# Template Processor Plugin

The `template` processor applies a Go template to metrics to generate a new
tag.  The primary use case of this plugin is to create a tag that can be used
for dynamic routing to multiple output plugins or using an output specific
routing option.

The template has access to each metric's measurement name, tags, fields, and
timestamp using the [interface in `/template_metric.go`](template_metric.go).

Read the full [Go Template Documentation][].

## Configuration

```toml @sample.conf
# Uses a Go template to create a new tag
[[processors.template]]
  ## Tag to set with the output of the template.
  tag = "topic"

  ## Go template used to create the tag value.  In order to ease TOML
  ## escaping requirements, you may wish to use single quotes around the
  ## template string.
  template = '{{ .Tag "hostname" }}.{{ .Tag "level" }}'
```

## Examples

### Combine multiple tags to create a single tag

```toml
[[processors.template]]
  tag = "topic"
  template = '{{ .Tag "hostname" }}.{{ .Tag "level" }}'
```

```diff
- cpu,level=debug,hostname=localhost time_idle=42
+ cpu,level=debug,hostname=localhost,topic=localhost.debug time_idle=42
```

### Add measurement name as a tag

```toml
[[processors.template]]
  tag = "measurement"
  template = '{{ .Name }}'
```

```diff
- cpu,hostname=localhost time_idle=42
+ cpu,hostname=localhost,measurement=cpu time_idle=42
```

### Add the year as a tag, similar to the date processor

```toml
[[processors.template]]
  tag = "year"
  template = '{{.Time.UTC.Year}}'
```

### Add all fields as a tag

Sometimes it is usefull to pass all fields with their values into a single
message for sending it to a monitoring system (e.g. Syslog, GroundWork), then
you can use `.FieldList` or `.TagList`:

```toml
[[processors.template]]
  tag = "message"
  template = 'Message about {{.Name}} fields: {{.FieldList}}'
```

```diff
- cpu,hostname=localhost time_idle=42
+ cpu,hostname=localhost,message=Message\ about\ cpu\ fields:\ map[time_idle:42] time_idle=42
```

More advanced example, which might make more sense:

```toml
[[processors.template]]
  tag = "message"
  template = '''Message about {{.Name}} fields:
{{ range $field, $value := .FieldList -}}
{{$field}}:{{$value}}
{{ end }}'''
```

```diff
- cpu,hostname=localhost time_idle=42
+ cpu,hostname=localhost,message=Message\ about\ cpu\ fields:\ntime_idle:42\n time_idle=42
```

### Just add the current metric as a tag

```toml
[[processors.template]]
  tag = "metric"
  template = '{{.}}'
```

```diff
- cpu,hostname=localhost time_idle=42
+ cpu,hostname=localhost,metric=cpu\ map[hostname:localhost]\ map[time_idle:42]\ 1257894000000000000 time_idle=42
```

[Go Template Documentation]: https://golang.org/pkg/text/template/
