Set up project paths

The path section of the packetbeat.yml config file contains configuration options that define where Packetbeat looks for its files. For example, Packetbeat looks for the Elasticsearch template file in the configuration path and writes log files in the logs path.

Please see the Directory layout section for more details.

Here is an example configuration:

path.home: /usr/share/beat
path.config: /etc/beat
path.data: /var/lib/beat
path.logs: /var/log/

Note that it is possible to override these options by using command line flags.

You can specify the following options in the path section of the packetbeat.yml config file:

The home path for the Packetbeat installation. This is the default base path for all other path settings and for miscellaneous files that come with the distribution (for example, the sample dashboards). If not set by a CLI flag or in the configuration file, the default for the home path is the location of the Packetbeat binary.

Example:

path.home: /usr/share/beats

The configuration path for the Packetbeat installation. This is the default base path for configuration files, including the main YAML configuration file and the Elasticsearch template file. If not set by a CLI flag or in the configuration file, the default for the configuration path is the home path.

Example:

path.config: /usr/share/beats/config

The data path for the Packetbeat installation. This is the default base path for all the files in which Packetbeat needs to store its data. If not set by a CLI flag or in the configuration file, the default for the data path is a data subdirectory inside the home path.

Example:

path.data: /var/lib/beats

The logs path for a Packetbeat installation. This is the default location for Packetbeat’s log files. If not set by a CLI flag or in the configuration file, the default for the logs path is a logs subdirectory inside the home path.

Example:

path.logs: /var/log/beats