Date
The date processor is used to parse dates from document fields and to add the parsed data to a new field. By default, the parsed data is stored in the @timestamp field. The following is the syntax for the date processor:
{
"date": {
"field": "date_field",
"formats": ["yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSZZ"]
}
}
Configuration parameters
The following table lists the required and optional parameters for the date processor.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
field | Required | The name of the field to which the data should be converted. Supports template snippets. |
formats | Required | An array of the expected date formats. Can be a date format or one of the following formats: ISO8601, UNIX, UNIX_MS, or TAI64N. |
description | Optional | A brief description of the processor. |
if | Optional | A condition for running this processor. |
ignore_failure | Optional | If set to true, failures are ignored. Default is false. |
locale | Optional | The locale to use when parsing the date. Default is ENGLISH. Supports template snippets. |
on_failure | Optional | A list of processors to run if the processor fails. |
output_format | Optional | The date format to use for the target field. Default is yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSZZ. |
tag | Optional | An identifier tag for the processor. Useful for debugging to distinguish between processors of the same type. |
target_field | Optional | The name of the field in which to store the parsed data. Default target field is @timestamp. |
timezone | Optional | The time zone to use when parsing the date. Default is UTC. Supports template snippets. |
Using the processor
Follow these steps to use the processor in a pipeline.
Step 1: Create a pipeline.
The following query creates a pipeline, named date-output-format, that uses the date processor to convert from European date format to US date format, adding the new field date_us with the desired output_format:
PUT /_ingest/pipeline/date-output-format
{
"description": "Pipeline that converts European date format to US date format",
"processors": [
{
"date": {
"field" : "date_european",
"formats" : ["dd/MM/yyyy", "UNIX"],
"target_field": "date_us",
"output_format": "MM/dd/yyy",
"timezone" : "UTC"
}
}
]
}
Step 2 (Optional): Test the pipeline.
It is recommended that you test your pipeline before you ingest documents.
To test the pipeline, run the following query:
POST _ingest/pipeline/date-output-format/_simulate
{
"docs": [
{
"_index": "testindex1",
"_id": "1",
"_source": {
"date_us": "06/30/2023",
"date_european": "30/06/2023"
}
}
]
}
Response
The following example response confirms that the pipeline is working as expected:
{
"docs": [
{
"doc": {
"_index": "testindex1",
"_id": "1",
"_source": {
"date_us": "06/30/2023",
"date_european": "30/06/2023"
},
"_ingest": {
"timestamp": "2023-08-22T17:08:46.275195504Z"
}
}
}
]
}
Step 3: Ingest a document.
The following query ingests a document into an index named testindex1:
PUT testindex1/_doc/1?pipeline=date-output-format
{
"date_european": "30/06/2023"
}
Step 4 (Optional): Retrieve the document.
To retrieve the document, run the following query:
GET testindex1/_doc/1