Build and install

Fluent Bit uses CMake as its build system.

Requirements

To build and install Fluent Bit from source, you must also install the following packages:

• bison

• build-essentials

• cmake (version 3.31.6 or later)

• flex

• libssl-dev

• libyaml-dev

• pkg-config

Additionally, certain input or output plugins might depend on additional components. For example, some plugins require Kafka.

Prepare environment

If you already know how CMake works, you can skip this section and review the available build options.

The following steps explain how to build and install the project with the default options.

1. Change to the build/ directory inside the Fluent Bit sources:

   cd build/

2. Let CMake configure the project specifying where the root path is located:

   cmake ../

   This command displays a series of results similar to:

   -- The C compiler identification is GNU 4.9.2
   -- Check for working C compiler: /usr/bin/cc
   -- Check for working C compiler: /usr/bin/cc -- works
   -- Detecting C compiler ABI info
   -- Detecting C compiler ABI info - done
   -- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 4.9.2
   -- Check for working CXX compiler: /usr/bin/c++
   -- Check for working CXX compiler: /usr/bin/c++ -- works
   ...
   -- Could NOT find Doxygen (missing:  DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE)
   -- Looking for accept4
   -- Looking for accept4 - not found
   -- Configuring done
   -- Generating done
   -- Build files have been written to: /home/edsiper/coding/fluent-bit/build

3. Start the compilation process using the make command:

   make

   This command displays results similar to:

   Scanning dependencies of target msgpack
   [  2%] Building C object lib/msgpack-1.1.0/CMakeFiles/msgpack.dir/src/unpack.c.o
   [  4%] Building C object lib/msgpack-1.1.0/CMakeFiles/msgpack.dir/src/objectc.c.o
   [  7%] Building C object lib/msgpack-1.1.0/CMakeFiles/msgpack.dir/src/version.c.o
   ...
   [ 19%] Building C object lib/monkey/mk_core/CMakeFiles/mk_core.dir/mk_file.c.o
   [ 21%] Building C object lib/monkey/mk_core/CMakeFiles/mk_core.dir/mk_rconf.c.o
   [ 23%] Building C object lib/monkey/mk_core/CMakeFiles/mk_core.dir/mk_string.c.o
   ...
   Scanning dependencies of target fluent-bit-static
   [ 66%] Building C object src/CMakeFiles/fluent-bit-static.dir/flb_pack.c.o
   [ 69%] Building C object src/CMakeFiles/fluent-bit-static.dir/flb_input.c.o
   [ 71%] Building C object src/CMakeFiles/fluent-bit-static.dir/flb_output.c.o
   ...
   Linking C executable ../bin/fluent-bit
   [100%] Built target fluent-bit-bin

4. To continue installing the binary on the system, use make install:

   make install

   If the command indicates insufficient permissions, prefix the command with sudo.

Build options

Fluent Bit provides configurable options to CMake that can be enabled or disabled.

General options

Option	Description	Default
FLB_ALL	Enable all features available	No
FLB_ARROW	Build with Apache Arrow support	No
FLB_AVRO_ENCODER	Build with Avro encoding support	No
FLB_AWS	Enable AWS support	Yes
FLB_AWS_ERROR_REPORTER	Build with AWS error reporting support	No
FLB_BENCHMARKS	Enable benchmarks	No
FLB_BINARY	Build executable	Yes
FLB_CHUNK_TRACE	Enable chunk traces	Yes
FLB_COVERAGE	Build with code-coverage	No
FLB_CONFIG_YAML	Enable YAML configuration support	Yes
FLB_CORO_STACK_SIZE	Set coroutine stack size
FLB_CUSTOM_CALYPTIA	Enable Calyptia Support	Yes
FLB_ENFORCE_ALIGNMENT	Enable limited platform specific aligned memory access	No
FLB_EXAMPLES	Build examples	Yes
FLB_HTTP_SERVER	Enable HTTP Server	Yes
FLB_INOTIFY	Enable Inotify support	Yes
FLB_JEMALLOC	Build with Jemalloc support	No
FLB_KAFKA	Enable Kafka support	Yes
FLB_LUAJIT	Enable Lua scripting support	Yes
FLB_METRICS	Enable metrics support	Yes
FLB_MTRACE	Enable mtrace support	No
FLB_PARSER	Build with Parser support	Yes
FLB_POSIX_TLS	Force POSIX thread storage	No
FLB_PROFILES	Enable profiles support	Yes
FLB_PROXY_GO	Enable Go plugins support	Yes
FLB_RECORD_ACCESSOR	Enable record accessor	Yes
FLB_REGEX	Build with Regex support	Yes
FLB_RELEASE	Build with release mode (-O2 -g -DNDEBUG)	No
FLB_SHARED_LIB	Build shared library	Yes
FLB_SIGNV4	Enable AWS Signv4 support	Yes
FLB_SIMD	Enable SIMD support	No
FLB_SQLDB	Enable SQL embedded database support	Yes
FLB_STATIC_CONF	Build binary using static configuration files. The value of this option must be a directory containing configuration files.
FLB_STREAM_PROCESSOR	Enable Stream Processor	Yes
FLB_TLS	Build with SSL/TLS support	Yes
FLB_UNICODE_ENCODER	Build with Unicode (UTF-16LE, UTF-16BE) encoding support	Yes (if C++ compiler found)
FLB_UTF8_ENCODER	Build with UTF8 encoding support	Yes
FLB_WASM	Build with Wasm runtime support	Yes
FLB_WASM_STACK_PROTECT	Build with WASM runtime with strong stack protector flags	No
FLB_WAMRC	Build with Wasm AOT compiler executable	No
FLB_WINDOWS_DEFAULTS	Build with predefined Windows settings	Yes
FLB_ZIG	Enable zig integration	Yes

