Telegraf input data formats

Telegraf input plugins use parsers to convert incoming data into Telegraf metrics. Any input plugin that supports the data_format option can use it to select a parser:

[[inputs.file]]
  files = ["example.json"]

  ## Data format to consume.
  data_format = "json_v2"

Each parser has its own configuration options for describing your data’s schema and how it maps to metric names, tags, fields, and timestamps. For guidance on choosing and configuring a parser, including timestamp format reference and worked examples, see Parse incoming data.

Choose a JSON parser

Three parsers read JSON data. They differ in how much control they give you and how they handle nested structures:

ParserBest forValue selectionType control
jsonFlat objectsFlattens everything; optional GJSON json_queryNumbers only by default; strings and booleans via json_string_fields
json_v2Existing configurations that select nested valuesGJSON pathsPer-value type option
xpath_jsonNested documents and arrays; new configurationsXPath 1.0 queriesXPath conversion functions or native JSON types

We recommend xpath_json over json_v2 for new configurations, especially when working with arrays. Use json when your data is flat and you don’t need type control.

Available parsers

Avro

Use the avro input data format to parse Avro binary or JSON data into Telegraf metrics.

Binary

Use the binary input data format with user-specified configurations to parse binary protocols into Telegraf metrics.

Collectd

Use the collectd input data format to parse collectd network binary protocol to create tags for host, instance, type, and type instance.

CSV

Use the csv input data format to parse comma-separated values into Telegraf metrics.

Dropwizard

Use the dropwizard input data format to parse Dropwizard JSON representations into Telegraf metrics.

Form URL-encoded

Use the form-urlencoded data format to parse application/x-www-form-urlencoded data, such as HTTP query strings.

Graphite

Use the graphite input data format to parse Graphite dot buckets into Telegraf metrics.

Grok

Use the grok data format to parse line-delimited data using a regular expression-like language.

InfluxDB line protocol

Use the influx line protocol input data format to parse InfluxDB metrics directly into Telegraf metrics.

JSON

Use the json input data format to parse flat JSON objects, or an array of flat objects, into Telegraf metrics. Includes a complete option reference and worked examples.

JSON v2

Use the json_v2 input data format to select values out of JSON documents with GJSON paths and map them to Telegraf metric names, tags, fields, and timestamps. Includes a complete option reference and worked examples.

Logfmt

Use the logfmt input data format to parse logfmt data into Telegraf metrics.

Nagios

Use the nagios input data format to parse the output of Nagios plugins into Telegraf metrics.

OpenMetrics

Use the openmetrics input data format to parse OpenMetrics text format into Telegraf metrics.

OpenTSDB Telnet PUT API

Use the opentsdb data format to parse OpenTSDB Telnet PUT API data into Telegraf metrics.

Parquet

Use the parquet input data format to parse Apache Parquet files into Telegraf metrics.

Prometheus

Use the prometheus input data format to parse Prometheus text exposition format into Telegraf metrics.

Prometheus Remote Write

Use the prometheusremotewrite input data format to parse Prometheus Remote Write samples into Telegraf metrics.

Value

Use the value input data format to parse single values into Telegraf metrics.

Wavefront

Use the wavefront input data format to parse Wavefront data into Telegraf metrics.

XML

Use the xml input data format and XPath expressions to parse XML data into Telegraf metrics.

XPath CBOR

Use the xpath_cbor input data format and XPath expressions to parse Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) data into Telegraf metrics.

XPath JSON

Use the xpath_json input data format and XPath expressions to parse JSON into Telegraf metrics. Includes the JSON-to-tree mapping, a complete option reference, and verified examples.

XPath MessagePack

Use the xpath_msgpack input data format and XPath expressions to parse MessagePack data into Telegraf metrics.

XPath Protocol Buffers

Use the xpath_protobuf input data format and XPath expressions to parse Protocol Buffers data into Telegraf metrics.

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