diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConverters.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConverters.java
index 39bc03f4117..38dbbb8f151 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConverters.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConverters.java
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.support.ActiveShardCount;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.IndicesOptions;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.WriteRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.update.UpdateRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.security.RefreshPolicy;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.health.ClusterHealthStatus;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Nullable;
@@ -442,6 +443,16 @@ final class RequestConverters {
         return request;
     }
 
+    static Request count(CountRequest countRequest) throws IOException {
+        Request request = new Request(HttpPost.METHOD_NAME, endpoint(countRequest.indices(), countRequest.types(), "_count"));
+        Params params = new Params(request);
+        params.withRouting(countRequest.routing());
+        params.withPreference(countRequest.preference());
+        params.withIndicesOptions(countRequest.indicesOptions());
+        request.setEntity(createEntity(countRequest.source(), REQUEST_BODY_CONTENT_TYPE));
+        return request;
+    }
+
     static Request explain(ExplainRequest explainRequest) throws IOException {
         Request request = new Request(HttpGet.METHOD_NAME,
             endpoint(explainRequest.index(), explainRequest.type(), explainRequest.id(), "_explain"));
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClient.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClient.java
index d8dce990a4d..11fff4c0a6b 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClient.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClient.java
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.search.SearchScrollRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.support.master.AcknowledgedResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.update.UpdateRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.update.UpdateResponse;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.core.TermVectorsResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.core.TermVectorsRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.CheckedConsumer;
@@ -791,6 +793,31 @@ public class RestHighLevelClient implements Closeable {
                 emptySet());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Executes a count request using the Count API.
+     * See <a href="https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/search-count.html">Count API on elastic.co</a>
+     * @param countRequest the request
+     * @param options the request options (e.g. headers), use {@link RequestOptions#DEFAULT} if nothing needs to be customized
+     * @return the response
+     * @throws IOException in case there is a problem sending the request or parsing back the response
+     */
+    public final CountResponse count(CountRequest countRequest, RequestOptions options) throws IOException {
+        return performRequestAndParseEntity(countRequest, RequestConverters::count, options, CountResponse::fromXContent,
+        emptySet());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Asynchronously executes a count request using the Count API.
+     * See <a href="https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/search-count.html">Count API on elastic.co</a>
+     * @param countRequest the request
+     * @param options the request options (e.g. headers), use {@link RequestOptions#DEFAULT} if nothing needs to be customized
+     * @param listener the listener to be notified upon request completion
+     */
+    public final void countAsync(CountRequest countRequest, RequestOptions options, ActionListener<CountResponse> listener) {
+        performRequestAsyncAndParseEntity(countRequest, RequestConverters::count,  options,CountResponse::fromXContent,
+            listener, emptySet());
+    }
+
     /**
      * Updates a document using the Update API.
      * See <a href="https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/docs-update.html">Update API on elastic.co</a>
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountRequest.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountRequest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6d4589c7861
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountRequest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.client.core;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionRequestValidationException;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.IndicesRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.support.IndicesOptions;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
+import org.elasticsearch.search.builder.SearchSourceBuilder;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Objects;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.action.search.SearchRequest.DEFAULT_INDICES_OPTIONS;
+
+/**
+ * Encapsulates a request to _count API against one, several or all indices.
+ */
+public final class CountRequest extends ActionRequest implements IndicesRequest.Replaceable {
+
+    private String[] indices = Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY;
+    private String[] types = Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY;
+    private String routing;
+    private String preference;
+    private SearchSourceBuilder searchSourceBuilder;
+    private IndicesOptions indicesOptions = DEFAULT_INDICES_OPTIONS;
+
+    public CountRequest() {
+        this.searchSourceBuilder = new SearchSourceBuilder();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Constructs a new count request against the indices. No indices provided here means that count will execute on all indices.
+     */
+    public CountRequest(String... indices) {
+        this(indices, new SearchSourceBuilder());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Constructs a new search request against the provided indices with the given search source.
+     */
+    public CountRequest(String[] indices, SearchSourceBuilder searchSourceBuilder) {
+        indices(indices);
+        this.searchSourceBuilder = searchSourceBuilder;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ActionRequestValidationException validate() {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the indices the count will be executed on.
+     */
+    public CountRequest indices(String... indices) {
+        Objects.requireNonNull(indices, "indices must not be null");
+        for (String index : indices) {
+            Objects.requireNonNull(index, "index must not be null");
+        }
+        this.indices = indices;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The source of the count request.
+     */
+    public CountRequest source(SearchSourceBuilder searchSourceBuilder) {
+        this.searchSourceBuilder = Objects.requireNonNull(searchSourceBuilder, "source must not be null");
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The document types to execute the count against. Defaults to be executed against all types.
+     *
+     * @deprecated Types are going away, prefer filtering on a type.
+     */
+    @Deprecated
+    public CountRequest types(String... types) {
+        Objects.requireNonNull(types, "types must not be null");
+        for (String type : types) {
+            Objects.requireNonNull(type, "type must not be null");
+        }
+        this.types = types;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The routing values to control the shards that the search will be executed on.
+     */
+    public CountRequest routing(String routing) {
+        this.routing = routing;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A comma separated list of routing values to control the shards the count will be executed on.
+     */
+    public CountRequest routing(String... routings) {
+        this.routing = Strings.arrayToCommaDelimitedString(routings);
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the indices options used to resolve indices. They tell for instance whether a single index is accepted, whether an empty
+     * array will be converted to _all, and how wildcards will be expanded if needed.
+     *
+     * @see org.elasticsearch.action.support.IndicesOptions
+     */
+    public CountRequest indicesOptions(IndicesOptions indicesOptions) {
+        this.indicesOptions = Objects.requireNonNull(indicesOptions, "indicesOptions must not be null");
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Sets the preference to execute the count. Defaults to randomize across shards. Can be set to {@code _local} to prefer local shards
+     * or a custom value, which guarantees that the same order will be used across different requests.
+     */
+    public CountRequest preference(String preference) {
+        this.preference = preference;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    public IndicesOptions indicesOptions() {
+        return this.indicesOptions;
+    }
+
+    public String routing() {
+        return this.routing;
+    }
+
+    public String preference() {
+        return this.preference;
+    }
+
+    public String[] indices() {
+        return Arrays.copyOf(this.indices, this.indices.length);
+    }
+
+    public Float minScore() {
+        return this.searchSourceBuilder.minScore();
+    }
+
+    public CountRequest minScore(Float minScore) {
+        this.searchSourceBuilder.minScore(minScore);
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    public int terminateAfter() {
+        return this.searchSourceBuilder.terminateAfter();
+    }
+
+    public CountRequest terminateAfter(int terminateAfter) {
+        this.searchSourceBuilder.terminateAfter(terminateAfter);
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    public String[] types() {
+        return Arrays.copyOf(this.types, this.types.length);
+    }
+
+    public SearchSourceBuilder source() {
+        return this.searchSourceBuilder;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object o) {
+        if (this == o) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        CountRequest that = (CountRequest) o;
+        return Objects.equals(indicesOptions, that.indicesOptions) &&
+            Arrays.equals(indices, that.indices) &&
+            Arrays.equals(types, that.types) &&
+            Objects.equals(routing, that.routing) &&
+            Objects.equals(preference, that.preference);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int hashCode() {
+        int result = Objects.hash(indicesOptions, routing, preference);
+        result = 31 * result + Arrays.hashCode(indices);
+        result = 31 * result + Arrays.hashCode(types);
+        return result;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountResponse.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountResponse.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f97f79127e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountResponse.java
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.client.core;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionResponse;
+import org.elasticsearch.action.search.ShardSearchFailure;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.ParseField;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParser;
+import org.elasticsearch.rest.RestStatus;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentParserUtils.ensureExpectedToken;
+
+/**
+ * A response to _count API request.
+ */
+public final class CountResponse extends ActionResponse {
+
+    static final ParseField COUNT = new ParseField("count");
+    static final ParseField TERMINATED_EARLY = new ParseField("terminated_early");
+    static final ParseField SHARDS = new ParseField("_shards");
+
+    private final long count;
+    private final Boolean terminatedEarly;
+    private final ShardStats shardStats;
+
+    public CountResponse(long count, Boolean terminatedEarly, ShardStats shardStats) {
+        this.count = count;
+        this.terminatedEarly = terminatedEarly;
+        this.shardStats = shardStats;
+    }
+
+    public ShardStats getShardStats() {
+        return shardStats;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Number of documents matching request.
+     */
+    public long getCount() {
+        return count;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The total number of shards the search was executed on.
+     */
+    public int getTotalShards() {
+        return shardStats.totalShards;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The successful number of shards the search was executed on.
+     */
+    public int getSuccessfulShards() {
+        return shardStats.successfulShards;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The number of shards skipped due to pre-filtering
+     */
+    public int getSkippedShards() {
+        return shardStats.skippedShards;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The failed number of shards the search was executed on.
+     */
+    public int getFailedShards() {
+        return shardStats.shardFailures.length;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The failures that occurred during the search.
+     */
+    public ShardSearchFailure[] getShardFailures() {
+        return shardStats.shardFailures;
+    }
+
+    public RestStatus status() {
+        return RestStatus.status(shardStats.successfulShards, shardStats.totalShards, shardStats.shardFailures);
+    }
+
+    public static CountResponse fromXContent(XContentParser parser) throws IOException {
+        ensureExpectedToken(XContentParser.Token.START_OBJECT, parser.nextToken(), parser::getTokenLocation);
+        parser.nextToken();
+        ensureExpectedToken(XContentParser.Token.FIELD_NAME, parser.currentToken(), parser::getTokenLocation);
+        String currentName = parser.currentName();
+        Boolean terminatedEarly = null;
+        long count = 0;
+        ShardStats shardStats = new ShardStats(-1, -1,0, ShardSearchFailure.EMPTY_ARRAY);
+
+        for (XContentParser.Token token = parser.nextToken(); token != XContentParser.Token.END_OBJECT; token = parser.nextToken()) {
+            if (token == XContentParser.Token.FIELD_NAME) {
+                currentName = parser.currentName();
+            } else if (token.isValue()) {
+                if (COUNT.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                    count = parser.longValue();
+                } else if (TERMINATED_EARLY.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                    terminatedEarly = parser.booleanValue();
+                } else {
+                    parser.skipChildren();
+                }
+            } else if (token == XContentParser.Token.START_OBJECT) {
+                if (SHARDS.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                    shardStats = ShardStats.fromXContent(parser);
+                } else {
+                    parser.skipChildren();
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return new CountResponse(count, terminatedEarly, shardStats);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        String s = "{" +
+            "count=" + count +
+            (isTerminatedEarly() != null ? ", terminatedEarly=" + terminatedEarly : "") +
+            ", " + shardStats +
+            '}';
+        return s;
+    }
+
+    public Boolean isTerminatedEarly() {
+        return terminatedEarly;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Encapsulates _shards section of count api response.
+     */
+    public static final class ShardStats {
+
+        static final ParseField FAILED = new ParseField("failed");
+        static final ParseField SKIPPED = new ParseField("skipped");
+        static final ParseField TOTAL = new ParseField("total");
+        static final ParseField SUCCESSFUL = new ParseField("successful");
+        static final ParseField FAILURES = new ParseField("failures");
+
+        private final int successfulShards;
+        private final int totalShards;
+        private final int skippedShards;
+        private final ShardSearchFailure[] shardFailures;
+
+        public ShardStats(int successfulShards, int totalShards, int skippedShards, ShardSearchFailure[] shardFailures) {
+            this.successfulShards = successfulShards;
+            this.totalShards = totalShards;
+            this.skippedShards = skippedShards;
+            this.shardFailures = Arrays.copyOf(shardFailures, shardFailures.length);
+        }
+
+        public int getSuccessfulShards() {
+            return successfulShards;
+        }
+
+        public int getTotalShards() {
+            return totalShards;
+        }
+
+        public int getSkippedShards() {
+            return skippedShards;
+        }
+
+        public ShardSearchFailure[] getShardFailures() {
+            return Arrays.copyOf(shardFailures, shardFailures.length, ShardSearchFailure[].class);
+        }
+
+        static ShardStats fromXContent(XContentParser parser) throws IOException {
+            int successfulShards = -1;
+            int totalShards = -1;
+            int skippedShards = 0; //BWC @see org.elasticsearch.action.search.SearchResponse
+            List<ShardSearchFailure> failures = new ArrayList<>();
+            XContentParser.Token token;
+            String currentName = parser.currentName();
+            while ((token = parser.nextToken()) != XContentParser.Token.END_OBJECT) {
+                if (token == XContentParser.Token.FIELD_NAME) {
+                    currentName = parser.currentName();
+                } else if (token.isValue()) {
+                    if (FAILED.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                        parser.intValue();
+                    } else if (SKIPPED.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                        skippedShards = parser.intValue();
+                    } else if (TOTAL.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                        totalShards = parser.intValue();
+                    } else if (SUCCESSFUL.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                        successfulShards = parser.intValue();
+                    } else {
+                        parser.skipChildren();
+                    }
+                } else if (token == XContentParser.Token.START_ARRAY) {
+                    if (FAILURES.match(currentName, parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
+                        while ((parser.nextToken()) != XContentParser.Token.END_ARRAY) {
+                            failures.add(ShardSearchFailure.fromXContent(parser));
