How to Prevent Nginx Log Overgrowth with Automated Log Splitting

When a project goes live with default Nginx settings, logs are written to ../nginx/logs/access.log and grow without rotation, eventually exhausting disk space.

This article presents a step‑by‑step solution to clean up and split Nginx logs.

1. Close file handles

Delete old logs, then disable logging in nginx.conf by setting access_log off and restart Nginx.

Check that no process holds the file:

lsof access.log

2. Empty the current log

Run: echo "" > access.log This command clears the file quickly without affecting system performance.

3. Re‑enable logging

Comment out the access_log line in nginx.conf and restart Nginx.

4. Run the log‑splitting script

Give execution permission: chmod 774 nginx_log_split.sh Execute the script: sh nginx_log_split.sh The script creates a history_log directory, moves the current access.log (and error.log) to a dated file, and reopens Nginx logs.

5. Schedule the script with cron

Add a daily job (23:59) to run the script and redirect output:

59 23 * * * /home/user/nginx/logs/nginx_log_split.sh > /home/user/nginx/logs/history_log/execute.log 2>&1

After these steps the Nginx logs are automatically split, preventing disk‑space exhaustion.