# socket

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [connect-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect-full.txt)

---
title: socket
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: outputs/socket
page-component-name: connect
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Connect
page-relative-src-path: outputs/socket.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/rp-connect-docs/edit/main/modules/components/pages/outputs/socket.adoc
page-git-created-date: "2024-05-24"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/outputs/socket.md -->

**Type:** Output ▼

[Output](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/outputs/socket/)[Input](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/inputs/socket/)

**Available in:** Self-Managed

Connects to a (tcp/udp/unix) server and sends a continuous stream of data, dividing messages according to the specified codec.

```yml
# Config fields, showing default values
output:
  label: ""
  socket:
    network: "" # No default (required)
    address: /tmp/benthos.sock # No default (required)
    codec: lines
```

## [](#fields)Fields

### [](#address)`address`

The address to connect to.

**Type**: `string`

```yaml
# Examples:
address: /tmp/benthos.sock

# ---

address: 127.0.0.1:6000
```

### [](#codec)`codec`

The way in which the bytes of messages should be written out into the output data stream. It’s possible to write lines using a custom delimiter with the `delim:x` codec, where x is the character sequence custom delimiter.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `lines`

| Option | Summary |
| --- | --- |
| all-bytes | Only applicable to file based outputs. Writes each message to a file in full, if the file already exists the old content is deleted. |
| append | Append each message to the output stream without any delimiter or special encoding. |
| lines | Append each message to the output stream followed by a line break. |
| delim:x | Append each message to the output stream followed by a custom delimiter. |

```yaml
# Examples:
codec: lines

# ---

codec: delim:

# ---

codec: delim:foobar
```

### [](#network)`network`

A network type to connect as.

**Type**: `string`

**Options**: `unix`, `tcp`, `udp`

### [](#tls)`tls`

Configure Transport Layer Security (TLS) settings to secure network connections. This includes options for standard TLS as well as mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication where both client and server authenticate each other using certificates. Key configuration options include `enabled` to enable TLS, `client_certs` for mTLS authentication, `root_cas`/`root_cas_file` for custom certificate authorities, and `skip_cert_verify` for development environments.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#tls-client_certs)`tls.client_certs[]`

A list of client certificates for mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication. Configure this field to enable mTLS, authenticating the client to the server with these certificates.

You must set `tls.enabled: true` for the client certificates to take effect.

**Certificate pairing rules**: For each certificate item, provide either:

-   Inline PEM data using both `cert` **and** `key` or

-   File paths using both `cert_file` **and** `key_file`.


Mixing inline and file-based values within the same item is not supported.

**Type**: `object`

**Default**: `[]`

```yaml
# Examples:
client_certs:
  - cert: foo
    key: bar

# ---

client_certs:
  - cert_file: ./example.pem
    key_file: ./example.key
```

### [](#tls-client_certs-cert)`tls.client_certs[].cert`

The plaintext certificate to use for TLS authentication. Must be paired with the corresponding private key in the `key` field when using inline PEM data for mTLS client certificates.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-cert_file)`tls.client_certs[].cert_file`

The path to a file containing the certificate to use for TLS authentication. Must be paired with the corresponding private key file in the `key_file` field when using file-based configuration for mTLS client certificates.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-key)`tls.client_certs[].key`

Private key for mTLS client certificate as inline PEM data. Must correspond to the client certificate specified in the `cert` field. Use this field together with `cert` when providing certificate data inline rather than through files.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-key_file)`tls.client_certs[].key_file`

Path to private key file for mTLS client certificate in PEM format. Must correspond to the client certificate specified in the `cert_file` field. Use this field together with `cert_file` when loading certificate data from files.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-password)`tls.client_certs[].password`

The password to use for the private key (specified in the `key` or `key_file` fields), if it is password-protected. The PKCS#1 and PKCS#8 formats are supported. Supports environment variable interpolation for secure password management.

The `pbeWithMD5AndDES-CBC` algorithm is obsolete and not supported for the PKCS#8 format. This algorithm does not authenticate the ciphertext, making it vulnerable to padding oracle attacks that can let an attacker recover the plaintext.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
password: foo

# ---

password: ${KEY_PASSWORD}
```

### [](#tls-enable_renegotiation)`tls.enable_renegotiation`

Whether to allow the remote server to request renegotiation. Enable this option if you’re seeing the error message `local error: tls: no renegotiation`.

Requires version 3.45.0 or later.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#tls-enabled)`tls.enabled`

Whether to enable TLS for secure connections. Set to `true` to enable TLS encryption. Required to be `true` for other TLS options (like `client_certs`, `root_cas`, etc.) to take effect.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#tls-root_cas)`tls.root_cas`

Specify a root certificate authority to use (optional). This is a string that represents a certificate chain from the parent-trusted root certificate, through possible intermediate signing certificates, to the host certificate. Use either this field for inline certificate data or `root_cas_file` for file-based certificate loading.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
root_cas: |-
  -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
  ...
  -----END CERTIFICATE-----
```

### [](#tls-root_cas_file)`tls.root_cas_file`

Specify the path to a root certificate authority file (optional). This is a file, often with a `.pem` extension, which contains a certificate chain from the parent-trusted root certificate, through possible intermediate signing certificates, to the host certificate. Use either this field for file-based certificate loading or `root_cas` for inline certificate data.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
root_cas_file: ./root_cas.pem
```

### [](#tls-skip_cert_verify)`tls.skip_cert_verify`

Whether to skip server-side certificate verification. Set to `true` only for testing environments as this reduces security by disabling certificate validation. When using self-signed certificates or in development, this may be necessary, but should never be used in production. Consider using `root_cas` or `root_cas_file` to specify trusted certificates instead of disabling verification entirely.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`