vectordotdev · pront · Jul 7, 2026 · Jul 2, 2026 · Jul 2, 2026 · Jul 3, 2026
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+---
+title: Highlights - July 2026
+short: Highlights - July 2026
+description: A tour of major features shipped since our last highlights post, plus CI improvements for external contributors.
+authors: [ "pront" ]
+date: "2026-07-02"
+badges:
+  type: announcement
+  domains: [ "dev" ]
+tags: [ "features", "dev", "ci", "guides" ]
+---
+
+_It has been a while since our [February 2025 highlights]({{< ref "/blog/highlights-february-2025" >}}). In this post we cover the most impactful features shipped across `0.46` through `0.56`, and a set of CI improvements that make life easier for external contributors._
+
+## Features
+
+### New components
+
+| Component | Kind | Description | Author | PR |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| [`mqtt`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sources/mqtt" >}}) | Source | Ingest from MQTT brokers | [@StormStake](https://github.com/StormStake) | [#22752](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/22752) |
+| [`okta`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sources/okta" >}}) | Source | Consume Okta system logs | [@sonnens](https://github.com/sonnens) | [#22968](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/22968) |
+| [`websocket`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sources/websocket" >}}) | Source | Real-time ingestion from WebSocket APIs | [@benjamin-awd](https://github.com/benjamin-awd) | [#23449](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23449) |
+| [`windows_event_log`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sources/windows_event_log" >}}) | Source | Native Windows Event Log with bookmark-based checkpointing | [@tot19](https://github.com/tot19) | [#24305](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/24305) |
+| [`delay`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/transforms/delay" >}}) | Transform | Delay events by a fixed duration or VRL condition | [@esensar](https://github.com/esensar), [@Quad9DNS](https://github.com/Quad9DNS) | [#25407](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/25407) |
+| [`incremental_to_absolute`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/transforms/incremental_to_absolute" >}}) | Transform | Reconstruct absolute metrics from incremental data | [@GreyLilac09](https://github.com/GreyLilac09) | [#23374](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23374) |
+| [`trace_to_log`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/transforms/trace_to_log" >}}) | Transform | Convert traces to logs | [@spencerho777](https://github.com/spencerho777) | [#24168](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/24168) |
+| [`window`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/transforms/window" >}}) | Transform | Sliding-window ring-buffer for noise reduction | [@ilinas](https://github.com/ilinas) | [#22609](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/22609) |
+| [`databricks_zerobus`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/databricks_zerobus" >}}) | Sink | Stream to Databricks Unity Catalog via Zerobus | [@flaviofcruz](https://github.com/flaviofcruz) | [#24840](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/24840) |
+| [`doris`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/doris" >}}) | Sink | Apache Doris via the Stream Load API | [@bingquanzhao](https://github.com/bingquanzhao) | [#23117](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23117) |
+| [`postgres`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/configuration/sinks/postgres" >}}) | Sink | Send logs, metrics, and traces to Postgres | [@jorgehermo9](https://github.com/jorgehermo9) | [#21248](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/21248) |
+| `otlp` | Codec | Bidirectional Vector <-> OTLP conversion (logs, metrics, traces) | [@pront](https://github.com/pront) | [#24003](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/24003) |
+| `syslog` | Encoder | Encode Vector events as syslog (RFC5424 and RFC3164) | [@vparfonov](https://github.com/vparfonov) | [#23777](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23777) |
+| `varint_length_delimited` | Framer | Varint length-delimited framing for protobuf streaming (ClickHouse-compatible) | [@modev2301](https://github.com/modev2301) | [#23352](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23352) |
+
+### Source improvements
+
+* The `opentelemetry` source gained metrics ingestion and now performs full OTLP decoding for logs, metrics, and traces, removing the need for complex remap steps in OTEL -> Vector -> OTEL pipelines.
+* The `docker_logs` source retries Docker daemon communication failures with exponential backoff instead of giving up on transient hiccups.
