Logstash not starting; error reason : Your settings are invalid

Hi, This is the first time i am trying to setup ELK stack to read my application log files and i have been struggling to get through this issue for about two days and finally resorted to asking for help. I have illustrated the error from the log file and my conf file "test1.conf" is also highlighted below. I am using the command "logstash --config.test_and_exit -f test1.conf" to test the validity of my conf file before i can execute the command "logstash -f test1.conf" to start up logstash. My pipelines.xml file if fully commented out. I am running ELK stack on windows 10. I am able to start Elasticsearch and Kibana cleanly. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

C:\Users\john\ELK\logstash-8.1.0>logstash --config.test_and_exit -f test1.conf
"Using bundled JDK: ."
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM warning: Option UseConcMarkSweepGC was deprecated in version 9.0 and will likely be removed in a future release.
Sending Logstash logs to C:/Users/john/ELK/logstash-8.1.0/logs which is now configured via log4j2.properties
[2022-07-23T06:07:58,272][INFO ][logstash.runner          ] Log4j configuration path used is: C:\Users\john\ELK\logstash-8.1.0\config\log4j2.properties
[2022-07-23T06:07:58,477][WARN ][logstash.runner          ] The use of JAVA_HOME has been deprecated. Logstash 8.0 and later ignores JAVA_HOME and uses the bundled JDK. Running Logstash with the bundled JDK is recommended. The bundled JDK has been verified to work with each specific version of Logstash, and generally provides best performance and reliability. If you have compelling reasons for using your own JDK (organizational-specific compliance requirements, for example), you can configure LS_JAVA_HOME to use that version instead.
[2022-07-23T06:07:58,490][INFO ][logstash.runner          ] Starting Logstash {"logstash.version"=>"8.1.0", "jruby.version"=>"jruby 9.2.20.1 (2.5.8) 2021-11-30 2a2962fbd1 OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 11.0.13+8 on 11.0.13+8 +indy +jit [mswin32-x86_64]"}
[2022-07-23T06:07:58,501][INFO ][logstash.runner          ] JVM bootstrap flags: [-Xms1g, -Xmx1g, -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC, -XX:CMSInitiatingOccupancyFraction=75, -XX:+UseCMSInitiatingOccupancyOnly, -Djava.awt.headless=true, -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8, -Djruby.compile.invokedynamic=true, -Djruby.jit.threshold=0, -Djruby.regexp.interruptible=true, -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError, -Djava.security.egd=file:/dev/urandom, -Dlog4j2.isThreadContextMapInheritable=true, --add-opens=java.base/java.security=ALL-UNNAMED, --add-opens=java.base/java.io=ALL-UNNAMED, --add-opens=java.base/java.nio.channels=ALL-UNNAMED, --add-opens=java.base/sun.nio.ch=ALL-UNNAMED, --add-opens=java.management/sun.management=ALL-UNNAMED]
Your settings are invalid. Reason: Setting "" doesn't exist. Please check if you haven't made a typo.
[2022-07-23T06:07:58,723][FATAL][org.logstash.Logstash    ] Logstash stopped processing because of an error: (SystemExit) exit
org.jruby.exceptions.SystemExit: (SystemExit) exit
        at org.jruby.RubyKernel.exit(org/jruby/RubyKernel.java:747) ~[jruby.jar:?]
        at org.jruby.RubyKernel.exit(org/jruby/RubyKernel.java:710) ~[jruby.jar:?]
        at C_3a_.Users.ranjit_dot_emmanuel.ELK.logstash_minus_8_dot_1_dot_0.lib.bootstrap.environment.<main>(C:\Users\john\ELK\logstash-8.1.0\lib\bootstrap\environment.rb:94) ~[?:?]

Conf file

input { stdin { } }
output {
  elasticsearch { hosts => "localhost:9200" }
  stdout { codec => rubydebug }
}

You are missing the index name:

input { stdin { } }

output {
  elasticsearch { 
  hosts => "localhost:9200" 
  index => "test_%{+YYYY-MM-dd}"
 }
  stdout { codec => rubydebug }
}

Please share your logstash.yml file, there is probably something wrong in this file.

The Index name is not a required setting, without it logstash will use the default index/data stream, which is someting like logstash-*.

