Configuring Vector
Vector is configured using a configuration file. This section contains a comprehensive reference of all Vector configuration options.
Example
The following is an example of a popular Vector configuration that ingests logs from a file and routes them to both Elasticsearch and AWS S3. Your configuration will differ based on your needs.
{
"data_dir": "/var/lib/vector",
"sources": {
"apache_logs": {
"type": "file",
"include": [
"/var/log/apache2/*.log"
],
"ignore_older": 86400
}
},
"transforms": {
"apache_parser": {
"inputs": [
"apache_logs"
],
"type": "remap",
"source": ". = parse_apache_log(.message)"
},
"apache_sampler": {
"inputs": [
"apache_parser"
],
"type": "sample",
"rate": 50
}
},
"sinks": {
"es_cluster": {
"inputs": [
"apache_sampler"
],
"type": "elasticsearch",
"endpoints": ["http://79.12.221.222:9200"],
"bulk": {
"index": "vector-%Y-%m-%d"
}
},
"s3_archives": {
"inputs": [
"apache_parser"
],
"type": "aws_s3",
"region": "us-east-1",
"bucket": "my-log-archives",
"key_prefix": "date=%Y-%m-%d",
"compression": "gzip",
"framing": {
"method": "newline_delimited"
},
"encoding": {
"codec": "json"
},
"batch": {
"max_bytes": 10000000
}
}
}
}
# Set global options
data_dir = "/var/lib/vector"
# Vector's API (disabled by default)
# Enable and try it out with the `vector top` command
[api]
enabled = false
# address = "127.0.0.1:8686"
# Ingest data by tailing one or more files
[sources.apache_logs]
type = "file"
include = ["/var/log/apache2/*.log"] # supports globbing
ignore_older_secs = 86400 # 1 day
# Structure and parse via Vector's Remap Language
[transforms.apache_parser]
inputs = ["apache_logs"]
type = "remap"
source = '''
. = parse_apache_log(.message)
'''
# Sample the data to save on cost
[transforms.apache_sampler]
inputs = ["apache_parser"]
type = "sample"
rate = 2 # only keep 50% (1/`rate`)
# Send structured data to a short-term storage
[sinks.es_cluster]
inputs = ["apache_sampler"] # only take sampled data
type = "elasticsearch"
endpoints = ["http://79.12.221.222:9200"] # local or external host
bulk.index = "vector-%Y-%m-%d" # daily indices
# Send structured data to a cost-effective long-term storage
[sinks.s3_archives]
inputs = ["apache_parser"] # don't sample for S3
type = "aws_s3"
region = "us-east-1"
bucket = "my-log-archives"
key_prefix = "date=%Y-%m-%d" # daily partitions, hive friendly format
compression = "gzip" # compress final objects
framing.method = "newline_delimited" # new line delimited...
encoding.codec = "json" # ...JSON
batch.max_bytes = 10000000 # 10mb uncompressed
# Set global options
data_dir: "/var/lib/vector"
# Vector's API (disabled by default)
# Enable and try it out with the `vector top` command
# NOTE: this is _enabled_ for helm chart deployments, see: https://github.com/vectordotdev/helm-charts/blob/develop/charts/vector/examples/datadog-values.yaml#L78-L81
api:
enabled: false
# address = "127.0.0.1:8686"
# Ingest data by tailing one or more files
sources:
apache_logs:
type: "file"
include:
- "/var/log/apache2/*.log" # supports globbing
ignore_older_secs: 86400 # 1 day
# Structure and parse via Vector's Remap Language
transforms:
apache_parser:
inputs:
- "apache_logs"
type: "remap"
source: ". = parse_apache_log(.message)"
# Sample the data to save on cost
apache_sampler:
inputs:
- "apache_parser"
type: "sample"
rate: 2 # only keep 50% (1/`rate`)
# Send structured data to a short-term storage
sinks:
es_cluster:
inputs:
- "apache_sampler" # only take sampled data
type: "elasticsearch"
endpoints:
- "http://79.12.221.222:9200"
bulk:
index: "vector-%Y-%m-%d" # daily indices
# Send structured data to a cost-effective long-term storage
s3_archives:
inputs:
- "apache_parser" # don't sample for S3
type: "aws_s3"
region: "us-east-1"
bucket: "my-log-archives"
key_prefix: "date=%Y-%m-%d" # daily partitions, hive friendly format
compression: "gzip" # compress final objects
framing:
method: "newline_delimited" # new line delimited...
