---
id: elasticsearch-curator
version: "9.0.0"
license: Copyright 2011–2024 Elasticsearch <http://elastic.co> and contributors. Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the… (full text in the JSON record)
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# elasticsearch-curator — Tending your Elasticsearch indices and snapshots

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 391.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Elasticsearch Curator is a tool for automating the lifecycle management of Elasticsearch indices and snapshots. It reads YAML configuration files to define actions—such as deleting old indices, closing unused ones, optimizing segments, or managing snapshots—and applies them to your cluster on a schedule. The package connects via the es-client module, which handles authentication, SSL, and connection pooling separately from the core curation logic.

Curator is designed for operators managing time-series data in Elasticsearch who need to enforce retention policies, prevent disk space exhaustion, or maintain index performance without manual intervention. It works across multiple Elasticsearch versions and runs on Python 3.10 and later.

Use it for:

- Delete indices older than a specified number of days to manage storage costs in time-series deployments.
- Close or optimize indices based on age or size thresholds to balance query performance and resource usage.
- Automate snapshot creation and deletion to enforce backup retention policies.
- Enforce index naming conventions and apply bulk operations across matching index patterns.
- Run scheduled maintenance tasks via cron or orchestration tools to keep Elasticsearch clusters healthy.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Manages Elasticsearch indices and snapshots through automated actions like deletion, optimization, and retention policies based on age, size, or other criteria.

Yes. Curator is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with minimal friction, and solves a real operational need for anyone running Elasticsearch at scale. The permissive Apache license poses no restrictions. Install it if you manage Elasticsearch indices and need automated lifecycle policies.

## Install

pip install elasticsearch-curator
uv add elasticsearch-curator
poetry add elasticsearch-curator

## Installing elasticsearch-curator

Before you install: Low install friction with a single runtime dependency (es-client). Actively maintained with recent commits and a stable release cadence; supports current Python versions (3.10–3.13).

License in practice: Apache License 2.0 (permissive) — you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install elasticsearch-curator

from es_client import get_client
from curator import Curator

# Configure via YAML file, then instantiate and run actions

Requires Python 3.10 or later and a running Elasticsearch cluster to connect to.

Verify before relying:

- Whether version 9.0.0 supports Elasticsearch 8.x and 7.14.0–7.17.x as described for earlier versions.
- Exact action types and configuration options available in version 9.0.0.

## Package facts

- License: Copyright 2011–2024 Elasticsearch <http://elastic.co> and contributors. Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the… (full text in the JSON record) (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 391.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

elasticsearch index lifecycle management, automated index cleanup, elasticsearch retention policies, index expiry automation, elasticsearch snapshot management, time-series index management, elasticsearch housekeeping tool, elasticsearch, index-lifecycle, time-series

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/elasticsearch-curator) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/elasticsearch-curator/)