1 Like

@sanuboy Welcome to the community

I just ran your exact conf file.

input { stdin { } }
output {
  elasticsearch { hosts => "localhost:9200" }
  stdout { codec => rubydebug }
}
hyperion:logstash-8.1.2 sbrown$ ./bin/logstash --config.test_and_exit -f config/simple.conf 
Using bundled JDK: /Users/sbrown/workspace/elastic-install/8.1.2/logstash-8.1.2/jdk.app/Contents/Home

....
[2022-07-23T09:00:23,851][INFO ][logstash.runner          ] Using config.test_and_exit mode. Config Validation Result: OK. Exiting Logstash

The issue as @leandrojmp pointed out is in your logstash.yml ... you need to share it, you have an error in it.

For simple testing you would not need to make any changes to logstash.yml, whatever you did change has an error in it.

You have right -> link

Hi, Thank you for your replies. Here are the contents of logstash.yaml file :

# Settings file in YAML
#
# Settings can be specified either in hierarchical form, e.g.:
#
#   pipeline:
#     batch:
#       size: 125
#       delay: 5
#
# Or as flat keys:
#
#   pipeline.batch.size: 125
#   pipeline.batch.delay: 5
#
# ------------  Node identity ------------
#
# Use a descriptive name for the node:
#
# node.name: test
#
# If omitted the node name will default to the machine's host name
#
# ------------ Data path ------------------
#
# Which directory should be used by logstash and its plugins
# for any persistent needs. Defaults to LOGSTASH_HOME/data
#
# path.data:
#
# ------------ Pipeline Settings --------------
#
# The ID of the pipeline.
#
# pipeline.id: main
#
# Set the number of workers that will, in parallel, execute the filters+outputs
# stage of the pipeline.
#
# This defaults to the number of the host's CPU cores.
#
# pipeline.workers: 2
#
# How many events to retrieve from inputs before sending to filters+workers
#
# pipeline.batch.size: 125
#
# How long to wait in milliseconds while polling for the next event
# before dispatching an undersized batch to filters+outputs
#
# pipeline.batch.delay: 50
#
# Force Logstash to exit during shutdown even if there are still inflight
# events in memory. By default, logstash will refuse to quit until all
# received events have been pushed to the outputs.
#
# WARNING: enabling this can lead to data loss during shutdown
#
# pipeline.unsafe_shutdown: false
#
# Set the pipeline event ordering. Options are "auto" (the default), "true" or "false".
# "auto" will  automatically enable ordering if the 'pipeline.workers' setting
# is also set to '1'.
# "true" will enforce ordering on the pipeline and prevent logstash from starting
# if there are multiple workers.
# "false" will disable any extra processing necessary for preserving ordering.
#
# pipeline.ordered: auto
#
# Sets the pipeline's default value for `ecs_compatibility`, a setting that is
# available to plugins that implement an ECS Compatibility mode for use with
# the Elastic Common Schema.
# Possible values are:
# - disabled
# - v1
# - v8 (default)
# Pipelines defined before Logstash 8 operated without ECS in mind. To ensure a
# migrated pipeline continues to operate as it did before your upgrade, opt-OUT
# of ECS for the individual pipeline in its `pipelines.yml` definition. Setting
# it here will set the default for _all_ pipelines, including new ones.
#
# pipeline.ecs_compatibility: v8
#
# ------------ Pipeline Configuration Settings --------------
#
# Where to fetch the pipeline configuration for the main pipeline
#
# path.config: "C:/Users/re/ELK/logstash-8.1.0/config/logstash-filter_jmeterGrokFilter.conf"
#
# Pipeline configuration string for the main pipeline
#
# config.string:
#
# At startup, test if the configuration is valid and exit (dry run)
#
# config.test_and_exit: false
#
# Periodically check if the configuration has changed and reload the pipeline
# This can also be triggered manually through the SIGHUP signal
#
# config.reload.automatic: false
#
# How often to check if the pipeline configuration has changed (in seconds)
# Note that the unit value (s) is required. Values without a qualifier (e.g. 60) 
# are treated as nanoseconds.
# Setting the interval this way is not recommended and might change in later versions.
#
# config.reload.interval: 3s
#
# Show fully compiled configuration as debug log message
# NOTE: --log.level must be 'debug'
#
# config.debug: false
#
# When enabled, process escaped characters such as \n and \" in strings in the
# pipeline configuration files.
#
# config.support_escapes: false
#
# ------------ API Settings -------------
# Define settings related to the HTTP API here.
#
# The HTTP API is enabled by default. It can be disabled, but features that rely
# on it will not work as intended.
