Elasticsearch Determining Elasticsearch Version: A Comprehensive Guide

By Opster Team

Updated: Jun 22, 2023

| 2 min read

Introduction

When working with Elasticsearch, it is essential to know the version you are using, as different versions have different features, APIs, and configurations. In this article, we will discuss various methods to determine the Elasticsearch version, including using REST APIs, command-line tools, and Elasticsearch clients. If you want to learn about unable to retrieve version information from Elasticsearch nodes – how to solve related issues, check out this guide. 

Method 1: Using REST API

Elasticsearch provides a REST API that can be used to retrieve information about the cluster, including the version. To get the Elasticsearch version, you can send a GET request to the cluster’s root endpoint. Here’s an example using the curl command:

curl -X GET "http://localhost:9200"

The response will be a JSON object containing information about the cluster, including the version:

{
  "name" : "node-1",
  "cluster_name" : "elasticsearch",
  "cluster_uuid" : "abcd1234",
  "version" : {
    "number": "8.8.0",
    "build_flavor": "default",
    "build_type": "docker",
    "build_hash": "c01029875a091076ed42cdb3a41c10b1a9a5a20f",
    "build_date": "2023-05-23T17:16:07.179039820Z",
    "build_snapshot": false,
    "lucene_version": "9.6.0",
    "minimum_wire_compatibility_version": "7.17.0",
    "minimum_index_compatibility_version": "7.0.0"

  },
  "tagline" : "You Know, for Search"
}

In this example, the Elasticsearch version is 8.8.0.

Method 2: Using Command-Line Tools

If you have access to the Elasticsearch installation directory, you can use the command-line tools provided by Elasticsearch to determine the version. The `elasticsearch` script is located in the `bin` directory of the Elasticsearch installation.

Navigate to the `bin` directory and execute the following command:

./elasticsearch --version

The output will display the Elasticsearch version:

Version: 8.8.0, Build: default/docker/c010298/2023-05-23T17:16:07.179039820Z, JVM: 20.0.1

In this example, the Elasticsearch version is 8.8.0.

Method 3: Using Elasticsearch Clients

Elasticsearch provides official clients for various programming languages, such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. You can use these clients to connect to the Elasticsearch cluster and retrieve the version.

Here’s an example using the Python Elasticsearch client:

python
from elasticsearch import Elasticsearch

es = Elasticsearch("http://localhost:9200")
info = es.info()

print("Elasticsearch version:", info["version"]["number"])

This script connects to the Elasticsearch cluster, retrieves the cluster information, and prints the version. In this example, the Elasticsearch version is 8.8.0.

Method 4: Using Kibana

If you have Kibana installed and configured to work with your Elasticsearch cluster, you can use Kibana’s Dev Tools to send a GET request to the cluster’s root endpoint and retrieve the version.

Open Kibana in your web browser, navigate to the Dev Tools section, and enter the following request in the Console:

GET /

Press the “Send Request” button, and the response will be displayed in the right pane. The Elasticsearch version can be found in the “version” field of the JSON object.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are multiple ways to determine the Elasticsearch version, depending on your access to the cluster and the tools you have available. Knowing the version is crucial for ensuring compatibility and understanding the features and APIs available in your Elasticsearch deployment.


Related log errors to this ES concept


Unknown license version found please upgrade all nodes to the latest elasticsearch-license
Cannot kill the process on node with version
One of the shards is incompatible with the required minimum version
Feature states can only be used when all nodes in cluster are version
Translog looks like version 1 or later but has corrupted header

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