Elasticsearch Authentication

Authenticate to an Elasticsearch cluster using any supported authentication realm that is already configured. This skill covers all built-in realms, credential verification, and the full API key lifecycle.

For roles, users, role assignment, and role mappings, see the elasticsearch-authz skill.

For detailed API endpoints, see references/api-reference.md.

Deployment note: Not all realms are available on every deployment type. See Deployment Compatibility for self-managed vs. ECH vs. Serverless details.

Critical principles

Never ask for credentials in chat. Do not ask the user to paste passwords, API keys, tokens, or any secret into the conversation. Secrets must not appear in conversation history.
Always use environment variables. All code examples in this skill reference environment variables (e.g.
```
ELASTICSEARCH_PASSWORD
```
,
```
ELASTICSEARCH_API_KEY
```
). When a required variable is missing, instruct the user to set it in a
```
.env
```
file in the project root — never prompt for the value directly.
Prefer
.env
over terminal exports. Agents may run commands in a sandboxed shell session that does not inherit the user's terminal environment. A
```
.env
```
file in the working directory is reliable across all execution contexts. Only suggest
```
export
```
as a fallback when the user explicitly prefers it.

Jobs to Be Done

Authenticate to a cluster using username and password (native realm)
Connect using an API key (bearer token)
Verify who is currently authenticated (
```
_authenticate
```
)
Choose the right authentication realm for a deployment
Create an API key with scoped privileges for automation or service access
Rotate or invalidate an existing API key
Set up service account tokens for Elastic stack components
Authenticate with PKI / mutual TLS certificate-based authentication after PKI/TLS setup
Authenticate with configured external identity providers (SAML, OIDC, LDAP, AD, Kerberos)
Grant API keys on behalf of other users

Prerequisites

Item	Description
Elasticsearch URL	Cluster endpoint (e.g. `https://localhost:9200` or a Cloud deployment URL)
Credentials	Depends on the realm — see the methods below
Realms configured	Authentication realms and their identity backends must already be configured (realm chain, IdP, LDAP/AD, Kerberos, PKI/TLS)

If any required value is missing, instruct the user to add it to a

.env

file in the project root. Terminal exports may not be visible to agents running in a separate shell session — the

.env

file is the reliable default. Never ask the user to paste credentials into the chat — secrets must not appear in conversation history.

Authentication Realms

Elasticsearch evaluates realms in a configured order (the realm chain). The first realm that can authenticate the request wins. Internal realms are managed by Elasticsearch; external realms delegate to enterprise identity systems.

Internal realms

Native (username and password)

Users stored in a dedicated Elasticsearch index. Simplest method for interactive use. Managed via Kibana or the user management APIs (see the elasticsearch-authz skill).

bash

curl -u "${ELASTICSEARCH_USERNAME}:${ELASTICSEARCH_PASSWORD}" "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

File

Users defined in flat files on each cluster node (

elasticsearch-users

CLI). Always active regardless of license state, making it the fallback for disaster recovery when paid realms are disabled. Only available on self-managed deployments.

bash

curl -u "${FILE_USER}:${FILE_PASSWORD}" "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

External realms

LDAP

Authenticates against an external LDAP directory using username and password. Self-managed only — not available on ECH or Serverless. Typically combined with role mappings to translate LDAP groups to Elasticsearch roles.

bash

curl -u "${LDAP_USER}:${LDAP_PASSWORD}" "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

The request is identical to native — Elasticsearch routes it to the LDAP realm via the realm chain.

Active Directory

Authenticates against an Active Directory domain. Self-managed only — not available on ECH or Serverless. Similar to LDAP but uses AD-specific defaults (user principal name,

sAMAccountName

). Typically combined with role mappings for AD group-to-role translation.

bash

curl -u "${AD_USER}:${AD_PASSWORD}" "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

PKI (TLS client certificates)

Authenticates using X.509 client certificates presented during the TLS handshake. Requires a PKI realm and TLS on the HTTP layer. On ECH, PKI support is limited — check deployment settings. Not available on Serverless. Best for service-to-service communication in mutual TLS environments.

bash

curl --cert "${CLIENT_CERT}" --key "${CLIENT_KEY}" --cacert "${CA_CERT}" \
  "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

SAML

Enables SAML 2.0 Web Browser SSO, primarily for Kibana authentication. On self-managed, configure in

elasticsearch.yml

. On ECH, configure through the Cloud deployment settings UI. On Serverless, SAML is handled at the organization level and not configurable per project. Not usable by standard REST clients — the browser-based redirect flow is handled by Kibana. Configure another realm (e.g. native or API keys) alongside SAML for programmatic API access.

