---
title: "program: Receive messages from external applications"
url: "https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-sources/source-program/"
last_modified: "2026-09-30T14:50:17+02:00"
---

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

# program: Receive messages from external applications

The program driver starts an external application and reads messages from the standard output (stdout) of the application. It is mainly useful to receive log messages from daemons that accept incoming messages and convert them to log messages.

The program driver has a single required parameter, specifying the name of the application to start.

## Declaration

```shell
program(filename);
```

For the list of available optional parameters, see [program() source options](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-sources/source-program/reference-source-program/index.md).

## Example: Using the program() driver

```shell
source s_program {
    program("/etc/init.d/mydaemon");
};
```

> **Note:**
> The program is restarted automatically if it exits.

---

[program() source options](https://axoflow.com/docs/axosyslog-core/4.28/chapter-sources/source-program/reference-source-program/index.md)

Last modified September 30, 2026: [Fold small options pages into the main source page (3b62180c)](https://github.com/axoflow/axosyslog-core-docs/commit/3b62180c24b54091714b1e47056ce1ff25020ad7)