File

Write telemetry data to files on the local filesystem. Supports automatic file rotation, compression, and grouping by resource attributes for organized log management.

Supported Telemetry Types

Logs	Metrics	Traces
✓	✓	✓

Prerequisites

Before configuring the File destination, ensure you have:

• Write access to the target directory path

• Sufficient disk space for telemetry data

• Appropriate file system permissions for the collector process

• For directory creation: permissions to create parent directories

Configuration

Basic Configuration

The minimum configuration requires only the file path. The destination will write telemetry data in JSON format by default.

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Choose Telemetry Type	Telemetry Selector	No	Logs, Metrics, Traces	Types of telemetry to export
File Path	String	Yes	—	Path to the file for telemetry output

Advanced Configuration

File Format and Compression

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Format	Enum (json, proto)	json	Output format for telemetry data
Compression	Enum (none, zstd)	none	Compression algorithm for output

File Rotation Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Rotation - Max File Size (MB)	Integer	100	Max file size before rotation (0 = disabled)
Rotation - Max Days	Integer	0	Days to retain files (0 = unlimited)
Rotation - Max Backups	Integer	100	Number of old files to keep (0 = unlimited)
Rotation - Use Local Time	Boolean	false	Use local time for rotation timestamps instead of UTC

Write and Directory Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Flush Interval (seconds)	Integer	1	Seconds between buffer flushes (ignored when rotation enabled)
Append Mode	Boolean	false	Append to file instead of truncating
Create Directory	Boolean	false	Create directory path if it doesn't exist
Directory Permissions (Octal)	String	0755	Permissions for created directories

Resource-Based File Grouping

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Group by Resource Attribute	Boolean	false	Write to separate files based on resource attributes
Resource Attribute Name	String	fileexporter.path_segment	Attribute name for grouping (when grouping enabled)
Group by - Max Open Files	Integer	100	Max file descriptors when grouping (when grouping enabled)

Log Processing

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Drop Raw Copy	Boolean	true	Remove log.record.original attribute from logs

Retry and Queuing

This destination supports the retry settings, the sending queue settings, and the persistent queue settings.

Examples

JSON with File Rotation

Protocol Buffers with Compression

Resource Attribute Grouping

Configuration Tips

File Path and Permissions

• Specify absolute paths to avoid ambiguity (e.g., /var/log/telemetry.log instead of logs/telemetry.log)

• Ensure the collector process has write permissions to the target directory

• Use Create Directory to automatically set up directory structure with specified permissions

• For Kubernetes, use persistent volumes to prevent data loss on pod restart

File Rotation Strategy

• Enable rotation for long-running collectors to prevent unbounded file growth

• Set Max File Size based on disk capacity and log volume (100 MB default is reasonable for most workloads)

• Use Max Days to implement retention policies, or disable (0) for indefinite retention

• Set Max Backups to control storage usage; old files are automatically deleted when limit is exceeded

Format Selection

• JSON: Human-readable, easier to debug, slightly larger file size

• Proto: Compact binary format, ~50% smaller files, requires decoder to inspect

Troubleshooting

Permission Denied Errors

Symptoms: "permission denied" errors when writing to file or creating directory.

Solutions:

1. Verify the collector process user has write permissions to the target directory

2. Check parent directory permissions if using Create Directory

3. Verify directory permissions (octal format) are correct: 0755 allows owner read/write/execute

4. Ensure SELinux or AppArmor policies don't restrict file access

File Rotation Not Working

Symptoms: Files grow indefinitely despite rotation settings, or rotation happens unexpectedly.

Solutions:

1. Verify Max File Size is greater than 0 (0 disables rotation)

2. Check available disk space; rotation may fail if disk is full

3. Ensure write permissions exist for directory where rotated files are created

4. Verify Flush Interval is configured when grouping is disabled (rotation ignored otherwise)

Missing Data in Files

Symptoms: Some telemetry appears to be lost or not written to file.

Solutions:

1. Verify the source is actually generating telemetry

2. Check collector logs for errors related to the file exporter

3. If using Group by Resource Attribute: verify the attribute exists on all telemetry items

4. If grouping is enabled with high cardinality attributes: check that max open files limit isn't exceeded

Related Resources

• File Exporter Documentation

• Bindplane Destinations Overview

• Retention and Queuing Configuration