Getting Data In

How to exclude a specific file?

balcv
Contributor

I'm trying to exclude a specific file called catalina.out in /var/log/tomcat9/ from being processed by Splunk.  The file is being sent to my heavy forwarder and I have the following in inputs.conf 

[monitor:///var/log/tomcat9]
blacklist=(catalina\.out)
disabled = 0

The data continues to be processed.  What am I missing?

Labels (2)
0 Karma

richgalloway
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Despite being a regular expression, there's no need to escape dots in blacklist or whitelist.  There's no need for a capture group, either.

[monitor:///var/log/tomcat9]
blacklist = catalina.out
disabled = 0

Don't forget to specify an index and sourcetype in the inputs.conf stanza.

---
If this reply helps you, Karma would be appreciated.

balcv
Contributor

Thanks @richgalloway .  I've removed the escape and added the index and source as suggested but that data is still appearing.

 [monitor:///var/log/tomcat9]
blacklist= catalina.out
index= main
source= catalina.out
disabled = 0

Can the order of the monitor statements have an impact?  For example could a preceding statement override this statement if the previous statement is for ///var/log but does not specifically reference tomcat9?

0 Karma

richgalloway
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Stanza order may be significant.  Try swapping them.

---
If this reply helps you, Karma would be appreciated.
0 Karma
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!

Index This | What travels the world but is also stuck in place?

April 2026 Edition  Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!   We’re back with this ...

Discover New Use Cases: Unlock Greater Value from Your Existing Splunk Data

Realizing the full potential of your Splunk investment requires more than just understanding current usage; it ...

Continue Your Journey: Join Session 2 of the Data Management and Federation Bootcamp ...

As data volumes continue to grow and environments become more distributed, managing and optimizing data ...