# Logstash - Error at startup - Cannot determine timezone from nil

**URL:** https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-error-at-startup-cannot-determine-timezone-from-nil/378533
**Category:** Logstash
**Created:** [May 26, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-error-at-startup-cannot-determine-timezone-from-nil/378533 "2025-05-26T09:28:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 4

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### Author: ![Badger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/badger/32/25190_2.png) [@Badger](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Badger)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-error-at-startup-cannot-determine-timezone-from-nil/378533/4 "2025-05-27T14:57:16Z")

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> [@markus](#):
>
> :message=\>"Unable to configure plugins: (ArgumentError) Cannot determine timezone from nil  
> (secs:1748251030.098,utc~:"2025-05-26 09:17:10.09800004959106445",ltz~:nil)  
> (etz:nil,tnz:"MESZ"

Mid-european summer time is not one of the [time zone names that Joda understands](https://www.joda.org/joda-time/timezones.html), so, as the error message says, try setting `ENV['TZ'] = 'Continent/City'`. See [this](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/http-poller-timezone-is-not-being-recognized/358980/2) thread.

A translate filter has a schedule (refresh\_interval), so it needs to know what time the next refresh should occur.

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_[View the full topic](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-error-at-startup-cannot-determine-timezone-from-nil/378533)._