Beats is a platform for creating lightweight, open-source data shippers that send various types of data to Elasticsearch for analysis. Notable Beats include Packetbeat for network traffic, Filebeat for server logs, and Metricbeat for system metrics. The article provides a step-by-step guide on building a custom Beat using the libbeat framework and the Beat Generator package, specifically focusing on creating "lsbeat," which indexes information about files and directories, similar to the Unix command "ls." The process involves setting up a Golang environment, generating a Beat skeleton with the Beat Generator, configuring parameters such as the event period and directory path, and implementing necessary code, including the Beater interface with Run() and Stop() functions. The guide also covers setting up dependencies, configuring Elasticsearch mappings, and running the finalized Beat, demonstrating the integration with Elasticsearch and Kibana to verify data indexing.