---
title: Split processor
description: Split a field value into an array using a separator with the Streams split processor in Streamlang.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3716/solutions/observability/streams/processors/split
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
  - Elastic Observability
  - Elastic Stack
  - Elasticsearch
  - Kibana
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available since 9.4
---

# Split processor
The **Split** processor splits a field value into an array using a separator.
To split a field into an array:
1. Select **Create** → **Create processor**.
2. Select **Split** from the **Processor** menu.
3. Set the **Source Field** to the field you want to split into an array.
4. Set **Separator** to a regex that matches the separator. For example, use `,` for commas, `\s+` for whitespace, or `\.` for a literal dot.
5. (Optional) Set **Target field** to write the resulting array to a different field. Leave empty to update the **Source Field**.

This functionality uses the Elasticsearch [Split processor](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3716/reference/ingest-processor/split-processor) internally, but you configure it in Streamlang. Streamlang doesn't always have 1:1 parity with the ingest processor options and behavior. Refer to [Processor limitations and inconsistencies](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3716/solutions/observability/streams/streamlang#streams-processor-inconsistencies).

## YAML reference

In [YAML mode](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3716/solutions/observability/streams/parse-and-process#streams-editing-yaml-mode), configure the split processor using the following parameters. For the complete Streamlang syntax, refer to the [Streamlang reference](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3716/solutions/observability/streams/streamlang).

| Parameter           | Type    | Required | Description                                                      |
|---------------------|---------|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `from`              | string  | Yes      | Source field to split into an array.                             |
| `separator`         | string  | Yes      | Regex separator used to split the field value into an array.     |
| `to`                | string  | No       | Target field for the split array. Defaults to the source field.  |
| `preserve_trailing` | boolean | No       | When `true`, preserve empty trailing fields in the split result. |
| `ignore_missing`    | boolean | No       | When `true`, skip this processor if the source field is missing. |

```yaml
- action: split
  from: attributes.tags
  separator: ","
```

Given a document with `attributes.tags` set to `foo,bar,baz`, the processor updates the field to `["foo", "bar", "baz"]`.