Apache HTTP Server generates error logs (error_log) that can consume significant disk space over time. While essential for debugging, these files aren't perpetually valuable - yet many admins hesitate to delete them due to uncertainty about consequences.

Yes, but with important caveats:

• Active log files: Never delete the currently active error_log (the one Apache is writing to)
• Archived logs: Historical error_log.* files can be safely removed if no longer needed
• Process signaling: After deletion, Apache needs a signal to recreate logs:

  # For prefork MPM:
  sudo /etc/init.d/httpd graceful
  # For systemd:
  sudo systemctl reload httpd

Instead of manual deletion, implement proper log rotation in /etc/logrotate.d/httpd:

/var/log/httpd/*log {
    missingok
    notifempty
    sharedscripts
    delaycompress
    compress
    postrotate
        /bin/systemctl reload httpd.service > /dev/null 2>/dev/null || true
    endscript
    daily
    rotate 30
    dateext
    create 0644 root root
}

For high-traffic servers, consider these enhancements:

/var/log/httpd/*log {
    size 100M
    rotate 10
    maxage 30
    extension .log_%Y-%m-%d
    compressoptions --best
}

If logs aren't rotating properly:

1. Verify permissions: Apache user needs write access
2. Check for SELinux context:

   ls -Z /var/log/httpd

3. Test configuration:

   sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.conf

For simple environments, a cron job can work:

0 0 * * * find /var/log/httpd -name "error_log.*" -mtime +30 -exec rm {} \;

Apache HTTP Server generates several types of log files, with error logs being particularly crucial for troubleshooting. These files can grow rapidly and consume significant disk space, especially on high-traffic servers. The error logs (typically located in /var/log/httpd/error_log or similar paths) record server errors, warnings, and diagnostic information.

While you can technically delete Apache log files manually using rm, this approach isn't recommended because:

• Apache keeps file handles open to log files
• Manual deletion doesn't properly notify Apache
• It can cause logging to stop until Apache is restarted

CentOS includes the logrotate utility specifically designed for this purpose. Here's a complete configuration example for Apache logs:

/var/log/httpd/*.log {
    daily
    missingok
    rotate 14
    compress
    delaycompress
    notifempty
    sharedscripts
    postrotate
        /bin/systemctl reload httpd.service > /dev/null 2>/dev/null || true
    endscript
}

daily: Rotate logs every day
rotate 14: Keep 14 days of logs before deletion
compress: Use gzip compression on rotated logs
postrotate: Reload Apache to ensure proper logging continues

For high-traffic servers, consider these additional parameters:

/var/log/httpd/*.log {
    size 100M
    rotate 10
    create 0644 apache apache
    dateext
    dateformat -%Y%m%d
    sharedscripts
    postrotate
        if [ -f /var/run/httpd/httpd.pid ]; then
            /bin/kill -USR1 $(cat /var/run/httpd/httpd.pid)
        fi
    endscript
}

Test your logrotate configuration with:

logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/httpd

Force an immediate rotation with:

logrotate -vf /etc/logrotate.d/httpd

For more control, you can use Apache's built-in rotatelogs utility in your virtual host configuration:

ErrorLog "|/usr/sbin/rotatelogs /var/log/httpd/error_log.%Y%m%d 86400"
CustomLog "|/usr/sbin/rotatelogs /var/log/httpd/access_log.%Y%m%d 86400" combined

Set up monitoring to alert you when log files approach critical sizes:

#!/bin/bash
LOG_SIZE=$(du -m /var/log/httpd/error_log | awk '{print $1}')
MAX_SIZE=500 # MB

if [ "$LOG_SIZE" -gt "$MAX_SIZE" ]; then
    echo "Apache error log size ($LOG_SIZE MB) exceeds threshold!" | mail -s "Log Alert" admin@example.com
fi