Development options

Option	Description	Default
FLB_BACKTRACE	Enable stack trace support	Yes
FLB_DEBUG	Build with debug mode (-g)	No
FLB_SMALL	Optimize for small size	No
FLB_TESTS_INTERNAL	Enable internal tests	No
FLB_TESTS_INTERNAL_FUZZ	Enable internal fuzz tests	No
FLB_TESTS_OSSFUZZ	Enable OSS-Fuzz build	No
FLB_TESTS_RUNTIME	Enable runtime tests	No
FLB_TRACE	Enable trace mode	No
FLB_VALGRIND	Enable Valgrind support	No

Optimization options

Option	Description	Default
FLB_MSGPACK_TO_JSON_INIT_BUFFER_SIZE	Determine initial buffer size for msgpack to json conversion in terms of memory used by payload.	2.0
FLB_MSGPACK_TO_JSON_REALLOC_BUFFER_SIZE	Determine percentage of reallocation size when msgpack to json conversion buffer runs out of memory.	0.1

Input plugins

Input plugins gather information from a specific source type like network interfaces, some built-in metrics, or through a specific input device.

The following input plugins are available:

Option	Description	Default
FLB_IN_BLOB	Enable Blob input plugin	On
FLB_IN_COLLECTD	Enable Collectd input plugin	On
FLB_IN_CPU	Enable CPU input plugin	On
FLB_IN_DISK	Enable Disk I/O Metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_DOCKER	Enable Docker input plugin	On
FLB_IN_DOCKER_EVENTS	Enable Docker events input plugin	On
FLB_IN_DUMMY	Enable Dummy input plugin	On
FLB_IN_EBPF	Enable Linux eBPF input plugin	Off
FLB_IN_ELASTICSEARCH	Enable Elasticsearch (Bulk API) input plugin	On
FLB_IN_EXEC	Enable Exec input plugin	On
FLB_IN_EXEC_WASI	Enable Exec WASI input plugin	On
FLB_IN_FLUENTBIT_METRICS	Enable Fluent Bit metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_FORWARD	Enable Forward input plugin	On
FLB_IN_GPU_METRICS	Enable GPU metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_HEAD	Enable Head input plugin	On
FLB_IN_HEALTH	Enable Health input plugin	On
FLB_IN_HTTP	Enable HTTP input plugin	On
FLB_IN_KAFKA	Enable Kafka input plugin	On
FLB_IN_KMSG	Enable Kernel log input plugin	On
FLB_IN_KUBERNETES_EVENTS	Enable Kubernetes Events input plugin	On
FLB_IN_MEM	Enable Memory input plugin	On
FLB_IN_MQTT	Enable MQTT Broker input plugin	On
FLB_IN_NETIF	Enable Network I/O metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_NGINX_EXPORTER_METRICS	Enable NGINX metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_NODE_EXPORTER_METRICS	Enable Node exporter metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_OPENTELEMETRY	Enable OpenTelemetry input plugin	On
FLB_IN_NODE_EXPORTER_METRICS	Enable Node exporter metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_PODMAN_METRICS	Enable Podman metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_PROC	Enable Process input plugin	On
FLB_IN_PROCESS_EXPORTER_METRICS	Enable Process exporter metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_PROMETHEUS_REMOTE_WRITE	Enable Prometheus remote write input plugin	On
FLB_IN_PROMETHEUS_SCRAPE_METRICS	Enable Prometheus scrape metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_PROMETHEUS_REMOTE_WRITE	Enable Prometheus textfile input plugin	On
FLB_IN_RANDOM	Enable Random input plugin	On
FLB_IN_SERIAL	Enable Serial input plugin	On
FLB_IN_SPLUNK	Enable Serial input plugin	On
FLB_IN_STATSD	Enable StatsD input plugin	On
FLB_IN_STDIN	Enable Standard input plugin	On
FLB_IN_SYSLOG	Enable Syslog input plugin	On
FLB_IN_SYSTEMD	Enable Systemd input plugin	On
FLB_IN_TAIL	Enable Tail input plugin	On
FLB_IN_TCP	Enable TCP input plugin	On
FLB_IN_THERMAL	Enable Thermal input plugin	On
FLB_IN_UDP	Enable UDP input plugin	On
FLB_IN_WINLOG	Enable Windows Event Log input plugin (Windows Only)	Off
FLB_IN_WINEVTLOG	Enable Windows Event Log input plugin using winevt.h API (Windows Only)	Off
FLB_IN_WINDOWS_EXPORTER_METRICS	Enable Windows exporter metrics input plugin	On
FLB_IN_WINSTAT	Enable Windows system statistics input plugin	Off

Processor plugins

Processor plugins handle the events within the processor pipelines to allow modifying, enriching, or dropping events.