+* A performance regression that inflated CPU usage in the `file` and `kubernetes_logs` sources (introduced in `0.50.0`) was found and fixed.
+
+### Transform improvements
+
+* The `tag_cardinality_limit` transform gained several new controls: per-tag cardinality overrides (`per_tag_limits`), per-metric tracking isolation (`tracking_scope: per_metric`), a global key cap (`max_tracked_keys`), and the ability to opt entire metrics out of cardinality tracking.
+* The `syslog` encoding transform gained improved RFC compliance, support for scalars, nested objects, and arrays in structured data, and better UTF-8 safety.
+
+### Sink improvements
+
+* A configurable `retry_strategy` for HTTP-based sinks gives users control over which response codes are retried (`default` / `none` / `all` / `custom`).
+* The `aws_s3` sink gained Apache Parquet batch encoding.
+* The `datadog_metrics` sink switched to the Series v2 endpoint with zstd compression by default, and `datadog_logs` switched its default to `zstd` as well.
+
+### Operations and observability
+
+* `--watch-config` now also watches enrichment table files.
+* `vector top` gained scrollable, sortable, and filterable views (press `?` for keybinds).
+* Unit tests support an `expected_event_count` field on outputs to assert on emitted event counts.
+* Task-transform `utilization` no longer counts downstream wait time, giving a more accurate saturation view.
+* New internal metrics for capacity planning and backpressure detection:
+  * `source_buffer_max_size_bytes`, `source_buffer_size_bytes`, `source_buffer_max_size_events`, `source_buffer_size_events`
+  * `transform_buffer_max_size_bytes`, `transform_buffer_size_bytes`, `transform_buffer_max_size_events`, `transform_buffer_size_events`
+  * `source_buffer_utilization_mean`, `transform_buffer_utilization_mean` (EWMA-smoothed)
+  * `component_latency_seconds` (histogram), `component_latency_mean_seconds` (gauge)
+  * `source_send_latency_seconds`, `source_send_batch_latency_seconds`
+  * `config_reloaded`, `config_reload_rejected`
+
+For the complete list of changes, breaking changes, and upgrade steps, see the [releases page]({{< ref "/releases" >}}).
+
+### VRL
+
+#### New functions
+
+| Function | Author | PR |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| [`aggregate_vector_metrics`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#aggregate_vector_metrics" >}}) | [@esensar](https://github.com/esensar), [@Quad9DNS](https://github.com/Quad9DNS) | [vector#23430](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23430) |
+| [`basename`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#basename" >}}) | [@titaneric](https://github.com/titaneric) | [vrl#1531](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1531) |
+| [`decode_lz4`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#decode_lz4" >}}) | [@jimmystewpot](https://github.com/jimmystewpot) | [vrl#1339](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1339) |
+| [`dirname`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#dirname" >}}) | [@titaneric](https://github.com/titaneric) | [vrl#1532](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1532) |
+| [`encode_csv`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#encode_csv" >}}) | [@armleth](https://github.com/armleth) | [vrl#1649](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1649) |
+| [`encode_lz4`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#encode_lz4" >}}) | [@jimmystewpot](https://github.com/jimmystewpot) | [vrl#1339](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1339) |
+| [`find_vector_metrics`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#find_vector_metrics" >}}) | [@esensar](https://github.com/esensar), [@Quad9DNS](https://github.com/Quad9DNS) | [vector#23430](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23430) |
+| [`from_entries`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#from_entries" >}}) | [@close2code-palm](https://github.com/close2code-palm) | [vrl#1653](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1653) |
+| [`get_vector_metric`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#get_vector_metric" >}}) | [@esensar](https://github.com/esensar), [@Quad9DNS](https://github.com/Quad9DNS) | [vector#23430](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vector/pull/23430) |
