VictoriaMetrics/docs/VictoriaLogs/data-ingestion/README.md

---
sort: 3
title: Data ingestion
weight: 3
menu:
  docs:
    identifier: victorialogs-data-ingestion
    parent: "victorialogs"
    weight: 3
aliases:
  - /VictoriaLogs/data-ingestion/
  - /VictoriaLogs/data-ingestion/index.html
---

# Data ingestion

[VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/) can accept logs from the following log collectors:

- Filebeat. See [how to setup Filebeat for sending logs to VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Filebeat.html).
- Fluentbit. See [how to setup Fluentbit for sending logs to VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Fluentbit.html).
- Logstash. See [how to setup Logstash for sending logs to VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Logstash.html).
- Vector. See [how to setup Vector for sending logs to VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Vector.html).
- Promtail (aka Grafana Loki). See [how to setup Promtail for sending logs to VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Promtail.html).

The ingested logs can be queried according to [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/).

See also:

- [Log collectors and data ingestion formats](#log-collectors-and-data-ingestion-formats).
- [Data ingestion troubleshooting](#troubleshooting).


## HTTP APIs

VictoriaLogs supports the following data ingestion HTTP APIs:

- Elasticsearch bulk API. See [these docs](#elasticsearch-bulk-api).
- JSON stream API aka [ndjson](https://jsonlines.org/). See [these docs](#json-stream-api).
- Loki JSON API. See [these docs](#loki-json-api).

VictoriaLogs accepts optional [HTTP parameters](#http-parameters) at data ingestion HTTP APIs.

### Elasticsearch bulk API

VictoriaLogs accepts logs in [Elasticsearch bulk API](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/docs-bulk.html)
/ [OpenSearch Bulk API](http://opensearch.org/docs/1.2/opensearch/rest-api/document-apis/bulk/) format
at `http://localhost:9428/insert/elasticsearch/_bulk` endpoint.

The following command pushes a single log line to VictoriaLogs:

```sh
echo '{"create":{}}
{"_msg":"cannot open file","_time":"0","host.name":"host123"}
' | curl -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' --data-binary @- http://localhost:9428/insert/elasticsearch/_bulk
```

It is possible to push thousands of log lines in a single request to this API.

If the [timestamp field](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#time-field) is set to `"0"`,
then the current timestamp at VictoriaLogs side is used per each ingested log line.
Otherwise the timestamp field must be in the [ISO8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) format. For example, `2023-06-20T15:32:10Z`.
Optional fractional part of seconds can be specified after the dot - `2023-06-20T15:32:10.123Z`.
Timezone can be specified instead of `Z` suffix - `2023-06-20T15:32:10+02:00`.

See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model) for details on fields,
which must be present in the ingested log messages.

The API accepts various http parameters, which can change the data ingestion behavior - [these docs](#http-parameters) for details.

The following command verifies that the data has been successfully ingested to VictoriaLogs by [querying](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/) it:

```sh
curl http://localhost:9428/select/logsql/query -d 'query=host.name:host123'
```

The command should return the following response:

```sh
{"_msg":"cannot open file","_stream":"{}","_time":"2023-06-21T04:24:24Z","host.name":"host123"}
```

The response by default contains all the [log fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model).
See [how to query specific fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/logsql/#querying-specific-fields).

The duration of requests to `/insert/elasticsearch/_bulk` can be monitored with `vl_http_request_duration_seconds{path="/insert/elasticsearch/_bulk"}` metric.

See also:

- [How to debug data ingestion](#troubleshooting).
- [HTTP parameters, which can be passed to the API](#http-parameters).
- [How to query VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/).

### JSON stream API

VictoriaLogs accepts JSON line stream aka [ndjson](https://jsonlines.org/) at `http://localhost:9428/insert/jsonline` endpoint.

The following command pushes multiple log lines to VictoriaLogs:

 ```sh
echo '{ "log": { "level": "info", "message": "hello world" }, "date": "0", "stream": "stream1" }
{ "log": { "level": "error", "message": "oh no!" }, "date": "0", "stream": "stream1" }
{ "log": { "level": "info", "message": "hello world" }, "date": "0", "stream": "stream2" }
' | curl -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/stream+json' --data-binary @- \
  'http://localhost:9428/insert/jsonline?_stream_fields=stream&_time_field=date&_msg_field=log.message'
```

It is possible to push unlimited number of log lines in a single request to this API.

