Dummy

The dummy input plugin, generates dummy events. It is useful for testing, debugging, benchmarking and getting started with Fluent Bit.

Configuration Parameters

The plugin supports the following configuration parameters:

Key	Description
Dummy	Dummy JSON record. Default: {"message":"dummy"}
Metadata	Dummy JSON metadata. Default: {}
Start_time_sec	Dummy base timestamp in seconds. Default: 0
Start_time_nsec	Dummy base timestamp in nanoseconds. Default: 0
Rate	Rate at which messages are generated expressed in how many times per second. Default: 1
Interval_sec	Set seconds of time interval at which every message is generated. If set, Rate configuration will be ignored. Default: 0
Interval_nsec	Set nanoseconds of time interval at which every message is generated. If set, Rate configuration will be ignored. Default: 0
Samples	If set, the events number will be limited. e.g. If Samples=3, the plugin only generates three events and stops.
Copies	Number of messages to generate each time they are generated. Defaults to 1.
Flush_on_startup	If set to true, the first dummy event is generated at startup. Default: false

Getting Started

You can run the plugin from the command line or through the configuration file:

Command Line

$ fluent-bit -i dummy -o stdout
Fluent Bit v2.x.x
* Copyright (C) 2015-2022 The Fluent Bit Authors
* Fluent Bit is a CNCF sub-project under the umbrella of Fluentd
* https://fluentbit.io

[0] dummy.0: [[1686451466.659962491, {}], {"message"=>"dummy"}]
[0] dummy.0: [[1686451467.659679509, {}], {"message"=>"dummy"}]

Configuration File

In your main configuration file append the following Input & Output sections:

fluent-bit.conf

[INPUT]
    Name   dummy
    Dummy {"message": "custom dummy"}

[OUTPUT]
    Name   stdout
    Match  *

fluent-bit.yaml

pipeline:
  inputs:
    - name: dummy
      dummy: '{"message": "custom dummy"}'
  outputs:
    - name: stdout
      match: '*'