Logwot8 - Logrotate for Windows

Logwot8 is a Logrotate implementation for Windows systems. It is a packaging of Logrotate, Cygwin and a collection of related tools to make it a standalone log rotation solution for Windows systems.

About

The logrotate utility is designed to simplify the administration of log files on a system which generates a lot of log files. Logrotate allows for the automatic rotation, compression, removal and mailing of log files. Logrotate can be set to handle a log file daily, weekly, monthly or when the log file gets to a certain size. Normally, Logrotate is run as a daily scheduled job.

Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows. It consists of a DLL (cygwin1.dll), which emulates substantial Linux API functionality, and a collection of tools.

Features

• Automatic Log Rotation: Rotate logs based on size, time, or custom criteria
• Compression: Automatically compress rotated logs to save disk space
• Flexible Scheduling: Daily, weekly, monthly, or size-based rotation
• Log Removal: Automatically remove old log files based on retention policies
• Windows Integration: Standalone package designed specifically for Windows systems
• Cygwin-based: Leverages Cygwin for Linux-like functionality on Windows

Use Cases

Logwot8 is ideal for:

• Windows servers generating large amounts of log data
• Applications that don't include native log rotation
• Systems requiring automated log management and retention
• Environments needing consistent log rotation policies across multiple applications

System Requirements

• Supported Platforms: Vista and higher

Installation

1. Download Logwot8 as a zip file from the GitHub Releases page
2. Extract the downloaded zip file
3. Run the installer: logwot8_x.x.x_Installer.exe
4. Follow the installation wizard:
   • Accept the License agreement
   • Specify an installation location
   • Monitor the installation progress by clicking the 'Details' button for detailed information

Configuration

After installation, you'll need to configure Logwot8 for your environment:

1. Edit Configuration File: Update the configuration file logwot8.cfg according to your needs. This file controls which logs to rotate, when to rotate them, and how to handle rotated files.

2. Configure Email Notifications (Optional): If you want logrotate to send email notifications, you need to configure the mail functionality:

   • Edit the script bin/mail
   • Replace the value of smtp.server with your SMTP server address
   • The mail script uses blat for sending emails

3. Review Configuration Options: Consult the online logrotate man page for comprehensive configuration options.

Usage

The batch file logwot8.cmd is located at the root of the installation directory. This script starts logrotate in a proper environment.

Running Manually

cd C:\Path\To\Logwot8
logwot8.cmd

Scheduling with Task Scheduler

You can use Windows Task Scheduler to run logrotate automatically:

1. Open Windows Task Scheduler
2. Create a new task
3. Set the action to run logwot8.cmd from your installation directory
4. Configure the schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)

Uninstallation

To remove Logwot8 from your system, simply delete the installation directory.

Links

License

Logwot8 is licensed under the BSD 2-Clause License.