Config file format
editConfig file format
editBeats config files are based on YAML, a file format that is easier to read and write than other common data formats like XML or JSON.
In beats all YAML files start with a dictionary, an unordered collection of name/value pairs. In addition to dictionaries, YAML also supports lists, numbers, strings, and many other data types. All members of the same list or dictionary must have the same indentation level.
Dictionaries are represented by simple key: value
pairs all having the same
indentation level. The colon after key
must be followed by a space.
name: John Doe age: 34 country: Canada
Lists are introduced by dashes `- `. All list members will be lines beginning with `- ` at the same indentation level.
- Red - Green - Blue
Lists and dictionaries are used in beats to build structured configurations.
filebeat: inputs: - type: log paths: - /var/log/*.log multiline: pattern: '^[' match: after
Lists and dictionaries can also be represented in abbreviated form. Abbreviated
form is somewhat similar to JSON using {}
for dictionaries and []
for lists:
person: {name: "John Doe", age: 34, country: "Canada"} colors: ["Red", "Green", "Blue"]
The following topics provide more detail to help you understand and work with config files in YAML: