Elasticsearch API

Base URL 
http://api.example.com

Elasticsearch provides REST APIs that are used by the UI components and can be called directly to configure and access Elasticsearch features.

Documentation source and versions

This documentation is derived from the main branch of the elasticsearch-specification repository. It is provided under license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. This documentation contains work-in-progress information for future Elastic Stack releases.

Last update on Sep 16, 2025.

This API is provided under license Apache 2.0.

Authentication

The API accepts 3 different authentication methods:

Api key auth (http_api_key)

Elasticsearch APIs support key-based authentication. You must create an API key and use the encoded value in the request header. For example:

curl -X GET "${ES_URL}/_cat/indices?v=true" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey ${API_KEY}"

To get API keys, use the /_security/api_key APIs.

Basic auth (http)

Basic auth tokens are constructed with the Basic keyword, followed by a space, followed by a base64-encoded string of your username:password (separated by a : colon).

Example: send a Authorization: Basic aGVsbG86aGVsbG8= HTTP header with your requests to authenticate with the API.

Bearer auth (http)

Elasticsearch APIs support the use of bearer tokens in the Authorization HTTP header to authenticate with the API. For examples, refer to Token-based authentication services

Behavioral analytics

The behavioral analytics APIs let you create and manage analytics collections and view their data. Use them to analyze users’ search and click behavior, improve result relevance, and identify content gaps.

Get behavioral analytics collections Deprecated Technical preview; Added in 8.8.0

GET /_application/analytics/{name}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth

All methods and paths for this operation:

GET /_application/analytics

GET /_application/analytics/{name}

Path parameters

  • name array[string] Required

    A list of analytics collections to limit the returned information

Responses

  • 200 application/json
    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • * object Additional properties
      Hide * attribute Show * attribute object
      • event_data_stream object Required

        Data stream for the collection.

        Hide event_data_stream attribute Show event_data_stream attribute object
        • name string Required
GET /_application/analytics/{name} 
GET _application/analytics/my*

resp = client.search_application.get_behavioral_analytics(
    name="my*",
)
const response = await client.searchApplication.getBehavioralAnalytics({
  name: "my*",
});
response = client.search_application.get_behavioral_analytics(
  name: "my*"
)
$resp = $client->searchApplication()->getBehavioralAnalytics([
    "name" => "my*",
]);
curl -X GET -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_application/analytics/my*"
Response examples (200)
A successful response from `GET _application/analytics/my*` 
{
  "my_analytics_collection": {
      "event_data_stream": {
          "name": "behavioral_analytics-events-my_analytics_collection"
      }
  },
  "my_analytics_collection2": {
      "event_data_stream": {
          "name": "behavioral_analytics-events-my_analytics_collection2"
      }
  }
}

Create a behavioral analytics collection Deprecated Technical preview; Added in 8.8.0

PUT /_application/analytics/{name}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth

Path parameters

  • name string Required

    The name of the analytics collection to be created or updated.

Responses

  • 200 application/json
    Hide response attributes Show response attributes object
    • acknowledged boolean Required

      For a successful response, this value is always true. On failure, an exception is returned instead.

    • name string Required

      The name of the analytics collection created or updated
PUT /_application/analytics/{name} 
PUT _application/analytics/my_analytics_collection

resp = client.search_application.put_behavioral_analytics(
    name="my_analytics_collection",
)
const response = await client.searchApplication.putBehavioralAnalytics({
  name: "my_analytics_collection",
});
response = client.search_application.put_behavioral_analytics(
  name: "my_analytics_collection"
)
$resp = $client->searchApplication()->putBehavioralAnalytics([
    "name" => "my_analytics_collection",
]);
curl -X PUT -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_application/analytics/my_analytics_collection"

Delete a behavioral analytics collection Deprecated Technical preview; Added in 8.8.0

DELETE /_application/analytics/{name}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth

The associated data stream is also deleted.

Path parameters

  • name string Required

    The name of the analytics collection to be deleted

Responses

  • 200 application/json
    Hide response attribute Show response attribute object
    • acknowledged boolean Required

      For a successful response, this value is always true. On failure, an exception is returned instead.
DELETE /_application/analytics/{name} 
DELETE _application/analytics/my_analytics_collection/

resp = client.search_application.delete_behavioral_analytics(
    name="my_analytics_collection",
)
const response = await client.searchApplication.deleteBehavioralAnalytics({
  name: "my_analytics_collection",
});
response = client.search_application.delete_behavioral_analytics(
  name: "my_analytics_collection"
)
$resp = $client->searchApplication()->deleteBehavioralAnalytics([
    "name" => "my_analytics_collection",
]);
curl -X DELETE -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_application/analytics/my_analytics_collection/"

Create a behavioral analytics collection event Deprecated Technical preview

POST /_application/analytics/{collection_name}/event/{event_type}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth
External documentation

Path parameters

  • collection_name string Required

    The name of the behavioral analytics collection.

  • event_type string

    The analytics event type.

    Values are page_view, search, or search_click.

Query parameters

  • debug boolean

    Whether the response type has to include more details

application/json

Body Required

object object

Responses

  • 200 application/json
    Hide response attributes Show response attributes object
    • accepted boolean Required
    • event object
POST /_application/analytics/{collection_name}/event/{event_type} 
POST _application/analytics/my_analytics_collection/event/search_click
{
  "session": {
    "id": "1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9"
  },
  "user": {
    "id": "5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd"
  },
  "search":{
    "query": "search term",
    "results": {
      "items": [
        {
          "document": {
            "id": "123",
            "index": "products"
          }
        }
      ],
      "total_results": 10
    },
    "sort": {
      "name": "relevance"
    },
    "search_application": "website"
  },
  "document":{
    "id": "123",
    "index": "products"
  }
}
resp = client.search_application.post_behavioral_analytics_event(
    collection_name="my_analytics_collection",
    event_type="search_click",
    payload={
        "session": {
            "id": "1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9"
        },
        "user": {
            "id": "5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd"
        },
        "search": {
            "query": "search term",
            "results": {
                "items": [
                    {
                        "document": {
                            "id": "123",
                            "index": "products"
                        }
                    }
                ],
                "total_results": 10
            },
            "sort": {
                "name": "relevance"
            },
            "search_application": "website"
        },
        "document": {
            "id": "123",
            "index": "products"
        }
    },
)
const response = await client.searchApplication.postBehavioralAnalyticsEvent({
  collection_name: "my_analytics_collection",
  event_type: "search_click",
  payload: {
    session: {
      id: "1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9",
    },
    user: {
      id: "5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd",
    },
    search: {
      query: "search term",
      results: {
        items: [
          {
            document: {
              id: "123",
              index: "products",
            },
          },
        ],
        total_results: 10,
      },
      sort: {
        name: "relevance",
      },
      search_application: "website",
    },
    document: {
      id: "123",
      index: "products",
    },
  },
});
response = client.search_application.post_behavioral_analytics_event(
  collection_name: "my_analytics_collection",
  event_type: "search_click",
  body: {
    "session": {
      "id": "1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9"
    },
    "user": {
      "id": "5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd"
    },
    "search": {
      "query": "search term",
      "results": {
        "items": [
          {
            "document": {
              "id": "123",
              "index": "products"
            }
          }
        ],
        "total_results": 10
      },
      "sort": {
        "name": "relevance"
      },
      "search_application": "website"
    },
    "document": {
      "id": "123",
      "index": "products"
    }
  }
)
$resp = $client->searchApplication()->postBehavioralAnalyticsEvent([
    "collection_name" => "my_analytics_collection",
    "event_type" => "search_click",
    "body" => [
        "session" => [
            "id" => "1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9",
        ],
        "user" => [
            "id" => "5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd",
        ],
        "search" => [
            "query" => "search term",
            "results" => [
                "items" => array(
                    [
                        "document" => [
                            "id" => "123",
                            "index" => "products",
                        ],
                    ],
                ),
                "total_results" => 10,
            ],
            "sort" => [
                "name" => "relevance",
            ],
            "search_application" => "website",
        ],
        "document" => [
            "id" => "123",
            "index" => "products",
        ],
    ],
]);
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"session":{"id":"1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9"},"user":{"id":"5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd"},"search":{"query":"search term","results":{"items":[{"document":{"id":"123","index":"products"}}],"total_results":10},"sort":{"name":"relevance"},"search_application":"website"},"document":{"id":"123","index":"products"}}' "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_application/analytics/my_analytics_collection/event/search_click"
Request example
Run `POST _application/analytics/my_analytics_collection/event/search_click` to send a `search_click` event to an analytics collection called `my_analytics_collection`. 
{
  "session": {
    "id": "1797ca95-91c9-4e2e-b1bd-9c38e6f386a9"
  },
  "user": {
    "id": "5f26f01a-bbee-4202-9298-81261067abbd"
  },
  "search":{
    "query": "search term",
    "results": {
      "items": [
        {
          "document": {
            "id": "123",
            "index": "products"
          }
        }
      ],
      "total_results": 10
    },
    "sort": {
      "name": "relevance"
    },
    "search_application": "website"
  },
  "document":{
    "id": "123",
    "index": "products"
  }
}

