Install the Splunk Add-on for Unix and Linux

You can install the Splunk Add-on for Unix and Linux with Splunk Web or from the command line. You can install the add-on onto any type of Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud instance (indexer, search head, or forwarder).

1. Download the Splunk Add-on for Unix and Linux from Splunkbase.
2. Determine where and how to install this add-on in your deployment.
3. Perform any prerequisite steps before installing.
4. Complete your installation.

If you need step-by-step instructions on how to install an add-on in your specific deployment environment, see the installation walkthroughs section at the bottom of this page for links to installation instructions specific to a single-instance deployment, distributed deployment, Splunk Cloud, or Splunk Light.

Distributed installation of this add-on

Use the tables below to determine where and how to install this add-on in a distributed deployment of Splunk Enterprise or any deployment for which you are using forwarders to get your data in. Depending on your environment, your preferences, and the requirements of the add-on, you may need to install the add-on in multiple places.

Splunk instance type	Supported	Required	Comments
Search Heads	Yes	Yes	Install this add-on to all search heads where Unix or linux knowledge management is required. As a best practice, turn add-on visibility off on your search heads to prevent data duplication errors that can result from running inputs on your search heads instead of or in addition to your data collection node.
Indexers	Yes	Conditional	Not required if you use heavy forwarders to collect data. Required if you use universal or light forwarders to collect data.
Heavy Forwarders	Yes	See comments	This add-on supports forwarders of any type for data collection. The host must run a supported version of *nix.
Universal Forwarders	Yes	See comments
Light Forwarders	Yes	See comments

Distributed deployment compatibility

This table provides a quick reference for the compatibility of this add-on with Splunk distributed deployment features.

Distributed deployment feature	Supported	Comments
Search Head Clusters	Yes	Disable add-on visibility on search heads.
Indexer Clusters	Yes	To get data from an indexer cluster member, install the add-on into that member.
Deployment Server	Yes	Supported for deploying the configured add-on to multiple nodes.

Installation walkthroughs

See Installing add-ons in Splunk Add-Ons for detailed instructions describing how to install a Splunk add-on in the following deployment scenarios:

• Single-instance Splunk Enterprise
• Distributed Splunk Enterprise
• Splunk Cloud
• Splunk Light