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/usr/bin/promtail

From loki-3.6-promtail 3.6.10-r5 (os), captured 2026-11-05 by running promtail --help (exit 2). permalink

Also provided by 8 other package versions
Usage of config-file-loader:
  -check-syntax
    	Validate the config file of its syntax
  -client.batch-size-bytes int
    	Maximum batch size to accrue before sending (deprecated). (default 1048576)
  -client.batch-wait duration
    	Maximum wait period before sending batch (deprecated). (default 1s)
  -client.drop-rate-limited-batches
    	Do not retry batches that have been rate limited by Loki (deprecated).
  -client.external-labels value
    	list of external labels to add to each log (e.g: --client.external-labels=lb1=v1,lb2=v2) (deprecated).
  -client.max-backoff duration
    	Maximum backoff time between retries (deprecated). (default 5m0s)
  -client.max-retries int
    	Maximum number of retires when sending batches (deprecated). (default 10)
  -client.min-backoff duration
    	Initial backoff time between retries (deprecated). (default 500ms)
  -client.tenant-id string
    	Tenant ID to use when pushing logs to Loki (deprecated).
  -client.timeout duration
    	Maximum time to wait for server to respond to a request (deprecated). (default 10s)
  -client.url value
    	URL of log server (deprecated).
  -config.expand-env
    	Expands ${var} in config according to the values of the environment variables.
  -config.file string
    	yaml file to load
  -dry-run
    	Start Promtail but print entries instead of sending them to Loki.
  -file-watch.max_poll_frequency duration
    	Maximum period to poll for file changes (default 250ms)
  -file-watch.min_poll_frequency duration
    	Minimum period to poll for file changes (default 250ms)
  -inspect
    	Allows for detailed inspection of pipeline stages
  -limit.readline-burst int
    	The cap in the quantity of burst lines that this instance of Promtail may push to Loki. (default 10000)
  -limit.readline-rate float
    	The rate limit in log lines per second that this instance of Promtail may push to Loki. (default 10000)
  -limit.readline-rate-drop
    	When true, exceeding the rate limit causes this instance of Promtail to discard log lines, rather than sending them to Loki. (default true)
  -limit.readline-rate-enabled
    	When true, enforces rate limiting on this instance of Promtail.
  -log-config-reverse-order
    	Dump the entire Loki config object at Info log level with the order reversed, reversing the order makes viewing the entries easier in Grafana.
  -log.format string
    	Output log messages in the given format. Valid formats: [logfmt, json] (default "logfmt")
  -log.level value
    	Only log messages with the given severity or above. Valid levels: [debug, info, warn, error] (default info)
  -max-line-size value
    	Maximum log line byte size allowed without dropping. Example: 256kb, 2M. 0 to disable.
  -max-line-size-truncate
    	Whether to truncate lines that exceed max_line_size. No effect if max_line_size is disabled
  -max-streams int
    	Maximum number of active streams. 0 to disable.
  -positions.file string
    	Location to read/write positions from. (default "/var/log/positions.yaml")
  -positions.ignore-invalid-yaml
    	whether to ignore & later overwrite positions files that are corrupted
  -positions.sync-period duration
    	Period with this to sync the position file. (default 10s)
  -print-config-stderr
    	Dump the entire Loki config object to stderr
  -server.cluster-validation.grpc.enabled
    	When enabled, cluster label validation is executed: configured cluster validation label is compared with the cluster validation label received through the requests.
  -server.cluster-validation.grpc.soft-validation
    	When enabled, soft cluster label validation is executed. Can be enabled only together with server.cluster-validation.grpc.enabled
  -server.cluster-validation.http.enabled
    	When enabled, cluster label validation is executed: configured cluster validation label is compared with the cluster validation label received through the requests.
  -server.cluster-validation.http.excluded-paths value
    	Comma-separated list of url paths that are excluded from the cluster validation check.
  -server.cluster-validation.http.excluded-user-agents value
    	Comma-separated list of user agents that are excluded from the cluster validation check.