Compact and aligned text (CAT)

The compact and aligned text (CAT) APIs aim are intended only for human consumption using the Kibana console or command line. They are not intended for use by applications. For application consumption, it's recommend to use a corresponding JSON API. All the cat commands accept a query string parameter help to see all the headers and info they provide, and the /_cat command alone lists all the available commands.

Get aliases Generally available

GET /_cat/aliases/{name}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth

All methods and paths for this operation:

GET /_cat/aliases

GET /_cat/aliases/{name}

Get the cluster's index aliases, including filter and routing information. This API does not return data stream aliases.

IMPORTANT: CAT APIs are only intended for human consumption using the command line or the Kibana console. They are not intended for use by applications. For application consumption, use the aliases API.

Required authorization

  • Index privileges: view_index_metadata

Path parameters

  • name string | array[string]

    A comma-separated list of aliases to retrieve. Supports wildcards (*). To retrieve all aliases, omit this parameter or use * or _all.

Query parameters

  • h string | array[string]

    A comma-separated list of columns names to display. It supports simple wildcards.

    Supported values include:

    • alias (or a): The name of the alias.
    • index (or i, idx): The name of the index the alias points to.
    • filter (or f, fi): The filter applied to the alias.
    • routing.index (or ri, routingIndex): Index routing value for the alias.
    • routing.search (or rs, routingSearch): Search routing value for the alias.
    • is_write_index (or w, isWriteIndex): Indicates if the index is the write index for the alias.

    Values are alias, a, index, i, idx, filter, f, fi, routing.index, ri, routingIndex, routing.search, rs, routingSearch, is_write_index, w, or isWriteIndex.

  • s string | array[string]

    List of columns that determine how the table should be sorted. Sorting defaults to ascending and can be changed by setting :asc or :desc as a suffix to the column name.

  • expand_wildcards string | array[string]

    The type of index that wildcard patterns can match. If the request can target data streams, this argument determines whether wildcard expressions match hidden data streams. It supports comma-separated values, such as open,hidden.

    Supported values include:

    • all: Match any data stream or index, including hidden ones.
    • open: Match open, non-hidden indices. Also matches any non-hidden data stream.
    • closed: Match closed, non-hidden indices. Also matches any non-hidden data stream. Data streams cannot be closed.
    • hidden: Match hidden data streams and hidden indices. Must be combined with open, closed, or both.
    • none: Wildcard expressions are not accepted.

    Values are all, open, closed, hidden, or none.

  • master_timeout string

    The period to wait for a connection to the master node. If the master node is not available before the timeout expires, the request fails and returns an error. To indicated that the request should never timeout, you can set it to -1.

    Values are -1 or 0.

