[[connect-to-elasticsearch]]
== Add data
++++
<titleabbrev>Add data</titleabbrev>
++++

To start working with your data in {kib}, use one of the many ingest options,
available from the home page.
You can collect data from an app or service
or upload a file that contains your data.  If you're not ready to use your own data,
add a sample data set and give {kib} a test drive.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/add-data-home.png[Built-in options for adding data to Kibana:  Add data, Add Elastic Agent, Upload a file]

[float]
[[add-data-tutorial-kibana]]
===  Add data

Want to ingest logs, metrics, security, or application data?
Install and configure a Beats data shipper or other module to periodically collect the data
and send it to {es}. You can then use the pre-built dashboards to explore and analyze the data.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/add-data-tutorials.png[Add Data tutorials]

[discrete]
=== Add Elastic Agent

beta[] *Elastic Agent* is a sneak peek at the next generation of
data integration modules, offering
a centralized way to set up your integrations.
With *Fleet*, you can add
and manage integrations for popular services and platforms, providing
an easy way to collect your data. The integrations
ship with dashboards and visualizations,
so you can quickly get insights into your data.

To get started, refer to
{fleet-guide}/fleet-quick-start.html[Quick start: Get logs and metrics into the Elastic Stack].

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/add-data-fleet.png[Add data using Fleet]

[discrete]
[[upload-data-kibana]]
=== Upload a file

experimental[] If your data is in a CSV, JSON, or log file, you can upload it using the File
Data Visualizer. You can upload a file up to 100 MB. This value is configurable up to 1 GB in
<<kibana-ml-settings, Advanced Settings>>. To upload a file with geospatial data,
refer to <<import-geospatial-data, Import geospatial data>>.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/add-data-fv.png[File Data Visualizer]



NOTE: This feature is not intended for use as part of a
repeated production process, but rather for the initial exploration of your data.


[discrete]
=== Additional options for loading your data

If the {kib} ingest options don't work for you, you can index your
data into Elasticsearch with {ref}/getting-started-index.html[REST APIs]
or https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/client/index.html[client libraries].
After you add your data, you're required to create an <<index-patterns,index pattern>> to tell
{kib} where to find the data.

* To add data for Elastic Observability, refer to {observability-guide}/add-observability-data.html[Send data to Elasticsearch].
* To add data for Elastic Security, refer to https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/ingest-data.html[Ingest data to Elastic Security].