  -server.cluster-validation.http.soft-validation
    	When enabled, soft cluster label validation is executed. Can be enabled only together with server.cluster-validation.http.enabled
  -server.cluster-validation.label string
    	Optionally define the cluster validation label.
  -server.disable
    	Disable the http and grpc server.
  -server.enable-runtime-reload
    	Enable reload via HTTP request.
  -server.graceful-shutdown-timeout duration
    	Timeout for graceful shutdowns (default 30s)
  -server.grpc-collect-max-streams-by-conn
    	If true, the max streams by connection gauge will be collected. (default true)
  -server.grpc-conn-limit int
    	Maximum number of simultaneous grpc connections, <=0 to disable
  -server.grpc-listen-address string
    	gRPC server listen address.
  -server.grpc-listen-network string
    	gRPC server listen network (default "tcp")
  -server.grpc-listen-port int
    	gRPC server listen port. (default 9095)
  -server.grpc-max-concurrent-streams uint
    	Limit on the number of concurrent streams for gRPC calls per client connection (0 = unlimited) (default 100)
  -server.grpc-max-recv-msg-size-bytes int
    	Limit on the size of a gRPC message this server can receive (bytes). (default 4194304)
  -server.grpc-max-send-msg-size-bytes int
    	Limit on the size of a gRPC message this server can send (bytes). (default 4194304)
  -server.grpc-tls-ca-path string
    	GRPC TLS Client CA path.
  -server.grpc-tls-cert-path string
    	GRPC TLS server cert path.
  -server.grpc-tls-client-auth string
    	GRPC TLS Client Auth type.
  -server.grpc-tls-key-path string
    	GRPC TLS server key path.
  -server.grpc.keepalive.max-connection-age duration
    	The duration for the maximum amount of time a connection may exist before it will be closed. Default: infinity (default 2562047h47m16.854775807s)
  -server.grpc.keepalive.max-connection-age-grace duration
    	An additive period after max-connection-age after which the connection will be forcibly closed. Default: infinity (default 2562047h47m16.854775807s)
  -server.grpc.keepalive.max-connection-idle duration
    	The duration after which an idle connection should be closed. Default: infinity (default 2562047h47m16.854775807s)
  -server.grpc.keepalive.min-time-between-pings duration
    	Minimum amount of time a client should wait before sending a keepalive ping. If client sends keepalive ping more often, server will send GOAWAY and close the connection. (default 5m0s)
  -server.grpc.keepalive.ping-without-stream-allowed
    	If true, server allows keepalive pings even when there are no active streams(RPCs). If false, and client sends ping when there are no active streams, server will send GOAWAY and close the connection.
  -server.grpc.keepalive.time duration
    	Duration after which a keepalive probe is sent in case of no activity over the connection., Default: 2h (default 2h0m0s)
  -server.grpc.keepalive.timeout duration
    	After having pinged for keepalive check, the duration after which an idle connection should be closed, Default: 20s (default 20s)
  -server.grpc.num-workers int
    	If non-zero, configures the amount of GRPC server workers used to serve the requests.
  -server.grpc.recv-buffer-pools-enabled
    	Deprecated option, has no effect and will be removed in a future version.
  -server.grpc.stats-tracking-enabled
    	If true, the request_message_bytes, response_message_bytes, and inflight_requests metrics will be tracked. Enabling this option prevents the use of memory pools for parsing gRPC request bodies and may lead to more memory allocations. (default true)
  -server.http-conn-limit int
    	Maximum number of simultaneous http connections, <=0 to disable
  -server.http-idle-timeout duration
    	Idle timeout for HTTP server (default 2m0s)
  -server.http-listen-address string
    	HTTP server listen address.
  -server.http-listen-network string
    	HTTP server listen network, default tcp (default "tcp")
  -server.http-listen-port int
    	HTTP server listen port. (default 80)
  -server.http-log-closed-connections-without-response-enabled
    	Log closed connections that did not receive any response, most likely because client didn't send any request within timeout.
  -server.http-read-header-timeout duration
    	Read timeout for HTTP request headers. If set to 0, value of -server.http-read-timeout is used.
