---
title: Write data with output plugins
description: Output plugins define where Telegraf delivers the collected metrics.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/telegraf/v1/configure_plugins/output_plugins/
estimated_tokens: 502
product: Telegraf
version: v1
---

# Write data with output plugins

Output plugins define where Telegraf delivers collected metrics. Send metrics to InfluxDB or to a variety of other datastores, services, and message queues, including Graphite, OpenTSDB, Datadog, Kafka, MQTT, and NSQ.

For a complete list of output plugins and links to their detailed configuration options, see [output plugins](/telegraf/v1/output-plugins/).

## Output plugins and data formats

Output plugins control *where* metrics go. Many output plugins also support *data formats* (serializers) that control how metrics are formatted before writing.

Configure a serializer using the `data_format` option in your output plugin:

```toml
[[outputs.http]]
  url = "http://example.com/metrics"
  data_format = "json"
```

Some output plugins (like `influxdb_v2` or `prometheus_client`) use a fixed format and don’t support `data_format`. Others (like `file`, `http`, `kafka`) support multiple serializers.

For available serializers and their options, see [output data formats](/telegraf/v1/data_formats/output/).

#### Related

-   [Telegraf Output Plugins](/telegraf/v1/output-plugins/)
-   [Telegraf output data formats](/telegraf/v1/data_formats/output/)