# Install filebeat with Homebrew, chocolatey, Nix File harvester to ship log files to Elasticsearch or Logstash. Version 9.4.3 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-30. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:filebeat ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install filebeat ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#filebeat ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: filebeat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix ### Windows - Chocolatey (92%): ```sh choco install filebeat ``` Evidence: Chocolatey community package catalog: filebeat from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='11','fah' ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:filebeat - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 9.4.3 - **Source summary:** File harvester to ship log files to Elasticsearch or Logstash - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-30T18:09:32Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - filebeat (cli) - filebeat (alias) ## Build dependencies - go - mage ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Service: declared - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 9.4.3 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-30 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/elastic/beats - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage Filebeat is Elastic's lightweight log shipper in the Beats family: a small agent installed near application and system logs, harvesting files and forwarding events to Elasticsearch or Logstash. In package-manager terms, Filebeat matters because it turned log shipping into a standard single-purpose daemon: install the formula or package, edit filebeat.yml, enable modules or inputs, and wire it to an Elastic Stack endpoint. ### Project history The Beats repository began in 2014 as the home of lightweight shippers for Elasticsearch and Logstash. Early public tags were Packetbeat-focused, and the shared libbeat framework became the substrate for later Beats, including Filebeat. Filebeat emerged as the file-log member of that family. Elastic's documentation describes its runtime model as inputs discovering log data, harvesters reading individual files, libbeat aggregating events, and configured outputs forwarding them to Elasticsearch or Logstash. By the 5.x era, Filebeat was established enough for Elastic to document modules, which bundle input configuration, ingest pipelines, and dashboards for common log sources. Modern Elastic documentation still supports Filebeat modules, while recommending newer Elastic Agent integrations for streamlined data collection. ### Adoption history Filebeat adoption tracks Elastic Stack adoption: it became the default lightweight answer for users who wanted to avoid running a heavier Logstash instance on every host while still centralizing log files. Its packaging footprint across Homebrew, Chocolatey, and Nix, together with Elastic's own packages and documentation, reflects cross-platform use by developers, operators, and observability teams. Elastic's current docs place Filebeat inside the broader Beats and Elastic Agent story: existing Filebeat deployments remain supported, but greenfield Elastic collection is increasingly guided toward Fleet-managed integrations. ### How it is used Typical usage starts with filebeat.yml, where users configure inputs or modules, output credentials, and path settings. Filebeat then runs as a foreground command during testing or as a service on servers. Operators care about path.config, path.data, and the Filebeat keystore because those paths determine where configuration, registry state, logs, and stored secrets live. The keystore lets credentials be referenced from configuration without writing the raw secret in filebeat.yml. For package users, the everyday workflow is small but operationally important: install Filebeat, point it at logs, verify output connectivity, and let it continuously tail files with registry state so restarts do not resend the whole world. ### Why package nerds care Filebeat is a classic example of a package-manager-friendly observability agent: one executable, one YAML config, a daemon/service mode, and enough defaults for automated installation. It also illustrates how upstream package structure matters. The formula installs a single Beat, but the source lives in Elastic's monorepo alongside Metricbeat, Heartbeat, Auditbeat, Winlogbeat, and libbeat. ### Timeline - 2014: Elastic Beats repository created and early Packetbeat releases published. - 2015: Beats 1.0 release candidates published from the shared repository. - 2016: Beats 5.0.0 release line shipped as Elastic Stack 5-era Beats matured. - 2017: Filebeat modules documented for Elasticsearch 5.2 or later. - 2022: Beats 8.0.0 release line published. - 2025: Beats 9.0.0 release line published. ### Related projects - Filebeat is part of Elastic Beats and shares libbeat infrastructure with Metricbeat, Heartbeat, Auditbeat, Packetbeat, and Winlogbeat. - It commonly appears with Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana, Elastic Agent, and Fleet integrations. ### Sources - - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes formula declares a Homebrew service. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - formula declares a Homebrew service ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Linux: /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml - Unix: {path.config}/filebeat.yml ## Credential files - Unix: {path.config}/filebeat.keystore ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** filebeat - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - filebeat: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: filebeat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix - Chocolatey - filebeat: normalized package name match | Chocolatey community package catalog: filebeat from http://community.chocolatey.org/api/v2/Packages?$filter=IsLatestVersion&$select=Id&$top=1000&$skiptoken='11','fah' ## Related links - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/go/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [mage](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mage/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [auditbeat](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/auditbeat/) - Shares the same upstream source repository. - [heartbeat](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/heartbeat/) - Shares the same upstream source repository. - [metricbeat](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/metricbeat/) - Shares the same upstream source repository. - [packetbeat](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/packetbeat/) - Shares the same upstream source repository. - [fluent-bit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/fluent-bit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, logs, observability. - [cortex](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cortex/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, observability. - [telegraf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/telegraf/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, observability. - [loki](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/loki/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, logs, observability. - [victorialogs](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/victorialogs/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, logs, observability. - [flume](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/flume/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, logs. - [logstash](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/logstash/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, logs. - [adios2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/adios2/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/filebeat.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/filebeat.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph