elasticsearch/rest-api-spec

Elasticsearch REST API JSON specification

This repository contains a collection of JSON files which describe the Elasticsearch HTTP API.

Their purpose is to formalize and standardize the API, to facilitate development of libraries and integrations.

Example for the "Create Index" API:

{
  "indices.create": {
    "documentation": "http://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/master/indices-create-index.html",
    "stability": "stable",
    "methods": ["PUT", "POST"],
    "url": {
      "paths": ["/{index}"],
      "parts": {
        "index": {
          "type" : "string",
          "required" : true,
          "description" : "The name of the index"
        }
      },
      "params": {
        "timeout": {
          "type" : "time",
          "description" : "Explicit operation timeout"
        }
      }
    },
    "body": {
      "description" : "The configuration for the index (`settings` and `mappings`)"
    }
  }
}

The specification contains:

• The name of the API (indices.create), which usually corresponds to the client calls
• Link to the documentation at http://elastic.co
• stability indicating the state of the API, has to be declared explicitly or YAML tests will fail
  • experimental highly likely to break in the near future (minor/path), no bwc guarantees. Possibly removed in the future.
  • beta less likely to break or be removed but still reserve the right to do so
  • stable No backwards breaking changes in a minor
• List of HTTP methods for the endpoint
• URL specification: path, parts, parameters
• Whether body is allowed for the endpoint or not and its description

NOTE If an API is stable but it response should be treated as an arbitrary map of key values please notate this as followed

{
  "api.name": {
    "stability" : "stable",
    "response": {
      "treat_json_as_key_value" : true
    }
  }
}

The methods and url.paths elements list all possible HTTP methods and URLs for the endpoint; it is the responsibility of the developer to use this information for a sensible API on the target platform.

Backwards compatibility

The specification follows the same backward compatibility guarantees as Elasticsearch.

• Within a Major, additions only.
  • If an item has been documented wrong it should be deprecated instead as removing these might break downstream clients.
• Major version change, may deprecate pieces or simply remove them given enough deprecation time.

Deprecations

The spec allows for deprecations of:

Entire API:

{
  "api" : {
    "documentation": "...",
    "deprecated" : {
      "version" : "7.0.0",
      "description" : "Reason API is being deprecated"
    },
  }
}

Specific paths:

{
  "api": {
    "documentation": "",
    "url": {
      "paths": ["/_monitoring/bulk"],
      "deprecated_paths" : [
        {
          "version" : "7.0.0",
          "path" : "/_monitoring/{type}/bulk",
          "description" : "Specifying types in urls has been deprecated"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Here paths describes the preferred paths and deprecated_paths indicates paths that will still work but are now deprecated.

Parameters

{
  "api": {
    "documentation": "",
    "methods": ["GET"],
    "url": {
      "params": {
        "stored_fields": {
          "type": "list",
          "description" : "",
          "deprecated" : {
            "version" : "7.0.0",
            "description" : "Reason parameter is being deprecated"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

License

This software is licensed under the Apache License, version 2 ("ALv2").