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"]
  }
}

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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"
      }
    }
  ]
}

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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"
      }
    }
  ]
}

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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"
}

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Step 4 (Optional): Retrieve the document.

To retrieve the document, run the following query:

GET testindex1/_doc/1

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