OIDC (OpenID Connect)

Enables OpenID Connect SSO, primarily for Kibana authentication. On self-managed, configure in

elasticsearch.yml

. On ECH, configure through the Cloud deployment settings UI. Not available on Serverless. Like SAML, it relies on browser redirects and is not suited for direct REST client use. For programmatic access alongside OIDC, use API keys or native users.

Custom applications can exchange OIDC tokens for Elasticsearch access tokens via

POST /_security/oidc/authenticate

, but this requires implementing the full OIDC redirect flow.

JWT (JSON Web Tokens)

Accepts JWTs issued by an external identity provider as bearer tokens. On self-managed, configure in

elasticsearch.yml

. On ECH, configure through the Cloud deployment settings UI. Not available on Serverless. Supports two token types:

id_token
(default) — OpenID Connect ID tokens for user-on-behalf-of flows.
access_token
— OAuth2 client credentials for application identity flows.

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${JWT_TOKEN}" "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

Each JWT realm handles one token type. Configure separate realms for

id_token

and

access_token

if both are needed.

Kerberos

Authenticates using Kerberos tickets via the SPNEGO mechanism. Self-managed only — not available on ECH or Serverless. Requires a working KDC infrastructure, proper DNS, and time synchronization.

bash

kinit "${KERBEROS_PRINCIPAL}"
curl --negotiate -u : "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

The

--negotiate

flag enables SPNEGO. The

-u :

is required by curl but the username is ignored — the principal from

kinit

is used. Requires curl 7.49+ with GSS-API/SPNEGO support.

API keys

Not a realm, but a distinct authentication mechanism. Pass a Base64-encoded API key in the

Authorization

header. Preferred for programmatic and automated access.

bash

curl -H "Authorization: ApiKey ${ELASTICSEARCH_API_KEY}" "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

ELASTICSEARCH_API_KEY

is the

encoded

value (Base64 of

id:api_key

) returned when the key was created.

Verify authentication

Always verify credentials before proceeding:

bash

curl <auth_flags> "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/_authenticate"

Check

username

roles

, and

authentication_realm.type

to confirm identity and method:

`authentication_realm.type`	Realm
`native`	Native
`file`	File
`ldap`	LDAP
`active_directory`	Active Directory
`pki`	PKI
`saml`	SAML
`oidc`	OpenID Connect
`jwt`	JWT
`kerberos`	Kerberos

For API keys,

authentication_type

"api_key"

(not a realm type).

Manage API Keys

Create an API key

bash

curl -X POST "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/api_key" \
  <auth_flags> \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "'"${KEY_NAME}"'",
    "expiration": "30d",
    "role_descriptors": {
      "'"${ROLE_NAME}"'": {
        "cluster": [],
        "indices": [
          {
            "names": ["'"${INDEX_PATTERN}"'"],
            "privileges": ["read"]
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }'

The response contains

id

api_key

, and

encoded

. Store

encoded

securely — it cannot be retrieved again.

Omit

role_descriptors

to inherit a snapshot of the authenticated user's current privileges.

Limitation: An API key cannot create another API key with privileges. The derived key is created with no effective access. Use
POST /_security/api_key/grant
with user credentials instead.

Get and invalidate API keys

bash

curl "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/api_key?name=${KEY_NAME}" <auth_flags>
curl -X DELETE "${ELASTICSEARCH_URL}/_security/api_key" \
  <auth_flags> \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "'"${KEY_NAME}"'"}'

Examples

Create a scoped API key

Request: "Create an API key that can only read from

metrics-*

json

POST /_security/api_key
{
  "name": "metrics-reader-key",
  "expiration": "90d",
  "role_descriptors": {
    "metrics-reader": {
      "indices": [
        {
          "names": ["metrics-*"],
          "privileges": ["read", "view_index_metadata"]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Verify which realm authenticated the user

json

GET /_security/_authenticate

json

{
  "username": "joe",
  "authentication_realm": { "name": "ldap1", "type": "ldap" },
  "authentication_type": "realm"
}

