---
mapped_pages:
  - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/logstash/current/contributing-to-logstash.html
---

# Contribute to Logstash [contributing-to-logstash]

You can add your own input, codec, filter, or output plugins to Logstash.


### Acceptance guidelines [plugin-acceptance]

Start with the end in mind. These guidelines and best practices can help you build a better plugin, even if you choose not to share it with the world.

* **Consistency.** Your plugin must be consistent in quality and naming conventions used by other plugins. The plugin name must be unique and in this format: `logstash-plugintype-pluginname`. If the plugin name is more than one word, separate words after plugin type with underscores. Example: *logstash-output-elastic_app_search*
* **Documentation.** Documentation is a required component of your plugin. If we list your plugin in the Logstash Reference, we point to your documentation—​a readme.md, docs/index.asciidoc, or both—​in your plugin repo.
* **Code Review.** Your plugin must be reviewed by members of the community for coherence, quality, readability, stability and security.
* **Tests.** Your plugin must contain tests to be accepted. You can refer to [http://betterspecs.org/](http://betterspecs.org/) for examples.

    * Step 1. Enable travis on your account
    * Step 2. Import our standard travis.yml [https://github.com/logstash-plugins/.ci/blob/1.x/travis/travis.yml](https://github.com/logstash-plugins/.ci/blob/1.x/travis/travis.yml), as shown in the [fingerprint filter example](https://github.com/logstash-plugins/logstash-filter-fingerprint/blob/main/.travis.yml).
    * Step 3. Have specs in the spec folder.



## Add a plugin [add-plugin]

Plugins can be developed and deployed independently of the Logstash core. Here are some documents to guide you through the process of coding, deploying, and sharing your plugin:

* Write a new plugin

    * [How to write a Logstash input plugin](/extend/input-new-plugin.md)
    * [How to write a Logstash codec plugin](/extend/codec-new-plugin.md)
    * [How to write a Logstash filter plugin](/extend/filter-new-plugin.md)
    * [How to write a Logstash output plugin](/extend/output-new-plugin.md)
    * [Community Maintainer’s Guide](/extend/community-maintainer.md)

* [Document your plugin](/extend/plugin-doc.md)
* [Publish your plugin to RubyGems.org](/extend/publish-plugin.md)
* [List your plugin](/extend/plugin-listing.md)
* Contribute a patch

    * [Contributing a patch to a Logstash plugin](/extend/contributing-patch-plugin.md)
    * [Extending Logstash core](/extend/contribute-to-core.md)



#### Plugin Shutdown APIs [shutdown-apis]

You have three options for shutting down a plugin: `stop`, `stop?`, and `close`.

* Call the `stop` method from outside the plugin thread. This method signals the plugin to stop.
* The `stop?` method returns `true` when the `stop` method has already been called for that plugin.
* The `close` method performs final bookkeeping and cleanup after the plugin’s `run` method and the plugin’s thread both exit. The `close` method is a a new name for the method known as `teardown` in previous versions of Logstash.

The `shutdown`, `finished`, `finished?`, `running?`, and `terminating?` methods are redundant and no longer present in the Plugin Base class.

Sample code for the plugin shutdown APIs is [available](https://github.com/logstash-plugins/logstash-input-example/blob/main/lib/logstash/inputs/example.rb).