otelcol.receiver.file_stats
otelcol.receiver.file_stats collects metrics from files and folders specified with a glob pattern.
Note
otelcol.receiver.file_statsis a wrapper over the upstream OpenTelemetry Collectorfilestatsreceiver. Bug reports or feature requests will be redirected to the upstream repository, if necessary.
Multiple otelcol.receiver.file_stats components can be specified by giving them different labels.
Warning
otelcol.receiver.file_statsonly works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Usage
otelcol.receiver.file_stats "<LABEL>" {
include = "GLOB_PATTERN"
output {
metrics = [...]
}
}Arguments
You can use the following arguments with otelcol.receiver.file_stats:
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
include | string | Glob path for paths to collect stats from. | yes | |
collection_interval | duration | How often to collect statistics. | "1m" | no |
initial_delay | duration | Initial time to wait before collecting statistics. | "1s" | no |
timeout | duration | Timeout for a collection; 0s means no timeout. | "0s" | no |
include is a glob pattern that specifies which paths (files and folders) to collect stats from.
A * character matches entries in a directory, while ** includes subdirectories.
For example, /var/log/**/*.log matches all files and directories ending in .log recursively inside /var/log.
The timeout argument controls the timeout for each collection specified by the collection_interval.
The timeout applies to the entire collection process across all paths matched by the include argument.
Blocks
You can use the following blocks with otelcol.receiver.file_stats:
| Block | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
output | Configures where to send received telemetry data. | yes |
debug_metrics | Configures the metrics that this component generates to monitor its state. | no |
metrics | Configures which metrics will be sent to downstream components. | no |
metrics > file.atime | Configures the file.atime metric. | no |
metrics > file.count | Configures the file.count metric. | no |
metrics > file.ctime | Configures the file.ctime metric. | no |
metrics > file.mtime | Configures the file.mtime metric. | no |
metrics > file.size | Configures the file.size metric. | no |
resource_attributes | Configures resource attributes for metrics sent to downstream components. | no |
resource_attributes > file.name | Configures the file.name resource attribute. | no |
resource_attributes > file.name > metrics_exclude | Metrics to exclude the file.name resource attribute from. | no |
resource_attributes > file.name > metrics_include | Metrics to include the file.name resource attribute in. | no |
resource_attributes > file.path | Configures the file.path resource attribute. | no |
resource_attributes > file.path > metrics_exclude | Metrics to exclude the file.path resource attribute from. | no |
resource_attributes > file.path > metrics_include | Metrics to include the file.path resource attribute in. | no |
output
RequiredThe output block configures a set of components to forward resulting telemetry data to.
The following arguments are supported:
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
logs | list(otelcol.Consumer) | List of consumers to send logs to. | [] | no |
metrics | list(otelcol.Consumer) | List of consumers to send metrics to. | [] | no |
traces | list(otelcol.Consumer) | List of consumers to send traces to. | [] | no |
You must specify the output block, but all its arguments are optional.
By default, telemetry data is dropped.
Configure the metrics, logs, and traces arguments accordingly to send telemetry data to other components.
debug_metrics
The debug_metrics block configures the metrics that this component generates to monitor its state.
The following arguments are supported:
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
disable_high_cardinality_metrics | boolean | Whether to disable certain high cardinality metrics. | true | no |
disable_high_cardinality_metrics is the Alloy equivalent to the telemetry.disableHighCardinalityMetrics feature gate in the OpenTelemetry Collector.
It removes attributes that could cause high cardinality metrics.
For example, attributes with IP addresses and port numbers in metrics about HTTP and gRPC connections are removed.
Note
If configured,
disable_high_cardinality_metricsonly applies tootelcol.exporter.*andotelcol.receiver.*components.
metrics
The metrics block configures the set of metrics that will be sent to downstream components.
It accepts no arguments, but contains other blocks for individual metrics:
- The
file.atimeblock - The
file.countblock - The
file.ctimeblock - The
file.mtimeblock - The
file.sizeblock
Refer to the documentation of individual metric blocks for whether that metric is enabled by default.
file.atime
The file.atime block configures the file.atime metric.
file.atime tracks the elapsed time since the last access of the file or folder in Unix seconds since the epoch.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to collect the file.atime metric. | false | no |
file.count
The file.count block configures the file.count metric.
file.count tracks the number of files and folders in the specified glob pattern.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to collect the file.count metric. | false | no |
file.ctime
The file.ctime block configures the file.ctime metric.
file.ctime tracks the elapsed time since the last change of the file or folder in Unix seconds since the epoch.
Changes include permissions, ownership, and timestamps.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to collect the file.ctime metric. | false | no |
file.mtime
The file.mtime block configures the file.mtime metric.
file.mtime tracks the elapsed time since the last modification of the file or folder in Unix seconds since the epoch.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to collect the file.mtime metric. | true | no |
file.size
The file.size block configures the file.size metric.
file.size tracks the size of the file or folder in bytes.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to collect the file.size metric. | true | no |
resource_attributes
The resource_attributes block configures resource attributes for metrics sent to downstream components.
It accepts no arguments, but contains other blocks for configuring individual resource attributes:
Refer to the documentation of individual resource attribute blocks for whether that resource attribute is enabled by default.
file.name
The file.name block configures the file.name resource attribute.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to include the file.name resource attribute. | true | no |
When enabled is true, the file.name attribute is included in all metrics.
The children blocks metrics_include and metrics_exclude can be used to further filter which metrics are given the file.name attribute.
If a given metric matches all the metrics_include blocks and none of the metrics_exclude blocks, the file.name attribute is added.
metrics_exclude
The metrics_exclude block configures a filter for excluding metrics.
The metrics_exclude block may be specified multiple times.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
strict | string | The exact name of the metric to exclude. | yes* | |
regexp | string | A regular expression for the metrics to exclude. | yes* |
Exactly one of strict or regexp must be specified.
metrics_include
The metrics_include block configures a filter for matching metrics.
The metrics_include block may be specified multiple times.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
strict | string | The exact name of the metric to include. | yes* | |
regexp | string | A regular expression for the metrics to include. | yes* |
Exactly one of strict or regexp must be specified.
file.path
The file.path block configures the file.path resource attribute.
| Name | Type | Description | Default | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
enabled | boolean | Whether to include the file.path resource attribute. | false | no |
When enabled is true, the file.path attribute is included in all metrics.
The children blocks metrics_include and metrics_exclude can be used to further filter which metrics are given the file.path attribute.
If a given metric matches all the metrics_include blocks and none of the metrics_exclude blocks, the file.path attribute is added.
Exported fields
otelcol.receiver.file_stats doesn’t export any fields.
Component health
otelcol.receiver.file_stats is reported as unhealthy when:
- It’s given an invalid configuration.
- It runs on an unsupported operating system.
Debug information
otelcol.receiver.file_stats doesn’t expose any component-specific debug information.
Example
This example forwards file stats of files and folders with the .log extension in /var/log through a batch processor before finally sending it to an OTLP-capable endpoint:
otelcol.receiver.file_stats "default" {
include = "/var/log/**/*.log"
output {
metrics = [otelcol.processor.batch.default.input]
}
}
otelcol.processor.batch "default" {
output {
metrics = [otelcol.exporter.otlp.default.input]
}
}
otelcol.exporter.otlp "default" {
client {
endpoint = sys.env("OTLP_ENDPOINT")
}
}Compatible components
otelcol.receiver.file_stats can accept arguments from the following components:
- Components that export OpenTelemetry
otelcol.Consumer
Note
Connecting some components may not be sensible or components may require further configuration to make the connection work correctly. Refer to the linked documentation for more details.



