{"id":2290,"date":"2018-05-05T12:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T06:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=2290"},"modified":"2026-09-30T09:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T03:30:37","slug":"clear-journal-logs-on-linux-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/clear-journal-logs-on-linux-host\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Clear and Manage Systemd Journal Logs on Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Post Date<\/strong>: May 5, 2018
Last Updated<\/strong>: September 20, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Systemd journal logs are stored under \/var\/log\/journal<\/code> and can gradually consume a significant amount of disk space on Linux servers. When \/var<\/code> becomes full, excessive journal logs can contribute to disk-space issues and may affect system services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article explains how to safely reduce the size of systemd journal logs using journalctl<\/code> and configure a maximum disk-space limit for persistent journal logs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before clearing systemd journal logs, ensure the following requirements are met:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Root or sudo access<\/strong> to the Linux server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The server should be running a systemd-based Linux distribution<\/strong> such as CentOS, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, RHEL, Ubuntu, or Debian.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Verify that the systemd-journald<\/strong> service is available and running.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Ensure there is sufficient access to edit the \/etc\/systemd\/journald.conf<\/code> configuration file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Check the current disk usage and confirm that journal logs are consuming excessive space under \/var<\/code> or \/var\/log\/journal<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Ensure that any logs required for troubleshooting, auditing, or compliance purposes<\/strong> are backed up before removing older entries.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n

    Implementation<\/h2>\n

    We ran out of disk space on our server, and \/var consumes more disk space. On checking further,\u00a0 \/var\/log\/journal\u00a0<\/em>consumes more disk space.<\/p>\n

    The safest way to remove unnecessary entries via journalctl<\/p>\n

    journalctl --vacuum-size=128M<\/code><\/p>\n

    Now, verify journalctl.<\/p>\n

    journalctl --verify<\/code><\/p>\n

    Edit\u00a0SystemMaxUse\u00a0<\/em>in<\/span>\/etc\/systemd\/journald.conf<\/em><\/p>\n

    vi \/etc\/systemd\/journald.conf
    <\/code>SystemMaxUse=128M<\/p>\n\n\n

    Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Regularly managing systemd journal logs helps prevent \/var<\/code> from consuming excessive disk space. The journalctl --vacuum-size=128M<\/code> command can remove older journal entries while retaining logs within the specified size limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Configuring SystemMaxUse=128M<\/code> in \/etc\/systemd\/journald.conf<\/code> also helps control the amount of disk space that journald can use. After making configuration changes, reload or restart systemd-journald<\/code> and periodically verify disk usage to ensure the setting is effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    1. What is the systemd journal log?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The systemd journal is a centralized logging system used by Linux to collect and store system and service logs. These logs are commonly stored under \/var\/log\/journal<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Why does \/var\/log\/journal<\/code> consume a lot of disk space?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Journal logs can grow over time as the system continuously records messages from the kernel, services, applications, and other system components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Does journalctl --vacuum-size=128M<\/code> delete all journal logs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    No. It removes older archived journal files as necessary to reduce the total journal size to the specified limit. The currently active journal file is not removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Related Articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Bash Script to Capture Login Activity Logs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Post Date: May 5, 2018Last Updated: September 20, 2026 Introduction Systemd journal logs are stored under \/var\/log\/journal and can gradually 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