send_nsca.cfg(5)

📦
version 1.7 · 2 versions
, in ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💅 send_nsca.cfg — the NSCA-ng client config file, bestie

okay so this is the manual page for send_nsca.cfg, part of The NSCA-ng Manual, and it's literally just the config file that the send_nsca(8) client reads. that's it. that's the page. let me tell you everything about it though because there's actually a lot of cute stuff in here 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

send_nsca.cfg — the NSCA-ng client configuration file 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

/etc/send_nsca.cfg

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so the send_nsca(8) process reads its config data from a file. which file? the one you specify with -c on the command line, or, if you don't say anything, it just goes with /etc/send_nsca.cfg. defaults, queen behavior 👑

🌸 File Format 🌸

config settings work like this: you write a variable name, then an equals sign ("="), then a value. one setting per line. no cap. values can be strings or integers.

strings have to be wrapped in single or double quotes if they contain any of these:

  • whitespace characters
  • hash mark characters
  • literal quotation marks

otherwise, quoting is optional. do whatever, it's chill.

wanna put a literal single or double quote inside a string? two options, both iconic:

  1. escape it by putting a backslash ("\") in front of it, or
  2. quote the string with the other quote character instead. 💅

and a literal backslash? it must be preceded with a second backslash. yeah. two backslashes. the way that backslashes need their own little backslash bestie is so real 😭

any whitespace hanging around tokens gets ignored. empty lines get ignored. comments get ignored too. comments start with a hash mark character ("#") and run all the way to the end of the line.

oh and if the last character of a line is a backslash ("\"), the next line is treated as a continuation of the current line (and that backslash is otherwise ignored). line-wrap slay ✨

🧚 Settings 🧚

the send_nsca(8) client recognizes the following variables. they can show up in any order you want, no rules. the type of each value is shown after an equals sign in angle brackets, like <integer> or <string>.

  • delay = <integer> — wait for a random number of seconds between 0 and whatever you specified before contacting the server. super useful if you've got a ton of send_nsca(8) clients all firing off at the exact same moment and you wanna reduce server load. default is 0, which means send_nsca(8) connects immediately, no waiting around. 🏃‍♀️ heads up: this value gets ignored if send_nsca(8) is called with the -D option.
  • encryption_method = <string> — this setting is ignored. it's just accepted for compatibility with NSCA 2.x. it's giving legacy. it's giving decorative. 🙈
  • identity = <string> — send the specified client identity to the server. this is used for authentication and authorization. multiple clients can totally share the same identity, it's not exclusive. by default, the local host name gets used. 👑
  • password = <string> — use this passphrase for authentication and encryption. default password is "change-me". change it! 🚨 fr fr i am begging you.
  • port = <string> — connect to this service name or port number on the server instead of the default port (5668). heads up: this value gets ignored if send_nsca(8) is called with the -p option.
  • server = <string> — connect and talk to this server address or host name. default server is "localhost". heads up: this value gets ignored if send_nsca(8) is called with the -H option.
  • timeout = <integer> — close the connection if the server didn't respond for this many seconds. if you set the timeout to 0, send_nsca(8) won't enforce connection timeouts at all (living dangerously, love that for you). default timeout is 15 seconds. heads up: this value gets ignored if send_nsca(8) is called with the -o option.
  • tls_ciphers = <string> — limit the cipher suites offered during TLS negotiation to this specific list of ciphers. the format of that string is described in the ciphers(1) manual. by default, the ciphers in the list PSK-AES256-CBC-SHA:PSK-AES128-CBC-SHA:PSK-3DES-EDE-CBC-SHA:PSK-RC4-SHA will be offered. 🔐

✨ EXAMPLES ✨

your /etc/send_nsca.cfg file might look something like this:

identity = "web-checker"
password = "djMKCIcurJJLSQGT5qIhCfqCHQLTcvp9"
server = "monitoring.example.com"
tls_ciphers = "PSK-AES256-CBC-SHA"
delay = 2
port = 5668
timeout = 10

✨ CAVEATS ✨

please set the permissions appropriately so that only authorized users can access the /etc/send_nsca.cfg file. this file has your password in it bestie, lock it down 🔒

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

send_nsca(8), nsca-ng(8), nsca-ng.cfg(5),

http://www.nagios.org/developerinfo/externalcommands/

✨ AUTHOR ✨

Holger Weiss <holger@weiss.in-berlin.de> 💖

and that's the whole page! this was Version 1.7, dated February 9, 2026, from the NSCA-ng manual. go forth and configure responsibly, bestie 🫶✨💜

📦 where this page comes from