---
title: Use the  execd  shim
description: 'The shim makes it easy to extract an internal input, processor, or output plugin from the main Telegraf repo out to a stand-alone repo. This allows anyone to build and run it as a separate app using one of the execd plugins: inputs.execd processors.execd outputs.execd Extract a plugin using the shim wrapper Move the project to an external repo. We recommend preserving the path structure: for example, if your plugin was located at plugins/inputs/cpu in the Telegraf repo, move it to plugins/inputs'
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/telegraf/v1/configure_plugins/external_plugins/shim/
estimated_tokens: 707
product: Telegraf Enterprise
version: v1
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/telegraf/v1/configure_plugins/external_plugins/shim/
date: '2023-09-12T23:33:31-06:00'
lastmod: '2023-09-12T23:33:31-06:00'
---

The shim makes it easy to extract an internal input,
processor, or output plugin from the main Telegraf repo out to a stand-alone repo. This allows anyone to build and run it as a separate app using one of the`execd` plugins:

* [inputs.execd](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/plugins/inputs/execd)
* [processors.execd](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master//plugins/processors/execd)
* [outputs.execd](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/plugins/outputs/execd)

## Extract a plugin using the shim wrapper

1. Move the project to an external repo. We recommend preserving the path
   structure: for example, if your plugin was located at`plugins/inputs/cpu` in the Telegraf repo, move it to `plugins/inputs/cpu`in the new repo.
2. Copy [main.go](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/plugins/common/shim/example/cmd/main.go) into your project under the `cmd` folder.
   This serves as the entry point to the plugin when run as a stand-alone program.

   > [!Note]
> The shim isn’t designed to run multiple plugins at the same time, so include only one plugin per repo.

3. Edit the `main.go` file to import your plugin. For example,`_ "github.com/me/my-plugin-telegraf/plugins/inputs/cpu"`. See an example of where to edit `main.go` [here](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/7de9c5ff279e10edf7fe3fdd596f3b33902c912b/plugins/common/shim/example/cmd/main.go#L9).
4. Add a [plugin.conf](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/plugins/common/shim/example/cmd/plugin.conf) for configuration
   specific to your plugin.

   > [!Note]
> This config file must be separate from the rest of the config for Telegraf, and must not be in a shared directory with other Telegraf configs.

## Test and run your plugin

1. Build the `cmd/main.go` using the following command with your plugin name: `go build -o plugin-name cmd/main.go`
2. Test the binary:
3. If you’re building a processor or output, first feed valid metrics in on `STDIN`. Skip this step if you’re building an input.
4. Test out the binary by running it (for example, `./project-name -config plugin.conf`).
   Metrics will be written to `STDOUT`. You might need to hit enter or wait for your poll duration to elapse to see data.
5. Press `Ctrl-C` to end your test.
6. Configure Telegraf to call your new plugin binary. For an input, this would
   look something like:

```toml
[[inputs.execd]]
  command = ["/path/to/rand", "-config", "/path/to/plugin.conf"]
  signal = "none"
```

Refer to the `execd` plugin documentation for more information.

## Publish your plugin

Publishing your plugin to GitHub and open a Pull Request
back to the Telegraf repo letting us know about the availability of your[external plugin](https://github.com/influxdata/telegraf/blob/master/EXTERNAL_PLUGINS.md).