# Filelog

{% hint style="danger" %}
**WARNING**

This source offers a delete\_after\_read option that can be hazardous. When this option is combined with file globbing, it will delete every file that matches the globbing pattern. Use with caution and care.
{% endhint %}

***

### Supported Platforms

| Platform | Metrics | Logs | Traces |
| -------- | ------- | ---- | ------ |
| Linux    |         | ✓    |        |
| Windows  |         | ✓    |        |
| macOS    |         | ✓    |        |

### Configuration Table

<table><thead><tr><th width="227.37109375">Parameter</th><th width="122.4765625">Type</th><th width="87.3125">Default</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>file_path*</td><td><code>strings</code></td><td></td><td>File or directory paths to tail for logs.</td></tr><tr><td>exclude_file_path</td><td><code>strings</code></td><td>""</td><td>File or directory paths to exclude.</td></tr><tr><td>log_type</td><td><code>string</code></td><td>"file"</td><td>A friendly name that will be added to each log entry as an attribute.</td></tr><tr><td>multiline_line_start_pattern</td><td><code>string</code></td><td></td><td>Regex pattern that matches the beginning of a log entry for handling multiline logs.</td></tr><tr><td>multiline_line_end_pattern</td><td><code>string</code></td><td></td><td>Regex pattern that matches the end of a log entry, useful for terminating parsing of multiline logs.</td></tr><tr><td>encoding</td><td><code>enum</code></td><td>utf-8</td><td>The encoding of the file being read. Valid values are <code>nop</code>, <code>utf-8</code>, <code>utf-16le</code>, <code>utf-16be</code>, <code>ascii</code>, and <code>big5</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>compression</td><td><code>enum</code></td><td>none</td><td>Indicate the compression format of input files. If set accordingly, files will be read using a reader that decompresses the file before scanning its content. Valid values are <code>none</code> or <code>gzip</code>. Requires <code>start_at</code> to be set to <code>beginning</code>. Ensure that your collector has permission to decompress the file.</td></tr><tr><td>include_file_name_attribute</td><td><code>bool</code></td><td>true</td><td>Whether to add the file name as the attribute <code>log.file.name</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>include_file_path_attribute</td><td><code>bool</code></td><td>false</td><td>Whether to add the file path as the attribute <code>log.file.path</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>include_file_name_resolved</td><td><code>bool</code></td><td>false</td><td>Whether to add the file name after symlinks resolution as the attribute <code>log.file.name_resolved</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>include_file_path_resolved</td><td><code>bool</code></td><td>false</td><td>Whether to add the file path after symlinks resolution as the attribute <code>log.file.path_resolved</code>.</td></tr><tr><td>delete_after_read</td><td><code>bool</code></td><td>false</td><td>Whether to delete the file(s) after reading. Only valid in combination start_at: beginning.</td></tr><tr><td>offset_storage_dir</td><td><code>string</code></td><td>$OIQ_OTEL_COLLECTOR_HOME/storage</td><td>The directory where the offset storage file will be created. It is okay if multiple receivers use the same directory. By default, the <a href="https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-otel-collector">Bindplane Distro for OpenTelemetry Collector</a> sets <code>$OIQ_OTEL_COLLECTOR_HOME</code> in its runtime.</td></tr><tr><td>poll_interval</td><td><code>int</code></td><td>200</td><td>The duration of time in milliseconds between filesystem polls.</td></tr><tr><td>max_concurrent_files</td><td><code>int</code></td><td>1024</td><td>The maximum number of log files from which logs will be read concurrently. If the number of files matched exceeds this number, then files will be processed in batches.</td></tr><tr><td>parse_to</td><td><code>string</code></td><td>body</td><td>The <a href="https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib/blob/main/pkg/stanza/docs/types/field.md">field</a> that the log will be parsed to. Some exporters handle logs favorably when parsed to <code>attributes</code> over <code>body</code> and vice versa.</td></tr><tr><td>start_at</td><td><code>enum</code></td><td>end</td><td>Start reading the file from the 'beginning' or 'end'.</td></tr></tbody></table>

<mark style="color:red;">\*</mark>*<mark style="color:red;">required field</mark>*

#### Parsing

For the latest version of the filelog source, parsing capabilities have been removed. To replace this functionality, add a processor to your pipeline.

To parse JSON data from a file, add the [Parse JSON Processor](/integrations/processors/parse-json.md).

To parse data from a file using regex, add the [Parse with Regex Processor](/integrations/processors/parse-with-regex.md).


---

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