diff --git a/operator/buffer/buffer.go b/operator/buffer/buffer.go
index d4303c0fc..6f3429d98 100644
--- a/operator/buffer/buffer.go
+++ b/operator/buffer/buffer.go
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/entry"
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/errors"
-	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator"
+	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator/helper"
 )
 
 // Buffer is an entity that buffers log entries to an operator
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ type Buffer interface {
 func NewConfig() Config {
 	return Config{
 		BufferType:           "memory",
-		DelayThreshold:       operator.Duration{Duration: time.Second},
+		DelayThreshold:       helper.Duration{Duration: time.Second},
 		BundleCountThreshold: 10_000,
 		BundleByteThreshold:  4 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024,   // 4MB
 		BundleByteLimit:      4 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024,   // 4MB
@@ -35,14 +35,14 @@ func NewConfig() Config {
 
 // Config is the configuration of a buffer
 type Config struct {
-	BufferType           string            `json:"type,omitempty"                   yaml:"type,omitempty"`
-	DelayThreshold       operator.Duration `json:"delay_threshold,omitempty"        yaml:"delay_threshold,omitempty"`
-	BundleCountThreshold int               `json:"bundle_count_threshold,omitempty" yaml:"buffer_count_threshold,omitempty"`
-	BundleByteThreshold  int               `json:"bundle_byte_threshold,omitempty"  yaml:"bundle_byte_threshold,omitempty"`
-	BundleByteLimit      int               `json:"bundle_byte_limit,omitempty"      yaml:"bundle_byte_limit,omitempty"`
-	BufferedByteLimit    int               `json:"buffered_byte_limit,omitempty"    yaml:"buffered_byte_limit,omitempty"`
-	HandlerLimit         int               `json:"handler_limit,omitempty"          yaml:"handler_limit,omitempty"`
-	Retry                RetryConfig       `json:"retry,omitempty"                  yaml:"retry,omitempty"`
+	BufferType           string          `json:"type,omitempty"                   yaml:"type,omitempty"`
+	DelayThreshold       helper.Duration `json:"delay_threshold,omitempty"        yaml:"delay_threshold,omitempty"`
+	BundleCountThreshold int             `json:"bundle_count_threshold,omitempty" yaml:"buffer_count_threshold,omitempty"`
+	BundleByteThreshold  int             `json:"bundle_byte_threshold,omitempty"  yaml:"bundle_byte_threshold,omitempty"`
+	BundleByteLimit      int             `json:"bundle_byte_limit,omitempty"      yaml:"bundle_byte_limit,omitempty"`
+	BufferedByteLimit    int             `json:"buffered_byte_limit,omitempty"    yaml:"buffered_byte_limit,omitempty"`
+	HandlerLimit         int             `json:"handler_limit,omitempty"          yaml:"handler_limit,omitempty"`
+	Retry                RetryConfig     `json:"retry,omitempty"                  yaml:"retry,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Build will build a buffer from the supplied configuration
@@ -61,18 +61,18 @@ func (config *Config) Build() (Buffer, error) {
 // NewRetryConfig creates a new retry config
 func NewRetryConfig() RetryConfig {
 	return RetryConfig{
-		InitialInterval:     operator.Duration{Duration: 500 * time.Millisecond},
+		InitialInterval:     helper.Duration{Duration: 500 * time.Millisecond},
 		RandomizationFactor: 0.5,
 		Multiplier:          1.5,
-		MaxInterval:         operator.Duration{Duration: 15 * time.Minute},
+		MaxInterval:         helper.Duration{Duration: 15 * time.Minute},
 	}
 }
 
