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Filebeat command reference

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Filebeat command reference

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Filebeat provides a command-line interface for starting Filebeat and performing common tasks, like testing configuration files and loading dashboards.

The command-line also supports global flags for controlling global behaviors.

Use sudo to run the following commands if:

the config file is owned by root, or
Filebeat is configured to capture data that requires root access

Commands
`export`	Exports the configuration, index template or a dashboard to stdout.
`help`	Shows help for any command.
`keystore`	Manages the secrets keystore.
`modules`	Manages configured modules.
`run`	Runs Filebeat. This command is used by default if you start Filebeat without specifying a command.
`setup`	Sets up the initial environment, including the index template, Kibana dashboards (when available), and machine learning jobs (when available).
`test`	Tests the configuration.
`version`	Shows information about the current version.

Also see Global flags.

`export` command

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Exports the configuration, index template or a dashboard to stdout. You can use this command to quickly view your configuration, see the contents of the index template or export a dashboard from Kibana.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat export SUBCOMMAND [FLAGS]

SUBCOMMANDS

config

Exports the current configuration to stdout. If you use the -c flag, this command exports the configuration that’s defined in the specified file.

dashboard

Exporting a dashboard allows to store a dashboard on disk in a module and load it automatically. The following command can be used:

filebeat export dashboard --id="dashboard-id" > dashboard.json

The dashboard-id can be found in the Kibana URL. By default export dashboard will write the dashboard to stdout. Above it’s written into dashboard.json so it can later imported again. The file contains the dashboard with all visualizations and searches. The index pattern is removed as it is expected to be loaded separately for Filebeat.

The generated dashboard.json file can be copied into the kibana/6/dashboard directory of filebeat and next time filebeat setup dashboards is run the dashboard will be imported.

In case Kibana is not running on localhost:5061 the Filebeat configuration under setup.kibana must be adjusted.

template: Exports the index template to stdout. You can specify the --es.version and --index flags to further define what gets exported.

FLAGS

--es.version VERSION: When specified along with template, exports an index template that is compatible with the specified version.
-h, --help: Shows help for the export command.
--index BASE_NAME: When specified along with template, sets the base name to use for the index template. If this flag is not specified, the default base name is filebeat.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLES

filebeat export config
filebeat export template --es.version 6.4.3 --index myindexname

`help` command

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Shows help for any command. If no command is specified, shows help for the run command.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat help COMMAND_NAME [FLAGS]

COMMAND_NAME: Specifies the name of the command to show help for.

FLAGS

-h, --help: Shows help for the help command.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLE

filebeat help export

`keystore` command

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Manages the secrets keystore.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat keystore SUBCOMMAND [FLAGS]

SUBCOMMANDS

add KEY: Adds the specified key to the keystore. Use the --force flag to overwrite an existing key. Use the --stdin flag to pass the value through stdin.
create: Creates a keystore to hold secrets. Use the --force flag to overwrite the existing keystore.
list: Lists the keys in the keystore.
remove KEY: Removes the specified key from the keystore.

FLAGS

--force: Valid with the add and create subcommands. When used with add, overwrites the specified key. When used with create, overwrites the keystore.
--stdin: When used with add, uses the stdin as the source of the key’s value.
-h, --help: Shows help for the keystore command.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLES

filebeat keystore create
filebeat keystore add ES_PWD
filebeat keystore remove ES_PWD
filebeat keystore list

see Secrets keystore for more examples.

`modules` command

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Manages configured modules. You can use this command to enable and disable specific module configurations defined in the modules.d directory. The changes you make with this command are persisted and used for subsequent runs of Filebeat.

To see which modules are enabled and disabled, run the list subcommand.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat modules SUBCOMMAND [FLAGS]

SUBCOMMANDS

disable MODULE_LIST: Disables the modules specified in the space-separated list.
enable MODULE_LIST: Enables the modules specified in the space-separated list.
list: Lists the modules that are currently enabled and disabled.

FLAGS

-h, --help: Shows help for the export command.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLES

filebeat modules list
filebeat modules enable apache2 auditd mysql

`run` command

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Runs Filebeat. This command is used by default if you start Filebeat without specifying a command.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat run [FLAGS]

Or:

filebeat [FLAGS]

FLAGS

-N, --N

Disables the publishing of events to the defined output. This option is useful only for testing Filebeat.

--cpuprofile FILE

Writes CPU profile data to the specified file. This option is useful for troubleshooting Filebeat.

-h, --help

Shows help for the run command.

