# Logstash on Windows requires drive letter in the path variable of the file input plugin
**URL:** https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969
**Category:** Logstash
**Created:** [September 9, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969 "2015-09-09T21:41:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jamo3](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/jamo3)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969/1 "2015-09-09T21:41:41Z")
If you leave of the drive letter logstash won't process files on windows, i.e:
input {
file {
type =\> "cfcidnelog"
path =\> [" **c:** /Temp/logstash-cidne/REDNE.log"]
start\_position =\> "beginning"
}
}
output { stdout { codec =\> "rubydebug"} }
}
works fine, but
input {
file {
type =\> "cfcidnelog"
path =\> ["/Temp/logstash-cidne/REDNE.log"]
start\_position =\> "beginning"
}
}
output { stdout { codec =\> "rubydebug"} }
}
doesn't work at all.
---
### Author:  [@magnusbaeck](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/magnusbaeck)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2015, 3:44am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969/2 "2015-09-10T03:44:33Z")
Yes, Logstash's file input requires file paths to be absolute and a Windows path without a drive letter isn't absolute (unless it's a UNC path). Is this a problem?
---
### Author:  [@jamo3](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/jamo3)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969/3 "2015-09-10T13:41:04Z")
Well yes, I'd call it a problem. The File input plugin should at least
give an error that the path isn't valid (as I believe it does if you try to
use an absolute path for the sincedb\_path variable).
---
### Author:  [@magnusbaeck](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/magnusbaeck)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969/4 "2015-09-10T13:44:26Z")
Oh, it doesn't complain about it either? Yeah, that's a bug.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2017, 5:29am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/logstash-on-windows-requires-drive-letter-in-the-path-variable-of-the-file-input-plugin/28969/5 "2017-07-06T05:29:31Z")