#
# api.enabled: true
#
# By default, the HTTP API is not secured and is therefore bound to only the
# host's loopback interface, ensuring that it is not accessible to the rest of
# the network.
# When secured with SSL and Basic Auth, the API is bound to _all_ interfaces
# unless configured otherwise.
#
# api.http.host: 127.0.0.1
#
# The HTTP API web server will listen on an available port from the given range.
# Values can be specified as a single port (e.g., `9600`), or an inclusive range
# of ports (e.g., `9600-9700`).
#
# api.http.port: 9600-9700
#
# The HTTP API includes a customizable "environment" value in its response,
# which can be configured here.
#
# api.environment: "production"
#
# The HTTP API can be secured with SSL (TLS). To do so, you will need to provide
# the path to a password-protected keystore in p12 or jks format, along with credentials.
#
# api.ssl.enabled: false
# api.ssl.keystore.path: /path/to/keystore.jks
# api.ssl.keystore.password: "y0uRp4$$w0rD"
#
# The HTTP API can be configured to require authentication. Acceptable values are
#  - `none`:  no auth is required (default)
#  - `basic`: clients must authenticate with HTTP Basic auth, as configured
#             with `api.auth.basic.*` options below
# api.auth.type: none
#
# When configured with `api.auth.type` `basic`, you must provide the credentials
# that requests will be validated against. Usage of Environment or Keystore
# variable replacements is encouraged (such as the value `"${HTTP_PASS}"`, which
# resolves to the value stored in the keystore's `HTTP_PASS` variable if present
# or the same variable from the environment)
#
# api.auth.basic.username: "logstash-user"
# api.auth.basic.password: "s3cUreP4$$w0rD"
#
# ------------ Module Settings ---------------
# Define modules here.  Modules definitions must be defined as an array.
# The simple way to see this is to prepend each `name` with a `-`, and keep
# all associated variables under the `name` they are associated with, and
# above the next, like this:
#
# modules:
#   - name: MODULE_NAME
#     var.PLUGINTYPE1.PLUGINNAME1.KEY1: VALUE
#     var.PLUGINTYPE1.PLUGINNAME1.KEY2: VALUE
#     var.PLUGINTYPE2.PLUGINNAME1.KEY1: VALUE
#     var.PLUGINTYPE3.PLUGINNAME3.KEY1: VALUE
#
# Module variable names must be in the format of
#
# var.PLUGIN_TYPE.PLUGIN_NAME.KEY
#
# modules:
#
# ------------ Cloud Settings ---------------
# Define Elastic Cloud settings here.
# Format of cloud.id is a base64 value e.g. dXMtZWFzdC0xLmF3cy5mb3VuZC5pbyRub3RhcmVhbCRpZGVudGlmaWVy
# and it may have an label prefix e.g. staging:dXMtZ...
# This will overwrite 'var.elasticsearch.hosts' and 'var.kibana.host'
# cloud.id: <identifier>
#
# Format of cloud.auth is: <user>:<pass>
# This is optional
# If supplied this will overwrite 'var.elasticsearch.username' and 'var.elasticsearch.password'
# If supplied this will overwrite 'var.kibana.username' and 'var.kibana.password'
# cloud.auth: elastic:<password>
#
# ------------ Queuing Settings --------------
#
# Internal queuing model, "memory" for legacy in-memory based queuing and
# "persisted" for disk-based acked queueing. Defaults is memory
#
# queue.type: memory
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the directory path where the data files will be stored.
# Default is path.data/queue
#
# path.queue:
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the page data files size. The queue data consists of
# append-only data files separated into pages. Default is 64mb
#
# queue.page_capacity: 64mb
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the maximum number of unread events in the queue.
# Default is 0 (unlimited)
#
# queue.max_events: 0
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the total capacity of the queue in number of bytes.
# If you would like more unacked events to be buffered in Logstash, you can increase the
# capacity using this setting. Please make sure your disk drive has capacity greater than
# the size specified here. If both max_bytes and max_events are specified, Logstash will pick
# whichever criteria is reached first
# Default is 1024mb or 1gb
#
# queue.max_bytes: 1024mb
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the maximum number of acked events before forcing a checkpoint
# Default is 1024, 0 for unlimited
#
# queue.checkpoint.acks: 1024
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the maximum number of written events before forcing a checkpoint
# Default is 1024, 0 for unlimited
#
# queue.checkpoint.writes: 1024
#
# If using queue.type: persisted, the interval in milliseconds when a checkpoint is forced on the head page
# Default is 1000, 0 for no periodic checkpoint.
#
# queue.checkpoint.interval: 1000
#
# ------------ Dead-Letter Queue Settings --------------
# Flag to turn on dead-letter queue.
#
# dead_letter_queue.enable: false

