}*.gz" -mtime +${DAYS_TO_KEEP} -delete

exit 0

Explanation:

• LOG_DIR: The directory containing the log files.
• LOG_PREFIX: The prefix of the log files to be rotated (e.g., app for app.log).
• ARCHIVE_DIR: The directory where archived logs will be stored.
• DAYS_TO_KEEP: The number of days to keep archived logs.
• The script finds log files, compresses them, moves them to the archive directory, and removes logs older than the specified number of days.

2. Make the Script Executable 🔑

Give the script execute permissions:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rotate_logs.sh

3. Configure Crontab ⏰

Open the crontab for editing:

crontab -e

Add the following line to run the script daily:

0 0 * * * /usr/local/bin/rotate_logs.sh

This will run the script every day at midnight.

4. Test the Script (Optional) 🧪

Run the script manually to ensure it works as expected:

sudo /usr/local/bin/rotate_logs.sh

Summary ✨

By following these steps, you can automate log rotation and archiving using a crontab script, ensuring your system remains clean and efficient.