# Is a restart required to see new log files matching glob?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192>\
**Category:** Beats\
**Tags:** filebeat\
**Created:** [October 28, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192 "2015-10-28T21:04:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bryan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/bryan/32/5541_2.png) [@bryan](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/bryan)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192/1 "2015-10-28T21:04:56Z")

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If I use, e.g., '/var/logs/\*.log' as a prospector path, and only 'a.log' and 'b.log' exist at startup, is a restart required to begin harvesting a new file 'c.log'?

IOW, will the system periodically re-run the search and start new harvesters?

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**Author:** ![magnusbaeck](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/magnusbaeck/32/44943_2.png) [@magnusbaeck](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/magnusbaeck)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192/2 "2015-10-28T21:27:30Z")

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A restart is not necessary. The glob will be evaluated periodically.

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**Author:** ![ruflin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/ruflin/32/3116_2.png) [@ruflin](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/ruflin)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 7:47am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192/3 "2015-10-29T07:47:20Z")

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You can define the scan frequency here: [https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/current/filebeat-configuration-details.html#\_scan\_frequency](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/current/filebeat-configuration-details.html#_scan_frequency)

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**Author:** ![magnusbaeck](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/magnusbaeck/32/44943_2.png) [@magnusbaeck](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/magnusbaeck)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192/4 "2015-10-29T07:51:23Z")

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> You can define the scan frequency here: [Configure Filebeat | Filebeat Reference [8.11] | Elastic](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/current/filebeat-configuration-details.html#_scan_frequency)

The documentation isn't very clear. The parameter defines "how often these files should be checked for changes" which I read as "how often to stat the files to see if we should attempt to read from them again" rather than "how often to expand the filename globs".

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**Author:** ![ruflin](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/ruflin/32/3116_2.png) [@ruflin](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/ruflin)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 7:53am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192/5 "2015-10-29T07:53:16Z")

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@magnusbaeck Good point. We will improve it: [https://github.com/elastic/filebeat/issues/158](https://github.com/elastic/filebeat/issues/158) Thanks for the input.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-a-restart-required-to-see-new-log-files-matching-glob/33192/6 "2017-07-05T21:58:31Z")

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