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        parser.skipChildren();
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    parser.skipChildren();
+                }
+            }
+            return new ShardStats(successfulShards, totalShards, skippedShards, failures.toArray(new ShardSearchFailure[failures.size()]));
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public String toString() {
+            return "_shards : {" +
+                "total=" + totalShards +
+                ", successful=" + successfulShards +
+                ", skipped=" + skippedShards +
+                ", failed=" + (shardFailures != null && shardFailures.length > 0 ? shardFailures.length : 0 ) +
+                (shardFailures != null && shardFailures.length > 0 ? ", failures: " + Arrays.asList(shardFailures): "") +
+                '}';
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConvertersTests.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConvertersTests.java
index 76b64241ef6..1e0f0f70b2f 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConvertersTests.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RequestConvertersTests.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.support.replication.ReplicationRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.core.TermVectorsRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.update.UpdateRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.RequestConverters.EndpointBuilder;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.CheckedBiConsumer;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesArray;
@@ -968,6 +969,72 @@ public class RequestConvertersTests extends ESTestCase {
         expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> new SearchRequest().types((String[]) null));
     }
 
+     public void testCountNotNullSource() throws IOException {
+        //as we create SearchSourceBuilder in CountRequest constructor
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest();
+        Request request = RequestConverters.count(countRequest);
+        assertEquals(HttpPost.METHOD_NAME, request.getMethod());
+        assertEquals("/_count", request.getEndpoint());
+        assertNotNull(request.getEntity());
+    }
+
+    public void testCount() throws Exception {
+        String[] indices = randomIndicesNames(0, 5);
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest(indices);
+
+        int numTypes = randomIntBetween(0, 5);
+        String[] types = new String[numTypes];
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTypes; i++) {
+            types[i] = "type-" + randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(2, 5);
+        }
+        countRequest.types(types);
+
+        Map<String, String> expectedParams = new HashMap<>();
+        setRandomCountParams(countRequest, expectedParams);
+        setRandomIndicesOptions(countRequest::indicesOptions, countRequest::indicesOptions, expectedParams);
+
+        SearchSourceBuilder searchSourceBuilder = new SearchSourceBuilder();
+        if (frequently()) {
+            if (randomBoolean()) {
+                searchSourceBuilder.minScore(randomFloat());
+            }
+        }
+        countRequest.source(searchSourceBuilder);
+        Request request = RequestConverters.count(countRequest);
+        StringJoiner endpoint = new StringJoiner("/", "/", "");
+        String index = String.join(",", indices);
+        if (Strings.hasLength(index)) {
+            endpoint.add(index);
+        }
+        String type = String.join(",", types);
+        if (Strings.hasLength(type)) {
+            endpoint.add(type);
+        }
+        endpoint.add("_count");
+        assertEquals(HttpPost.METHOD_NAME, request.getMethod());
+        assertEquals(endpoint.toString(), request.getEndpoint());
+        assertEquals(expectedParams, request.getParameters());
+        assertToXContentBody(searchSourceBuilder, request.getEntity());
+    }
+
+    public void testCountNullIndicesAndTypes() {
+        expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> new CountRequest((String[]) null));
+        expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> new CountRequest().indices((String[]) null));
+        expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> new CountRequest().types((String[]) null));
+    }
+
+    private static void setRandomCountParams(CountRequest countRequest,
+                                             Map<String, String> expectedParams) {
+        if (randomBoolean()) {
+            countRequest.routing(randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(3, 10));
+            expectedParams.put("routing", countRequest.routing());
+        }
+        if (randomBoolean()) {
+            countRequest.preference(randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(3, 10));
+            expectedParams.put("preference", countRequest.preference());
+        }
+    }
+
     public void testMultiSearch() throws IOException {
         int numberOfSearchRequests = randomIntBetween(0, 32);
         MultiSearchRequest multiSearchRequest = new MultiSearchRequest();
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClientTests.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClientTests.java
index d6c77d6f2a5..38810285a5d 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClientTests.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/RestHighLevelClientTests.java
@@ -662,7 +662,6 @@ public class RestHighLevelClientTests extends ESTestCase {
         //this list should be empty once the high-level client is feature complete
