Configure json-file log rotation for Docker containers (max-size, max-file, compress) to prevent unbounded log growth

domain: docs.docker.com/engine/logging/drivers/json-file/ · 6 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗

Documented steps

  1. Set the driver with rotation via `docker run --log-driver json-file --log-opt max-size=10m --log-opt max-file=3 image` (bounded to 3 files of 10MB each).
  2. Enable compression of rotated files with `--log-opt compress=true`.
  3. To make it the daemon default, set `log-driver` and `log-opts` (max-size, max-file) in daemon.json, then restart Docker.
  4. In Compose, use a service `logging:` section with `driver: json-file` and `options: { max-size: "10m", max-file: "3" }`.
  5. Verify rotation with `docker logs --tail` and by checking the container's log directory size.
  6. Docs: https://docs.docker.com/engine/logging/drivers/json-file/

Known gotchas

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