How to write a syslog plugin

Locate/create test data

  • Add a test file to the test_data directory

Create empty files and classes

  • plugin file in plaso/parsers/syslog_plugins

    • Create an empty subclass of SyslogPlugin

    • Register it with the syslog parser by calling SyslogParser.RegisterPlugin()

    • Create an empty subclass of SyslogLineEventData

      • Choose an appropriate DATA_TYPE value, starting with ‘syslog:’

  • plugin test file in tests/parsers/syslog_plugins

  • formatter file in plaso/formatters

    • Create an empty subclass of ConditionalEventFormatter

    • Define the DATA_TYPE value to be the same as for your EventData class

  • formatter test file in tests/formatters

Write event data class

  • Create a subclass of SyslogLineEventData in the plugin file.

  • Define the attributes events produced by your plugin will have.

Write minimal tests

  • Write a test that loads your plugin and parses a file.

  • It will fail initially, but running the test while you’re developing your plugin gives you a quick way to see if your code is doing what you expect.

Develop plugin

  • Implement your subclass of SyslogPlugin

  • You’ll need to define/overwrite:

    • NAME

    • DESCRIPTION

    • REPORTER

    • MESSAGE_GRAMMARS

Write the formatter

  • Implement your formatter

Expand tests

  • Add additional tests that test your plugin and formatter

Register classes

  • Edit plaso/parsers/syslog_plugins/__init__.py to import your plugin in alphabetical order.

  • Edit plaso/formatters/__init__.py to import your formatter in alphabetical order.

Code review/submit