         String[] notYetSupportedApi = new String[]{
             "cluster.remote_info",
-            "count",
             "create",
             "get_source",
             "indices.delete_alias",
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/SearchIT.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/SearchIT.java
index f6aa97def28..e6a2f5d6178 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/SearchIT.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/SearchIT.java
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ import org.elasticsearch.action.search.MultiSearchResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.search.SearchRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.search.SearchResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.search.SearchScrollRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.Strings;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.unit.TimeValue;
@@ -1233,4 +1235,69 @@ public class SearchIT extends ESRestHighLevelClientTestCase {
         assertEquals(0, searchResponse.getShardFailures().length);
         assertEquals(SearchResponse.Clusters.EMPTY, searchResponse.getClusters());
     }
+
+    public void testCountOneIndexNoQuery() throws IOException {
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest("index");
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(5, countResponse.getCount());
+    }
+
+    public void testCountMultipleIndicesNoQuery() throws IOException {
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest("index", "index1");
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(7, countResponse.getCount());
+    }
+
+    public void testCountAllIndicesNoQuery() throws IOException {
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest();
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(12, countResponse.getCount());
+    }
+
+    public void testCountOneIndexMatchQuery() throws IOException {
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest("index");
+        countRequest.source(new SearchSourceBuilder().query(new MatchQueryBuilder("num", 10)));
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(1, countResponse.getCount());
+    }
+
+    public void testCountMultipleIndicesMatchQueryUsingConstructor() throws IOException {
+
+        SearchSourceBuilder sourceBuilder = new SearchSourceBuilder().query(new MatchQueryBuilder("field", "value1"));
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest(new String[]{"index1", "index2", "index3"}, sourceBuilder);
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(3, countResponse.getCount());
+
+    }
+
+    public void testCountMultipleIndicesMatchQuery() throws IOException {
+
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest("index1", "index2", "index3");
+        countRequest.source(new SearchSourceBuilder().query(new MatchQueryBuilder("field", "value1")));
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(3, countResponse.getCount());
+    }
+
+    public void testCountAllIndicesMatchQuery() throws IOException {
+
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest();
+        countRequest.source(new SearchSourceBuilder().query(new MatchQueryBuilder("field", "value1")));
+        CountResponse countResponse = execute(countRequest, highLevelClient()::count, highLevelClient()::countAsync);
+        assertCountHeader(countResponse);
+        assertEquals(3, countResponse.getCount());
+    }
+
+    private static void assertCountHeader(CountResponse countResponse) {
+        assertEquals(0, countResponse.getSkippedShards());
+        assertEquals(0, countResponse.getFailedShards());
+        assertThat(countResponse.getTotalShards(), greaterThan(0));
+        assertEquals(countResponse.getTotalShards(), countResponse.getSuccessfulShards());
+        assertEquals(0, countResponse.getShardFailures().length);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountRequestTests.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountRequestTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1030f4401e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountRequestTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.client.core;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.action.support.IndicesOptions;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.util.ArrayUtils;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.query.MatchQueryBuilder;
+import org.elasticsearch.search.builder.SearchSourceBuilder;
+import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.test.EqualsHashCodeTestUtils.checkEqualsAndHashCode;
+
+//similar to SearchRequestTests as CountRequest inline several members (and functionality) from SearchRequest
+public class CountRequestTests extends ESTestCase {
+
+    public void testIllegalArguments() {
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest();
+        assertNotNull(countRequest.indices());
+        assertNotNull(countRequest.indicesOptions());
+        assertNotNull(countRequest.types());
+
+        NullPointerException e = expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> countRequest.indices((String[]) null));
+        assertEquals("indices must not be null", e.getMessage());
+        e = expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> countRequest.indices((String) null));
+        assertEquals("index must not be null", e.getMessage());
+
+        e = expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> countRequest.indicesOptions(null));
+        assertEquals("indicesOptions must not be null", e.getMessage());
+
