generated: '2026-07-21'
method: searched
source: https://vector.dev/docs/reference/api/
api: Vector Observability API
summary: >-
  Vector is a configuration-driven observability pipeline (single Rust binary),
  not an HTTP SaaS. Its programmable surface is a local gRPC "Observability API"
  for inspecting and interacting with a running instance. These conventions
  capture the cross-cutting request/response semantics of that API surface.
transport:
  protocol: gRPC
  compatibility_endpoint:
    method: GET
    path: /health
    note: >-
      An HTTP healthcheck served on the same port as the gRPC API, preserved for
      compatibility with Vector 0.54.0 and earlier so existing HTTP probes
      (AWS ALB, Kubernetes HTTP probes) keep working.
  default_address: 127.0.0.1:8686
  configurable_via: api.address
authentication:
  style: none
  reference: authentication/timber-authentication.yml
idempotency:
  supported: false
  note: The gRPC observability API is read/observe oriented; no idempotency-key contract is documented.
pagination:
  style: none-documented
versioning:
  scheme: semver
  cadence: >-
    Minor releases roughly monthly (v0.54.0 → v0.57.0 across 2026); pre-1.0
    project, so minor versions may carry breaking changes documented in release
    notes / upgrade guides.
  reference: lifecycle/timber-lifecycle.yml
error_handling:
  style: grpc-status-codes
  note: Errors surface via standard gRPC status codes; there is no RFC 9457 problem+json envelope (the API is gRPC, not REST/JSON).
configuration_formats: [yaml, toml, json]
transform_language:
  name: Vector Remap Language (VRL)
  reference: https://vector.dev/docs/reference/vrl/
notes:
  - The primary "interface" to Vector is its configuration file plus the CLI, not the API.
  - Live event inspection is done via the `vector tap` CLI command and the API's tap capability.