# Is it not possible to use / in the client\_id for the Kafka output plugin in Filebeat?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-not-possible-to-use-in-the-client-id-for-the-kafka-output-plugin-in-filebeat/368587>\
**Category:** Beats\
**Tags:** beats-module\
**Created:** [October 10, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-not-possible-to-use-in-the-client-id-for-the-kafka-output-plugin-in-filebeat/368587 "2024-10-10T05:26:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![henry.ahn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/henry.ahn/32/138228_2.png) [@henry.ahn](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/henry.ahn)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-not-possible-to-use-in-the-client-id-for-the-kafka-output-plugin-in-filebeat/368587/1 "2024-10-10T05:26:19Z")

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Hi, All!

I configured the `client.id` in Filebeat for Kafka with a `/` character. However, I encountered the following error:

```auto
ERROR	[kafka]	kafka/config.go:287	Invalid kafka configuration: kafka: invalid configuration (ClientID is invalid)

```

Are there any specific characters that cannot be used in `client.id` for Kafka in Filebeat?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![strawgate](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/strawgate/32/131008_2.png) [@strawgate](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/strawgate)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-not-possible-to-use-in-the-client-id-for-the-kafka-output-plugin-in-filebeat/368587/2 "2024-10-11T18:13:00Z")

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> [@henry.ahn](#):
>
> client.id

The Client ID property is the client name to be used when connecting to the Kafka server. The client name can be up to 255 characters in length, and can include the following characters: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, . (dot), \_ (underscore), and - (dash).