 // RetryConfig is the configuration of an entity that will retry processing after an error
 type RetryConfig struct {
-	InitialInterval     operator.Duration `json:"initial_interval,omitempty"     yaml:"initial_interval,omitempty"`
-	RandomizationFactor float64           `json:"randomization_factor,omitempty" yaml:"randomization_factor,omitempty"`
-	Multiplier          float64           `json:"multiplier,omitempty"           yaml:"multiplier,omitempty"`
-	MaxInterval         operator.Duration `json:"max_interval,omitempty"         yaml:"max_interval,omitempty"`
-	MaxElapsedTime      operator.Duration `json:"max_elapsed_time,omitempty"     yaml:"max_elapsed_time,omitempty"`
+	InitialInterval     helper.Duration `json:"initial_interval,omitempty"     yaml:"initial_interval,omitempty"`
+	RandomizationFactor float64         `json:"randomization_factor,omitempty" yaml:"randomization_factor,omitempty"`
+	Multiplier          float64         `json:"multiplier,omitempty"           yaml:"multiplier,omitempty"`
+	MaxInterval         helper.Duration `json:"max_interval,omitempty"         yaml:"max_interval,omitempty"`
+	MaxElapsedTime      helper.Duration `json:"max_elapsed_time,omitempty"     yaml:"max_elapsed_time,omitempty"`
 }
diff --git a/operator/buffer/buffer_test.go b/operator/buffer/buffer_test.go
index eb8028888..469001637 100644
--- a/operator/buffer/buffer_test.go
+++ b/operator/buffer/buffer_test.go
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/entry"
-	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator"
+	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator/helper"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"go.uber.org/zap"
 	yaml "gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func (b *bufferHandler) Logger() *zap.SugaredLogger {
 
 func TestBuffer(t *testing.T) {
 	config := NewConfig()
-	config.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{
+	config.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{
 		Duration: 100 * time.Millisecond,
 	}
 
diff --git a/operator/buffer/memory_buffer_test.go b/operator/buffer/memory_buffer_test.go
index 5f4194e63..2b3df97f3 100644
--- a/operator/buffer/memory_buffer_test.go
+++ b/operator/buffer/memory_buffer_test.go
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/entry"
-	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator"
+	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator/helper"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"go.uber.org/zap"
 	"go.uber.org/zap/zaptest"
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func newMockHandler(t *testing.T) *mockHandler {
 func TestMemoryBufferRetry(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("FailOnce", func(t *testing.T) {
 		cfg := NewConfig()
-		cfg.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
+		cfg.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
 		buffer, err := cfg.Build()
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		handler := newMockHandler(t)
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func TestMemoryBufferRetry(t *testing.T) {
 
 	t.Run("ContextCancelled", func(t *testing.T) {
 		cfg := NewConfig()
-		cfg.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
+		cfg.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
 		buffer, err := cfg.Build()
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		handler := newMockHandler(t)
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ func TestMemoryBufferRetry(t *testing.T) {
 
 	t.Run("ExceededLimit", func(t *testing.T) {
 		cfg := NewConfig()
-		cfg.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
-		cfg.Retry.MaxElapsedTime = operator.Duration{Duration: time.Nanosecond}
+		cfg.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
+		cfg.Retry.MaxElapsedTime = helper.Duration{Duration: time.Nanosecond}
 		buffer, err := cfg.Build()
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		handler := newMockHandler(t)
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func TestMemoryBufferRetry(t *testing.T) {
 func TestMemoryBufferFlush(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("Simple", func(t *testing.T) {
 		cfg := NewConfig()
-		cfg.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Hour}
+		cfg.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Hour}
 		buffer, err := cfg.Build()
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		handler := newMockHandler(t)
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ func TestMemoryBufferFlush(t *testing.T) {
 
 	t.Run("ContextCancelled", func(t *testing.T) {
 		cfg := NewConfig()
-		cfg.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Hour}
+		cfg.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Hour}
 		buffer, err := cfg.Build()
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		handler := newMockHandler(t)
diff --git a/operator/builtin/input/file/file.go b/operator/builtin/input/file/file.go
index b0e94de2d..75ddb00dc 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/input/file/file.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/input/file/file.go
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ func init() {
 func NewInputConfig(operatorID string) *InputConfig {
 	return &InputConfig{
 		InputConfig:     helper.NewInputConfig(operatorID, "file_input"),
-		PollInterval:    operator.Duration{Duration: 200 * time.Millisecond},
+		PollInterval:    helper.Duration{Duration: 200 * time.Millisecond},
 		IncludeFileName: true,
 		IncludeFilePath: false,
 		StartAt:         "end",
@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@ type InputConfig struct {
 	Include []string `json:"include,omitempty" yaml:"include,omitempty"`
 	Exclude []string `json:"exclude,omitempty" yaml:"exclude,omitempty"`
 