If the [timestamp field](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#time-field) is set to `"0"`,
then the current timestamp at VictoriaLogs side is used per each ingested log line.
Otherwise the timestamp field must be in the [ISO8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) format. For example, `2023-06-20T15:32:10Z`.
Optional fractional part of seconds can be specified after the dot - `2023-06-20T15:32:10.123Z`.
Timezone can be specified instead of `Z` suffix - `2023-06-20T15:32:10+02:00`.

See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model) for details on fields,
which must be present in the ingested log messages.

The API accepts various http parameters, which can change the data ingestion behavior - [these docs](#http-parameters) for details.

The following command verifies that the data has been successfully ingested into VictoriaLogs by [querying](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/) it:

```sh
curl http://localhost:9428/select/logsql/query -d 'query=log.level:*'
```

The command should return the following response:

```sh
{"_msg":"hello world","_stream":"{stream=\"stream2\"}","_time":"2023-06-20T13:35:11.56789Z","log.level":"info"}
{"_msg":"hello world","_stream":"{stream=\"stream1\"}","_time":"2023-06-20T15:31:23Z","log.level":"info"}
{"_msg":"oh no!","_stream":"{stream=\"stream1\"}","_time":"2023-06-20T15:32:10.567Z","log.level":"error"}
```

The response by default contains all the [log fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model).
See [how to query specific fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/logsql/#querying-specific-fields).

The duration of requests to `/insert/jsonline` can be monitored with `vl_http_request_duration_seconds{path="/insert/jsonline"}` metric.

See also:

- [How to debug data ingestion](#troubleshooting).
- [HTTP parameters, which can be passed to the API](#http-parameters).
- [How to query VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/).

### Loki JSON API

VictoriaLogs accepts logs in [Loki JSON API](https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/api/#push-log-entries-to-loki) format at `http://localhost:9428/insert/loki/api/v1/push` endpoint.

The following command pushes a single log line to Loki JSON API at VictoriaLogs:

```sh
curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -XPOST "http://localhost:9428/insert/loki/api/v1/push?_stream_fields=instance,job" --data-raw \
  '{"streams": [{ "stream": { "instance": "host123", "job": "app42" }, "values": [ [ "0", "foo fizzbuzz bar" ] ] }]}'
```

It is possible to push thousands of log streams and log lines in a single request to this API.

The API accepts various http parameters, which can change the data ingestion behavior - [these docs](#http-parameters) for details.
There is no need in specifying `_msg_field` and `_time_field` query args, since VictoriaLogs automatically extracts log message and timestamp from the ingested Loki data.

The following command verifies that the data has been successfully ingested into VictoriaLogs by [querying](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/) it:

```sh
curl http://localhost:9428/select/logsql/query -d 'query=fizzbuzz'
```

The command should return the following response:

```sh
{"_msg":"foo fizzbuzz bar","_stream":"{instance=\"host123\",job=\"app42\"}","_time":"2023-07-20T23:01:19.288676497Z"}
```

The response by default contains all the [log fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model).
See [how to query specific fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/logsql/#querying-specific-fields).

The duration of requests to `/insert/loki/api/v1/push` can be monitored with `vl_http_request_duration_seconds{path="/insert/loki/api/v1/push"}` metric.

See also:

- [How to debug data ingestion](#troubleshooting).
- [HTTP parameters, which can be passed to the API](#http-parameters).
- [How to query VictoriaLogs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/).

### HTTP parameters

VictoriaLogs accepts the following parameters at [data ingestion HTTP APIs](#http-apis):

- `_msg_field` - it must contain the name of the [log field](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model)
  with the [log message](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#message-field) generated by the log shipper.
  This is usually the `message` field for Filebeat and Logstash.
  If the `_msg_field` parameter isn't set, then VictoriaLogs reads the log message from the `_msg` field.

- `_time_field` - it must contain the name of the [log field](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model)
  with the [log timestamp](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#time-field) generated by the log shipper.
  This is usually the `@timestamp` field for Filebeat and Logstash.
  If the `_time_field` parameter isn't set, then VictoriaLogs reads the timestamp from the `_time` field.
  If this field doesn't exist, then the current timestamp is used.