+| [`haversine`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#haversine" >}}) | [@esensar](https://github.com/esensar), [@Quad9DNS](https://github.com/Quad9DNS) | [vrl#1442](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1442) |
+| [`http_request`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#http_request" >}}) | [@benjamin-awd](https://github.com/benjamin-awd) | [vrl#1360](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1360) |
+| [`ipcrypt_decrypt`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#ipcrypt_decrypt" >}}) | [@alterstep](https://github.com/alterstep) | [vrl#1506](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1506) |
+| [`ipcrypt_encrypt`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#ipcrypt_encrypt" >}}) | [@alterstep](https://github.com/alterstep) | [vrl#1506](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1506) |
+| [`parse_yaml`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#parse_yaml" >}}) | [@juchem](https://github.com/juchem) | [vrl#1602](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1602) |
+| [`pop`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#pop" >}}) | [@jlambatl](https://github.com/jlambatl) | [vrl#1501](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1501) |
+| [`split_path`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#split_path" >}}) | [@titaneric](https://github.com/titaneric) | [vrl#1533](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1533) |
+| [`to_entries`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#to_entries" >}}) | [@close2code-palm](https://github.com/close2code-palm) | [vrl#1653](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1653) |
+| [`xxhash`]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions/#xxhash" >}}) | [@stigglor](https://github.com/stigglor) | [vrl#1473](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/pull/1473) |
+
+#### Syntax
+
+* `else` and `else if` can now appear on a new line after the closing `}` of an `if` block. Previously the newline terminated the expression, forcing `} else if {` on a single line.
+* String literals now support `\u{HEX}` Unicode escape sequences (`"hello\u{1F30E}world"`). Invalid sequences (empty braces, non-hex digits, surrogate codepoints, or values above U+10FFFF) fail at compile time with a specific error.
+
+#### Compiler diagnostics and error reporting
+
+* The compiler now reports **every** unhandled-error in a single compilation pass instead of stopping at the first. Fix all your fallible calls in one go rather than a compile-fix-compile loop.
+* Fallible-call error location is now correct. Previously, a missing `!` or `, err =` on an earlier call could cause the diagnostic to point at a later, unrelated assignment. Now the error is reported on the actual fallible expression, including inside `for_each` and `map_values` closures.
+* False positive in the unused-variable diagnostic (`E900`) fixed. A variable used before being reassigned (shadowed) is no longer flagged as unused at its original assignment.
+* Lexer errors surface specific error codes (e.g. `E209 invalid escape character`) instead of the generic `E202 syntax error`, and their spans now point at the exact character rather than the whole call.
+* `vector test` output honors `--color {auto|always|never}` and `VECTOR_COLOR`; VRL diagnostics stop emitting stray ANSI escape sequences when color is disabled or when running non-interactively.
+
+#### Type system and function surface
+
+* `find` now returns `null` when no match is found, instead of `-1`. Audit existing programs that branch on `find(...) < 0`.
+* Vector-specific VRL functions are now available in the standalone VRL CLI (`vector vrl`) and in codec VRL transforms, closing a long-standing surface gap.
+* Enrichment functions gained bounded date range filtering (`from` / `to`) and wildcard match support.
+* `encode_proto` gained looser scalar coercion: integers and strings are accepted for `bool` fields, integers for `float` and `double` fields, and integer or boolean map keys are stringified per the protobuf JSON mapping. A new `allow_lossy_string_coercion` flag lets strict callers opt back into spec-only encoding.
+
+#### Performance
+
+* `encode_gzip` / `decode_gzip` / `encode_zlib` / `decode_zlib` switched to the [zlib-rs](https://github.com/trifectatechfoundation/zlib-rs) backend for significantly faster compression and decompression.
+* `encode_base64` / `decode_base64` / `decode_mime_q` moved to a SIMD backend.
+* `parse_regex_all` reuses the compiled regex across invocations.
