[[add-id]]
=== Generate an ID for an event

++++
<titleabbrev>add_id</titleabbrev>
++++

The `add_id` processor generates a unique ID for an event.

[source,yaml]
-----------------------------------------------------
processors:
  - add_id: ~
-----------------------------------------------------

The following settings are supported:

`target_field`:: (Optional) Field where the generated ID will be stored. Default is `@metadata._id`.

`type`:: (Optional) Type of ID to generate. Currently only `elasticsearch` is supported and is the default.
The `elasticsearch` type generates IDs using the same algorithm that Elasticsearch uses for auto-generating
document IDs.