# If using dead_letter_queue.enable: true, the maximum size of each dead letter queue. Entries
# will be dropped if they would increase the size of the dead letter queue beyond this setting.
# Default is 1024mb
# dead_letter_queue.max_bytes: 1024mb

# If using dead_letter_queue.enable: true, the interval in milliseconds where if no further events eligible for the DLQ
# have been created, a dead letter queue file will be written. A low value here will mean that more, smaller, queue files
# may be written, while a larger value will introduce more latency between items being "written" to the dead letter queue, and
# being available to be read by the dead_letter_queue input when items are are written infrequently.
# Default is 5000.
#
# dead_letter_queue.flush_interval: 5000

# If using dead_letter_queue.enable: true, the directory path where the data files will be stored.
# Default is path.data/dead_letter_queue
#
# path.dead_letter_queue:
#
# ------------ Debugging Settings --------------
#
# Options for log.level:
#   * fatal
#   * error
#   * warn
#   * info (default)
#   * debug
#   * trace
#
# log.level: info
# path.logs:
#
# ------------ Other Settings --------------
#
# Where to find custom plugins
# path.plugins: []
#
# Flag to output log lines of each pipeline in its separate log file. Each log filename contains the pipeline.name
# Default is false
# pipeline.separate_logs: false
#
# ------------ X-Pack Settings (not applicable for OSS build)--------------
#
# X-Pack Monitoring
# https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/monitoring-logstash.html
#xpack.monitoring.enabled: false
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.username: logstash_system
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.password: password
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.proxy: ["http://proxy:port"]
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.hosts: ["https://es1:9200", "https://es2:9200"]
# an alternative to hosts + username/password settings is to use cloud_id/cloud_auth
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.cloud_id: monitoring_cluster_id:xxxxxxxxxx
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.cloud_auth: logstash_system:password
# another authentication alternative is to use an Elasticsearch API key
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.api_key: "id:api_key"
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.ssl.certificate_authority: [ "/path/to/ca.crt" ]
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.ssl.truststore.path: path/to/file
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.ssl.truststore.password: password
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.ssl.keystore.path: /path/to/file
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.ssl.keystore.password: password
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.ssl.verification_mode: certificate
#xpack.monitoring.elasticsearch.sniffing: false
#xpack.monitoring.collection.interval: 10s
#xpack.monitoring.collection.pipeline.details.enabled: true
#
# X-Pack Management
# https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/logstash-centralized-pipeline-management.html
#xpack.management.enabled: false
#xpack.management.pipeline.id: ["main", "apache_logs"]
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.username: logstash_admin_user
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.password: password
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.proxy: ["http://proxy:port"]
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.hosts: ["https://es1:9200", "https://es2:9200"]
# an alternative to hosts + username/password settings is to use cloud_id/cloud_auth
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.cloud_id: management_cluster_id:xxxxxxxxxx
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.cloud_auth: logstash_admin_user:password
# another authentication alternative is to use an Elasticsearch API key
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.api_key: "id:api_key"
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.ssl.certificate_authority: [ "/path/to/ca.crt" ]
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.ssl.truststore.path: /path/to/file
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.ssl.truststore.password: password
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.ssl.keystore.path: /path/to/file
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.ssl.keystore.password: password
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.ssl.verification_mode: certificate
#xpack.management.elasticsearch.sniffing: false
#xpack.management.logstash.poll_interval: 5s

# X-Pack GeoIP plugin
# https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-filters-geoip.html#plugins-filters-geoip-manage_update
#xpack.geoip.download.endpoint: "https://geoip.elastic.co/v1/database"
- pipeline.id: main
  path.config: "C:/Users/re/ELK/logstash-8.1.0/config/logstash-filter_jmeterGrokFilter.conf"

I have also added the contents of pipelines.yml below, just incase it is required.