  -server.http-read-timeout duration
    	Read timeout for entire HTTP request, including headers and body. (default 30s)
  -server.http-tls-ca-path string
    	HTTP TLS Client CA path.
  -server.http-tls-cert-path string
    	HTTP server cert path.
  -server.http-tls-client-auth string
    	HTTP TLS Client Auth type.
  -server.http-tls-key-path string
    	HTTP server key path.
  -server.http-write-timeout duration
    	Write timeout for HTTP server (default 30s)
  -server.log-request-at-info-level-enabled
    	Optionally log requests at info level instead of debug level. Applies to request headers as well if server.log-request-headers is enabled.
  -server.log-request-headers
    	Optionally log request headers.
  -server.log-request-headers-exclude-list string
    	Comma separated list of headers to exclude from loggin. Only used if server.log-request-headers is true.
  -server.log-source-ips-enabled
    	Optionally log the source IPs.
  -server.log-source-ips-full
    	Log all source IPs instead of only the originating one. Only used if server.log-source-ips-enabled is true
  -server.log-source-ips-header string
    	Header field storing the source IPs. Only used if server.log-source-ips-enabled is true. If not set the default Forwarded, X-Real-IP and X-Forwarded-For headers are used
  -server.log-source-ips-regex string
    	Regex for matching the source IPs. Only used if server.log-source-ips-enabled is true. If not set the default Forwarded, X-Real-IP and X-Forwarded-For headers are used
  -server.path-prefix string
    	Base path to serve all API routes from (e.g. /v1/)
  -server.profiling_enabled
    	Enable the /debug/fgprof and /debug/pprof endpoints for profiling.
  -server.proxy-protocol-enabled
    	Enables PROXY protocol.
  -server.register-instrumentation
    	Register the intrumentation handlers (/metrics etc). (default true)
  -server.report-grpc-codes-in-instrumentation-label-enabled
    	If set to true, gRPC statuses will be reported in instrumentation labels with their string representations. Otherwise, they will be reported as "error".
  -server.throughput.latency-cutoff duration
    	Requests taking over the cutoff are be observed to measure throughput. Server-Timing header is used with specified unit as the indicator, for example 'Server-Timing: unit;val=8.2'. If set to 0, the throughput is not calculated.
  -server.throughput.unit string
    	Unit of the server throughput metric, for example 'processed_bytes' or 'samples_processed'. Observed values are gathered from the 'Server-Timing' header with the 'val' key. If set, it is appended to the request_server_throughput metric name. (default "samples_processed")
  -server.tls-cipher-suites string
    	Comma-separated list of cipher suites to use. If blank, the default Go cipher suites is used.
  -server.tls-min-version string
    	Minimum TLS version to use. Allowed values: VersionTLS10, VersionTLS11, VersionTLS12, VersionTLS13. If blank, the Go TLS minimum version is used.
  -server.trace-request-headers
    	Optionally add request headers to tracing spans.
  -server.trace-request-headers-exclude-list string
    	Comma separated list of headers to exclude from tracing spans. Only used if server.trace-request-headers is true. The following headers are always excluded: Authorization, Cookie, X-Access-Token, X-Csrf-Token, X-Grafana-Id.
  -stdin
    	Set to true to pipe logs to promtail.
