CompressAndDeleteLogs

A PowerShell script to compress and manage log files by archiving and optionally deleting them after a retention period. Designed for Windows environments, this script is ideal for managing IIS and other application logs, helping you save disk space and maintain tidy log directories.

Features

• Compresses log files older than a specified number of days into .zip archives.
• Deletes original log files after archiving (unless -ArchiveOnly is specified).
• Deletes old archives: Removes archived ZIP files older than a configurable retention period.
• Supports NTFS decompression: Optionally decompresses NTFS-compressed files before deletion to reclaim full logical space.
• Flexible archive location: Archives can be stored in an Archive subfolder within each source folder or in a global destination.
• Robust logging: Logs actions and errors to a log file and the Windows Event Log.
• Progress reporting: Displays progress and summary information during execution.
• Safe and idempotent: Handles errors gracefully and checks permissions before making changes.

Requirements

• Windows PowerShell 5.0 or later (requires Compress-Archive cmdlet)
• Sufficient permissions to read, write, and delete files in the source and destination folders

Usage

.\CompressAndDeleteLogs.ps1 -SourcePath "C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" -RetentionDays 30 -DecompressBeforeDelete

Parameters:

• -SourcePath
  The root folder to search for log files.

• -DestinationPath
  (Optional) The root folder where compressed files will be stored. If not specified, uses an Archive subfolder in each source folder.

• -LogFilePath
  (Optional) The path to the log file. Defaults to CompressAndDeleteLogs.log in the script folder.

• -RetentionDays
  The number of days to retain log files before compressing and deleting.

• -ArchiveRetentionDays
  The number of days to retain archived ZIP files before deleting them from the archive folder.

• -ArchiveOnly
  If set, archives logs but does not delete the originals.

• -DecompressBeforeDelete
  If set, decompresses NTFS-compressed files before deletion to free up the full logical size.

Examples

Archive and delete logs older than 30 days, decompressing NTFS-compressed files before deletion:

.\CompressAndDeleteLogs.ps1 -SourcePath "C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" -RetentionDays 30 -DecompressBeforeDelete

Archive logs to a global destination and log to a custom file:

.\CompressAndDeleteLogs.ps1 -SourcePath "C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles" -DestinationPath "E:\Logs" -LogFilePath "D:\Scripts\CompressAndDeleteLogs.log" -RetentionDays 30

Logging

• Actions and errors are logged to the specified log file (default: CompressAndDeleteLogs.log).
• Critical errors are also written to the Windows Event Log under the source CompressAndDeleteLogs.

Notes

• Ensure you have appropriate permissions to run the script and modify files in the specified directories.
• The script is safe to run multiple times; it will not re-archive or re-delete files unnecessarily.

Version

• 1.1.0 (2025-06-03): Major refactor with modular functions, improved logging, NTFS decompression support, archive retention, and robust error handling.

Licence

MIT Licence

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Author: Chris McMorrin

For more information or to report issues, please use the repository's issue tracker.