[[indices-open-close]]
== Open / Close Index API

The open and close index APIs allow to close an index, and later on
opening it. A closed index has almost no overhead on the cluster (except
for maintaining its metadata), and is blocked for read/write operations.
A closed index can be opened which will then go through the normal
recovery process.

The REST endpoint is `/{index}/_close` and `/{index}/_open`. For
example:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
POST /my_index/_close

POST /my_index/_open
--------------------------------------------------
// CONSOLE
// TEST[s/^/PUT my_index\n/]

It is possible to open and close multiple indices. An error will be thrown
if the request explicitly refers to a missing index. This behaviour can be
disabled using the `ignore_unavailable=true` parameter.

All indices can be opened or closed at once using `_all` as the index name
or specifying patterns that identify them all (e.g. `*`).

Identifying indices via wildcards or `_all` can be disabled by setting the
`action.destructive_requires_name` flag in the config file to `true`.
This setting can also be changed via the cluster update settings api.

Closed indices consume a significant amount of disk-space which can cause problems in managed environments. Closing indices can be disabled via the cluster settings
API by setting `cluster.indices.close.enable` to `false`. The default is `true`.

[float]
=== Wait For Active Shards

Because opening an index allocates its shards, the
<<create-index-wait-for-active-shards,`wait_for_active_shards`>> setting on
index creation applies to the index opening action as well.
