# dummy

![](https://3804023877-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LR7OsqPORtP86IQxs6E%2F-LX0aKuKEQ8l83KlUg5z%2F-LWNPOwwA91Q1GYDjciJ%2Fdummy.png?generation=1548362563677789\&alt=media)

The `in_dummy` input plugin generates dummy events. It is useful for testing, debugging, benchmarking and getting started with Fluentd.

## Example Configuration

`in_dummy` is included in Fluentd's core. No additional installation process is required.

```
<source>
  @type dummy
  dummy {"hello":"world"}
</source>
```

Please see the [Config File](https://docs.fluentd.org/0.12/configuration/config-file) article for the basic structure and syntax of the configuration file.

## Parameters

### type (required)

The value must be `dummy`.

### tag (required)

The value is the tag assigned to the generated events.

### dummy (optional)

The dummy data to be generated. It should be either an array of JSON hashes or a single JSON hash. If it is an array of JSON hashes, the hashes in the array are cycled through in order. By default, the value is `[{"message":"dummy"}]` (i.e., it continues to generate events with the record {"message":"dummy"}).

### auto\_increment\_key (optional, string type)

If specified, each generated event has an auto-incremented key field. For example, with `auto_increment_key foo_key`, the first couple of events look like

```
2014-12-14 23:23:38 +0000 test: {"message":"dummy","foo_key":0}
2014-12-14 23:23:38 +0000 test: {"message":"dummy","foo_key":1}
2014-12-14 23:23:38 +0000 test: {"message":"dummy","foo_key":2}
```

### rate (optional, integer type)

It configures how many events to generate per second. The default value is 1.

#### log\_level option

The `log_level` option allows the user to set different levels of logging for each plugin. The supported log levels are: `fatal`, `error`, `warn`, `info`, `debug`, and `trace`.

Please see the [logging article](https://docs.fluentd.org/0.12/deployment/logging) for further details.

If this article is incorrect or outdated, or omits critical information, please [let us know](https://github.com/fluent/fluentd-docs-gitbook/issues?state=open).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