Prerequisites

Download and install one of the supported JDKs for Enterprise Search.

Setting up Elasticsearch

You'll need to get Elasticsearch up and running with security features enabled:

1. Download the current version of Elasticsearch and navigate to the uncompressed directory.
2. Locate config/elasticsearch.yml and add the following configuration:
xpack.security.enabled: true
xpack.security.authc.api_key.enabled: true
3. Start Elasticsearch:
$ bin/elasticsearch
4. Generate and retrieve a random password for the elastic user and the kibana_system user:
$ bin/elasticsearch-setup-passwords auto

Setting up Elastic Enterprise Search

1. Download the current version of Elastic Enterprise Search, and navigate to the uncompressed directory.
2. Locate config/enterprise-search.yml and add the following configuration:
elasticsearch.username: elastic
elasticsearch.password: ELASTIC_USER_PASSWORD
allow_es_settings_modification: true

Replace ELASTIC_USER_PASSWORD with the elastic user password generated in step 2.


3. You must also set at least one encryption key in the same config/enterprise-search.yml configuration file (256-bit key recommended) as an array:
secret_management.encryption_keys: [ENCRYPTION_KEY_1, ENCRYPTION_KEY_2, ...]

Note: For more information on encryption keys for Enterprise Search, refer to the configuration guide.

4. Optionally, if using Kibana, add the Kibana URL to the same config/enterprise-search.yml configuration file:
kibana.external_url: http://localhost:5601

Start Enterprise Search by specifying a password for the default enterprise_search user:

$ ENT_SEARCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=passwordexample bin/enterprise-search

This is an important step. The environment variable ENT_SEARCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD is only used once by Enterprise Search to provision the default enterprise_search user password the first time the product starts.

Setting up Kibana (if you want to access Enterprise Search via Kibana)

1. Download the current version of Kibana and navigate to the uncompressed directory.
2. Locate config/kibana.yml and add the following configuration:
   
   elasticsearch.username: kibana_system
elasticsearch.password: KIBANA_SYSTEM_USER_PASSWORD
enterpriseSearch.host: http://localhost:3002
   
   Replace KIBANA_SYSTEM_USER_PASSWORD with the kibana_system user password generated in step 2.
   
   
3. Start Kibana:
   $ bin/kibana

Log in to the Elastic Enterprise Search experience at http://localhost:3002 using the enterprise_search username and the password previously specified at start time.

OR

Log in to Kibana to access Enterprise Search by opening http://localhost:5601. Log in using the enterprise_search username and the password previously specified at start time. After logging in to Kibana, choose Enterprise Search to navigate to the Elastic Enterprise Search Home area.

From the Elastic Enterprise Search Home area, select the product experience that fits your use case best.

Need help choosing the best product for your needs?
Learn more about Elastic App Search and Elastic Workplace Search.

Explore the Elastic App Search documentation and the Elastic Workplace Search documentation, and get searching!