NATS

Read observability data from subjects on the NATS messaging system

status: beta role: aggregator delivery: best effort acknowledgements: no egress: stream state: stateless output: log
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Configuration

Example configurations 

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "nats",
      "connection_name": "vector",
      "subject": "foo",
      "url": "nats://demo.nats.io"
    }
  }
}
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "nats"
connection_name = "vector"
subject = "foo"
url = "nats://demo.nats.io"

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: nats
    connection_name: vector
    subject: foo
    url: nats://demo.nats.io

{
  "sources": {
    "my_source_id": {
      "type": "nats",
      "connection_name": "vector",
      "subject": "foo",
      "subject_key_field": "subject",
      "url": "nats://demo.nats.io"
    }
  }
}
[sources.my_source_id]
type = "nats"
connection_name = "vector"
subject = "foo"
subject_key_field = "subject"
url = "nats://demo.nats.io"

---
sources:
  my_source_id:
    type: nats
    connection_name: vector
    subject: foo
    subject_key_field: subject
    url: nats://demo.nats.io

auth

optional object
Configuration of the authentication strategy when interacting with NATS.

auth.credentials_file

required object
Credentials file configuration.
Relevant when: strategy = "credentials_file"
auth.credentials_file.path
required string literal
Path to credentials file.
Examples 
"/etc/nats/nats.creds"

auth.nkey

required object
NKeys configuration.
Relevant when: strategy = "nkey"
auth.nkey.nkey
required string literal

User.

Conceptually, this is equivalent to a public key.

auth.nkey.seed
required string literal

Seed.

Conceptually, this is equivalent to a private key.

auth.strategy

required string literal enum

The strategy used to authenticate with the NATS server.

More information on NATS authentication, and the various authentication strategies, can be found in the NATS documentation. For TLS client certificate authentication specifically, see the tls settings.

Enum options
OptionDescription
credentials_fileCredentials file authentication. (JWT-based)
nkeyNKey authentication.
tokenToken authentication.
user_passwordUsername/password authentication.
Examples 
"credentials_file"
"nkey"
"token"
"user_password"

auth.token

required object
Token configuration.
Relevant when: strategy = "token"
auth.token.value
required string literal
Token.

auth.user_password

required object
Username and password configuration.
Relevant when: strategy = "user_password"
auth.user_password.password
required string literal
Password.
auth.user_password.user
required string literal
Username.

connection_name

required string literal
A name assigned to the NATS connection.
Examples 
"vector"

decoding

optional object
Configures how events are decoded from raw bytes.

decoding.codec

optional string literal enum
The codec to use for decoding events.
Enum options
OptionDescription
bytesUses the raw bytes as-is.
gelfDecodes the raw bytes as a GELF message.
jsonDecodes the raw bytes as JSON.
native

Decodes the raw bytes as Vector’s native Protocol Buffers format.

This codec is experimental.

native_json

Decodes the raw bytes as Vector’s native JSON format.

This codec is experimental.

syslog

Decodes the raw bytes as a Syslog message.

Will decode either as the RFC 3164-style format (“old” style) or the more modern RFC 5424-style format (“new” style, includes structured data).

default: bytes

framing

optional object

Framing configuration.

Framing deals with how events are separated when encoded in a raw byte form, where each event is a “frame” that must be prefixed, or delimited, in a way that marks where an event begins and ends within the byte stream.

framing.character_delimited

required object
Options for the character delimited decoder.
Relevant when: method = "character_delimited"
framing.character_delimited.delimiter
required uint
The character that delimits byte sequences.
framing.character_delimited.max_length
optional uint

The maximum length of the byte buffer.

This length does not include the trailing delimiter.

By default, there is no maximum length enforced. If events are malformed, this can lead to additional resource usage as events continue to be buffered in memory, and can potentially lead to memory exhaustion in extreme cases.

If there is a risk of processing malformed data, such as logs with user-controlled input, consider setting the maximum length to a reasonably large value as a safety net. This will ensure that processing is not truly unbounded.

framing.method

optional string literal enum
The framing method.
Enum options
OptionDescription
bytesByte frames are passed through as-is according to the underlying I/O boundaries (e.g. split between messages or stream segments).
character_delimitedByte frames which are delimited by a chosen character.
length_delimitedByte frames which are prefixed by an unsigned big-endian 32-bit integer indicating the length.
newline_delimitedByte frames which are delimited by a newline character.
octet_countingByte frames according to the octet counting format.
default: bytes

framing.newline_delimited

optional object
Options for the newline delimited decoder.
Relevant when: method = "newline_delimited"
framing.newline_delimited.max_length
optional uint

The maximum length of the byte buffer.

This length does not include the trailing delimiter.

By default, there is no maximum length enforced. If events are malformed, this can lead to additional resource usage as events continue to be buffered in memory, and can potentially lead to memory exhaustion in extreme cases.

