cloudthinker-ai Log Rotation Setup Skill
Configure log rotation for {{ service_name }} at {{ log_path }} with {{ retention_days }}-day retention.
Workflow
Phase 1 — Log Volume Assessment
CURRENT STATE
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[ ] Log files identified:
- Path: {{ log_path }}
- Current total size: ___ GB
- Daily growth rate: ___ MB/day
- Projected 30-day volume: ___ GB
[ ] Log format: [ ] JSON [ ] Plain text [ ] Structured
[ ] Log levels in use: [ ] DEBUG [ ] INFO [ ] WARN [ ] ERROR
[ ] Disk capacity at log path: ___ GB total, ___ GB available
[ ] Disk usage alert threshold: ___%
Phase 2 — Rotation Strategy
ROTATION CONFIGURATION
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Rotation trigger (choose one):
[ ] Size-based: rotate at ___ MB
[ ] Time-based: rotate every ___ hours
[ ] Hybrid: rotate at ___ MB or ___ hours, whichever first
Compression:
[ ] Enable gzip compression for rotated files
[ ] Estimated compression ratio: ___:1
[ ] Compressed retention size estimate: ___ GB
Naming convention:
[ ] {{ service_name }}.log.YYYYMMDD.gz
[ ] {{ service_name }}.log.N.gz (numbered)
Retention:
[ ] Keep rotated files for {{ retention_days }} days
[ ] Archive to cold storage after ___ days (optional)
[ ] Delete after {{ retention_days }} days
Phase 3 — Implementation
SETUP CHECKLIST
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[ ] Logrotate config file created/updated:
- Path: /etc/logrotate.d/{{ service_name }}
[ ] Configuration validated (logrotate -d)
[ ] Test rotation executed (logrotate -f)
[ ] Service handles log file rotation gracefully:
[ ] copytruncate (for services that hold file handles)
[ ] create (for services that reopen log files)
[ ] postrotate signal configured (e.g., SIGHUP)
[ ] Permissions correct on rotated files
[ ] SELinux/AppArmor context preserved (if applicable)
Phase 4 — Monitoring and Alerting
MONITORING
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[ ] Disk usage alert configured (threshold: ___%)
[ ] Log rotation failure alert configured
[ ] Log volume anomaly detection enabled
[ ] Dashboard created showing:
- Daily log volume trend
- Disk usage at log path
- Rotation execution history
[ ] Compliance verification:
- Retention meets {{ retention_days }}-day requirement
- No PII in logs past retention window
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "We can skip some steps for this case" | Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them | Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate |
| "The user seems to already know what to do" | Complete all workflow phases with the user | The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses |
| "This is a minor case, full process is overkill" | Scale the process down, don't turn it off | Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears |
| "I'll fill in the details later" | Complete each section before moving on | Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate |
| "The template output isn't necessary" | Always produce the structured output format | Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams |
Output Format
Produce a log rotation configuration report with:
- Service summary (name, log path, volume metrics)
- Rotation policy (trigger, compression, retention settings)
- Implementation details (config file, rotation method)
- Monitoring setup (alerts, dashboards, compliance status)
- Capacity projection (storage needs over 6 and 12 months)