> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.elastiflow.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.elastiflow.com/flowcoll/configuration/outputs/output_http.md).

# Generic HTTP

{% hint style="info" %}
The Generic HTTP output is currently a *technology preview*. The design and implementation are less mature than stable features and subject to change.
{% endhint %}

The Generic HTTP output can be used to send records to an HTTP endpoint such as the `http_endpoint` input of Elastic's Filebeat, or the `http` input of Elastic's Logstash.

The following is an example configuration for Elastic Filebeat:

```yaml
filebeat.inputs:
  - type: http_endpoint
    enabled: true
    listen_address: 0.0.0.0
    listen_port: 8888
    processors:
      - convert:
          fields:
            - {from: "json", type: "string"}
          ignore_missing: true
          fail_on_error: false
      - decode_json_fields:
          fields: ["json"]
          process_array: true
          target: ""
          overwrite_keys: true
          add_error_key: false
      - drop_fields:
          fields: ["json"]
          ignore_missing: false

processors:
  - drop_fields:
      fields:
        - agent
        - ecs
        - host
        - input
```

{% hint style="info" %}
The ElastiFlow Generic HTTP Output supports sending data using the ECS Schema. The global processor section in the above config is necessary to remove the fields automatically added by Filebeat. These would otherwise conflict with the fields ElastiFlow is emitting. This must be done in a global processor as (from the Filebeat source code) "Builtin fields can be modified using global `processors`, and `fields` only." This works because as of `6.0.0` ElastiFlow has transitioned to flattened field names. Dropping the Filebeat-emitted parent fields in a global processor does not affect the equivalent flattened field names.
{% endhint %}

The following is an example pipeline for Elastic Logstash:

```
input {
  http {
    host => "0.0.0.0"
    port => 8888
    ecs_compatibility => "disabled"
  }
}

filter {
  mutate {
    remove_field => ["host", "event", "headers"]
  }
}
```

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_ENABLE

Specifies whether the Generic HTTP output is enabled.

* Valid Values
  * `true`, `false`
* Default
  * `false`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_ECS\_ENABLE

Specifies whether the data will be sent using Elastic Common Schema (ECS).

* Valid Values
  * `true`, `false`
* Default
  * `false`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_BATCH\_DEADLINE

The maximum time, in milliseconds, to wait for a batch of records to fill before being sent to the HTTP Endpoint.

* Default
  * `2000`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_BATCH\_MAX\_BYTES

The maximum size, in bytes, for a batch of records being sent to the HTTP Endpoint.

* Default
  * `8388608`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_TIMESTAMP\_SOURCE

Determines the timestamp source to be used to set the `@timestamp` field. Usually `end` would be the best setting. However, in the case of poorly behaving or misconfigured devices, `collect` may be the better option. For this reason the default value is `collect` as it best handles a variety of scenarios.

* Valid Values
  * `start` - Use the timestamp from `flow.start.timestamp`. The flow start time indicated in the flow.
  * `end` - Use the timestamp from `flow.end.timestamp`. The flow end time (or last reported time).
  * `export` - Use the timestamp from `flow.export.timestamp`. The time from the flow record header.
  * `collect` - Use the timestamp from `flow.collect.timestamp`. The time that the collector processed the flow record.
* Default
  * `collect`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_ADDRESSES

This setting specifies the HTTP servers to which the output should connect. It is a comma-separated list of HTTP servers, including port number.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Do **NOT** include `http://` or `https://` in the provided value. TLS communications is enabled/disabled using `EF_OUTPUT_GENERIC_HTTP_TLS_ENABLE`.
{% endhint %}

* Default
  * `127.0.0.1:8888`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_USERNAME

The username to use when connecting to the HTTP endpoint.

* Default
  * \`\`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_PASSWORD

The password to use when connecting to the HTTP endpoint.

* Default
  * \`\`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_TLS\_ENABLE

This setting is used to enable/disable TLS connections to the HTTP server.

* Valid Values
  * `true`, `false`
* Default
  * `false`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_TLS\_SKIP\_VERIFICATION

This setting is used to enable/disable TLS verification of the HTTP server to which the output is attempting to connect.

* Valid Values
  * `true`, `false`
* Default
  * `false`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_TLS\_CA\_CERT\_FILEPATH

The path to the Certificate Authority (CA) certificate to use for verification of the HTTP server to which the output is attempting to connect.

* Default
  * `''`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_DROP\_FIELDS

This setting allows for a comma-separated list of fields that are to be removed from all records.

{% hint style="info" %}
Fields are dropped after any output specific fields have been added and after any schema conversion. This means that you should use the field names as you see them in the user interface.
{% endhint %}

* Valid Values
  * any field names related to the enabled schema, comma-separated
* Example
  * `flow.export.sysuptime,flow.export.version.ver,flow.start.sysuptime,flow.end.sysuptime,flow.seq_num`
* Default
  * `''`

## EF\_OUTPUT\_GENERIC\_HTTP\_ALLOWED\_RECORD\_TYPES

This setting allows for a comma-separated list of record types that the output will emit. If left empty, all types will be allowed by default.

* Valid Values
  * `as_path_hop`, `flow_option`, `flow`, `ifa_hop`, `telemetry`, `metric`, `log`
* Default
  * `'as_path_hop,flow_option,flow,ifa_hop,telemetry,metric,log'` 

For more details on record types, see [Outputs](/flowcoll/configuration/outputs.md#record-types)


---

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