+        e = expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> countRequest.types((String[]) null));
+        assertEquals("types must not be null", e.getMessage());
+        e = expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> countRequest.types((String) null));
+        assertEquals("type must not be null", e.getMessage());
+
+        e = expectThrows(NullPointerException.class, () -> countRequest.source(null));
+        assertEquals("source must not be null", e.getMessage());
+
+    }
+
+    public void testEqualsAndHashcode() {
+        checkEqualsAndHashCode(createCountRequest(), CountRequestTests::copyRequest, this::mutate);
+    }
+
+    private CountRequest createCountRequest() {
+        CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest("index");
+        countRequest.source(new SearchSourceBuilder().query(new MatchQueryBuilder("num", 10)));
+        return countRequest;
+    }
+
+    private CountRequest mutate(CountRequest countRequest) {
+        CountRequest mutation = copyRequest(countRequest);
+        List<Runnable> mutators = new ArrayList<>();
+        mutators.add(() -> mutation.indices(ArrayUtils.concat(countRequest.indices(), new String[]{randomAlphaOfLength(10)})));
+        mutators.add(() -> mutation.indicesOptions(randomValueOtherThan(countRequest.indicesOptions(),
+            () -> IndicesOptions.fromOptions(randomBoolean(), randomBoolean(), randomBoolean(), randomBoolean()))));
+        mutators.add(() -> mutation.types(ArrayUtils.concat(countRequest.types(), new String[]{randomAlphaOfLength(10)})));
+        mutators.add(() -> mutation.preference(randomValueOtherThan(countRequest.preference(), () -> randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(3, 10))));
+        mutators.add(() -> mutation.routing(randomValueOtherThan(countRequest.routing(), () -> randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(3, 10))));
+        randomFrom(mutators).run();
+        return mutation;
+    }
+
+    private static CountRequest copyRequest(CountRequest countRequest) {
+        CountRequest result = new CountRequest();
+        result.indices(countRequest.indices());
+        result.indicesOptions(countRequest.indicesOptions());
+        result.types(countRequest.types());
+        result.routing(countRequest.routing());
+        result.preference(countRequest.preference());
+        if (countRequest.source() != null) {
+            result.source(countRequest.source());
+        }
+        return result;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountResponseTests.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountResponseTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c2fc668d604
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/core/CountResponseTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.client.core;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.action.search.ShardSearchFailure;
+import org.elasticsearch.cluster.metadata.IndexMetaData;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.ParsingException;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.ToXContent;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.xcontent.XContentBuilder;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.Index;
+import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.ShardId;
+import org.elasticsearch.rest.action.RestActions;
+import org.elasticsearch.search.SearchShardTarget;
+import org.elasticsearch.test.ESTestCase;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.test.AbstractXContentTestCase.xContentTester;
+
+public class CountResponseTests extends ESTestCase {
+
+    // Not comparing XContent for equivalence as we cannot compare the ShardSearchFailure#cause, because it will be wrapped in an outer
+    // ElasticSearchException. Best effort: try to check that the original message appears somewhere in the rendered xContent
+    // For more see ShardSearchFailureTests.
+    public void testFromXContent() throws IOException {
+        xContentTester(
+            this::createParser,
+            this::createTestInstance,
+            this::toXContent,
+            CountResponse::fromXContent)
+            .supportsUnknownFields(false)
+            .assertEqualsConsumer(this::assertEqualInstances)
+            .assertToXContentEquivalence(false)
+            .test();
+    }
+
+    private CountResponse createTestInstance() {
+        long count = 5;
+        Boolean terminatedEarly = randomBoolean() ? null : randomBoolean();
+        int totalShards = randomIntBetween(1, Integer.MAX_VALUE);
+        int successfulShards = randomIntBetween(0, totalShards);
+        int skippedShards = randomIntBetween(0, totalShards);
+        int numFailures = randomIntBetween(1, 5);
+        ShardSearchFailure[] failures = new ShardSearchFailure[numFailures];
+        for (int i = 0; i < failures.length; i++) {
+            failures[i] = createShardFailureTestItem();
+        }
+        CountResponse.ShardStats shardStats = new CountResponse.ShardStats(successfulShards, totalShards, skippedShards,
+            randomBoolean() ? ShardSearchFailure.EMPTY_ARRAY : failures);
+        return new CountResponse(count, terminatedEarly, shardStats);
+    }
+
+    private void toXContent(CountResponse response, XContentBuilder builder) throws IOException {
+        builder.startObject();
+        builder.field(CountResponse.COUNT.getPreferredName(), response.getCount());
+        if (response.isTerminatedEarly() != null) {
+            builder.field(CountResponse.TERMINATED_EARLY.getPreferredName(), response.isTerminatedEarly());
+        }
+        toXContent(response.getShardStats(), builder, ToXContent.EMPTY_PARAMS);
