Configuration

Scribe Configuration

Global options

config_dir - Directory to read configuration files from. Multiple files are supported, allowing operations teams to add/remove sources without affecting other sources. (default: /etc/scribe.d)

Sources

Messages are input to Scribe as (category,message) pairs. Typically, messages for a single category are aggregated and stored in a single location.

Thrift API

A simple Thrift API is available, and recommended if you have control over the source application. Please see [scribe.thrift] (/traviscrawford/scribe/blob/master/if/scribe.thrift) for the interface.

File Tail Source

Scribe can natively tail a local file, inputting each line as a message to the given category. Tail sources are configured with XML config files in the config_dir directory. For example:

<sources>
  <source>
    <category>httpd</category>
    <type>tail</type>
    <file>/var/log/httpd.log</file>
  </source>
</sources>

Multiple files in config_dir are supported, as are multiple source sections per sources. The recommended configuration is one source per file, allowing systems management tools or packages to manage their configuration snippet independently.

For example, a package installing application foo could install /etc/scribe.d/foo.xml to tail /var/log/foo.log. When uninstalling, the package can remove its config snippet without affecting others.