-	PollInterval    operator.Duration `json:"poll_interval,omitempty"     yaml:"poll_interval,omitempty"`
-	Multiline       *MultilineConfig  `json:"multiline,omitempty"         yaml:"multiline,omitempty"`
-	IncludeFileName bool              `json:"include_file_name,omitempty" yaml:"include_file_name,omitempty"`
-	IncludeFilePath bool              `json:"include_file_path,omitempty" yaml:"include_file_path,omitempty"`
-	StartAt         string            `json:"start_at,omitempty"          yaml:"start_at,omitempty"`
-	MaxLogSize      int               `json:"max_log_size,omitempty"      yaml:"max_log_size,omitempty"`
-	Encoding        string            `json:"encoding,omitempty"          yaml:"encoding,omitempty"`
+	PollInterval    helper.Duration  `json:"poll_interval,omitempty"     yaml:"poll_interval,omitempty"`
+	Multiline       *MultilineConfig `json:"multiline,omitempty"         yaml:"multiline,omitempty"`
+	IncludeFileName bool             `json:"include_file_name,omitempty" yaml:"include_file_name,omitempty"`
+	IncludeFilePath bool             `json:"include_file_path,omitempty" yaml:"include_file_path,omitempty"`
+	StartAt         string           `json:"start_at,omitempty"          yaml:"start_at,omitempty"`
+	MaxLogSize      int              `json:"max_log_size,omitempty"      yaml:"max_log_size,omitempty"`
+	Encoding        string           `json:"encoding,omitempty"          yaml:"encoding,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // MultilineConfig is the configuration a multiline operation
diff --git a/operator/builtin/input/file/file_test.go b/operator/builtin/input/file/file_test.go
index 6bac6c827..0ccdcd4fd 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/input/file/file_test.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/input/file/file_test.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/entry"
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator"
+	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator/helper"
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/testutil"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/mock"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ func newTestFileSource(t *testing.T) (*InputOperator, chan *entry.Entry) {
 	})
 
 	cfg := NewInputConfig("testfile")
-	cfg.PollInterval = operator.Duration{Duration: 50 * time.Millisecond}
+	cfg.PollInterval = helper.Duration{Duration: 50 * time.Millisecond}
 	cfg.StartAt = "beginning"
 	cfg.Include = []string{"should-be-overwritten"}
 
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ func TestFileSource_Build(t *testing.T) {
 		cfg.OutputIDs = []string{"mock"}
 		cfg.Include = []string{"/var/log/testpath.*"}
 		cfg.Exclude = []string{"/var/log/testpath.ex*"}
-		cfg.PollInterval = operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
+		cfg.PollInterval = helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Millisecond}
 		return cfg
 	}
 
