Splunk Search

using the extract command manually on other field values

sideview
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

I've got a lot of CSV data that I'm indexing and for one of the fields in the csv, the values are themselves big jumbles of different fields joined together.

eg:
MLQK=3.5000;MLQKav=3.7370;MLQKmn=3.2782;MLQKmx=5.3000;ICR=0.0000;CCR=0.0003;ICRmx=0.0027;CS=1;SCS=0;MLQKvr=0.93

The extract command (aka kv), springs to mind but extract only runs against _raw as far as I know. Are there any good tricks to using extract with other fields besides _raw?

http://www.splunk.com/base/Documentation/latest/SearchReference/Extract

Right now I'm thinking of:

<my search> | rename _raw as _actualRaw | eval _raw=myCrazyField | extract | eval _raw=_actualRaw

but it seems really clunky and I thought maybe there's a better way.

bwooden
Splunk Employee
Splunk Employee

If you don't want to tackle it via conf - I'll see your clunky and raise you one (sans _raw)

| stats count 
| eval jumboField="MLQK=3.5000;MLQKav=3.7370;MLQKmn=3.2782;MLQKmx=5.3000;ICR=0.0000;CCR=0.0003;ICRmx=0.0027;CS=1;SCS=0;MLQKvr=0.93" 
| eval jumboField=replace(jumboField,"([^=]+)=([^;]+);?","<\1>\2</\1>") 
| xmlkv jumboField 
| fields - jumboField
0 Karma

sideview
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Close. But the performance of xmlkv on the number of events I need, is pretty horrendous. In fact a nice little warning pops up in the 4.3 UI, telling me I'm insane to send this many events through xmlkv. 😃

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!

Make your Splunk investment work harder with Optimization Advisor

Value Insights brings usage evidence and practical recommendations together to help customers make more ...

How Splunk AI Assistant Is Transforming Investigations: Insights from .conf26

At .conf26 in Denver, I spent much of my time in conversation with Splunk customers about Splunk AI Assistant. ...

Make Your Machine Data AI-Ready in Splunk

Every team is getting ready for AI agents.   Thursday, November 12, 2026  |  11AM  PST / 2PM EST   ...