What vectordotdev/vector shipped
Written by FoxPlug from public releases; not affiliated with Vector. An automatic summary of the public release, pull request and commit data of github.com/vectordotdev/vector. Vector did not write it and does not use or endorse FoxPlug. Every line links to the public change it describes.
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Week of September 21, 2026
What shipped
- Datadog metrics sink now sends metrics via V3 protocol, using columnar protobuf format with dictionary-based string deduplication and delta encoding for improved efficiency. Pull request #26285
- New
files_unwatched_bytes_unread_totalmetric tracks bytes not read when files are unwatched, providing visibility into potential data loss during log rotation or file deletion. Pull request #24676 - Prometheus scrape source now supports configurable HTTP request headers, including the ability to override the default Accept header. Pull request #26075
- Datadog logs sink now allows
max_payload_bytesto be configurable. Pull request #26396 - File source now handles incomplete fingerprint headers correctly by returning UnexpectedEof so discovery can retry after the file grows. Pull request #26481
- TCP source errors now include an explicit
peer_addrfield in acknowledgement and TLS connection error logs. Pull request #26467 - Core release automation completed to remove manual merge steps and reuse published vdev binaries instead of rebuilding in each workflow. Pull request #26289
- Datadog agent and OpenTelemetry sources now write an internal
%vector.trace_layoutmarker on emitted traces for later identification aftersource_typerewriting. Pull request #26291 - Post-release housekeeping converted from auto-merged PR to direct push to master during release freeze, generating the next -dev version and restoring VRL main. Pull request #26471
- Release freeze enforcement and Kubernetes manifest refresh are now automated from configured GitHub ruleset IDs instead of hardcoded branches. Pull request #26463
Why it matters
This week brings improvements to observability metrics, sink configurations, and source capabilities while significantly advancing release automation to reduce manual developer work. Several codebase quality improvements continue the gradual rollout of pedantic linting across multiple crates.
Changelog entry
- enhancement(datadog metrics sink): implement V3 protocol with columnar protobuf format and delta encoding Pull request #26285
- enhancement(observability): add
files_unwatched_bytes_unread_totalmetric Pull request #24676 - enhancement(prometheus scrape): support configurable request headers Pull request #26075
- enhancement(datadog logs sink): make payload limit configurable via
max_payload_bytesPull request #26396 - fix(file source): handle incomplete fingerprint headers by returning UnexpectedEof Pull request #26481
- fix(observability): add peer addresses to TCP source error logs Pull request #26467
Vector this week: Datadog metrics V3 protocol, configurable Prometheus headers, file unwatching visibility, improved TCP error logging, and automated release workflows.
Vector ships several operator-focused improvements this week: the Datadog metrics sink now uses V3 protocol with better compression, the Prometheus scrape source supports custom headers, and file sources track unwatched bytes to surface potential data loss. Release automation advances reduce manual steps, and multiple crates graduate to stricter linting standards.
Week of September 14, 2026
What shipped
- Release preparation is now automated through vdev and CI instead of requiring maintainers to run manual Git commands locally. Pull request #26395
- The
host_metricssource now collectsmemory_oom_kill_events_totalmetric from procfs. Pull request #25802 - Release state is now managed through the root Vector package version in Cargo instead of a separate file. Pull request #26387
- JSON, Elasticsearch sink, and journald source decoding now use simdutf8 for faster UTF-8 validation with SIMD. Pull request #25610
- Vector's native event protobuf now rejects malformed data through TryFrom instead of panicking. Pull request #26292
- Systemd socket activation now correctly sets sockets to non-blocking mode for tokio compatibility. Pull request #24308
- The aggregate transform's failed updates counter is now named
aggregate_failed_updates_totalfollowing naming conventions. Pull request #26407 - Datadog protobuf generation is now extracted into lib/datadog-proto to eliminate duplicate compilation. Pull request #26422
- Databend integration tests now use RustFS instead of discontinued MinIO for S3-compatible storage. Pull request #26370
- Documentation updated to accurately reflect that VRL scripts can access the Internet and host through functions like
http_requestandget_env_var. Pull request #26434
Why it matters
Release automation improvements reduce manual maintenance burden and human error. Metric naming conventions and internal protobuf handling improvements enhance reliability. Performance optimizations through SIMD and correctness fixes in socket activation and protobuf decoding benefit all users.
Changelog entry
- add:
host_metricssource now collectsmemory_oom_kill_events_totalmetric Pull request #25802 - improvement: JSON, Elasticsearch, and journald decoding now use simdutf8 for faster UTF-8 validation Pull request #25610
- fix: event protobuf now rejects malformed data with errors instead of panicking Pull request #26292
- fix: systemd socket activation now correctly sets non-blocking mode for tokio Pull request #24308
- fix: aggregate transform counter renamed to
aggregate_failed_updates_totalPull request #26407 - fix:
host_metricsprocess_runtimecounter renamed toprocess_runtime_totalPull request #26406 - fix: memory enrichment table TTL expirations now emit _total suffixed counter Pull request #26405
- improvement: Datadog protobuf generation extracted to separate crate to eliminate duplication Pull request #26422
This week: automated release prep, faster UTF-8 validation with SIMD, OOM kill events metric, protobuf error handling that doesn't panic, and systemd socket fixes.
Vector shipped several improvements this week: release preparation is now automated to reduce manual effort, JSON and journald decoding got faster with SIMD-optimized UTF-8 validation, the host_metrics source added memory_oom_kill_events_total tracking, event protobuf handling now rejects malformed data instead of crashing, and systemd socket activation now works correctly with tokio.