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Config Files

Understanding Configuration Paths and Files
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Even though all Cribl Stream Routes, Pipelines, and Functions can be managed from the UI, it’s important to understand how the configuration works under the hood. Here is how configuration paths and files are laid out on the filesystem.

Path PlaceholderExpanded Path
$CRIBL_HOMEStandalone Install:
/path/to/install/cribl/ – referred to
below as $CRIBL_HOME

Cribl App for Splunk Install:
$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/cribl/

All paths below are relative to $CRIBL_HOME in a single-instance deployment, or to $CRIBL_HOME/groups/<group‑name>/ in a distributed deployment.

CategoryRelative Path
Default Configurations
Out-of-the-box defaults (rewritable) and libraries (expandable)		default/cribl
Local Configurations
User-created integrations and resources		local/cribl
System Configuration(default|local)/cribl/cribl.yml
See cribl.yml
API Configuration(default|local)/cribl/cribl.yml > [api] section
See cribl.yml
Source Configuration(default|local)/cribl/inputs.yml
See inputs.yml
Destination Configuration(default|local)/cribl/outputs.yml
See outputs.yml
License Configuration(default|local)/cribl/licenses.yml
Regexes Configuration(default|local)/cribl/regexes.yml
Breakers Configuration(default|local)/cribl/breakers.yml
Limits Configuration(default|local)/cribl/limits.yml
Service Processes Configuration(default|local)/cribl/service.yml
See service.yml
Pipelines Configuration(default|local)/cribl/pipelines/<pipeline_name>
Each Pipeline’s config resides within its subdirectory.
Packs Configurationdefault/<pack_name>
Each Pack’s code and config reside within its subdirectory.
Routes Configuration(default|local)/cribl/pipelines/routes.yml
Functions(default|local)/cribl/functions/<function_name>
Each Function’s code resides within its subdirectory.
Functions Configuration(default|local)/cribl/functions/<function_name>/...
Each Function’s config resides within its subdirectory.
Roles Configuration(default|local)/cribl/roles.yml
RBAC Role definitions. See roles.yml.
Policies Configuration(default|local)/cribl/policies.yml
RBAC Policy definitions. See policies.yml.
Permissions Configuration(default|local)/cribl/perms.yml
User permissions. See perms.yml.
Secrets Configuration(default|local)/cribl/secrets.yml
Cribl Stream secrets. See secrets.yml.

Configurations and Restart
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You can Restart and Reload via the UI. On the top nav, go to Settings > Global Settings > System > Controls then click on the Reload button or the Restart button.

In a distributed environment, Worker Nodes poll the Leader for configuration changes. Many of these changes require a quick reload to read the new configuration, while others require a restart of the Cribl processes on the Worker Node.

Upon restarts, be aware of the following:

  • Syslog data still being received over UDP might be dropped.
  • Worker Nodes will temporarily disappear from the Leader’s Manage Workers or Manage Edge Nodes page.
  • Aggregation and suppression operations will start over.
  • Worker Nodes’ local copies of Monitoring metrics will be dropped.
  • Cribl Stream will drop any events still in RAM that were bound for persistent queues. (However, PQ data already written to disk will persist through the restart.)

Changes that require reloads include configuration changes to:

  • Functions
  • Pipelines
  • Packs
  • Routes
  • Lookups
  • Parquet schemas
  • Global variables
  • Group Settings > Limits
  • Group Settings > Logging > Levels

Changes that require restarts include configuration changes to:

  • Distributed mode (Leader versus Managed Worker Node or Single instance)
  • Worker Group assignment
  • Event Breakers
  • QuickConnect configs
  • Sources
  • Destinations
  • Group Settings > General Settings > TLS
  • Group Settings > General Settings > Advanced
  • Group Settings > Worker Processes > Process count and Memory

Some general guidelines to keep in mind:

  • Configuration changes generated by most UI interactions – for instance, changing the order of Functions in a Pipeline, or changing the order of Routes – do not require restarts.
  • Some configuration changes in the Settings UI do require restarts. These will prompt you for confirmation before restarting.
  • All direct edits of configuration files in (bin|local|default)/cribl/... will require restarts.
  • Worker Nodes might temporarily disappear from the Leader’s Workers or Edge Nodes tab while restarting.
  • A git commit command on the Leader Node’s host (using a freestanding git client not embedded in Cribl’s CLI or UI) will require either a reload or restart.
  • When using the Cribl App for Splunk, changes to Splunk configuration files might or might not require restarts. Please check current Splunk docs.

Configuration Layering and Precedence
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As on most *nix systems, Cribl configurations in local take precedence over those in default. There is no layering of configuration files.

Editing Configuration Files Manually
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When config files must be edited manually, save all changes in local.