missingok

Missingok is a directive used in the logrotate configuration system. It tells logrotate to proceed with rotation even if the target log file does not exist at the time of rotation. When present in a log stanza, missingok prevents logrotate from issuing an error and stopping processing if the file is missing; it simply skips that file and continues with the rest of the rotation tasks.

Usage and placement: missingok is added as a line inside a logrotate stanza that applies to a specific log file or path. The stanza itself can live in the main configuration or in an included file. For example, a simple stanza might look like:

/var/log/myapp/app.log {

weekly

missingok

rotate 4

compress

notifempty

}

Behavior and implications: if the log file exists, logrotate performs the normal rotation steps as configured. If the file is missing, the missingok directive ensures no error is emitted and the rotation proceeds for other files or logs in the same run. This is useful for packages or services that may not always create a log file, or for systems where logs are created conditionally.

Related concepts: missingok can be used alongside other options such as compress, notifempty, and create. The opposite behavior is controlled by nomissingok, which enforces an error if a log file specified in a stanza is absent. Understanding missingok helps administrators tailor log rotation to their environment and reduce unnecessary alerts when logs are optional or transient.