Splunk Search

Do I have to explicitly define each field that can be used by an external lookup in transforms.conf?

thisissplunk
Builder

I've made an external lookup python script that calculates the entropy of a field's value using the first block of code from this answer: https://answers.splunk.com/answers/13636/calculate-entropy-just-entropy-not-change-in-entropy-like-a...

That works. Now I'm implementing it in transforms as seen here: http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/6.3.1/Knowledge/Configureexternallookups
Or more specifically:

[<lookup_name>]: The name of the lookup.

external_cmd = <string>: The command and arguments that the Splunk platform should invoke to perform the lookup. The Splunk platform expects the command to be the name of the script, such as external_lookup.py.

external_type = [python|executable|kvstore|geo]: The type of script being used for the lookup. Can be python, for a Python script, or executable, for a binary executable. The kvstore and geo values are reserved for KV store lookups and geospatial lookups, respectively.

fields_list = <string>: is a list of all fields that are supported by the external lookup. The fields must be delimited by a comma followed by a space.

Question:
See fields_list above. I don't want to limit this lookup to any fields right now (this will not be an automatic lookup). Can I simply not add that line so that the external lookup command will work on any field I send to it?

0 Karma
1 Solution

thisissplunk
Builder

Since it doesn't look like you can get around this, I ended up making a custom command instead: https://answers.splunk.com/answers/398976/can-someone-give-me-an-incredibly-simple-custom-st.html

View solution in original post

0 Karma

thisissplunk
Builder

Since it doesn't look like you can get around this, I ended up making a custom command instead: https://answers.splunk.com/answers/398976/can-someone-give-me-an-incredibly-simple-custom-st.html

0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Index This | Why did the turkey cross the road?

November 2025 Edition  Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!   We’re back with this ...

Enter the Agentic Era with Splunk AI Assistant for SPL 1.4

  &#x1f680; Your data just got a serious AI upgrade — are you ready? Say hello to the Agentic Era with the ...

Feel the Splunk Love: Real Stories from Real Customers

Hello Splunk Community,    What’s the best part of hearing how our customers use Splunk? Easy: the positive ...