How to stop Tomcat logging?

Question

Tomcat automatically does its logging, and the logging files are all under /logs directory. As far as I know, the logging property is /conf/logging.properties. How can I stop all the logging?

Solution 1

To stop access log (default tomcat setting) go to:

conf/server.xml

and remove the following config:

    <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.AccessLogValve" directory="logs"
           prefix="localhost_access_log." suffix=".txt"
           pattern="%h %l %u %t &quot;%r&quot; %s %b" />

to disable common log, go to:

conf/logging.properties

and comment the following line

handlers = 1catalina.org.apache.juli.FileHandler, .....

Solution 2

Don't start Tomcat. No Tomcat, no logging.

On a more serious note, don't. Just don't. This sounds like a surefire recipe to cause problems when you're gone, not available or don't remember anymore what you did.

Instead, install a log rotator which deletes old log files after N days.

Also make sure that Tomcat doesn't write too much into catalina.out since you can't rotate that.

For this, I patch the start script and pipe through head -10000. Replace this

>> "$CATALINA_OUT" 2>&1 "&"

with

2>&1 | head -10000 >> "$CATALINA_OUT" &

If there is an error starting Tomcat, I'll still see it. But no more than 10'000 lines of log will be written to that file, so it won't grow forever.

Note: Simply deleting catalina.out will not work. On Windows, it will fail since it's still open. On Unix, only the directory entry will be deleted (making the file inaccessible for anyone except processed which have it open). The file will still take up space on the hard disk and it will continue to grow.

Related articles:

• logrotate doesn't rotate catalina.out

Comments

[Cacheing]

helpdesk.objects.com.au/java/…. I used this method to disable writing logs to catalina.out, but it doesn't work.

[Cacheing]

Will it work if I comment out the handlers line and .handlers line in the logging.properties file?

[Aaron Digulla]

Please edit your question and add your logging.properties. Is Tomcat running on Windows or Linux?

[Aaron Digulla]

Oh, and which version of Tomcat?

[Jonathan S. Fisher]

If you're running tomcat in a proper systemd unit with non-forking process, your logs will be handled automatically if put to stdout, so there is no need for a loggin configuration.

[Juan Rojas]

how to prevent tomcat from writing too much into catalina.out? links are broken

[Imaskar]

There might be legit cases to disable logging. For example if it's handled by a logging framework in the code.

[Aaron Digulla]

@Imaskar The problem with Tomcat is that it logs important errors which make it impossible to start your app BEFORE your app's log framework is even loaded.