Elasticsearch - Replacing an index by alias.

You can change an index name by reindexing its data to a different index and switching it to an alias, all behind the scenes with no downtime.

1) create a new concrete index

PUT myindex-1

2) reindex the data from the old index to the new

  POST _reindex?slices=auto
  {
    "source": {"index": "myindex"},
    "dest": {"index": "myindex-1"}
  }

3) Follow the reindex task, it will disappear when done

  GET _tasks?actions=*reindex*

3.1) alternatively you can also check the document count on both indices

  GET myindex/_count
  GET myindex-1/_count

4) When reindexing is done, remove the old index and replace it by an alias to the new index, all in one operation (no downtime)

  POST _aliases
  {
    "actions": [
      {
        "add": {
          "index": "myindex-1",
          "alias": "myindex"
        }
      },
      {
        "remove_index": {
          "index": "myindex"
        }
      }
    ]
  }

5) done, check that querying the old index name is now an alias that points to the new index

  GET myindex/_search