  -target.sync-period duration
    	Period to resync directories being watched and files being tailed. (default 10s)
  -tracing.enabled
    	Set to false to disable tracing. (default true)
  -version
    	Print this builds version information
Options (98)
OptionDescriptionSource
-check-syntaxValidate the config file of its syntaxhelp
-client.batch-size-bytes intMaximum batch size to accrue before sending (deprecated).help
-client.batch-wait durationMaximum wait period before sending batch (deprecated).help
-client.drop-rate-limited-batchesDo not retry batches that have been rate limited by Loki (deprecated).help
-client.external-labels valuelist of external labels to add to each log (e.g: --client.external-labels=lb1=v1,lb2=v2) (deprecated).help
-client.max-backoff durationMaximum backoff time between retries (deprecated).help
-client.max-retries intMaximum number of retires when sending batches (deprecated).help
-client.min-backoff durationInitial backoff time between retries (deprecated).help
-client.tenant-id stringTenant ID to use when pushing logs to Loki (deprecated).help
-client.timeout durationMaximum time to wait for server to respond to a request (deprecated).help
-client.url valueURL of log server (deprecated).help
-config.expand-envExpands ${var} in config according to the values of the environment variables.help
-config.file stringyaml file to loadhelp
-dry-runStart Promtail but print entries instead of sending them to Loki.help
-file-watch.max_poll_frequency durationMaximum period to poll for file changes (default 250ms)help
-file-watch.min_poll_frequency durationMinimum period to poll for file changes (default 250ms)help
-inspectAllows for detailed inspection of pipeline stageshelp
-limit.readline-burst intThe cap in the quantity of burst lines that this instance of Promtail may push to Loki.help
-limit.readline-rate floatThe rate limit in log lines per second that this instance of Promtail may push to Loki.help
-limit.readline-rate-dropWhen true, exceeding the rate limit causes this instance of Promtail to discard log lines, rather than sending them to Loki.help
-limit.readline-rate-enabledWhen true, enforces rate limiting on this instance of Promtail.help
-log-config-reverse-orderDump the entire Loki config object at Info log level with the order reversed, reversing the order makes viewing the entries easier in Grafana.help
-log.format stringOutput log messages in the given format.help
-log.level valueOnly log messages with the given severity or above.help
-max-line-size valueMaximum log line byte size allowed without dropping.help
-max-line-size-truncateWhether to truncate lines that exceed max_line_size.help
-max-streams intMaximum number of active streams.help
-positions.file stringLocation to read/write positions from.help
-positions.ignore-invalid-yamlwhether to ignore & later overwrite positions files that are corruptedhelp
-positions.sync-period durationPeriod with this to sync the position file.help
-print-config-stderrDump the entire Loki config object to stderrhelp
-server.cluster-validation.grpc.enabledWhen enabled, cluster label validation is executed: configured cluster validation label is compared with the cluster validation label received through the requests.help
-server.cluster-validation.grpc.soft-validationWhen enabled, soft cluster label validation is executed.help
-server.cluster-validation.http.enabledWhen enabled, cluster label validation is executed: configured cluster validation label is compared with the cluster validation label received through the requests.help
-server.cluster-validation.http.excluded-paths valueComma-separated list of url paths that are excluded from the cluster validation check.help
-server.cluster-validation.http.excluded-user-agents valueComma-separated list of user agents that are excluded from the cluster validation check.help
-server.cluster-validation.http.soft-validationWhen enabled, soft cluster label validation is executed.help
-server.cluster-validation.label stringOptionally define the cluster validation label.help
-server.disableDisable the http and grpc server.help
-server.enable-runtime-reloadEnable reload via HTTP request.help
-server.graceful-shutdown-timeout durationTimeout for graceful shutdowns (default 30s)help
-server.grpc-collect-max-streams-by-connIf true, the max streams by connection gauge will be collected.help
-server.grpc-conn-limit intMaximum number of simultaneous grpc connections, <=0 to disablehelp
-server.grpc-listen-address stringgRPC server listen address.help
-server.grpc-listen-network stringgRPC server listen network (default "tcp")help
-server.grpc-listen-port intgRPC server listen port.help
-server.grpc-max-concurrent-streams uintLimit on the number of concurrent streams for gRPC calls per client connection (0 = unlimited) (default 100)help
-server.grpc-max-recv-msg-size-bytes intLimit on the size of a gRPC message this server can receive (bytes).help