+        builder.endObject();
+    }
+
+    private void toXContent(CountResponse.ShardStats stats, XContentBuilder builder, ToXContent.Params params) throws IOException {
+        RestActions.buildBroadcastShardsHeader(builder, params, stats.getTotalShards(), stats.getSuccessfulShards(), stats
+            .getSkippedShards(), stats.getShardFailures().length, stats.getShardFailures());
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("Duplicates")
+    private static ShardSearchFailure createShardFailureTestItem() {
+        String randomMessage = randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(3, 20);
+        Exception ex = new ParsingException(0, 0, randomMessage, new IllegalArgumentException("some bad argument"));
+        SearchShardTarget searchShardTarget = null;
+        if (randomBoolean()) {
+            String nodeId = randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(5, 10);
+            String indexName = randomAlphaOfLengthBetween(5, 10);
+            searchShardTarget = new SearchShardTarget(nodeId,
+                new ShardId(new Index(indexName, IndexMetaData.INDEX_UUID_NA_VALUE), randomInt()), null, null);
+        }
+        return new ShardSearchFailure(ex, searchShardTarget);
+    }
+
+    private void assertEqualInstances(CountResponse expectedInstance, CountResponse newInstance) {
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.getCount(), newInstance.getCount());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.status(), newInstance.status());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.isTerminatedEarly(), newInstance.isTerminatedEarly());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.getTotalShards(), newInstance.getTotalShards());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.getFailedShards(), newInstance.getFailedShards());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.getSkippedShards(), newInstance.getSkippedShards());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.getSuccessfulShards(), newInstance.getSuccessfulShards());
+        assertEquals(expectedInstance.getShardFailures().length, newInstance.getShardFailures().length);
+
+        ShardSearchFailure[] expectedFailures = expectedInstance.getShardFailures();
+        ShardSearchFailure[] newFailures = newInstance.getShardFailures();
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < newFailures.length; i++) {
+            ShardSearchFailure parsedFailure = newFailures[i];
+            ShardSearchFailure originalFailure = expectedFailures[i];
+            assertEquals(originalFailure.index(), parsedFailure.index());
+            assertEquals(originalFailure.shard(), parsedFailure.shard());
+            assertEquals(originalFailure.shardId(), parsedFailure.shardId());
+            String originalMsg = originalFailure.getCause().getMessage();
+            assertEquals(parsedFailure.getCause().getMessage(), "Elasticsearch exception [type=parsing_exception, reason=" +
+                originalMsg + "]");
+            String nestedMsg = originalFailure.getCause().getCause().getMessage();
+            assertEquals(parsedFailure.getCause().getCause().getMessage(),
+                "Elasticsearch exception [type=illegal_argument_exception, reason=" + nestedMsg + "]");
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/SearchDocumentationIT.java b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/SearchDocumentationIT.java
index 1e596158750..831c39ed28b 100644
--- a/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/SearchDocumentationIT.java
+++ b/client/rest-high-level/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/SearchDocumentationIT.java
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ import org.elasticsearch.client.RequestOptions;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.Response;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.RestClient;
 import org.elasticsearch.client.RestHighLevelClient;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountRequest;
+import org.elasticsearch.client.core.CountResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.bytes.BytesReference;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.document.DocumentField;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.text.Text;
@@ -1287,4 +1289,124 @@ public class SearchDocumentationIT extends ESRestHighLevelClientTestCase {
         assertSame(RestStatus.OK, bulkResponse.status());
         assertFalse(bulkResponse.hasFailures());
     }
+
+
+    @SuppressWarnings({"unused", "unchecked"})
+    public void testCount() throws Exception {
+        indexCountTestData();
+        RestHighLevelClient client = highLevelClient();
+        {
+            // tag::count-request-basic
+            CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest(); // <1>
+            SearchSourceBuilder searchSourceBuilder = new SearchSourceBuilder(); // <2>
+            searchSourceBuilder.query(QueryBuilders.matchAllQuery()); // <3>
+            countRequest.source(searchSourceBuilder); // <4>
+            // end::count-request-basic
+        }
+        {
+            // tag::count-request-indices-types
+            CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest("blog"); // <1>
+            countRequest.types("doc"); // <2>
+            // end::count-request-indices-types
+            // tag::count-request-routing
+            countRequest.routing("routing"); // <1>
+            // end::count-request-routing
+            // tag::count-request-indicesOptions
+            countRequest.indicesOptions(IndicesOptions.lenientExpandOpen()); // <1>
