[[indices-templates]]
== Index Templates

Index templates allow you to define templates that will automatically be
applied to new indices created. The templates include both settings and
mappings, and a simple pattern template that controls if the template
will be applied to the index created. For example:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XPUT localhost:9200/_template/template_1 -d '
{
    "template" : "te*",
    "settings" : {
        "number_of_shards" : 1
    },
    "mappings" : {
        "type1" : {
            "_source" : { "enabled" : false }
        }
    }
}
'
--------------------------------------------------

Defines a template named template_1, with a template pattern of `te*`.
The settings and mappings will be applied to any index name that matches
the `te*` template.

It is also possible to include aliases in an index template as follows:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XPUT localhost:9200/_template/template_1 -d '
{
    "template" : "te*",
    "settings" : {
        "number_of_shards" : 1
    },
    "aliases" : {
        "alias1" : {},
        "alias2" : {
            "filter" : {
                "term" : {"user" : "kimchy" }
            },
            "routing" : "kimchy"
        },
        "{index}-alias" : {} <1>
    }
}
'
--------------------------------------------------

<1> the `{index}` placeholder within the alias name will be replaced with the
actual index name that the template gets applied to during index creation.

[float]
[[delete]]
=== Deleting a Template

Index templates are identified by a name (in the above case
`template_1`) and can be deleted as well:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XDELETE localhost:9200/_template/template_1
--------------------------------------------------

[float]
[[getting]]
=== GETting templates

Index templates are identified by a name (in the above case
`template_1`) and can be retrieved using the following:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XGET localhost:9200/_template/template_1
--------------------------------------------------

You can also match several templates by using wildcards like:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XGET localhost:9200/_template/temp*
curl -XGET localhost:9200/_template/template_1,template_2
--------------------------------------------------

To get list of all index templates you can run:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XGET localhost:9200/_template/
--------------------------------------------------


[float]
[[indices-templates-exists]]
=== Templates exists

Used to check if the template exists or not. For example:

[source,js]
-----------------------------------------------
curl -XHEAD -i localhost:9200/_template/template_1
-----------------------------------------------

The HTTP status code indicates if the template with the given name
exists or not. A status code `200` means it exists, a `404` it does not.


[float]
[[multiple-templates]]
=== Multiple Template Matching

Multiple index templates can potentially match an index, in this case,
both the settings and mappings are merged into the final configuration
of the index. The order of the merging can be controlled using the
`order` parameter, with lower order being applied first, and higher
orders overriding them. For example:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
curl -XPUT localhost:9200/_template/template_1 -d '
{
    "template" : "*",
    "order" : 0,
    "settings" : {
        "number_of_shards" : 1
    },
    "mappings" : {
        "type1" : {
            "_source" : { "enabled" : false }
        }
    }
}
'

curl -XPUT localhost:9200/_template/template_2 -d '
{
    "template" : "te*",
    "order" : 1,
    "settings" : {
        "number_of_shards" : 1
    },
    "mappings" : {
        "type1" : {
            "_source" : { "enabled" : true }
        }
    }
}
'
--------------------------------------------------

The above will disable storing the `_source` on all `type1` types, but
for indices of that start with `te*`, source will still be enabled.
Note, for mappings, the merging is "deep", meaning that specific
object/property based mappings can easily be added/overridden on higher
order templates, with lower order templates providing the basis.

[float]
[[config]]
=== Config

Index templates can also be placed within the config location
(`path.conf`) under the `templates` directory (note, make sure to place
them on all master eligible nodes). For example, a file called
`template_1.json` can be placed under `config/templates` and it will be
added if it matches an index. Here is a sample of the mentioned file:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
{
    "template_1" : {
        "template" : "*",
        "settings" : {
            "index.number_of_shards" : 2
        },
        "mappings" : {
            "_default_" : {
                "_source" : {
                    "enabled" : false
                }
            },
            "type1" : {
                "_all" : {
                    "enabled" : false
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
--------------------------------------------------

*Please note that templates added this way will not appear in the `/_template/*` API request.*
