An extremely simple plugin which removes accumulated error log files from your web space.
An extremely simple plugin which removes accumulated error log files from your web space. It is VERY important to note that the plugin does no checking or any complex stuff: it just removes error logs. Please read the FAQ before you activate this plugin.
OMG your stoopid plugin deleted all my filez!
The FAQ explains what the plugin does. You use it at your own risk, especially if you fiddle with the filenames and stuff. Don’t blame me if you change something and delete vital files or if you run the plugin and need the error logs it removes.
In short (and blindingly obvious): do not activate this plugin unless you are happy with it deleting your error logs, permanently and silently.
Is this plugin actively maintained?
Yes, it is, though there isn’t really anything to maintain.
What does it do?
The plugin automatically deletes error log files from your web space, at most once per day.
What is in the error logs?
Every error generated on your web server, by WP or whatever other apps you run. The error logs are absolutely critical in helping you spot what’s going wrong and working out how to fix it.
Isn’t it incredibly dumb and dangerous to delete log files?
Yes.
So why would I want to delete them?
Because they can get very big and are often full of relatively useless rubbish generated by mismatches in current versions of software running on your space. For example, an application can cause thousands of “php warning” messages: while these are interesting, the only way to fix them may be to upgrade another piece of software (cPanel or the php version or something). You may not wish to or be able to do this, so you end up with hundreds of megs of effectively pointless error logging.
If you own a lot of web sites, it’s also incredibly annoying to have to go through them all and manually remove error logs created by simple things like those php warning error messages, especially when they don’t affect the operation of the site. This is doubly true if you run automated or static sites, where nothing ever goes wrong but your space fills up with junk error reporting.
If you use a VPS or dedicated server for your sites, checking and removing log files can save a ton of space. They can quite easily grow to ridiculous sizes (I’ve had one that hit 2Gb with nothing useful to report).
What does the plugin delete?
By default, the plugin works for WordPress running on a GoDaddy VPS using Linux. In other words, it looks for specific files in specific places. Specifically, it looks for files called “error_log” in the root of the WP install, in the wp-admin directory and in the wp-content directory. Three files in all.
Can I change what it deletes?
Absolutely, if you don’t mind editing a plugin file. Look in the php and change the do_tielog_remove_logs function. All the files to delete are listed there, starting from the ABSPATH (the root of the WP install). It’s pretty obvious how it works, so you can tailor it to your server setup.
It’s not deleting my log files
You may have a custom ABSPATH definition. By default, it’s set in your wp-config file with a trailing slash. If you have changed that, the plugin won’t work – you can either put the trailing slash back on ABSPATH or add a leading slash to each deletion line in the plugin, whichever suits your need. Also check the slash direction, especially if you’re running on a local Windows server install.
How often does the wp_cron job run?
At most once per day. You can change this in the do_tielog_activate function: switch the value ‘daily’ to whatever suits you (and will work with wp_cron). Personally, I find leaving it on daily works best: it gives me time to switch off the plugin if there’s a problem on a site and still have logs available, unless I’m really unlucky.
Is there any documentation?
You’re reading it. You can visit the plugin homepage at http://setupmyvps.com/tielogremover for thoughts and comments, but there really isn’t much to say about such a basic, simple plugin.
