# How to Debug the Logstash File Plugin

To debug the Logstash file plugin or Logstash configuration, follow these steps.

First, ensure your configuration file has no errors using the following command:

```command
bin/logstash --config.test_and_exit --path.config <path-to-logstash-conf-file>.conf
```

When there are no issues, you will see the following message at the end:

```text
[output]
...
Configuration OK
[INFO ] 2024-04-04 11:31:43.968 [LogStash::Runner] runner - Using config.test_and_exit mode. Config Validation Result: OK. Exiting Logstash
```

If the configuration file has passed without any issues, you can debug Logstash by sending the events to the standard output like this:

```text
output {
  stdout { codec => rubydebug }
}
```

Additionally, to debug the Logstash process itself, you can use the `--debug` option:

```command
/bin/logstash -f <path-to-logstash-conf>.conf --debug
```

For further information about Logstash, refer to the [comprehensive guide](https://betterstack.com/community/guides/logging/logstash-explained/), which explains how to collect, transform, and forward logs.