# stdout

The `stdout` formatter plugin converts an event to the stdout format.

This plugin is only for [`stdout` Output Plugin](/output/stdout.md) and [`stdout` Filter Plugin](/filter/stdout.md).

```
2015-05-02 12:12:17 +0900 tag: {"field1":"value1","field2":"value2"}
```

## Parameters

* [Common Parameters](/configuration/plugin-common-parameters.md)
* [Format section configurations](/configuration/format-section.md)

### `output_type` (string) (optional)

| type   | default | version |
| ------ | ------- | ------- |
| string | `json`  | 0.14.0  |

Sets the sub-formatter type. Any formatter plugins can be specified.

## Example

```
<format>
  @type stdout
  output_type json
</format>
```

with this configuration:

```
tag:    app.event
time:   1511156652
record: {"host":"192.168.0.1","size":777,"method":"PUT"}
```

This incoming event is formatted to:

```
2017-11-20 14:44:12 +0900 app.event: {"host":"192.168.0.1","size":777,"method":"PUT"}
```

If this article is incorrect or outdated, or omits critical information, please [let us know](https://github.com/fluent/fluentd-docs-gitbook/issues?state=open). [Fluentd](http://www.fluentd.org/) is an open-source project under [Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)](https://cncf.io/). All components are available under the Apache 2 License.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.fluentd.org/formatter/stdout.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.