For outputs that do not require a specific encoding, you can change the encoding by using the codec configuration. You can specify either the json or format codec. By default the json codec is used.

json.pretty: If pretty is set to true, events will be nicely formatted. The default is false.

json.escape_html: If escape_html is set to false, html symbols will not be escaped in strings. The default is true.

Example configuration that uses the json codec with pretty printing enabled to write events to the console:

output.console:
  codec.json:
    pretty: true
    escape_html: false

format.string: Configurable format string used to create a custom formatted message.

Example configurable that uses the format codec to print the events timestamp and message field to console:

output.console:
  codec.format:
    string: '%{[@timestamp]} %{[message]}'