Configuring Kibana Settings

1. Setting Default Data View

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
defaultDataView	Specifies the default data view to load when Kibana starts	`null`	Can be set to a data view ID or title
defaultDataView.id	ID of the default data view	`""`	Must match an existing data view ID
defaultDataView.title	Title of the default data view	`""`	Used if ID is not specified or invalid

Example: Setting Default Data View via kibana.yml

defaultDataView:
  id: "my-data-view-id"
  title: "My Default Data View"

Note: The default data view must exist in Kibana before it can be set as the default.

2. Configuring Time Zone

Setting	Value	Description
server.timezone	`UTC`	Time zone used for date formatting and display in Kibana. Defaults to system time zone.

Example: Setting Time Zone in kibana.yml

server.timezone: "America/New_York"

Note: Time zone values must follow the IANA time zone database format (e.g., America/New_York, Europe/London). Using an invalid time zone will cause Kibana to fall back to UTC.

3. Setting Date Format

Configuration Option	Values	Description
i18n.dateFormat	`MM/DD/YYYY`	Default date format for Kibana UI
i18n.dateFormat	`DD/MM/YYYY`	European date format
i18n.dateFormat	`YYYY-MM-DD`	ISO 8601 date format

Example: Configure Date Format in kibana.yml

i18n:
  dateFormat: "YYYY-MM-DD"

Note: Changes to kibana.yml require a Kibana restart to take effect.

4. Configuring UI Theme

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
kibana.ui.theme	Defines the theme for Kibana UI	`light`	Available options: `light`, `dark`
kibana.ui.theme.custom	Custom theme configuration (JSON)	`{}`	Allows customization of colors, fonts, etc.

Example: Setting Dark Theme

kibana:
  ui:
    theme: dark

Note: The theme setting is applied at startup and requires a restart to take effect.

5. Setting Default Route

Setting	Value	Description
defaultRoute	`/app/kibana`	Defines the default route when accessing Kibana root URL

Example: Kibana configuration

server:
  defaultRoute: /app/kibana

6. Configuring Query Language

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
query.language	Defines the default query language for Kibana	`lucene`	Can be set to `lucene` or `kuery`
query.defaultField	Default field to search when no field is specified	`message`	Used in Lucene queries
query.kuery.defaultField	Default field for KQL queries	`message`	Used in Kibana Query Language (KQL)

Example: Setting KQL as Default Language

elasticsearch:
  hosts: [ "localhost:9200" ]
kibana:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 5601
  query:
    language: "kuery"

Note: KQL (Kibana Query Language) is more user-friendly than Lucene syntax and supports complex queries with nested fields.

7. Setting Notification Preferences

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
xpack.notification.email.enabled	Enables email notifications	`false`	Requires email configuration to function
xpack.notification.email.host	SMTP server host for email notifications	`localhost`	Must be configured for email notifications to work
xpack.notification.email.port	SMTP server port for email notifications	`25`	Common ports: 25, 465, 587
xpack.notification.email.username	SMTP username for authentication	`null`	Required if SMTP requires authentication
xpack.notification.email.password	SMTP password for authentication	`null`	Must be encrypted in config file
xpack.notification.email.secure	Enables secure (SSL/TLS) connection	`false`	Set to `true` for secure connections

Example: Configure Email Notifications

xpack:
  notification:
    email:
      enabled: true
      host: "smtp.example.com"
      port: 587
      username: "user@example.com"
      password: "secret123"
      secure: true

Note: Email notifications require a valid SMTP server configuration. Ensure that the Kibana server can connect to the specified SMTP host and port.

8. Configuring CSV Export Limits

Setting	Default Value	Description	Notes
csv.max_size	`100MB`	Maximum size of CSV export file	Exports larger than this limit will be rejected
csv.max_fields	`10000`	Maximum number of fields in a CSV row	Exceeding this limit may cause performance issues
csv.max_rows	`100000`	Maximum number of rows in a CSV export	Exports with more rows will be truncated or rejected

Example: Kibana CSV Export Configuration

csv:
  max_size: 50MB
  max_fields: 5000
  max_rows: 50000

Note: These limits help prevent excessive resource consumption during CSV exports. Adjust according to your system's capacity and security requirements.

