==== Connect clients to {es}

When you start {es} for the first time, TLS is configured automatically for the 
HTTP layer. A CA certificate is generated and stored on disk, and the hex-coded 
SHA-256 fingerprint of this certificate is also output to the terminal. Any 
clients that connect to {es}, such as the 
https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/client/index.html[{es} Clients],
{beats}, {ls}, and {fleet} must validate that they trust the certificate that
{es} uses for HTTPS. Clients can establish trust by using either the fingerprint
of the CA certificate or the CA certificate itself.

If the auto-configuration process already completed, you can still obtain the 
fingerprint of the security certificate. You can also copy the CA certificate
to your machine and configure your client to use it.

[discrete]
===== Use the CA fingerprint

Copy the fingerprint value that's output to your terminal when {es} starts, and
configure your client to use this fingerprint to establish trust when it
connects to {es}.

If the auto-configuration process already completed, you can still obtain the
fingerprint of the security certificate by running the following command. The 
path is to the auto-generated CA certificate for the HTTP layer.

[source,sh]
----
openssl x509 -fingerprint -sha256 -in config/tls_auto_config_<timestamp>/http_ca.crt
----

`<timestamp>`:: The timestamp of when the auto-configuration process created the security files directory.

The command returns the security certificate, including the fingerprint.
The `issuer` should be `Elasticsearch security auto-configuration HTTP CA`.

[source,sh]
----
issuer= /CN=Elasticsearch security auto-configuration HTTP CA
SHA256 Fingerprint=<fingerprint>
----

[discrete]
===== Use the CA certificate

If your library doesn't support a method of validating the fingerprint, the 
auto-generated CA certificate is created in the
`config/tls_auto_config_<timestamp>` directory on each {es} node. Copy the
`http_ca.crt` file to your machine and configure your client to use this
certificate to establish trust when it connects to {es}.