what happen if i delete apache log file?

Question

I have 4 files in /var/log/apache2 and I just deleted 2 of them (I do have backups). would it affect apache's logging capabilities? does apache automatically create files and write to them if they don't exist?

Answer 1

The file is deleted but the file handle remains until you reload/restart apache, at least on Rhel 7. You can verify this by running sudo lsof | grep access_log after deleting /var/log/httpd/access_log. You might see the file automatically getting recreated some time later when logrotate runs, as that issues a reload which would then trigger the file to be created again.

Answer 2

It will create new file automatically.