diff --git a/operator/builtin/input/windows/operator.go b/operator/builtin/input/windows/operator.go
index 69926f22a..388920d5f 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/input/windows/operator.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/input/windows/operator.go
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ func init() {
 // EventLogConfig is the configuration of a windows event log operator.
 type EventLogConfig struct {
 	helper.InputConfig `yaml:",inline"`
-	Channel            string            `json:"channel" yaml:"channel"`
-	MaxReads           int               `json:"max_reads,omitempty" yaml:"max_reads,omitempty"`
-	StartAt            string            `json:"start_at,omitempty" yaml:"start_at,omitempty"`
-	PollInterval       operator.Duration `json:"poll_interval,omitempty" yaml:"poll_interval,omitempty"`
+	Channel            string          `json:"channel" yaml:"channel"`
+	MaxReads           int             `json:"max_reads,omitempty" yaml:"max_reads,omitempty"`
+	StartAt            string          `json:"start_at,omitempty" yaml:"start_at,omitempty"`
+	PollInterval       helper.Duration `json:"poll_interval,omitempty" yaml:"poll_interval,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Build will build a windows event log operator.
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ func NewDefaultConfig() operator.Builder {
 		InputConfig: helper.NewInputConfig("", "windows_eventlog_input"),
 		MaxReads:    100,
 		StartAt:     "end",
-		PollInterval: operator.Duration{
+		PollInterval: helper.Duration{
 			Duration: 1 * time.Second,
 		},
 	}
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ type EventLogInput struct {
 	channel      string
 	maxReads     int
 	startAt      string
-	pollInterval operator.Duration
+	pollInterval helper.Duration
 	offsets      helper.Persister
 	cancel       context.CancelFunc
 	wg           *sync.WaitGroup
diff --git a/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud.go b/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud.go
index 7751a7ab9..ea6188f5c 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud.go
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func NewGoogleCloudOutputConfig(operatorID string) *GoogleCloudOutputConfig {
 	return &GoogleCloudOutputConfig{
 		OutputConfig:   helper.NewOutputConfig(operatorID, "google_cloud_output"),
 		BufferConfig:   buffer.NewConfig(),
-		Timeout:        operator.Duration{Duration: 30 * time.Second},
+		Timeout:        helper.Duration{Duration: 30 * time.Second},
 		UseCompression: true,
 	}
 }
@@ -43,14 +43,14 @@ type GoogleCloudOutputConfig struct {
 	helper.OutputConfig `yaml:",inline"`
 	BufferConfig        buffer.Config `json:"buffer,omitempty" yaml:"buffer,omitempty"`
 
-	Credentials     string            `json:"credentials,omitempty"      yaml:"credentials,omitempty"`
-	CredentialsFile string            `json:"credentials_file,omitempty" yaml:"credentials_file,omitempty"`
-	ProjectID       string            `json:"project_id"                 yaml:"project_id"`
-	LogNameField    *entry.Field      `json:"log_name_field,omitempty"   yaml:"log_name_field,omitempty"`
-	TraceField      *entry.Field      `json:"trace_field,omitempty"      yaml:"trace_field,omitempty"`
-	SpanIDField     *entry.Field      `json:"span_id_field,omitempty"    yaml:"span_id_field,omitempty"`
-	Timeout         operator.Duration `json:"timeout,omitempty"          yaml:"timeout,omitempty"`
-	UseCompression  bool              `json:"use_compression,omitempty"  yaml:"use_compression,omitempty"`
+	Credentials     string          `json:"credentials,omitempty"      yaml:"credentials,omitempty"`
+	CredentialsFile string          `json:"credentials_file,omitempty" yaml:"credentials_file,omitempty"`
+	ProjectID       string          `json:"project_id"                 yaml:"project_id"`
+	LogNameField    *entry.Field    `json:"log_name_field,omitempty"   yaml:"log_name_field,omitempty"`
+	TraceField      *entry.Field    `json:"trace_field,omitempty"      yaml:"trace_field,omitempty"`
+	SpanIDField     *entry.Field    `json:"span_id_field,omitempty"    yaml:"span_id_field,omitempty"`
+	Timeout         helper.Duration `json:"timeout,omitempty"          yaml:"timeout,omitempty"`
+	UseCompression  bool            `json:"use_compression,omitempty"  yaml:"use_compression,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Build will build a google cloud output operator.
diff --git a/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud_test.go b/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud_test.go
index b2bdb6422..a6c947fc8 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud_test.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/output/googlecloud/google_cloud_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/golang/protobuf/ptypes"
 	tspb "github.com/golang/protobuf/ptypes/timestamp"
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/entry"
-	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator"
+	"github.com/observiq/stanza/operator/helper"
 	"github.com/observiq/stanza/testutil"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"google.golang.org/api/option"
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ type googleCloudTestCase struct {
 func googleCloudBasicConfig() *GoogleCloudOutputConfig {
 	cfg := NewGoogleCloudOutputConfig("test_id")
 	cfg.ProjectID = "test_project_id"
-	cfg.BufferConfig.DelayThreshold = operator.Duration{Duration: time.Millisecond}
+	cfg.BufferConfig.DelayThreshold = helper.Duration{Duration: time.Millisecond}
 	return cfg
 }
 
