Splunk Search

Field '_time' should have numerical values

Jamietriplet
Explorer

Hi all,

I am new to splunk, and i have got the following error:

"Field '_time' should have numerical values"  when I try to run a timechart command.

I have got a csv file 'try.csv', which I read in some fields to display, but when I initiate a timechart command I get the above error.

The csv file 'try.csv' has a column named _time, which has an ISO8601 time


I would appreciate any guide or help I can get, as I am relatively new to splunk

Thanks

Labels (1)
0 Karma
1 Solution

dataisbeautiful
Communicator

Hi @Jamietriplet 

Sounds like _time is being read as a string not as epochtime, try this

| eval _time = strptime(_time, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%N")

 

View solution in original post

dataisbeautiful
Communicator

Hi @Jamietriplet 

Sounds like _time is being read as a string not as epochtime, try this

| eval _time = strptime(_time, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%N")

 

Jamietriplet
Explorer

Hi, dataisbeautiful , this worked. Thanks

0 Karma

gcusello
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Hi @Jamietriplet,

to use timechart you must use the -time field that's in epochtime format.

If in your csv you have the _time field in a different format, you have to convert in epochtime (using strptime function in eval command) before the timechart command:

Ciao.

Giuseppe

Jamietriplet
Explorer

Thanks @gcusello 

0 Karma

gcusello
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Ciao @Jamietriplet ,

good for you, see next time!

Ciao and happy splunking

Giuseppe

P.S.: Karma Points are appreciated by all the contributors 😉

0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Index This | What is broken 80% of the time by February?

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

Unlock Faster Time-to-Value on Edge and Ingest Processor with New SPL2 Pipeline ...

Hello Splunk Community,   We're thrilled to share an exciting update that will help you manage your data more ...

Splunk MCP & Agentic AI: Machine Data Without Limits

Discover how the Splunk Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server can revolutionize the way your organization uses ...