Skip to content
Content was updated:Sep 30, 2025
This is an archived version of the documentation downloaded from LogScale Documentation Archives. Up to date documentation, and documentation for later versions, is available on LogScale Documentation

## Lookup Files

##### Security Requirements and Controls

- `Change files` permission

Lookup files are used to add additional context to data, enabling you to attach or replace fields from events recorded in a repository when searched. Lookup files can also be used to filter data by calling the lookup file in a query function.

To add a lookup file, create or import a CSV (comma-separated value) or JSON file and upload it to the repository or view.

The files can be used together with query functions to provide lookups and matching using the `match()` function.

Once uploaded, files are synchronized across all the nodes within the cluster. Depending on the size of the file, and what queries may be being executed, there may be a delay before the updated file is available to queries.

The following operations are available:

- Create a lookup file

- Upload lookup files

- Update lookup files

- Export lookup files

For information on how Lookup files interact with the rest of the system, see Lookup files operations.

### Supported file types and formats

LogScale supports two different file formats for uploaded lookup files: JSON and CSV.

| CSV Files | JSON Files
--- | --- | ---
Viewable within LogScale UI | Yes | No
Editable within LogScale UI | Yes | No
File Size Limit | (`MaxCsvFileUploadSizeBytes`) | (`MaxJsonFileUploadSizeBytes`)

Each file format has some specific rules that are described in the section for each file format type. For both formats, the following apply:

- Individual keys and values should be quoted, even as a number.

### Important

Nested objects, that is an object within the returned object, are not supported. For example:

Invalid Example for Demonstration - DO NOT USE
json

    {
      "1": { "name": "chr", "roles": { "user" : true }},
      "2": { "name": "krab" },
      "4": { "name": "pmm" },
      "7": { "name": "mgr" }
    }

would return only the simple field, name when used with `match()`; the remainder of the embedded object would be not be returned or included in the events. LogScale does not reject files in this format.

#### Lookup files using CSV format

When using CSV for lookup files, the following rules apply:

- Individual fields should be separated by a comma (`,`)

- Whitespace is always included in the imported fields, the input takes the literal contents split by the comma character.

- Fields can optionally be quoted by double quotes, for example to include commas in the imported values.

- The first line of the CSV is interpreted as the column header and can be used as the field name when looking up values with functions like `match()`.

For example, the CSV file:

csv

    number,code,description
    17,udp,UDP
    80,http,HTTP Service
    ip,"Internet Protocol, pseudo protocol"

Would be interpreted as:

number | code | description
--- | --- | ---
17 | udp | UDP
80 | http | HTTP Service
ip | Internet Protocol, pseudo protocol |

CSV files can be viewed within the `Lookup files` interface to confirm how the information has been interpreted.

#### Lookup files using JSON format

When using JSON files, two different formats are supported: object-based and array-based.

JSON must be formatted in strict notation format. This requires no trailing commas (where there is no additional value),

### Important

Once uploaded, JSON files cannot be viewed or updated. They can be exported to confirm the file format.

- Object-based

  In the object-based format, format the JSON as a hash or associative array, with a single key and corresponding object. For example:

  json

      {
        "1": { "name": "chr" },
        "2": { "name": "krab" },
        "4": { "name": "pmm" },
        "7": { "name": "mgr" }
      }

  When performing a lookup, `match()` will return the object (as an event with multiple fields), based on the matching key.

- Array-based

  In the array-based format, format the JSON as an array of objects. In this model, the keys for each individual object become fields that can be matched when performing a lookup. For example, in the file:

  json

      [
        { "userid": "1", "name": "chr" },
        { "userid": "2", "name": "krab" },
        { "userid": "4", "name": "pmm" },
        { "userid": "7", "name": "mgr" }
      ]

  The userid and name fields in the JSON object can be used to lookup and return other key/value pairs as event fields/values. For example, the fragment:

  logscale Syntax

      ...
      | match(file="long.json",field=codename,column="name")

  would return the userid field for objects within the lookup file array.

### Create a lookup file

The methods to create lookup files are:

- Create the lookup file in the Files interface (CSV only)

- Create the lookup file externally and upload it to LogScale (CSV or JSON)

- Create the lookup file through a trigger action (CSV only)

#### Create a lookup file in the Files interface

You can create a new lookup file from the LogScale user interface, and then populate the content manually or from a package.