The following table describes the processors available:

Option	Description	Default
FLB_PROCESSOR_CONTENT_MODIFIER	Enable content modifier processor	On
FLB_PROCESSOR_LABELS	Enable metrics label manipulation processor	On
FLB_PROCESSOR_METRICS_SELECTOR	Enable metrics selector processor	On
FLB_PROCESSOR_OPENTELEMETRY_ENVELOPE	Enable OpenTelemetry envelope processor	On
FLB_PROCESSOR_SAMPLING	Enable sampling processor	On
FLB_PROCESSOR_SQl	Enable SQL processor	On

Filter plugins

Filter plugins let you modify, enrich or drop records.

The following table describes the filters available on this version:

Option	Description	Default
FLB_FILTER_AWS	Enable AWS metadata filter	On
FLB_FILTER_CHECKLIST	Enable Checklist filter	On
FLB_FILTER_ECS	Enable AWS ECS metadata filter	On
FLB_FILTER_EXPECT	Enable Expect data test filter	On
FLB_FILTER_GIOIP2	Enable Geoip2 filter	On
FLB_FILTER_GREP	Enable Grep filter	On
FLB_FILTER_KUBERNETES	Enable Kubernetes metadata filter	On
FLB_FILTER_LOG_TO_METRICS	Enable Log derived metrics filter	On
FLB_FILTER_LUA	Enable Lua scripting filter	On
FLB_FILTER_MODIFY	Enable Modify filter	On
FLB_FILTER_MULTILINE	Enable Multiline stack trace filter	On
FLB_FILTER_NEST	Enable Nest filter	On
FLB_FILTER_NIGHTFALL	Enable Nightfall filter	On
FLB_FILTER_PARSER	Enable Parser filter	On
FLB_FILTER_RECORD_MODIFIER	Enable Record Modifier filter	On
FLB_FILTER_REWRITE_TAG	Enable Rewrite Tag filter	On
FLB_FILTER_STDOUT	Enable Stdout filter	On
FLB_FILTER_SYSINFO	Enable Sysinfo filter	On
FLB_FILTER_TENSORFLOW	Enable Tensorflow filter	Off
FLB_FILTER_THROTTLE	Enable Throttle filter	On
FLB_FILTER_TYPE_CONVERTER	Enable Type Converter filter	On
FLB_FILTER_WASM	Enable Wasm filter	On

Output plugins

Output plugins let you flush the information to some external interface, service, or terminal.

The following table describes the output plugins available:

Option	Description	Default
FLB_OUT_AZURE	Enable Microsoft Azure output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_AZURE_BLOB	Enable Microsoft Azure storage blob output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_AZURE_KUSTO	Enable Azure Data Explorer (Kusto) output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_AZURE_LOGS_INGESTION	Enable Azure Log Ingestion output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_BIGQUERY	Enable Google BigQuery output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_CHRONICLE	Enable Google Chronicle output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_CLOUDWATCH_LOGS	Enable Amazon CloudWatch output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_COUNTER	Enable Counter output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_DATADOG	Enable Datadog output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_ES	Enable Elastic Search output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_EXIT	Enable Exit output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_FILE	Enable File output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_FLOWCOUNTER	Enable Flow counter output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_FORWARD	Enable Fluentd output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_GELF	Enable GELF output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_HTTP	Enable HTTP output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_INFLUXDB	Enable InfluxDB output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_KAFKA	Enable Kafka output	On
FLB_OUT_KAFKA_REST	Enable Kafka REST Proxy output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_KINESIS_FIREHOSE	Enable Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_KINESIS_STREAMS	Enable Amazon Kinesis Data Streams output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_LIB	Enable Library output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_LOGDNA	Enable LogDNA output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_LOKI	Enable Loki output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_NATS	Enable NATS output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_NRLOGS	Enable New Relic output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_NULL	Enable NULL output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_OPENSEARCH	Enable OpenSearch output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_OPENTELEMETRY	Enable OpenTelemetry output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_ORACLE_LOG_ANALYTICS	Enable Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Logging output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_PGSQL	Enable PostgreSQL output plugin	Off
FLB_OUT_PLOT	Enable Plot output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_PROMETHEUS_EXPORTER	Enable Prometheus exporter output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_PROMETHEUS_REMOTE_WRITE	Enable Prometheus remote write output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_S3	Enable Amazon S3 output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_SKYWALKING	Enable Apache Skywalking output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_SLACK	Enable Slack output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_SPLUNK	Enable Splunk output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_STACKDRIVER	Enable Stackdriver output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_STDOUT	Enable STDOUT output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_SYSLOG	Enable Syslog output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_TD	Enable Treasure Data output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_TCP	Enable TCP/TLS output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_UDP	Enable UDP output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_VIVO_EXPORTER	Enable Vivo exporter output plugin	On
FLB_OUT_WEBSOCKET	Enable UDP output plugin	On