---
title: "Defining configuration objects inline"
url: "https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-configuration-file/inline-objects/"
last_modified: "2023-07-02T20:37:04+02:00"
---

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/llms.txt).

# Defining configuration objects inline

Starting with AxoSyslog 3.4, you can define configuration objects inline, where they are actually used, without having to define them in a separate placement. This is useful if you need an object only once, for example, a filter or a rewrite rule. Every object can be defined inline: sources, destinations, filters, parsers, rewrite rules, and so on.

To define an object inline, use braces instead of parentheses. That is, instead of `<object-type> (<object-id>);`, you use `<object-type> {<object-definition>};`

## Example: Using inline definitions

The following two configuration examples are equivalent. The first one uses traditional statements, while the second uses inline definitions.

```shell
   source s_local {
        system();
        internal();
    };
    destination d_local {
        file("/var/log/messages");
    };
    log {
        source(s_local);
        destination(d_local);
    };
```

```shell
   log {
        source {
            system();
            internal();
        };
        destination {
            file("/var/log/messages");
        };
    };
```

Last modified July 2, 2023: [Change highlight mode of code examples (2f8a9593)](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog-core-docs/commit/2f8a95937c6498193e7168ce8b0dc831e9f0f8ad)