1. In the Resources menu, click `Files` → + New File.

2. Specify a name for the file and then select either + Empty File to create an empty file to populate or From Package to use a template from a previously installed package.

   Figure 32. Options when creating a new lookup file

3. Click Create file.

4. If you've created an empty file, click + to add rows and columns.

   Figure 33. Create New CSV File

5. Click Save to save the changes.

If you have many changes to make, editing a data table through the `Files` interface page can be tedious; click Export file and then save the file to a location to edit the it in a spreadsheet program or a simple text editor.

### Note

Files larger than 100 MB cannot be viewed in the UI. Files with more than 1000 lines cannot be edited.

Figure 34. File Tab in Search View

#### Upload lookup files

If you created or edited a lookup file in an external system, you can upload it to LogScale.

1. In the Resources menu, click `Lookup files` → + New file → Import files.

2. Drag and drop your file or browse for the file to upload.

   You can upload a CSV file containing text like what you see below, which is essentially a lookup table that you can use for labels or value lookups.

   csv

       userid,ip,username,region
         1,"212.12.31.23","pete","EU"
         2,"212.12.31.231","bob","EU"
         3,"98.12.31.21","anders","EU"
         4,"121.12.31.23","jeff","US"
         5,"82.12.31.23","ted","AU"
         6,"62.12.31.23","annie","US"
         7,"122.12.31.23","joe","CH"
         8,"112.11.11.21","alice","CH"
         9,"212.112.131.22","admin","RU"
         10,"212.12.31.23","wendy","EU"

   Once it has been uploaded, it will look like what you see in the figure below.

   Figure 35. Import CSV File

   Typically, the content is used within the `match()` to lookup fixed reference information. Notice that the values are in quotes, except for the ones for userid, which are integers. See the Lookup API reference page for more information on this topic.

3. Once created or uploaded, the file can be edited and updated within the user interface. Additional columns and rows can be added to the file using the + button. Clicking the tiny information icon next to the file name displays metadata info about the file (created by, time it was created, etc.)

   ### Important

   Only CSV files can be edited once uploaded within the user interface.

4. Once you have finished editing, click Save, or click Export if you wish to download the edited file.

#### Create a lookup file through a trigger action

##### Security Requirements and Controls

- `Change files` permission

- `Change triggers and actions` permission

It is possible to create and update a lookup file with an action connected to a trigger. This means that the first time the action triggers, a lookup file will be created. And then, the lookup file will be changed on subsequent action triggers.

For more information about how to create an action that creates a lookup file, see Action Type: Upload File.

### Update lookup files

Sometimes it's necessary to update the content of lookup files. If you are running a trigger with a lookup file action, you can configure the action to update the file automatically based on the results of the trigger.

If you are not updating the lookup file automatically with a trigger as described above, the following methods are available to update lookup files:

- Go to the Resources menu and select Lookup files. Click on the file to update. Update the file as needed, adding or removing columns and rows, updating contents, and so on.

- Update the lookup file externally and upload it to LogScale. To do this, export the lookup file and open it in another tool, make the necessary changes, and upload the file again.

### Export lookup files

You can export lookup files from LogScale as needed, for example, to augment content in third-party tools where it is easier to manipulate large amounts of data.

To export a file from the overview table, click the ⋮ menu icon next to the file and select Export:

Figure 36. Lookup file management actions

You can also export the lookup file when the file is open by clicking Export file.

Figure 37. Export file

### Delete a lookup file

To delete a file click the ⋮ menu icon next to the file.

Figure 38. Lookup file management actions

You can also delete the lookup file when the file is open by clicking Delete file.

Figure 39. Delete file

### Lookup files operations

When using Lookup files and `match()` functionality, consider the following:

- Lookup files use server memory proportional to the size of the file on disk, at least as much and typically more. If you have a 1Gb lookup file it will take up at least 1Gb of memory on some, potentially all, hosts within the cluster. This requirement should be taken into account when uploading and sizing the nodes within the cluster.

- Up to version 1.89.0, LogScale maintains a copy of a file for each different query that uses it. Therefore, if you have 2 different queries using a 1G file then that will occupy at least 2G of memory.

- Up to version 1.116, LogScale restarts all live queries and alert queries that use a file whenever the file is updated. If you don't update your files it makes little difference if you have many small or one large. If you do update your files then prefer to have fewer bigger files since many updates to small files leads to many query restarts.

#### Enter search term