Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 97790
logrotate extension doesn't do anything
Last modified: 2015-01-07 19:05:32 EST
Description of problem: "extension" in logrotate.conf doesn't do anything! Can't change the rotated log extension no matter what I try: extension .fred extension fred extension `date +%Y-%m-%d_%H%M` You name it, I've tried it... Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): logrotate-3.6.4-1 How reproducible: Run logrotate with "extension" line in logrotate.conf Steps to Reproduce: 1. Config logrotate.conf with line "extension <ext>" 2. Run logrotate.conf -f 3. Be depressed. Actual results: Same output as if not using the "extension" line. Expected results: A different file extension. Additional info: Would really like to date-stamp the rotated log files (using logrotate, since man logrotate indicates one can customize the extension).
extension is used for a different purpose than it appears. It is useful when you have a logfile named something like mylog.fred and want to rotate it to mylog.1.fred.gz instead of mylog.fred.1.gz. Very boring, really. Datestamping would not work anyways because logrotate needs to be able to figure out the base part of the filename in order to know which files to rotate, and your particular method of datestamping (using shell backticks) won't currently work because logrotate (like most programs) does not evaluate the extension value in the shell. But, you're welcome to come up with a patch to add the new functionality :)