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Elasticsearch

Elasticsearch is a distributed search and analytics engine that indexes and queries full-text, log, metric, and vector data in near real time for teams that…

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Elasticsearch is a distributed search and analytics engine that indexes and queries full-text, log, metric, and vector data in near real time for teams that self-host search, log analytics, or vector workloads.

Platform availability

Available on 4 of 9 platforms

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

79/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 4 days ago
Popular
9878,221 GitHub stars
Easy to install
654 install platforms, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
1016 GB minimum RAM

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 4 days ago

GitHub stars
78,221
Open issues
6151
Last commit
2026-10-09
Latest release
v9.5.5
Activity
steady

Checked 4 days ago - source: GitHub (elastic/elasticsearch)

Resources & Compatibility

Minimum requirements: 16 GB RAM. ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is not supported.

Checked 14 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Install it as a Windows service first If you are using the Windows zip install, run `elasticsearch-service.bat install` from the bin folder before starting anything. This registers Elasticsearch to run in the background and uses the Java path in ES_JAVA_HOME (the setting that tells it which Java program to use), so a wrong or missing Java path can stop it from starting. source
  • Start the service after setup After installation, run `bin\elasticsearch-service.bat start` to actually launch Elasticsearch. If you forget this step, the app is not listening, so browsers and other services will not be able to connect. source
  • Turn on snapshot scheduling if used If you plan to use snapshot backup policies, start Snapshot Lifecycle Management (SLM, the built-in scheduler for backup jobs) with `POST _slm/start`. Without it, scheduled snapshots will not run automatically. source

Fetched 14 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (9)

  • Algolia - Algolia helps product teams connect their users with information by providing the building blocks they need to create fast, relevant, perso…
  • Apache Solr
  • ChromaDB - Vector database for AI applications with persistent embeddings storage.
  • Manticore search - Open source search server designed to be fast, scalable and with powerful and accurate full-text search capabilities derived from Sphinx se…
  • OpenSearch - OpenSearch is a scalable, flexible, and extensible open-source software suite for search, analytics, and observability applications derived…
  • Qdrant - Qdrant is a vector similarity search engine and vector database for storing, searching, and managing vectors with associated payload.
  • meilisearch - An open-source, fast, and hyper-relevant search engine that fits effortlessly into your projects.
  • paradedb - ParadeDB is an Elasticsearch alternative built on Postgres.
  • typesense - Typesense is an open-source, typo-tolerant search engine that delivers fast full-text search with faceting, filtering, synonyms, geosearch…

Checked 11 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

Can I run the start-local Docker setup in production?

No, it is intended for local development and testing only. Do not use those instructions for production deployments.

Does the local start-local setup have a license limitation?

It includes a one-month trial license with all Elastic features. After the trial period, the license reverts to Free and open Basic.

Do scheduled snapshot backups start automatically?

If you use snapshot backup policies, you must start Snapshot Lifecycle Management with POST _slm/start. Without it, scheduled snapshots will not run automatically.

Why won't Elasticsearch start as a Windows service?

Run elasticsearch-service.bat install from the bin folder before starting anything, then run bin\elasticsearch-service.bat start. A wrong or missing Java path in ES_JAVA_HOME can stop it from starting.

How do I troubleshoot an unhealthy cluster?

Use the troubleshooting section to fix common cluster issues. It covers the Cluster health API and watermark errors.

Answers sourced from github.com, www.elastic.co, www.elastic.co, www.elastic.co

Community

Collected 8 days ago - public community threads