File

Output observability events into files

status: beta delivery: at-least-once egress: stream state: stateless
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Configuration

Example configurations 

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "file",
      "inputs": [
        "my-source-or-transform-id"
      ],
      "compression": "none",
      "path": "/tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log"
    }
  }
}
[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "file"
inputs = [ "my-source-or-transform-id" ]
compression = "none"
path = "/tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: file
    inputs:
      - my-source-or-transform-id
    compression: none
    encoding: null
    healthcheck: null
    path: /tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log

{
  "sinks": {
    "my_sink_id": {
      "type": "file",
      "inputs": [
        "my-source-or-transform-id"
      ],
      "idle_timeout_secs": 30,
      "compression": "none",
      "path": "/tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log"
    }
  }
}
[sinks.my_sink_id]
type = "file"
inputs = [ "my-source-or-transform-id" ]
idle_timeout_secs = 30
compression = "none"
path = "/tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log"

---
sinks:
  my_sink_id:
    type: file
    inputs:
      - my-source-or-transform-id
    idle_timeout_secs: 30
    compression: none
    encoding: null
    healthcheck: null
    path: /tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log

compression

common optional string literal enum

The compression strategy used to compress the encoded event data before transmission.

Some cloud storage API clients and browsers will handle decompression transparently, so files may not always appear to be compressed depending how they are accessed.

Enum options string literal
OptionDescription
gzipGzip standard DEFLATE compression.
noneNo compression.
syntaxliteral
default: none

encoding

common optional object
Configures the encoding specific sink behavior.

encoding.codec

optional string literal enum
The encoding codec used to serialize the events before outputting.
Enum options
OptionDescription
ndjsonNewline delimited list of JSON encoded events.
textThe message field from the event.
Examples 
"ndjson"
"text"

encoding.except_fields

optional [string]
Prevent the sink from encoding the specified fields.

encoding.only_fields

optional [string]
Makes the sink encode only the specified fields.

encoding.timestamp_format

optional string literal enum
How to format event timestamps.
Enum options
OptionDescription
rfc3339Formats as a RFC3339 string
unixFormats as a unix timestamp
default: rfc3339

healthcheck

common optional object
Health check options for the sink.

healthcheck.enabled

optional bool
Enables/disables the healthcheck upon Vector boot.
default: true

idle_timeout_secs

optional uint
The amount of time a file can be idle and stay open. After not receiving any events for this timeout, the file will be flushed and closed.
default: 30

inputs

required [string]

A list of upstream source or transform IDs. Wildcards (*) are supported.

See configuration for more info.

Array string literal
Examples 
[
  "my-source-or-transform-id",
  "prefix-*"
]

path

required string template
File name to write events to.
Note: This parameter supports Vector's template syntax, which enables you to use dynamic per-event values.
Examples 
"/tmp/vector-%Y-%m-%d.log"
"/tmp/application-{{ application_id }}-%Y-%m-%d.log"

Telemetry

Metrics

link

buffer_byte_size

gauge
The number of bytes current in the buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_discarded_events_total

counter
The number of events dropped by this non-blocking buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_events

gauge
The number of events currently in the buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_received_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes received by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_received_events_total

counter
The number of events received by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes sent by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

buffer_sent_events_total

counter
The number of events sent by this buffer.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_received_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of event bytes accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_events_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_sent_bytes_total

counter
The number of raw bytes sent by this component to destination sinks.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
endpoint optional
The endpoint to which the bytes were sent. For HTTP, this will be the host and path only, excluding the query string.
file optional
The absolute path of the destination file.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.
protocol required
The protocol used to send the bytes.
region optional
The AWS region name to which the bytes were sent. In some configurations, this may be a literal hostname.

component_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The total number of event bytes emitted by this component.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_sent_events_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

events_discarded_total

counter
The total number of events discarded by this component.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.
reason required
The type of the error

events_in_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_received_events_total instead.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

processing_errors_total

counter
The total number of processing errors encountered by this component.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
error_type required
The type of the error
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

utilization

gauge
A ratio from 0 to 1 of the load on a component. A value of 0 would indicate a completely idle component that is simply waiting for input. A value of 1 would indicate a that is never idle. This value is updated every 5 seconds.
component_id required
The Vector component ID.
component_kind required
The Vector component kind.
component_name required
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type required
The Vector component type.
host required
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid required
The process ID of the Vector instance.

How it works

File & Directory Creation

Vector will attempt to create the entire directory structure and the file when emitting events to the file sink. This requires that the Vector agent have the correct permissions to create and write to files in the specified directories.

Health checks

Health checks ensure that the downstream service is accessible and ready to accept data. This check is performed upon sink initialization. If the health check fails an error will be logged and Vector will proceed to start.

Require health checks

If you’d like to exit immediately upon a health check failure, you can pass the --require-healthy flag:

vector --config /etc/vector/vector.toml --require-healthy

Disable health checks

If you’d like to disable health checks for this sink you can set the healthcheck option to false.

State

This component is stateless, meaning its behavior is consistent across each input.
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