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The Bronto Ingestion API lets you POST log events directly to Bronto from any HTTP client or script. This is useful when you need to build a custom pipeline, integrate with an existing system, or ingest logs programmatically without an agent.

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Prerequisites

You’ll need an API key with ingestion or admin permissions. See API Keys for how to create one.

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Endpoints

  • https://ingestion.eu.bronto.io — EU region
  • https://ingestion.us.bronto.io — US region
OTLP logs can also be sent to https://ingestion.eu.brontobytes.io/v1/logs or https://ingestion.us.brontobytes.io/v1/logs.

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Request Format

All requests must be POST with a JSON Lines (NDJSON) body — one JSON object per line.

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Required headers

HeaderValue
x-bronto-api-keyYour Bronto API key
Content-Typeapplication/json

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Optional headers

HeaderDescription
x-bronto-datasetDataset to ingest into
x-bronto-collectionCollection name
x-bronto-tagsComma-separated tags to attach to events
Content-EncodingCompression format: gzip, zstd, or deflate

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Event schema

Each line in the request body should be a JSON object with the following fields:
FieldRequiredDescription
messageYesThe log content string
timestampRecommendedISO 8601 timestamp (e.g. 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z)

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Send logs

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Uncompressed

Send logs
curl -X POST https://ingestion.eu.bronto.io \
  -H "x-bronto-api-key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary '{"timestamp":"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z","message":"user login successful","user":"alice"}
{"timestamp":"2024-01-15T10:30:01Z","message":"request completed","status":200}'

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With gzip compression

Send logs with gzip
echo '{"timestamp":"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z","message":"user login successful"}' | \
  gzip | \
  curl -X POST https://ingestion.eu.bronto.io \
    -H "x-bronto-api-key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Content-Encoding: gzip" \
    --data-binary @-

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With Zstandard compression

Send logs with zstd
echo '{"timestamp":"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z","message":"user login successful"}' | \
  zstd | \
  curl -X POST https://ingestion.eu.bronto.io \
    -H "x-bronto-api-key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Content-Encoding: zstd" \
    --data-binary @-

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With deflate compression

Send logs with deflate
echo '{"timestamp":"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z","message":"user login successful"}' | \
  python3 -c "import sys,zlib; sys.stdout.buffer.write(zlib.compress(sys.stdin.buffer.read()))" | \
  curl -X POST https://ingestion.eu.bronto.io \
    -H "x-bronto-api-key: <YOUR_API_KEY>" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Content-Encoding: deflate" \
    --data-binary @-

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Batch processing

For large files, use a shell script to split the file into chunks and send each one:
Batch ingest from file
#!/bin/bash
FILE="logs.ndjson"
BATCH_SIZE=5000
API_KEY="<YOUR_API_KEY>"
ENDPOINT="https://ingestion.eu.bronto.io"

split -l $BATCH_SIZE "$FILE" /tmp/batch_

for batch in /tmp/batch_*; do
  gzip -c "$batch" | curl -s -X POST "$ENDPOINT" \
    -H "x-bronto-api-key: $API_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Content-Encoding: gzip" \
    --data-binary @-
  echo "Sent $batch"
done

rm /tmp/batch_*

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Compression ratios

Compressing payloads before sending reduces transfer size significantly. Typical compression ratios for CDN logs:
AlgorithmContent-Encoding valueTypical ratio
gzipgzip~7.8%
Zstandardzstd~6.0%
Deflatedeflate~7.8%
Zstandard offers the best compression ratio and is recommended for high-volume pipelines.

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Payload size limits

Payload typeMaximum size
Uncompressed10 MB (10,485,760 bytes)
Compressed (wire size)10 MB (10,485,760 bytes)
Exceeding these limits returns an HTTP 413 response.

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Response codes

CodeMeaning
200Success — events ingested
400Malformed request or invalid JSON
401Invalid or missing API key
413Payload exceeds size limit
429Rate limit or quota exhausted
500Server error

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Reliable delivery

A 200 response means your data has been securely stored and will be ingested — no data will be lost. If the API returns an error response, no data from that request will be ingested.
Bronto is built for reliable, end-to-end delivery. Once you receive a 200, your logs are safe.