Responses

  • 200 application/json
    Hide response attributes Show response attributes object
    • alias string

      alias name

    • index string

      index alias points to

    • filter string

      filter

    • routing.index string

      index routing

    • routing.search string

      search routing

    • is_write_index string

      write index
GET /_cat/aliases/{name} 
GET _cat/aliases?format=json&v=true

resp = client.cat.aliases(
    format="json",
    v=True,
)
const response = await client.cat.aliases({
  format: "json",
  v: "true",
});
response = client.cat.aliases(
  format: "json",
  v: "true"
)
$resp = $client->cat()->aliases([
    "format" => "json",
    "v" => "true",
]);
curl -X GET -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_cat/aliases?format=json&v=true"
Response examples (200)
A successful response from `GET _cat/aliases?format=json&v=true`. This response shows that `alias2` has configured a filter and `alias3` and `alias4` have routing configurations. 
[
  {
    "alias": "alias1",
    "index": "test1",
    "filter": "-",
    "routing.index": "-",
    "routing.search": "-",
    "is_write_index": "true"
  },
  {
    "alias": "alias1",
    "index": "test1",
    "filter": "*",
    "routing.index": "-",
    "routing.search": "-",
    "is_write_index": "true"
  },
  {
    "alias": "alias3",
    "index": "test1",
    "filter": "-",
    "routing.index": "1",
    "routing.search": "1",
    "is_write_index": "true"
  },
  {
    "alias": "alias4",
    "index": "test1",
    "filter": "-",
    "routing.index": "2",
    "routing.search": "1,2",
    "is_write_index": "true"
  }
]

Get shard allocation information Generally available

GET /_cat/allocation/{node_id}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth

All methods and paths for this operation:

GET /_cat/allocation

GET /_cat/allocation/{node_id}

Get a snapshot of the number of shards allocated to each data node and their disk space.

IMPORTANT: CAT APIs are only intended for human consumption using the command line or Kibana console. They are not intended for use by applications.

Required authorization

  • Cluster privileges: monitor

Path parameters

  • node_id string | array[string]

    A comma-separated list of node identifiers or names used to limit the returned information.

Query parameters

  • bytes string

    The unit used to display byte values.

    Values are b, kb, mb, gb, tb, or pb.

  • h string | array[string]

    A comma-separated list of columns names to display. It supports simple wildcards.

    Supported values include:

    • shards (or s): The number of shards on the node.
    • shards.undesired: The number of shards scheduled to be moved elsewhere in the cluster.
    • write_load.forecast (or wlf, writeLoadForecast): The sum of index write load forecasts.
    • disk.indices.forecast (or dif, diskIndicesForecast): The sum of shard size forecasts.
    • disk.indices (or di, diskIndices): The disk space used by Elasticsearch indices.
    • disk.used (or du, diskUsed): The total disk space used on the node.
    • disk.avail (or da, diskAvail): The available disk space on the node.
    • disk.total (or dt, diskTotal): The total disk capacity of all volumes on the node.
    • disk.percent (or dp, diskPercent): The percentage of disk space used on the node.
    • host (or h): IThe host of the node.
    • ip: The IP address of the node.
    • node (or n): The name of the node.
    • node.role (or r, role, nodeRole): The roles assigned to the node.

    Values are shards, s, shards.undesired, write_load.forecast, wlf, writeLoadForecast, disk.indices.forecast, dif, diskIndicesForecast, disk.indices, di, diskIndices, disk.used, du, diskUsed, disk.avail, da, diskAvail, disk.total, dt, diskTotal, disk.percent, dp, diskPercent, host, h, ip, node, n, node.role, r, role, or nodeRole.

  • s string | array[string]

    List of columns that determine how the table should be sorted. Sorting defaults to ascending and can be changed by setting :asc or :desc as a suffix to the column name.

  • local boolean

    If true, the request computes the list of selected nodes from the local cluster state. If false the list of selected nodes are computed from the cluster state of the master node. In both cases the coordinating node will send requests for further information to each selected node.

  • master_timeout string

    Period to wait for a connection to the master node.

    Values are -1 or 0.