# List of pipelines to be loaded by Logstash
#
# This document must be a list of dictionaries/hashes, where the keys/values are pipeline settings.
# Default values for omitted settings are read from the `logstash.yml` file.
# When declaring multiple pipelines, each MUST have its own `pipeline.id`.
#
# Example of two pipelines:
#
# - pipeline.id: test
#   pipeline.workers: 1
#   pipeline.batch.size: 1
#   config.string: "input { generator {} } filter { sleep { time => 1 } } output { stdout { codec => dots } }"
# - pipeline.id: another_test
#   queue.type: persisted
#   path.config: "/tmp/logstash/*.config"
#
# Available options:
#
#   # name of the pipeline
#   pipeline.id: mylogs
#
#   # The configuration string to be used by this pipeline
#   config.string: "input { generator {} } filter { sleep { time => 1 } } output { stdout { codec => dots } }"
#
#   # The path from where to read the configuration text
#   path.config: "/etc/conf.d/logstash/myconfig.cfg"
#
#   # How many worker threads execute the Filters+Outputs stage of the pipeline
#   pipeline.workers: 1 (actually defaults to number of CPUs)
#
#   # How many events to retrieve from inputs before sending to filters+workers
#   pipeline.batch.size: 125
#
#   # How long to wait in milliseconds while polling for the next event
#   # before dispatching an undersized batch to filters+outputs
#   pipeline.batch.delay: 50
#
#   # Internal queuing model, "memory" for legacy in-memory based queuing and
#   # "persisted" for disk-based acked queueing. Defaults is memory
#   queue.type: memory
#
#   # If using queue.type: persisted, the page data files size. The queue data consists of
#   # append-only data files separated into pages. Default is 64mb
#   queue.page_capacity: 64mb
#
#   # If using queue.type: persisted, the maximum number of unread events in the queue.
#   # Default is 0 (unlimited)
#   queue.max_events: 0
#
#   # If using queue.type: persisted, the total capacity of the queue in number of bytes.
#   # Default is 1024mb or 1gb
#   queue.max_bytes: 1024mb
#
#   # If using queue.type: persisted, the maximum number of acked events before forcing a checkpoint
#   # Default is 1024, 0 for unlimited
#   queue.checkpoint.acks: 1024
#
#   # If using queue.type: persisted, the maximum number of written events before forcing a checkpoint
#   # Default is 1024, 0 for unlimited
#   queue.checkpoint.writes: 1024
#
#   # If using queue.type: persisted, the interval in milliseconds when a checkpoint is forced on the head page
#   # Default is 1000, 0 for no periodic checkpoint.
#   queue.checkpoint.interval: 1000
#
#   # Enable Dead Letter Queueing for this pipeline.
#   dead_letter_queue.enable: false
#
#   If using dead_letter_queue.enable: true, the maximum size of dead letter queue for this pipeline. Entries
#   will be dropped if they would increase the size of the dead letter queue beyond this setting.
#   Default is 1024mb
#   dead_letter_queue.max_bytes: 1024mb
#
#   If using dead_letter_queue.enable: true, the interval in milliseconds where if no further events eligible for the DLQ
#   have been created, a dead letter queue file will be written. A low value here will mean that more, smaller, queue files
#   may be written, while a larger value will introduce more latency between items being "written" to the dead letter queue, and
#   being available to be read by the dead_letter_queue input when items are are written infrequently.
#   Default is 5000.
#
#   dead_letter_queue.flush_interval: 5000

#
#   If using dead_letter_queue.enable: true, the directory path where the data files will be stored.
#   Default is path.data/dead_letter_queue
#
#   path.dead_letter_queue:
#- pipeline.id: main
#  path.config: "/etc/logstash/conf.d/*.conf"
#  path.config: "C:/Users/re/ELK/logstash-8.1.0/logstash-filter2.conf"
  

Thanks.

Hi, is there anyone, who can guide me on how to resolve this issue, please?

Your issue is that there is something wrong with logstash.yml, but the file you shared do not seem to have any issue.

I would suggest that you remove this part from your logstash.yml and put it in pipelines.yml to see if there is any change.

- pipeline.id: main
  path.config: "C:/Users/re/ELK/logstash-8.1.0/config/logstash-filter_jmeterGrokFilter.conf"

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