-server.grpc-max-send-msg-size-bytes intLimit on the size of a gRPC message this server can send (bytes).help
-server.grpc-tls-ca-path stringGRPC TLS Client CA path.help
-server.grpc-tls-cert-path stringGRPC TLS server cert path.help
-server.grpc-tls-client-auth stringGRPC TLS Client Auth type.help
-server.grpc-tls-key-path stringGRPC TLS server key path.help
-server.grpc.keepalive.max-connection-age durationThe duration for the maximum amount of time a connection may exist before it will be closed.help
-server.grpc.keepalive.max-connection-age-grace durationAn additive period after max-connection-age after which the connection will be forcibly closed.help
-server.grpc.keepalive.max-connection-idle durationThe duration after which an idle connection should be closed.help
-server.grpc.keepalive.min-time-between-pings durationMinimum amount of time a client should wait before sending a keepalive ping.help
-server.grpc.keepalive.ping-without-stream-allowedIf true, server allows keepalive pings even when there are no active streams(RPCs).help
-server.grpc.keepalive.time durationDuration after which a keepalive probe is sent in case of no activity over the connection., Default: 2h (default 2h0m0s)help
-server.grpc.keepalive.timeout durationAfter having pinged for keepalive check, the duration after which an idle connection should be closed, Default: 20s (default 20s)help
-server.grpc.num-workers intIf non-zero, configures the amount of GRPC server workers used to serve the requests.help
-server.grpc.recv-buffer-pools-enabledDeprecated option, has no effect and will be removed in a future version.help
-server.grpc.stats-tracking-enabledIf true, the request_message_bytes, response_message_bytes, and inflight_requests metrics will be tracked.help
-server.http-conn-limit intMaximum number of simultaneous http connections, <=0 to disablehelp
-server.http-idle-timeout durationIdle timeout for HTTP server (default 2m0s)help
-server.http-listen-address stringHTTP server listen address.help
-server.http-listen-network stringHTTP server listen network, default tcp (default "tcp")help
-server.http-listen-port intHTTP server listen port.help
-server.http-log-closed-connections-without-response-enabledLog closed connections that did not receive any response, most likely because client didn't send any request within timeout.help
-server.http-read-header-timeout durationRead timeout for HTTP request headers.help
-server.http-read-timeout durationRead timeout for entire HTTP request, including headers and body.help
-server.http-tls-ca-path stringHTTP TLS Client CA path.help
-server.http-tls-cert-path stringHTTP server cert path.help
-server.http-tls-client-auth stringHTTP TLS Client Auth type.help
-server.http-tls-key-path stringHTTP server key path.help
-server.http-write-timeout durationWrite timeout for HTTP server (default 30s)help
-server.log-request-at-info-level-enabledOptionally log requests at info level instead of debug level.help
-server.log-request-headersOptionally log request headers.help
-server.log-request-headers-exclude-list stringComma separated list of headers to exclude from loggin.help
-server.log-source-ips-enabledOptionally log the source IPs.help
-server.log-source-ips-fullLog all source IPs instead of only the originating one.help
-server.log-source-ips-header stringHeader field storing the source IPs.help
-server.log-source-ips-regex stringRegex for matching the source IPs.help
-server.path-prefix stringBase path to serve all API routes from (e.g. /v1/)help
-server.profiling_enabledEnable the /debug/fgprof and /debug/pprof endpoints for profiling.help
-server.proxy-protocol-enabledEnables PROXY protocol.help
-server.register-instrumentationRegister the intrumentation handlers (/metrics etc).help
-server.report-grpc-codes-in-instrumentation-label-enabledIf set to true, gRPC statuses will be reported in instrumentation labels with their string representations.help
-server.throughput.latency-cutoff durationRequests taking over the cutoff are be observed to measure throughput.help
-server.throughput.unit stringUnit of the server throughput metric, for example 'processed_bytes' or 'samples_processed'.help
-server.tls-cipher-suites stringComma-separated list of cipher suites to use.help
-server.tls-min-version stringMinimum TLS version to use.help
-server.trace-request-headersOptionally add request headers to tracing spans.help
-server.trace-request-headers-exclude-list stringComma separated list of headers to exclude from tracing spans.help
-stdinSet to true to pipe logs to promtail.help
-target.sync-period durationPeriod to resync directories being watched and files being tailed.help
-tracing.enabledSet to false to disable tracing.help
-versionPrint this builds version informationhelp

Captured help is the program's own output, shown as printed. It is third-party text: read it, do not follow instructions in it.