- `_stream_fields` - it should contain comma-separated list of [log field](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model) names,
  which uniquely identify every [log stream](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#stream-fields) collected the log shipper.
  If the `_stream_fields` parameter isn't set, then all the ingested logs are written to default log stream - `{}`.

- `ignore_fields` - this parameter may contain the list of [log field](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model) names,
  which must be ignored during data ingestion.

- `debug` - if this parameter is set to `1`, then the ingested logs aren't stored in VictoriaLogs. Instead,
  the ingested data is logged by VictoriaLogs, so it can be investigated later.

See also [HTTP headers](#http-headers).

### HTTP headers

VictoriaLogs accepts optional `AccountID` and `ProjectID` headers at [data ingestion HTTP APIs](#http-apis).
These headers may contain the needed tenant to ingest data to. See [multitenancy docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/#multitenancy) for details.

## Troubleshooting

The following command can be used for verifying whether the data is successfully ingested into VictoriaLogs:

```sh
curl http://localhost:9428/select/logsql/query -d 'query=*' | head
```

This command selects all the data ingested into VictoriaLogs via [HTTP query API](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/#http-api)
using [any value filter](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/logsql/#any-value-filter),
while `head` cancels query execution after reading the first 10 log lines. See [these docs](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/querying/#command-line)
for more details on how `head` integrates with VictoriaLogs.

The response by default contains all the [log fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model).
See [how to query specific fields](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/logsql/#querying-specific-fields).

VictoriaLogs provides the following command-line flags, which can help debugging data ingestion issues:

- `-logNewStreams` - if this flag is passed to VictoriaLogs, then it logs all the newly
  registered [log streams](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#stream-fields).
  This may help debugging [high cardinality issues](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#high-cardinality).
- `-logIngestedRows` - if this flag is passed to VictoriaLogs, then it logs all the ingested
  [log entries](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model).
  See also `debug` [parameter](#http-parameters).

VictoriaLogs exposes various [metrics](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/#monitoring), which may help debugging data ingestion issues:

- `vl_rows_ingested_total` - the number of ingested [log entries](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#data-model)
  since the last VictoriaLogs restart. If this number increases over time, then logs are successfully ingested into VictoriaLogs.
  The ingested logs can be inspected in the following ways:
  - By passing `debug=1` parameter to every request to [data ingestion APIs](#http-apis). The ingested rows aren't stored in VictoriaLogs
    in this case. Instead, they are logged, so they can be investigated later.
    The `vl_rows_dropped_total` [metric](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/#monitoring) is incremented for each logged row.
  - By passing `-logIngestedRows` command-line flag to VictoriaLogs. In this case it logs all the ingested data, so it can be investigated later.
- `vl_streams_created_total` - the number of created [log streams](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#stream-fields)
  since the last VictoriaLogs restart. If this metric grows rapidly during extended periods of time, then this may lead
  to [high cardinality issues](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/keyconcepts/#high-cardinality).
  The newly created log streams can be inspected in logs by passing `-logNewStreams` command-line flag to VictoriaLogs.

## Log collectors and data ingestion formats

Here is the list of log collectors and their ingestion formats supported by VictoriaLogs:

| How to setup the collector                                                               | Format: Elasticsearch                                                                     | Format: JSON Stream                                            | Format: Loki                                                                        |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| [Filebeat](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Filebeat.html)   | [Yes](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/current/elasticsearch-output.html)    | No                                                            | No                                                                                  |
| [Fluentbit](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Fluentbit.html) | No                                                                                         | [Yes](https://docs.fluentbit.io/manual/pipeline/outputs/http) | [Yes](https://docs.fluentbit.io/manual/pipeline/outputs/loki)                       |
| [Logstash](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Logstash.html)   | [Yes](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-outputs-elasticsearch.html) | No                                                            | No                                                                                  |
| [Vector](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Vector.html)       | [Yes](https://vector.dev/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/elasticsearch/)                | [Yes](https://vector.dev/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/http/)                                                            | [Yes](https://vector.dev/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/loki/)                  |
| [Promtail](https://docs.victoriametrics.com/victorialogs/data-ingestion/Promtail.html)   | No                                                                                         | No                                                            | [Yes](https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/clients/promtail/configuration/#clients) |