9. Setting Discover Defaults

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
discover.defaultColumns	Columns displayed by default in Discover	`["_source"]`	Array of field names to display
discover.sampleSize	Number of documents to sample for field statistics	`500`	Higher values provide more accurate stats but slower load times
discover.docTable	Configuration for document table display	`{ "highlight": true }`	Enables syntax highlighting in document view
discover.timefield	Default time field used in Discover	`@timestamp`	Must be a valid date field in your index pattern

Example: Setting Discover Defaults in kibana.yml

discover:
  defaultColumns:
    - _source
    - @timestamp
  sampleSize: 1000
  docTable:
    highlight: true
  timefield: @timestamp

10. Configuring Accessibility

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
elasticsearch.hosts	URLs of the Elasticsearch nodes	`["http://localhost:9200"]`	Must be accessible to Kibana server
server.host	Host Kibana binds to	`"localhost"`	Change for external access
server.port	Port Kibana listens on	`5601`	Ensure it's not blocked by firewall
server.name	Name of the Kibana instance	`"kibana"`	Used in logs and monitoring
server.basePath	Base path for Kibana UI	`""`	Useful for reverse proxy setups
server.rewriteBasePath	Whether to rewrite base path in responses	`false`	Set to true when using reverse proxy
elasticsearch.username	Username for Elasticsearch authentication	`""`	Required if security is enabled
elasticsearch.password	Password for Elasticsearch authentication	`""`	Required if security is enabled
elasticsearch.ssl.verificationMode	SSL certificate verification mode	`"full"`	Set to "none" for testing only
elasticsearch.requestTimeout	Timeout for Elasticsearch requests (ms)	`30000`	Adjust based on network conditions

Example: Basic Kibana Configuration

elasticsearch.hosts: [ "http://localhost:9200" ]
server.host: "0.0.0.0"
server.port: 5601
server.name: "kibana-server"
elasticsearch.username: "kibana_user"
elasticsearch.password: "secure_password"

Note: Ensure that the Kibana user has appropriate permissions in Elasticsearch to access required indices and perform necessary operations.

11. Managing Advanced Settings

Setting	Description	Default Value	Notes
advancedSettings.enabled	Enables or disables the advanced settings UI in Kibana.	`false`	Requires Kibana restart to take effect.
advancedSettings.allow	List of advanced settings that are allowed to be changed.	`[]`	Use with caution as it can affect Kibana's stability.
advancedSettings.hide	List of advanced settings that are hidden from the UI.	`[]`	Useful for preventing users from modifying sensitive settings.

Example: Enabling Advanced Settings

elasticsearch.hosts: [ "localhost:9200" ]
kibana.host: "localhost"
kibana.port: 5601
advancedSettings.enabled: true

Note: Changes to advanced settings are not persisted across Kibana restarts unless explicitly configured in kibana.yml.

12. Setting Up Custom Branding

Example: Kibana branding configuration

server.branding:
  logo:
    default: "https://example.com/logo.png"
    darkMode: "https://example.com/dark-logo.png"
  favicon:
    default: "https://example.com/favicon.ico"
    darkMode: "https://www.example.com/dark-favicon.ico"
  applicationTitle: "My Custom Kibana"

Property	Description	Default Value	Notes
server.branding.logo.default	URL to the default logo image	None	Required for branding
server.branding.logo.darkMode	URL to the logo for dark mode	None	Optional, enhances user experience
server.branding.favicon.default	URL to the default favicon	None	Required for branding
server.branding.favicon.darkMode	URL to the favicon for dark mode	None	Optional, enhances user experience
server.branding.applicationTitle	Custom title for the Kibana application	Kibana	Improves branding clarity

Note: Ensure that all image URLs are accessible and properly formatted to avoid display issues in Kibana.