### Author:  [@Luca\_Belluccini](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Luca_Belluccini)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/unable-to-ingest-json-file-and-output-to-stdout/226793/2 "2020-04-06T23:10:51Z")
Hello @leosoaivan
I have few comments:
1. The `test.json` file contains a multiline JSON. Logstash will be able to parse the file using the `json` codec if your file contains lines such as:
2. As explained in [our documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-inputs-file.html#_tracking_of_current_position_in_watched_files), Logstash keeps a `sincedb` file to keep track of the last line read. If you've run Logstash more than once, it is possible Logstash has already marked the lines as read. You can customize the [`sincedb_path`](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-inputs-file.html#plugins-inputs-file-sincedb_path) or you can eventually remove the file (by default at `/plugins/inputs/file`)
---
### Author:  [@leosoaivan](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/leosoaivan)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/unable-to-ingest-json-file-and-output-to-stdout/226793/3 "2020-04-07T14:36:36Z")
@Luca_Belluccini thanks for the quick reply.
I noted your first comment. Thank you for that tip.
As for `sincedb_path`, it appears that Logstash is able to generate one based on the `path.data` flag with which I am running in the CLI? I set `path.data` to a dynamically timestamped directory (`$PWD/data/logstash/$TIMESTAMP`), as I was running into the `Logstash could not be started because there is already another instance using the configured data directory` error.
In the end, I see the `sincedb_path` file being created, though it's empty.
I don't know if this is helpful, but the contents of my conf file are as follows, within a project:
```auto
#!/usr/bin/env bash
TIMESTAMP=`date -u +%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S`
# LOG DIR DATA DIR
export DATA_DIR=$PWD/data/logstash/$TIMESTAMP
export LOG_DIR=$PWD/log/logstash/$TIMESTAMP
# Run Logstash
logstash -f $PWD/logstash.conf --path.data $DATA_DIR --path.logs $LOG_DIR
```
---
### Author:  [@Luca\_Belluccini](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Luca_Belluccini)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/unable-to-ingest-json-file-and-output-to-stdout/226793/4 "2020-04-07T17:39:05Z")
Hello @leosoaivan
I would discourage running changing the `DATA_DIR` and `LOG_DIR` each time.
By default, the `sincedb` file is located inside the `path.data`, but I would suggest specifying the location in the `file` input ([doc](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/plugins-inputs-file.html#plugins-inputs-file-sincedb_path)).
It is useful to customize such parameters (`path.data` and `path.logs`) if you're running multiple Logstash instances within the same host.
```auto
input {
file {
codec => json
path => ["/db/seed/test.json"]
sincedb_path => "/some/location/"
start_position => "beginning"
}
}
```
---
### Author:  [@leosoaivan](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/leosoaivan)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/unable-to-ingest-json-file-and-output-to-stdout/226793/5 "2020-04-07T20:23:54Z")
@Luca_Belluccini, thanks for you input.
I've removed the timestamped `path.data` and I've revised the input as follows:
```auto
input {
file {
codec => json
path => ["/db/seed/test.json"]
sincedb_path => "logstash/data/plugins/inputs/file/sincedb_file"
start_position => "beginning"
}
}
```
Unfortunately, the results are still the same. I've also added `--log.level=debug` and am seeing this re-occurring repeatedly after the Logstash API endpoint has started:
```auto
[2020-04-07T16:17:31,712][DEBUG][logstash.instrument.periodicpoller.cgroup] One or more required cgroup files or directories not found: /proc/self/cgroup, /sys/fs/cgroup/cpuacct, /sys/fs/cgroup/cpu
[2020-04-07T16:17:31,917][DEBUG][logstash.instrument.periodicpoller.jvm] collector name {:name=>"ParNew"}
[2020-04-07T16:17:31,920][DEBUG][logstash.instrument.periodicpoller.jvm] collector name {:name=>"ConcurrentMarkSweep"}
[2020-04-07T16:17:35,855][DEBUG][org.logstash.execution.PeriodicFlush][main] Pushing flush onto pipeline.
```
---
### Author:  [@Luca\_Belluccini](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Luca_Belluccini)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/unable-to-ingest-json-file-and-output-to-stdout/226793/6 "2020-04-07T20:44:00Z")
The logs you've shared are normal, they are triggered by the internal collection of monitoring information.
For the `sincedb_path`, use an absolute path (or verify the file has been created).
Also ensure `path` is a full path to the file.
It is possible to use Env variables in the pipeline file if you wish ([doc](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/environment-variables.html)).
For the sake of debugging with more ease, remove the `codec => json`.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/unable-to-ingest-json-file-and-output-to-stdout/226793/7 "2020-05-05T20:44:06Z")
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