# Basic Configuration Structure
<a name="basic-configuration-structure"></a>

The basic structure of the Amazon Kinesis Agent for Microsoft Windows configuration file is a JSON document with the following template:

```
{
     "Sources": [ ],
     "Sinks": [ ],
     "Pipes": [ ]
}
```
+ The value of `Sources` is one or more [Source Declarations](source-object-declarations.md).
+ The value of `Sinks` is one or more [Sink Declarations](sink-object-declarations.md).
+ The value of `Pipes` is one or more [Pipe Declarations](pipe-object-declarations.md).

For more information about the Kinesis Agent for Windows source, pipe, and sink concepts, see [Amazon Kinesis Agent for Microsoft Windows Concepts](kinesis-agent-windows-concepts.md).

The following example is a complete `appsettings.json` configuration file that configures Kinesis Agent for Windows to stream Windows application log events to Firehose.

```
{
  "Sources": [
    {
      "LogName": "Application",
      "Id": "ApplicationLog",
      "SourceType": "WindowsEventLogSource"
    }
  ],
  "Sinks": [
    {
      "StreamName": "ApplicationLogFirehoseStream",
      "Region": "us-west-2",
      "Id": "MyKinesisFirehoseSink",
      "SinkType": "KinesisFirehose"
    }
  ],
  "Pipes": [
    {
      "Id": "ApplicationLogTotestKinesisFirehoseSink",
      "SourceRef": "ApplicationLog",
      "SinkRef": "MyKinesisFirehoseSink"
    }
  ]
}
```

For information about each kind of declaration, see the following sections:
+ [Source Declarations](source-object-declarations.md)
+ [Sink Declarations](sink-object-declarations.md)
+ [Pipe Declarations](pipe-object-declarations.md)

## Configuration Case Sensitivity
<a name="basic-configuration-structure-case"></a>

JSON-formatted files are typically case sensitive, and you should assume that all the keys and values in Kinesis Agent for Windows configuration files are also case sensitive. Some keys and values in the `appsettings.json` configuration file are not case sensitive; for example:
+ The value of the `Format` key-value pair for sinks. For more information, see [Sink Declarations](sink-object-declarations.md).
+ The value of the `SourceType` key-value pair for sources, the `SinkType` key-value pair for sinks, and the `Type` key-value pair for pipes and plugins.
+ The value of `RecordParser` key-value pair for the `DirectorySource` source. For more information, see [DirectorySource Configuration](source-object-declarations.md#directory-source-configuration).
+ The value of the `InitialPosition` key-value pair for sources. For more information, see [Bookmark Configuration](source-object-declarations.md#advanced-source-configuration).
+ Prefixes for variable substitutions. For more information, see [Configuring Sink Variable Substitutions](sink-object-declarations.md#configuring-kinesis-agent-windows-sink-variable-substitution).