If there is a risk of processing malformed data, such as logs with user-controlled input, consider setting the maximum length to a reasonably large value as a safety net. This will ensure that processing is not truly unbounded.

framing.octet_counting

optional object
Options for the octet counting decoder.
Relevant when: method = "octet_counting"
framing.octet_counting.max_length
optional uint
The maximum length of the byte buffer.

queue

optional string literal
NATS Queue Group to join.

subject

required string literal
The NATS subject to pull messages from.
Examples 
"foo"
"time.us.east"
"time.*.east"
"time.\u003e"
"\u003e"

subject_key_field

optional string literal
The NATS subject key.
default: subject

tls

optional object
Configures the TLS options for incoming/outgoing connections.

tls.alpn_protocols

optional [string]

Sets the list of supported ALPN protocols.

Declare the supported ALPN protocols, which are used during negotiation with peer. Prioritized in the order they are defined.

tls.ca_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to an additional CA certificate file.

The certificate must be in the DER or PEM (X.509) format. Additionally, the certificate can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

Examples 
"/path/to/certificate_authority.crt"

tls.crt_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a certificate file used to identify this server.

The certificate must be in DER, PEM (X.509), or PKCS#12 format. Additionally, the certificate can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

If this is set, and is not a PKCS#12 archive, key_file must also be set.

Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.crt"

tls.enabled

optional bool

Whether or not to require TLS for incoming/outgoing connections.

When enabled and used for incoming connections, an identity certificate is also required. See tls.crt_file for more information.

tls.key_file

optional string literal

Absolute path to a private key file used to identify this server.

The key must be in DER or PEM (PKCS#8) format. Additionally, the key can be provided as an inline string in PEM format.

Examples 
"/path/to/host_certificate.key"

tls.key_pass

optional string literal

Passphrase used to unlock the encrypted key file.

This has no effect unless key_file is set.

Examples 
"${KEY_PASS_ENV_VAR}"
"PassWord1"

tls.verify_certificate

optional bool

Enables certificate verification.

If enabled, certificates must be valid in terms of not being expired, as well as being issued by a trusted issuer. This verification operates in a hierarchical manner, checking that not only the leaf certificate (the certificate presented by the client/server) is valid, but also that the issuer of that certificate is valid, and so on until reaching a root certificate.

Relevant for both incoming and outgoing connections.

Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the validity of certificates.

tls.verify_hostname

optional bool

Enables hostname verification.

If enabled, the hostname used to connect to the remote host must be present in the TLS certificate presented by the remote host, either as the Common Name or as an entry in the Subject Alternative Name extension.

Only relevant for outgoing connections.

Do NOT set this to false unless you understand the risks of not verifying the remote hostname.

url

required string literal

The NATS URL to connect to.

The URL takes the form of nats://server:port. If the port is not specified it defaults to 4222.

Examples 
"nats://demo.nats.io"
"nats://127.0.0.1:4242"

Outputs

<component_id>

Default output stream of the component. Use this component’s ID as an input to downstream transforms and sinks.

Output Data

Logs

Record

An individual NATS record.
Fields
message required string literal
The raw line from the NATS message.
Examples
53.126.150.246 - - [01/Oct/2020:11:25:58 -0400] "GET /disintermediate HTTP/2.0" 401 20308
source_type required string literal
The name of the source type.
Examples
nats
subject required string literal
The subject from the NATS message.
Examples
nats.subject

Telemetry

Metrics

link

component_discarded_events_total

counter
The number of events dropped by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_errors_total

counter
The total number of errors encountered by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
error_type
The type of the error
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
stage
The stage within the component at which the error occurred.

component_received_bytes_total

counter
The number of raw bytes accepted by this component from source origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_event_bytes_total

counter
The number of event bytes accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_received_events_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

component_sent_event_bytes_total

counter
The total number of event bytes emitted by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

component_sent_events_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

events_in_total

counter
The number of events accepted by this component either from tagged origins like file and uri, or cumulatively from other origins. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_received_events_total instead.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the data originated.
file optional
The file from which the data originated.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the data originated.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the data originated.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the data originated.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the data originated.

events_out_total

counter
The total number of events emitted by this component. This metric is deprecated and will be removed in a future version. Use component_sent_events_total instead.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
output optional
The specific output of the component.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

processed_bytes_total

counter
The number of bytes processed by the component.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
container_name optional
The name of the container from which the bytes originate.
file optional
The file from which the bytes originate.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
mode optional
The connection mode used by the component.
peer_addr optional
The IP from which the bytes originate.
peer_path optional
The pathname from which the bytes originate.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.
pod_name optional
The name of the pod from which the bytes originate.
uri optional
The sanitized URI from which the bytes originate.

processed_events_total

counter
The total number of events processed by this component. This metric is deprecated in place of using component_received_events_total and component_sent_events_total metrics.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

source_lag_time_seconds

histogram
The difference between the timestamp recorded in each event and the time when it was ingested, expressed as fractional seconds.
component_id
The Vector component ID.
component_kind
The Vector component kind.
component_name
Deprecated, use component_id instead. The value is the same as component_id.
component_type
The Vector component type.
host optional
The hostname of the system Vector is running on.
pid optional
The process ID of the Vector instance.

How it works

Context

By default, the nats source augments events with helpful context keys.

nats.rs

The nats source/sink uses nats.rs under the hood.

State

This component is stateless, meaning its behavior is consistent across each input.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Vector uses OpenSSL for TLS protocols. You can adjust TLS behavior via the tls.* options.
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