encoding:
codec: "json" # ...JSON
batch:
max_bytes: 10000000 # 10mb uncompressed
To use this configuration file, specify it with the --config flag when
starting Vector:
vector --config /etc/vector/vector.json
vector --config /etc/vector/vector.toml
vector --config /etc/vector/vector.yaml
Reference
Components
Advanced
How it works
Environment variables
Vector interpolates environment variables within your configuration file with the following syntax:
transforms:
add_host:
type: "remap"
source: |
# Basic usage. "$HOSTNAME" also works.
.host = "${HOSTNAME}" # or "$HOSTNAME"
# Setting a default value when not present.
.environment = "${ENV:-development}"
# Requiring an environment variable to be present.
.tenant = "${TENANT:?tenant must be supplied}"
Default values
Default values can be supplied using :- or - syntax:
option: "${ENV_VAR:-default}" # default value if variable is unset or empty
option: "${ENV_VAR-default}" # default value only if variable is unset
Required variables
Environment variables that are required can be specified using :? or ? syntax:
option: "${ENV_VAR:?err}" # Vector exits with 'err' message if variable is unset or empty
option: "${ENV_VAR?err}" # Vector exits with 'err' message only if variable is unset
Escaping
You can escape environment variables by prefacing them with a $ character. For
example $${HOSTNAME} or $$HOSTNAME is treated literally in the above
environment variable example.
Formats
Vector supports YAML, TOML, and JSON to ensure that Vector fits into your workflow. A side benefit of supporting YAML and JSON is that they enable you to use data templating languages such as ytt, Jsonnet and Cue.
Location
The location of your Vector configuration file depends on your installation
method. For most Linux-based systems, the file can be found at
/etc/vector/vector.yaml.
Multiple files
You can pass multiple configuration files when starting Vector:
vector --config vector1.yaml --config vector2.yaml
Or using a globbing syntax:
vector --config /etc/vector/*.yaml
Automatic namespacing
You can also split your configuration by grouping the components by their type, one directory per component type, where the file name is used as the component id. For example:
# Send structured data to a short-term storage
inputs:
- "apache_sampler" # only take sampled data
type: "elasticsearch"
endpoints:
- "http://79.12.221.222:9200" # local or external host
bulk:
index: "vector-%Y-%m-%d" # daily indices
# Send structured data to a cost-effective long-term storage
inputs:
- "apache_parser" # don't sample for S3
type: "aws_s3"
region: "us-east-1"
bucket: "my-log-archives"
key_prefix: "date=%Y-%m-%d" # daily partitions, hive-friendly format
compression: "gzip" # compress final objects
framing:
method: "newline_delimited" # new line delimited...
encoding:
codec: "json" # ...JSON
batch:
max_bytes: 10000000 # 10mb uncompressed
# Ingest data by tailing one or more files
type: "file"
include: ["/var/log/apache2/*.log"] # supports globbing
ignore_older: 86400 # 1 day
# Structure and parse via Vector Remap Language
inputs:
- "apache_logs"
type: "remap"
source: |
. = parse_apache_log(.message)
# Sample the data to save on cost
inputs:
- "apache_parser"
type: "sample"
rate: 2 # only keep 50% (1/`rate`)
# Set global options
data_dir: "/var/lib/vector"
# Vector's API (disabled by default)
# Enable and try it out with the `vector top` command
api:
enabled: false
# address: "127.0.0.1:8686"
Vector then needs to be started using the --config-dir argument to specify the root configuration folder.
vector --config-dir /etc/vector
Wildcards in component IDs
Vector supports wildcards (*) in component IDs when building your topology.
For example:
sources:
app1_logs:
type: "file"
includes: ["/var/log/app1.log"]
app2_logs:
type: "file"
includes: ["/var/log/app.log"]
system_logs:
type: "file"
includes: ["/var/log/system.log"]
sinks:
app_logs:
type: "datadog_logs"
inputs: ["app*"]
archive:
type: "aws_s3"
inputs: ["app*", "system_logs"]