diff --git a/operator/builtin/transformer/k8smetadata/k8s_metadata_decorator.go b/operator/builtin/transformer/k8smetadata/k8s_metadata_decorator.go
index 189220afc..76194fd31 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/transformer/k8smetadata/k8s_metadata_decorator.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/transformer/k8smetadata/k8s_metadata_decorator.go
@@ -24,18 +24,18 @@ func NewK8sMetadataDecoratorConfig(operatorID string) *K8sMetadataDecoratorConfi
 		TransformerConfig: helper.NewTransformerConfig(operatorID, "k8s_metadata_decorator"),
 		PodNameField:      entry.NewResourceField("k8s.pod.name"),
 		NamespaceField:    entry.NewResourceField("k8s.namespace.name"),
-		CacheTTL:          operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Minute},
-		Timeout:           operator.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Second},
+		CacheTTL:          helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Minute},
+		Timeout:           helper.Duration{Duration: 10 * time.Second},
 	}
 }
 
 // K8sMetadataDecoratorConfig is the configuration of k8s_metadata_decorator operator
 type K8sMetadataDecoratorConfig struct {
 	helper.TransformerConfig `yaml:",inline"`
-	PodNameField             entry.Field       `json:"pod_name_field,omitempty"  yaml:"pod_name_field,omitempty"`
-	NamespaceField           entry.Field       `json:"namespace_field,omitempty" yaml:"namespace_field,omitempty"`
-	CacheTTL                 operator.Duration `json:"cache_ttl,omitempty"       yaml:"cache_ttl,omitempty"`
-	Timeout                  operator.Duration `json:"timeout,omitempty"         yaml:"timeout,omitempty"`
+	PodNameField             entry.Field     `json:"pod_name_field,omitempty"  yaml:"pod_name_field,omitempty"`
+	NamespaceField           entry.Field     `json:"namespace_field,omitempty" yaml:"namespace_field,omitempty"`
+	CacheTTL                 helper.Duration `json:"cache_ttl,omitempty"       yaml:"cache_ttl,omitempty"`
+	Timeout                  helper.Duration `json:"timeout,omitempty"         yaml:"timeout,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Build will build a k8s_metadata_decorator operator from the supplied configuration
diff --git a/operator/builtin/transformer/ratelimit/rate_limit.go b/operator/builtin/transformer/ratelimit/rate_limit.go
index 42056096e..992da702e 100644
--- a/operator/builtin/transformer/ratelimit/rate_limit.go
+++ b/operator/builtin/transformer/ratelimit/rate_limit.go
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ func NewRateLimitConfig(operatorID string) *RateLimitConfig {
 type RateLimitConfig struct {
 	helper.TransformerConfig `yaml:",inline"`
 
-	Rate     float64           `json:"rate,omitempty"     yaml:"rate,omitempty"`
-	Interval operator.Duration `json:"interval,omitempty" yaml:"interval,omitempty"`
-	Burst    uint              `json:"burst,omitempty"    yaml:"burst,omitempty"`
+	Rate     float64         `json:"rate,omitempty"     yaml:"rate,omitempty"`
+	Interval helper.Duration `json:"interval,omitempty" yaml:"interval,omitempty"`
+	Burst    uint            `json:"burst,omitempty"    yaml:"burst,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Build will build a rate limit operator.
diff --git a/operator/duration.go b/operator/helper/duration.go
similarity index 98%
rename from operator/duration.go
rename to operator/helper/duration.go
index e53d8dbbc..3cd5dd652 100644
--- a/operator/duration.go
+++ b/operator/helper/duration.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package operator
+package helper
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
diff --git a/operator/duration_test.go b/operator/helper/duration_test.go
similarity index 98%
rename from operator/duration_test.go
rename to operator/helper/duration_test.go
index 8c5c85d3d..9d2461283 100644
--- a/operator/duration_test.go
+++ b/operator/helper/duration_test.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package operator
+package helper
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"