# What is the default source of the @timestamp field in Filebeat?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640>\
**Category:** Beats\
**Created:** [September 22, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640 "2023-09-22T16:38:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![artschooldropout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@artschooldropout](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/artschooldropout)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640/1 "2023-09-22T16:38:16Z")

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I'm ingesting Syslog input with Filebeat, and I'd like to use the `timestamp` processor to adjust the timezone of the logs (my source is sending them in local time and Kibana is expecting UTC). According to the [documentation](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/current/processor-timestamp.html), this processor requires the `target_field` option to specify the source of the time. However, I have no idea how my `@timestamp` is being generated! The time is contained only in the syslog `message`, but according to [this](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-filebeats-timestamp-processor-need-the-source-field-to-only-contain-the-time/309130) forum post, you can't take the time from the syslog message. So - where does filebeat go to find the time?

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**Author:** ![Sunile\_Manjee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/sunile_manjee/32/111461_2.png) [@Sunile\_Manjee](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Sunile_Manjee)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 4:14am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640/2 "2023-09-25T04:14:30Z")

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By default, Filebeat will set the timestamp field to the system time when the syslog message is received. you can parse or use another timestamp which matches your index mapping timestamp format.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![artschooldropout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@artschooldropout](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/artschooldropout)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640/3 "2023-09-26T21:04:57Z")

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Thank you @Sunile_Manjee - I'll take a look at that.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![artschooldropout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@artschooldropout](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/artschooldropout)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640/5 "2023-09-27T20:59:01Z")

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Aha - I had my system timezone set incorrectly. Simple fix!

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-is-the-default-source-of-the-timestamp-field-in-filebeat/343640/6 "2023-10-25T20:59:43Z")

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