---
title: "Websense parser"
url: "https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-parsers/parser-websense/"
last_modified: "2026-08-05T15:08:09+02:00"
---

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

# Websense parser

The Websense parser can parse the log messages of Websense Content Gateway (Raytheon|Websense, now Forcepoint). These messages do not completely comply with the syslog RFCs, making them difficult to parse. The `websense-parser()` of AxoSyslog solves this problem, and can separate these log messages to name-value pairs. For details on using value-pairs in AxoSyslog see [Structuring macros, metadata, and other value-pairs](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-concepts/concepts-value-pairs/index.md). The parser can parse messages in the following format:

```shell
   <PRI><DATE> <TIMEZONE> <IP-ADDRESS> <NAME=VALUE PAIRS>
```

For example:

```shell
   <159>Dec 19 10:48:57 EST 192.168.1.1 vendor=Websense product=Security product_version=7.7.0 action=permitted severity=1 category=153 user=- src_host=192.168.2.1 src_port=62189 dst_host=example.com dst_ip=192.168.3.1 dst_port=443 bytes_out=197 bytes_in=76 http_response=200 http_method=CONNECT http_content_type=- http_user_agent=Mozilla/5.0_(Windows;_U;_Windows_NT_6.1;_enUS;_rv:1.9.2.23)_Gecko/20110920_Firefox/3.6.23 http_proxy_status_code=200 reason=- disposition=1034 policy=- role=8 duration=0 url=https://example.com
```

If you find a message that the `websense-parser()` cannot properly parse, [contact us](https://axoflow.com/contact/), so we can improve the parser.

The AxoSyslog application sets the `${PROGRAM}` field to `Websense`.

By default, the websense-specific fields are extracted into name-value pairs prefixed with `.websense`. For example, the `product_version` in the previous message becomes `${.websense.product_version}`. You can change the prefix using the `prefix` option of the parser.

## Prerequisites

Install the `axosyslog-scl` package on [Debian/Ubuntu](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/install/debian-ubuntu/index.md). On [RHEL and compatible distributions](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/install/rhel-fedora-almalinux/index.md), the SCL files are part of the `axosyslog` base package.

Your configuration must also contain `@include "scl.conf"`, which the default configuration file already does. If the SCL files are missing, AxoSyslog fails to start with an [`unexpected LL_IDENTIFIER` error](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-troubleshooting-syslog-ng/unexpected-ll-identifier/index.md).

```shell
@include "scl.conf"
```

The `websense-parser()` driver is a reusable configuration snippet (SCL). For details on using or writing such configuration snippets, see [Reusing configuration blocks](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-configuration-file/large-configs/config-blocks/index.md). You can find its source in [scl/websense/plugin.conf](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog/blob/main/scl/websense/plugin.conf) on GitHub.

## Declaration:

```shell
   @version: 4.28
    @include "scl.conf"
    log {
        source { network(flags(no-parse)); };
        parser { websense-parser(); };
        destination { ... };
    };
```

Note that you have to disable message parsing in the source using the `flags(no-parse)` option for the parser to work.

## prefix()

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Synopsis: | prefix() |

*Description:* Insert a prefix before the name part of the parsed name-value pairs to help further processing. For example:

- To insert the `my-parsed-data.` prefix, use the `prefix(my-parsed-data.)` option.
- To refer to a particular data that has a prefix, use the prefix in the name of the macro, for example, `${my-parsed-data.name}`.
- If you forward the parsed messages using the IETF-syslog protocol, you can insert all the parsed data into the SDATA part of the message using the `prefix(.SDATA.my-parsed-data.)` option.

Names starting with a dot (for example, `.example`) are reserved for use by AxoSyslog. If you use such a macro name as the name of a parsed value, it will attempt to replace the original value of the macro (note that only soft macros can be overwritten, see [Hard versus soft macros](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-manipulating-messages/customizing-message-format/macros-hard-vs-soft/index.md) for details). To avoid such problems, use a prefix when naming the parsed values, for example, `prefix(my-parsed-data.)`

By default, `websense-parser()` uses the `.websense.` prefix. To modify it, use the following format:

```shell
   parser {
        websense-parser(prefix("myprefix."));
    };
```

Last modified August 5, 2026: [Small fixes and deduplications (99cac43a)](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog-core-docs/commit/99cac43a517770299b97c7ed360eb87af9fef5ab)