docs-v2/content/telegraf/v1/configure_plugins/external_plugins/_index.md

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Integrate with external plugins	External plugins are external programs that are built outside of Telegraf that can run through an `execd` plugin.	telegraf_v1 name weight parent External plugins 50 Configure plugins

External plugins are external programs that are built outside of Telegraf that can run through an execd plugin. These external plugins allow for more flexibility compared to internal Telegraf plugins. Benefits to using external plugins include:

• Access to libraries not written in Go
• Using licensed software (not available to open source community)
• Including large dependencies that would otherwise bloat Telegraf
• Using your external plugin immediately without waiting for the Telegraf team to publish
• Easily convert plugins between internal and external using the shim

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