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Discover

The Discover page is the main analytics workspace for searching, filtering, and investigating indexed Logstail event data. It helps analysts inspect raw security telemetry, validate detections, pivot during investigations, and explore logs collected from endpoints, agents, and collectors.

Where to find it

Discover

Open the Discover page to search, filter, and investigate raw event data.

Navigation path

Analytics
Discover

Application route

/discover

What this page is used for

Use Discover to:

Search logs

Query indexed log and event data.

Investigate activity

Analyze suspicious events.

Filter results

Filter by host, user, IP, process, or timestamp.

Add fields

Customize the result table with relevant fields.

Review raw events

Examine raw logs during triage.

Validate telemetry

Ensure agents and collectors send data.

Build searches

Create searches for dashboards and reports.

Main View

Discover opens as a full-page embedded analytics experience. The embedded interface provides the search and event exploration workflow.

discover-mainview

The Logstail navigation exposes Discover as the place to explore indexed log and event data.

Selecting the Correct Index Pattern

Before searching data, select the correct index pattern. Index patterns define which event indexes the search applies to.

For SIEM and security monitoring, use: logstail-siem-*

The wildcard allows the platform to search across SIEM-related indexes, including current and historical data.

This index pattern can provide visibility into:

Security alerts
Windows Event Logs
Process creation events
Network activity
Authentication logs
Sysmon events
File integrity monitoring events
Threat detection telemetry
Logstail Agent SIEM data

If the wrong index pattern is selected, Discover will look empty even when logs are being collected.

Basic Search Workflow

Example Investigation Workflow

Querying with Lucene

Lucene queries use field-value matching. A basic query uses a field name, a colon, and a value.

Example

agent.name:“DEMOPC2”

Use AND when both conditions must be true:

agent.name:“DEMOPC2” AND agent.ip:1.1.1.1 (your agent’s ip)

Use ranges when filtering values such as IP ranges:

agent.name:“DEMOPC2” AND agent.ip:[172.16.0.0 TO 172.16.255.255]

Use wildcard characters when searching for similar values:

agent.name:DEMOPC2? AND agent.ip:[172.16.0.0 TO 172.16.255.255]

Or a query for Onion online routing:

dns.question.name:*.onion*

Useful Fields for Security Investigations

Common fields to add during triage include:

agent.name
agent.ip
user.name
process.executable
process.parent.executable
event.action
event.category
source.ip
destination.ip
rule.name
file.path

The exact available fields depend on the data source and selected index pattern.

Time Range

Always check the selected time range before assuming data is missing. If the time range is too narrow, valid events may not appear. time-range

Use a narrow time range for targeted investigation and a wider time range for hunting or validation.

Operational Use Cases

Discover is useful for:

Confirming whether an alert has supporting raw evidence
Searching for activity tied to a hostname or IP address
Reviewing authentication events
Hunting for suspicious commands
Investigating process chains
Validating collector and agent telemetry
Finding events before creating a dashboard, report, or saved search

Troubleshooting

No results are shown

  1. 1

    Check the index pattern, time range, and query syntax.

  2. 2

    Confirm that agents or collectors are sending data.

Query returns too much data

  1. 1

    Add more specific fields.

  2. 2

    Reduce the time window.

  3. 3

    Filter by host, user, source IP, destination IP, or event category.

Query does not match expected values

  1. 1

    Confirm the field name exists in the selected index pattern.

  2. 2

    Expand a sample event and copy the exact field name.

Best Practices

Start broad

Start broad, then add filters.

Validate time range

Always validate the time range.

Use SIEM index

Use logstail-siem-* for SIEM investigations.

Limit fields

Add only the fields needed for the current investigation.

Save searches

Save useful searches when the workflow needs to be repeated.

Validate evidence

Use Discover to validate raw evidence before escalating or closing an investigation.

PageDescription
DashboardsReview Discover data through visual dashboards and monitor trends over time.
VisualizationsCreate visual panels from validated searches and fields.
Saved ObjectsManage saved searches, dashboards, visualizations, and reusable analytics objects.
ReportsGenerate reports from saved searches, dashboards, or investigation views.
Logstail AgentInstall and configure endpoint collection so Discover has logs, metrics, and SIEM telemetry to search.
Pre-Built DashboardsAdd ready-made dashboards after confirming data is available in Discover.
AlertsReview alerts and pivot back into Discover for raw event validation.
MonitorsCreate detection rules after validating useful search logic in Discover.