Reporting

max search length

kondou
Explorer

Is there any limitation of search length? I've made almost 5000 bytes search commands in Splunk > Search, tried to save it, but met an error;

500 Internal Server Error XMLSyntaxError: Start tag expected, '<' not found, line 1, column 1

Is there any way to avoid this other than not changing search command.

Tags (1)

jrodman
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

splunkd has some failure modes I'm sure for searches above some size, even if just performance issues or ungainly handling, but several hundred kilobyte searches work just fine.

The problem you're seeing is happening in splunkweb. I suspect it's some kind of quoting failure, rather than a length issue. If the exact string isn't sensitive, I'd love to reproduce and file the bug. A support ticket would be appropriate.

As a lame workaround, manually adding the search to a savedsearches.conf file will likely bypass the problem.

kondou
Explorer

Yes, the problem always happens in splunk web. I think you should be able to reproduce by creating over 5000 bytes search.

And, my workaround is almost the same as what you are saying. I just new entry in create search and report, which includes the search line, also with non error search entry. I call non search
entry from search and report tab, and then paste THAT error search, which gives me what I want.

0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Application management with Targeted Application Install for Victoria Experience

  Experience a new era of flexibility in managing your Splunk Cloud Platform apps! With Targeted Application ...

Index This | What goes up and never comes down?

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

Splunkers, Pack Your Bags: Why Cisco Live EMEA is Your Next Big Destination

The Power of Two: Splunk &#43; Cisco at "Ludicrous Scale"   You know Splunk. You know Cisco. But have you seen ...