Authenticate with a JWT bearer token

bash

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${JWT_TOKEN}" "https://my-cluster:9200/_security/_authenticate"

Confirm the response shows

authentication_realm.type

"jwt"

Guidelines

Choosing an authentication method

Method	Best for	Trade-offs
Native user	Interactive use, simple setups	Password must be stored or prompted
File user	Disaster recovery, bootstrap	Must be configured on every node
API key	Programmatic access, CI/CD, scoped access	Cannot be retrieved after creation
LDAP / AD	Enterprise directory integration	Requires network access to directory server
PKI certificate	Service-to-service, mutual TLS environments	Requires PKI infrastructure and PKI realm
SAML	Kibana SSO via enterprise IdP	Browser-only; not for REST clients
OIDC	Kibana SSO via OpenID Connect provider	Browser-only; not for REST clients
JWT	Token-based service and user authentication	Requires external token issuer and realm config
Kerberos	Windows/enterprise Kerberos environments	Requires KDC, DNS, time sync infrastructure

Prefer API keys for automated workflows — they support fine-grained scoping and independent expiration. For Kibana SSO, use SAML or OIDC. For enterprise directory integration, use LDAP or AD with role mappings (see elasticsearch-authz).

Avoid superuser credentials

Never use the built-in

elastic

superuser or any

superuser

-role account for day-to-day operations, automation, or application access. Instead, create a dedicated user or API key with only the privileges the task requires. The

elastic

user should be reserved for initial cluster setup and emergency recovery only.

Security

An API key cannot create another API key with privileges. Use user credentials or
```
POST /_security/api_key/grant
```
for programmatic key creation.
Always set
```
expiration
```
on API keys. Avoid indefinite keys in production.
Scope API keys via
```
role_descriptors
```
. Never create unscoped keys for automated systems.
Never receive, echo, or log passwords, API keys, tokens, or any credentials in the chat. Instruct the user to manage secrets in their terminal, environment variables, or files directly.
Never store secrets in code, scripts, or version control. Load from environment variables.
Use
```
GET /_security/_authenticate
```
to verify credentials before running management operations.
When generating passwords for native users, use at least 16 characters mixing uppercase, lowercase, digits, and symbols. Never use placeholder values like
```
changeme
```
or
```
password123
```
.
SAML and OIDC are for browser-based SSO only. Always configure a companion realm (native, file, or API keys) for REST API access alongside them.

Deployment Compatibility

Not all authentication realms are available on every deployment type. Self-managed clusters support all realms. Elastic Cloud Hosted (ECH) is managed by Elastic with no node-level access. Serverless is fully managed SaaS.

Realm	Self-managed	ECH	Serverless
Native	Yes	Yes	Not available
File	Yes	Not available	Not available
LDAP	Yes	Not available	Not available
Active Directory	Yes	Not available	Not available
PKI	Yes	Limited	Not available
SAML	Yes	Yes (deployment config)	Organization-level
OIDC	Yes	Yes (deployment config)	Not available
JWT	Yes	Yes (deployment config)	Not available
Kerberos	Yes	Not available	Not available
API keys	Yes	Yes	Yes

ECH notes:

No node access, so the file realm and
```
elasticsearch-users
```
CLI are not available.
LDAP, Active Directory, and Kerberos cannot be configured on ECH.
SAML, OIDC, and JWT are configurable via the Cloud deployment settings UI.
The
```
elastic
```
superuser is available but should still be avoided for routine use.

Serverless notes:

API keys are the primary authentication method.
Native users do not exist — users are managed at the Elastic Cloud organization level.
SAML SSO is configured at the organization level, not per project.

elasticsearch-authn

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Elasticsearch Authentication

Critical principles

Jobs to Be Done

Prerequisites

Authentication Realms

Internal realms

Native (username and password)

File

External realms

LDAP

Active Directory

PKI (TLS client certificates)

SAML

OIDC (OpenID Connect)

JWT (JSON Web Tokens)

Kerberos

API keys

Verify authentication

Manage API Keys

Create an API key

Get and invalidate API keys

Examples

Create a scoped API key

Verify which realm authenticated the user

Authenticate with a JWT bearer token

Guidelines

Choosing an authentication method

Avoid superuser credentials

Security

Deployment Compatibility