--httpprof [HOST]:PORT

Starts an http server for profiling. This option is useful for troubleshooting and profiling Filebeat.

--memprofile FILE

Writes memory profile data to the specified output file. This option is useful for troubleshooting Filebeat.

--modules MODULE_LIST

Specifies a comma-separated list of modules to run. For example:

filebeat run --modules nginx,mysql,system

Rather than specifying the list of modules every time you run Filebeat, you can use the modules command to enable and disable specific modules. Then when you run Filebeat, it will run any modules that are enabled.

--once

When the --once flag is used, Filebeat starts all configured harvesters and inputs, and runs each input until the harvesters are closed. If you set the --once flag, you should also set close_eof so the harvester is closed when the end of the file is reached. By default harvesters are closed after close_inactive is reached.

--setup

Loads the initial setup, including Elasticsearch template, Kibana index pattern, Kibana dashboards and Machine learning jobs. If you want to use the command without running Filebeat, use the setup command instead.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLE

filebeat run -e --setup

Or:

filebeat -e --setup

`setup` command

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Sets up the initial environment, including the index template, Kibana dashboards (when available), and machine learning jobs (when available)

The index template ensures that fields are mapped correctly in Elasticsearch.
The Kibana dashboards make it easier for you to visualize Filebeat data in Kibana.
The machine learning jobs contain the configuration information and metadata necessary to analyze data for anomalies.

Use this command instead of run --setup when you want to set up the environment without actually running Filebeat and ingesting data.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat setup [FLAGS]

FLAGS

--dashboards: Sets up the Kibana dashboards only. This option loads the dashboards from the Filebeat package. For more options, such as loading customized dashboards, see Importing Existing Beat Dashboards in the Beats Developer Guide.
-h, --help: Shows help for the setup command.
--machine-learning: Sets up machine learning job configurations only.
--modules MODULE_LIST: Specifies a comma-separated list of modules. Use this flag to avoid errors when there are no modules defined in the filebeat.yml file.
--pipelines: Sets up ingest pipelines for configured filesets.
--template: Sets up the index template only.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLE

filebeat setup --dashboards

`test` command

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Tests the configuration.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat test SUBCOMMAND [FLAGS]

SUBCOMMANDS

config: Tests the configuration settings.
output: Tests that Filebeat can connect to the output by using the current settings.

FLAGS

-h, --help: Shows help for the test command.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLE

filebeat test config

`version` command

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Shows information about the current version.

SYNOPSIS

filebeat version [FLAGS]

FLAGS

-h, --help: Shows help for the version command.

Also see Global flags.

EXAMPLE

filebeat version

Global flags

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These global flags are available whenever you run Filebeat.

-E, --E "SETTING_NAME=VALUE"

Overrides a specific configuration setting. You can specify multiple overrides. For example:

filebeat -E "name=mybeat" -E "output.elasticsearch.hosts=['http://myhost:9200']"

This setting is applied to the currently running Filebeat process. The Filebeat configuration file is not changed.

-M, --M "VAR_NAME=VALUE"

Overrides the default configuration for a Filebeat module. You can specify multiple variable overrides. For example:

filebeat -modules=nginx -M "nginx.access.var.paths=['/var/log/nginx/access.log*']" -M "nginx.access.var.pipeline=no_plugins"

-c, --c FILE

Specifies the configuration file to use for Filebeat. The file you specify here is relative to path.config. If the -c flag is not specified, the default config file, filebeat.yml, is used.

-d, --d SELECTORS

Enables debugging for the specified selectors. For the selectors, you can specify a comma-separated list of components, or you can use -d "*" to enable debugging for all components. For example, -d "publish" displays all the "publish" related messages.

-e, --e

Logs to stderr and disables syslog/file output.

--path.config

Sets the path for configuration files. See the Directory layout section for details.

--path.data

Sets the path for data files. See the Directory layout section for details.

--path.home

Sets the path for miscellaneous files. See the Directory layout section for details.

--path.logs

Sets the path for log files. See the Directory layout section for details.

--strict.perms

Sets strict permission checking on configuration files. The default is -strict.perms=true. See Config file ownership and permissions in the Beats Platform Reference for more information.

-v, --v

Logs INFO-level messages.

« Secrets keystore for secure settings Running Filebeat on Docker »

Filebeat command reference

Filebeat command reference

export command

help command

keystore command

modules command

run command

setup command

test command

version command

Global flags

`export` command

`help` command

`keystore` command

`modules` command

`run` command

`setup` command

`test` command

`version` command