Responses

GET /_cat/allocation/{node_id} 
GET /_cat/allocation?v=true&format=json

resp = client.cat.allocation(
    v=True,
    format="json",
)
const response = await client.cat.allocation({
  v: "true",
  format: "json",
});
response = client.cat.allocation(
  v: "true",
  format: "json"
)
$resp = $client->cat()->allocation([
    "v" => "true",
    "format" => "json",
]);
curl -X GET -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_cat/allocation?v=true&format=json"
Response examples (200)
A successful response from `GET /_cat/allocation?v=true&format=json`. It shows a single shard is allocated to the one node available. 
[
  {
    "shards": "1",
    "shards.undesired": "0",
    "write_load.forecast": "0.0",
    "disk.indices.forecast": "260b",
    "disk.indices": "260b",
    "disk.used": "47.3gb",
    "disk.avail": "43.4gb",
    "disk.total": "100.7gb",
    "disk.percent": "46",
    "host": "127.0.0.1",
    "ip": "127.0.0.1",
    "node": "CSUXak2",
    "node.role": "himrst"
  }
]

Get component templates Generally available; Added in 5.1.0

GET /_cat/component_templates/{name}
Api key auth Basic auth Bearer auth

All methods and paths for this operation:

GET /_cat/component_templates

GET /_cat/component_templates/{name}

Get information about component templates in a cluster. Component templates are building blocks for constructing index templates that specify index mappings, settings, and aliases.

IMPORTANT: CAT APIs are only intended for human consumption using the command line or Kibana console. They are not intended for use by applications. For application consumption, use the get component template API.

Required authorization

  • Cluster privileges: monitor

Path parameters

  • name string Required

    The name of the component template. It accepts wildcard expressions. If it is omitted, all component templates are returned.

Query parameters

  • h string | array[string]

    A comma-separated list of columns names to display. It supports simple wildcards.

    Supported values include:

    • name (or n): The name of the component template.
    • version (or v): The version number of the component template.
    • alias_count (or a): The number of aliases in the component template.
    • mapping_count (or m): The number of mappings in the component template.
    • settings_count (or s): The number of settings in the component template.
    • metadata_count (or me): The number of metadata entries in the component template.
    • included_in (or i): The index templates that include this component template.

    Values are name, n, version, v, alias_count, a, mapping_count, m, settings_count, s, metadata_count, me, included_in, or i.

  • s string | array[string]

    List of columns that determine how the table should be sorted. Sorting defaults to ascending and can be changed by setting :asc or :desc as a suffix to the column name.

  • local boolean

    If true, the request computes the list of selected nodes from the local cluster state. If false the list of selected nodes are computed from the cluster state of the master node. In both cases the coordinating node will send requests for further information to each selected node.

  • master_timeout string

    The period to wait for a connection to the master node.

    Values are -1 or 0.

Responses

  • 200 application/json
    Hide response attributes Show response attributes object
    • name string Required

    • version string | null Required

      One of:
      string-1 string string-2 string | null
    • alias_count string Required
    • mapping_count string Required
    • settings_count string Required
    • metadata_count string Required
    • included_in string Required
GET /_cat/component_templates/{name} 
GET _cat/component_templates/my-template-*?v=true&s=name&format=json

resp = client.cat.component_templates(
    name="my-template-*",
    v=True,
    s="name",
    format="json",
)
const response = await client.cat.componentTemplates({
  name: "my-template-*",
  v: "true",
  s: "name",
  format: "json",
});
response = client.cat.component_templates(
  name: "my-template-*",
  v: "true",
  s: "name",
  format: "json"
)
$resp = $client->cat()->componentTemplates([
    "name" => "my-template-*",
    "v" => "true",
    "s" => "name",
    "format" => "json",
]);
curl -X GET -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_cat/component_templates/my-template-*?v=true&s=name&format=json"
Response examples (200)
A successful response from `GET _cat/component_templates/my-template-*?v=true&s=name&format=json`. 
[
  {
    "name": "my-template-1",
    "version": "null",
    "alias_count": "0",
    "mapping_count": "0",
    "settings_count": "1",
    "metadata_count": "0",
    "included_in": "[my-index-template]"
  },
    {
    "name": "my-template-2",
    "version": null,
    "alias_count": "0",
    "mapping_count": "3",
    "settings_count": "0",
    "metadata_count": "0",
    "included_in": "[my-index-template]"
  }
]