Logrotate: lines must begin with a keyword or a filename

Logrotate produces the "lines must begin with a keyword or a filename" error when the configuration file contains Windows-style line endings (CRLF) or invalid syntax that Logrotate cannot parse.

When Logrotate Produces This Error

Logrotate displays the "lines must begin with a keyword or a filename" error when it reads a configuration file that contains characters it cannot interpret. The full error message includes the file path and line number:

error: /etc/logrotate.d/myapp:3 lines must begin with a keyword or a filename (possibly due to a missing end script or a missing '{' or '}')

Logrotate produces this error during manual execution with logrotate -d or logrotate -f, and during the automated daily cron job. The error prevents Logrotate from processing the affected configuration file entirely.

What Causes "lines must begin with a keyword or a filename" in Logrotate

Windows-Style Line Endings (CRLF)

Logrotate encounters this error when a configuration file contains carriage return characters ( \r\n, known as CRLF line endings) instead of Unix-style line feeds ( \n, LF). This happens when the configuration file is created or edited on a Windows system and transferred to the Linux server via SFTP, SCP, or a shared folder. The \r character is invisible in most editors but Logrotate interprets it as part of the directive name, which causes a parse failure.

Missing Opening or Closing Braces

Logrotate produces this error when a configuration block is missing its opening { or closing } brace. Each log file block requires braces to delimit its directives. A missing brace causes Logrotate to misinterpret subsequent lines as top-level statements rather than block-level directives.

Missing endscript Keyword

Logrotate reports this error when a prerotate, postrotate, firstaction, or lastaction script block is not terminated with the endscript keyword. Logrotate reads all subsequent lines as part of the script until it encounters something it cannot interpret.

Invalid Directive or Typo

Logrotate produces this error when a configuration file contains an unrecognized directive. Misspelled directives such as compres instead of compress or rotat instead of rotate trigger this parse error.

How to Fix "lines must begin with a keyword or a filename" in Logrotate

1. Convert Windows-style line endings to Unix format using dos2unix. Install the utility if it is not present:

   sudo apt install dos2unix

   Convert the configuration file:

   sudo dos2unix /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

   The dos2unix utility removes all \r characters from the file, converting CRLF line endings to LF.

2. Check the file for hidden carriage return characters if dos2unix is not available:

   cat -A /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

   Lines ending with ^M$ contain carriage returns. Lines ending with only $ are correct. Remove carriage returns with sed:

   sudo sed -i 's/\r$//' /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

3. Verify the configuration file syntax. Check that every log file block has matching opening and closing braces:

   /var/log/myapp/*.log {
       daily
       rotate 7
       compress
   }

4. Verify that every script block ends with endscript:

   postrotate
       systemctl reload myapp
   endscript

5. Check for misspelled directives. Logrotate does not accept abbreviated or misspelled directive names. Review each line against the Logrotate directives reference.

6. Test the fixed configuration in debug mode:

   sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

   Logrotate should parse the file without errors and display the actions it would take.

How to Verify the Fix

Logrotate processes the configuration file without the parse error. Run debug mode and confirm clean output:

sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

Force a rotation to verify that the configuration works end-to-end:

sudo logrotate -vf /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

Edge Cases and Variations

The error persists after running dos2unix.Check for other invisible characters such as byte order marks (BOM) at the beginning of the file. Remove BOM characters with:

sudo sed -i '1s/^\xEF\xBB\xBF//' /etc/logrotate.d/{YOUR_APP}

The error points to a specific line but the line looks correct.The actual problem may be on a preceding line. A missing } on an earlier block causes Logrotate to misparse all subsequent lines. Check the entire file, not only the reported line number.

The error appears after copying configuration from a web page.Web browsers may insert non-breaking spaces, smart quotes, or other Unicode characters that Logrotate cannot parse. Retype the configuration manually in a terminal editor such as nano or vi.

Related Logrotate Errors

Logrotate: logs are not rotating-- covers cases where Logrotate runs but skips rotation due to permissions or state file issues.

Logrotate: Permission denied-- covers filesystem and SELinux permission issues that block Logrotate operations.