+
+#### VRL in more places
+
+* HTTP client sources accept VRL expressions in query parameters and in the request body, enabling dynamic requests driven by event data.
+* Custom auth strategies expose the client address and URL path to VRL scripts, and can now write scalar values back into the auth context via `%field = value` writes.
+* Templating landed on the `http` sink's `uri` and `request.headers` fields.
+
+#### Live reload
+
+* `--watch-config` also watches external VRL files referenced by `remap` transforms.
+* Vector reloads external VRL files on `SIGHUP`.
+
+#### VRL Playground
+
+The [VRL Playground](https://playground.vrl.dev) gained a timezone selector, performance timing display, output-panel line wrap, and a series of dropdown and rendering fixes.
+
+## CI and developer ergonomics
+
+* **Simpler PR title check.** The semantic PR title action was replaced with a small inline script that only validates the type prefix (`feat`, `fix`, `chore`, and so on) and leaves scopes free-form. Contributors are no longer blocked by a 180-entry hardcoded scope allowlist that drifted every time a component was added or renamed.
+* **`typos` replaces `check-spelling`.** The old `check-spelling` workflow produced enough false positives to be a constant source of friction on PRs. It has been replaced with [`typos`](https://github.com/crate-ci/typos), a Rust-native spell checker built for source code. It understands identifiers and hex literals natively and runs on the full repo in seconds. Run it locally with `cargo binstall typos-cli && typos`.
+* **YAML linting.** A `yamllint` check was added to CI. It catches indentation issues, duplicate keys, and trailing whitespace in configuration examples and test fixtures before they reach review. Run `make check-prettier` locally and `make fix-prettier` to auto-fix.
+* **Improved Markdown checks.** The `markdownlint` configuration was tightened to flag broken link syntax, inconsistent heading levels, and bare URLs. Run `make check-markdown` locally and `make fix-markdown` to auto-fix.
+* **Faster integration runner.** The integration test runner switched to a multi-stage Dockerfile that skips the source copy step, cutting per-job overhead.
+* **Reduced flake surface.** Long-standing flaky tests in the `file` source were fixed (checkpoint write race on shutdown, `test_oldest_first`, `initial_size_correct_with_multievents`). `apt-get` calls in package-verify jobs are now wrapped in `timeout 30m` to prevent silent CI hangs and are retried on transient failures.
+
+## Thank you
+
+Vector genuinely would not be where it is without its community.
+
+We are very happy to notice growing interest in Vector:
+
+| Year | Unique | New | Returning |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| 2024 | 177 | 130 | 47 |
+| 2025 | 191 | 144 | 47 |
+| 2026 (YTD, 5 months) | 133 | 90 | 43 |
+
+Thank you to every PR contributor behind those numbers, and to everyone who opened an issue, reviewed code, improved docs, or started a discussion.
+
+We look forward to the future.
+
+## Appendix
+
+### Vector releases in this window
+
+* [`0.46.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.46.0" >}}) — 2025-04-04
+* [`0.47.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.47.0" >}}) — 2025-05-20
+* [`0.48.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.48.0" >}}) — 2025-06-30
+* [`0.49.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.49.0" >}}) — 2025-08-12
+* [`0.50.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.50.0" >}}) — 2025-09-23
+* [`0.51.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.51.0" >}}) — 2025-11-04
+* [`0.52.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.52.0" >}}) — 2025-12-16
+* [`0.53.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.53.0" >}}) — 2026-01-27
+* [`0.54.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.54.0" >}}) — 2026-03-10
+* [`0.55.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.55.0" >}}) — 2026-04-22
+* [`0.56.0`]({{< ref "/releases/0.56.0" >}}) — 2026-06-03
+
+### VRL
+
+* [VRL CHANGELOG](https://github.com/vectordotdev/vrl/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)
+* [VRL function reference]({{< ref "/docs/reference/vrl/functions" >}})
+* [VRL Playground](https://playground.vrl.dev)