---
title: Attribute Remapper
description: Remap any source attribute or tag to another target attribute or tag
breadcrumbs: Docs > Log Management > Log Configuration > Processors > Attribute Remapper
---

# Attribute Remapper

## Overview{% #overview %}

The remapper processor remaps any source attribute(s) or tags to another target attribute or tag. For example, remap `user` by `firstname` to target your logs in the Log Explorer.

Constraints on the tag/attribute name are explained in the [attributes and tags documentation](https://docs.datadoghq.com/logs/log_collection.md?tab=host#attributes-and-tags). Some additional constraints, applied as `:` or `,`, are not allowed in the target tag/attribute name.

If the target of the remapper is an attribute, the remapper can also try to cast the value to a new type (`String`, `Integer` or `Double`). If the cast fails, the original value and type are preserved.

**Note**: The decimal separator for `Double` needs to be `.`.

### Reserved attributes{% #reserved-attributes %}

The Remapper processor **cannot be used to remap Datadog reserved attributes**.

- The `host` attribute cannot be remapped.
- The following attributes require dedicated remapper processors and cannot be remapped with the generic Remapper. To remap any of the attributes, use the corresponding specialized remapper or processor instead.
  - `message`: Log message remapper
  - `service`: Service remapper
  - `status`: Log status remapper
  - `date`: Log date remapper
  - `trace_id`: Trace remapper
  - `span_id`: Span remapper

## Use cases{% #use-cases %}

The Remapper is typically used to remap an attribute from your logs to a Standard Attribute. It is primarily used for log format normalization.

## Before and after state of logs{% #before-and-after-state-of-logs %}

{% collapsible-section %}
#### Example: Remapping an attribute in custom application logs

**Before:**

```json
{
  "network": {
    "client": {
      "ip": "192.168.1.1"
    },
    "bytes_written": 1234
  },
  "user": {
    "firstname": "John",
    "lastname": "Doe"
  },
  "http": {
    "method": "GET",
    "url": "/api/users",
    "version": "1.1",
    "status_code": 200
  },
  "timestamp": 1696945536000
}
```

**Remapper**

Create a Remapper to remap the `user.firstname` attribute to a new `user_name` attribute, and choose to keep the source attribute.

**After processing:**

```json
{
  "network": {
    "client": {
      "ip": "192.168.1.1"
    },
    "bytes_written": 1234
  },
  "user": {
    "firstname": "John",
    "lastname": "Doe"
  },
  "user_name": "John",
  "http": {
    "method": "GET",
    "url": "/api/users",
    "version": "1.1",
    "status_code": 200
  },
  "timestamp": 1696945536000
}
```

The Remapper adds the new `user_name` attribute while preserving the original `user.firstname` attribute.
{% /collapsible-section %}

## API{% #api %}

Use the [Datadog Log Pipeline API endpoint](https://docs.datadoghq.com/api/v1/logs-pipelines.md) with the following Remapper JSON payload:

```json
{
  "type": "attribute-remapper",
  "name": "Remap <SOURCE_ATTRIBUTE> to <TARGET_ATTRIBUTE>",
  "is_enabled": true,
  "source_type": "attribute",
  "sources": ["<SOURCE_ATTRIBUTE>"],
  "target": "<TARGET_ATTRIBUTE>",
  "target_type": "tag",
  "target_format": "integer",
  "preserve_source": false,
  "override_on_conflict": false
}
```

| Parameter              | Type             | Required | Description                                                                                                                                                              |
| ---------------------- | ---------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `type`                 | String           | Yes      | Type of the processor.                                                                                                                                                   |
| `name`                 | String           | No       | Name of the processor.                                                                                                                                                   |
| `is_enabled`           | Boolean          | No       | If the processor is enabled or not. Default: `false`.                                                                                                                    |
| `source_type`          | String           | No       | Defines if the sources are from log `attribute` or `tag`. Default: `attribute`.                                                                                          |
| `sources`              | Array of strings | Yes      | Array of source attributes or tags                                                                                                                                       |
| `target`               | String           | Yes      | Final attribute or tag name to remap the sources to.                                                                                                                     |
| `target_type`          | String           | No       | Defines if the target is a log `attribute` or a `tag`. Default: `attribute`.                                                                                             |
| `target_format`        | String           | No       | Defines if the attribute value should be cast to another type. Possible values: `auto`, `string`, or `integer`. Default: `auto`. When set to `auto`, no cast is applied. |
| `preserve_source`      | Boolean          | No       | Remove or preserve the remapped source element. Default: `false`.                                                                                                        |
| `override_on_conflict` | Boolean          | No       | Override or not the target element if already set. Default: `false`.                                                                                                     |

## Further reading{% #further-reading %}

- [Discover Datadog Pipelines](https://docs.datadoghq.com/logs/log_configuration/pipelines.md)
- [Learn about attributes and tags](https://docs.datadoghq.com/logs/log_collection.md)