To keep an FFmpeg YouTube stream’s logs from filling a VPS disk, limit routine log verbosity, send stderr to a deliberate destination, and configure logrotate with a finite retention count and compression. If FFmpeg cannot reliably reopen a renamed log, copytruncate can rotate it in place, but logrotate warns that some data may be lost during the brief copy-and-truncate interval. Test the rotation and the live feed before relying on the setup.
How FFmpeg logs reach a file
FFmpeg writes to stderr by default. If the service or its wrapper redirects stderr to a file, the running process writes through the file descriptor it already opened. Renaming that file does not necessarily make FFmpeg start writing to a newly created file at the original path. Rotation therefore depends on both logrotate’s behavior and whether the running process can reopen its destination.
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For ordinary operation, retain the least verbose level that still gives you useful operational information. Lowering verbosity reduces output, but choosing error or warning may omit details you need when diagnosing a problem. Use -report or debug-level logging for a time-limited investigation rather than leaving it enabled routinely: -report saves the command line and log output to a timestamped file in the current directory and implies debug logging. FFREPORT can set the report filename and level.
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Choose how logrotate handles the open file
| Rotation approach | When it fits | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Rename and create, with a documented reopen action | The process or its supervisor can reliably close and reopen redirected stderr after rotation. | Rename alone may leave FFmpeg writing to the old file’s inode. The FFmpeg documentation cited here does not establish that a particular signal makes FFmpeg reopen redirected stderr; do not assume it will. |
copytruncate |
The running process cannot be told to close or reopen its log file. | Logrotate copies the current file and truncates the original in place. Its manual warns that “some logging data might be lost” during the small interval between copying and truncating. |
Logrotate supports postrotate scripts, and its manual includes an example that signals a daemon after rotation. That is not proof that FFmpeg responds to a signal by reopening a redirected stderr file. Use rename-and-create only when your deployment has a verified, documented reopen mechanism; otherwise consider copytruncate and accept its possible brief data loss.
Set finite retention and a measured rotation threshold
A rotation schedule does not by itself cap disk use: old files must also have a finite retention limit. Logrotate’s rotate count specifies how many rotated versions to retain; a count of zero removes old versions rather than retaining rotations. Compression can reduce the space taken by retained logs. Delayed compression is also available where a program may still be writing to the previous file.
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Measure how quickly your actual log grows before choosing a size threshold, schedule, and retention count. Growth depends on verbosity and runtime conditions, so there is no universal safe size or retention period. Compression also uses CPU and time. Consult the logrotate manual and check your installed version and distribution’s scheduling behavior.
This is a generic shape to adapt, not a verified drop-in configuration:
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/path/to/ffmpeg.log {
size <measured-threshold>
rotate <finite-count>
compress
copytruncate
}The sketch omits permissions, scheduler behavior, distribution-specific defaults, and service-manager integration. If your process can reliably reopen the log, use a documented, deployment-appropriate reopen method and rotation style instead of assuming copytruncate is the right choice. Test the configuration with your local logrotate version and inspect the running process’s open file descriptors before trusting it.
Redirect stderr deliberately and protect stream credentials
Configure the service definition or wrapper to send stderr to a dedicated log file in a directory with appropriate ownership and permissions. Avoid exposing the stream key in reports or published logs. YouTube describes the stream key as functioning like the stream’s password and address; treat it as a secret. See YouTube’s live stream settings guidance.
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Verify rotation, disk use, and YouTube health
- Apply the revised startup and logging configuration. Confirm that the service is writing to the intended file and that the chosen log level provides enough information for routine operations.
- Exercise rotation. Confirm that the active log continues to receive new output after rotation, that rotated files are retained and compressed as intended, and that the number of files stays within your configured limit. Check open file descriptors if output appears to be going to an unexpected file.
- Test the live feed before relying on the change. Check YouTube’s preview, stream health, and messages; inspect FFmpeg output for errors. YouTube recommends testing before going live and monitoring stream health. Its streaming tips also recommend checking local archive integrity and growth.
- Track the VPS filesystem. Check free space and the sizes and count of active and rotated logs over time. Set disk alerts according to filesystem capacity and how much time you need to recover; YouTube does not prescribe a VPS disk-alert threshold.
Log rotation changes log handling, not the video feed’s bitrate, codec, or ingest protocol. If you also change FFmpeg’s streaming parameters, keep those checks separate. YouTube’s current encoder guidance recommends RTMP or RTMPS, CBR, supported video and audio codecs, and a two-second keyframe frequency that should not exceed four seconds. It also supports up to 60 frames per second. These are platform recommendations for the feed, not logrotate settings.
Troubleshoot common rotation problems
- The renamed log keeps growing. The running FFmpeg process may still hold the old file open. Use a verified reopen mechanism with rename-and-create, or use
copytruncateif the process cannot reopen the file. - The active log stops receiving output after rotation. Check the process’s open file descriptors, the log path and permissions, and whether the supervisor actually performed the documented reopen or restart action.
- Disk use keeps increasing. Confirm that the configuration has a finite
rotatecount, that the scheduled logrotate job runs, and that the measured threshold is being reached. Check for separate FFmpeg report files:-reportwrites timestamped reports in the current directory. - Useful details are missing from logs. The selected verbosity may be too low. Raise it to a level appropriate for diagnosis, then return to a routine setting when the investigation is over.
- A small amount of output is missing around rotation. If using
copytruncate, that can occur in the brief copy/truncate interval documented by logrotate. If complete log continuity is essential, use a verified reopen-based design instead. - YouTube reports a feed problem. Check FFmpeg’s stream-related errors and YouTube’s preview, health status, and messages. Do not assume that a log-rotation change altered ingest settings; validate the feed independently.
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