Getting Data In

Forwarding not working for some directories

mbrunetto
Path Finder

I have a unix light forwarder that works fine for the normal default splunk forwarding (the scripts for CPU, ports, etc).

So:
[monitor:///var/log]
whitelist=(\.log|log$|messages$|mesg$|cron$|acpid$|\.out)
blacklist=(lastlog)
index=os
disabled = 0

Produces the expected entries on my indexer.

I added a statement for a custom directory (using a custom index):

[monitor:///services/.../logs]
whitelist=(\.log$|log$|messages$|mesg$|cron$|acpid$|\.out$)
blacklist=(lastlog$|\.gz$|^splunk|\.xml$|\.conf|^metrics)
index=services
disabled = 0

The index is created on the indexer, and 'splunk list monitor' shows the directories are being monitored on the forwarder (including many directories that shouldn't be, but I saw another question that answered that).

With all that, nothing new is added to my new index. What needs to happen to see my data on my indexer?

amrit
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

If possible, use Firefox to visit the Splunk forwarder's management port: https://fwder:8089/services/admin/inputstatus/TailingProcessor:FileStatus

And see what reason is provided for ignoring the files you wish to see indexed.

If it isn't possible to use Firefox, consider: wget --user=foo --password=bar https://localhost:8089/services/admin/inputstatus/TailingProcessor:FileStatus | xmllint --format -

It's most likely just some collision with the regexes (using ... in a stanza creates an implicit whitelist). Let's see what the system thinks it's looking for.

Got questions? Get answers!

Join the Splunk Community Slack to learn, troubleshoot, and make connections with fellow Splunk practitioners in real time!

Meet up IRL or virtually!

Join Splunk User Groups to connect and learn in-person by region or remotely by topic or industry.

Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Cisco Data Fabric from Architecture to Investigation, Better SOC Visibility, and More ...

Splunk Lantern is Splunk’s customer success center that provides practical guidance from Splunk experts on key ...

The Trust Gap: Why a Data Foundation is Fundamental to an Agentic Enterprise

The Trust Gap: Why a data foundation is fundamental to an  Agentic Enterprise.   Agentic AI is transforming ...

Data Management Digest – September 2026

    Welcome to the September 2026 edition of Data Management Digest! September brought a fresh wave of ...