+            // end::count-request-indicesOptions
+            // tag::count-request-preference
+            countRequest.preference("_local"); // <1>
+            // end::count-request-preference
+            assertNotNull(client.count(countRequest, RequestOptions.DEFAULT));
+        }
+        {
+            // tag::count-source-basics
+            SearchSourceBuilder sourceBuilder = new SearchSourceBuilder(); // <1>
+            sourceBuilder.query(QueryBuilders.termQuery("user", "kimchy")); // <2>
+            // end::count-source-basics
+
+            // tag::count-source-setter
+            CountRequest countRequest = new CountRequest();
+            countRequest.indices("blog", "author");
+            countRequest.source(sourceBuilder);
+            // end::count-source-setter
+
+            // tag::count-execute
+            CountResponse countResponse = client
+                .count(countRequest, RequestOptions.DEFAULT);
+            // end::count-execute
+
+            // tag::count-execute-listener
+            ActionListener<CountResponse> listener =
+                new ActionListener<CountResponse>() {
+
+                    @Override
+                    public void onResponse(CountResponse countResponse) {
+                        // <1>
+                    }
+
+                    @Override
+                    public void onFailure(Exception e) {
+                        // <2>
+                    }
+                };
+            // end::count-execute-listener
+
+            // Replace the empty listener by a blocking listener in test
+            final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+            listener = new LatchedActionListener<>(listener, latch);
+
+            // tag::count-execute-async
+            client.countAsync(countRequest, RequestOptions.DEFAULT, listener); // <1>
+            // end::count-execute-async
+
+            assertTrue(latch.await(30L, TimeUnit.SECONDS));
+
+            // tag::count-response-1
+            long count = countResponse.getCount();
+            RestStatus status = countResponse.status();
+            Boolean terminatedEarly = countResponse.isTerminatedEarly();
+            // end::count-response-1
+
+            // tag::count-response-2
+            int totalShards = countResponse.getTotalShards();
+            int skippedShards = countResponse.getSkippedShards();
+            int successfulShards = countResponse.getSuccessfulShards();
+            int failedShards = countResponse.getFailedShards();
+            for (ShardSearchFailure failure : countResponse.getShardFailures()) {
+                // failures should be handled here
+            }
+            // end::count-response-2
+            assertNotNull(countResponse);
+            assertEquals(4, countResponse.getCount());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void indexCountTestData() throws IOException {
+        CreateIndexRequest authorsRequest = new CreateIndexRequest("author")
+            .mapping("doc", "user", "type=keyword,doc_values=false");
+        CreateIndexResponse authorsResponse = highLevelClient().indices().create(authorsRequest, RequestOptions.DEFAULT);
+        assertTrue(authorsResponse.isAcknowledged());
+
+        BulkRequest bulkRequest = new BulkRequest();
+        bulkRequest.add(new IndexRequest("blog", "doc", "1")
+            .source(XContentType.JSON, "title", "Doubling Down on Open?", "user",
+                Collections.singletonList("kimchy"), "innerObject", Collections.singletonMap("key", "value")));
+        bulkRequest.add(new IndexRequest("blog", "doc", "2")
+            .source(XContentType.JSON, "title", "Swiftype Joins Forces with Elastic", "user",
+                Arrays.asList("kimchy", "matt"), "innerObject", Collections.singletonMap("key", "value")));
+        bulkRequest.add(new IndexRequest("blog", "doc", "3")
+            .source(XContentType.JSON, "title", "On Net Neutrality", "user",
+                Arrays.asList("tyler", "kimchy"), "innerObject", Collections.singletonMap("key", "value")));
+
+        bulkRequest.add(new IndexRequest("author", "doc", "1")
+            .source(XContentType.JSON, "user", "kimchy"));
+
+
+        bulkRequest.setRefreshPolicy(WriteRequest.RefreshPolicy.IMMEDIATE);
+        BulkResponse bulkResponse = highLevelClient().bulk(bulkRequest, RequestOptions.DEFAULT);
+        assertSame(RestStatus.OK, bulkResponse.status());
+        assertFalse(bulkResponse.hasFailures());
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/docs/java-rest/high-level/search/count.asciidoc b/docs/java-rest/high-level/search/count.asciidoc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f70e1e1fd4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/java-rest/high-level/search/count.asciidoc
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+--
+:api: count
+:request: CountRequest
+:response: CountResponse
+--
+[id="{upid}-{api}"]
+
+=== Count API
+
+[id="{upid}-{api}-request"]
+
+==== Count Request
+
+The +{request}+ is used to execute a query and get the number of matches for the query. The query to use in +{request}+ can be
+set in similar way as query in `SearchRequest` using `SearchSourceBuilder`.
+
+In its most basic form, we can add a query to the request:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-request-basic]
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+<1> Creates the +{request}+. Without arguments this runs against all indices.
+<2> Most search parameters are added to the `SearchSourceBuilder`.
+<3> Add a `match_all` query to the `SearchSourceBuilder`.
+<4> Add the `SearchSourceBuilder` to the +{request}+.
+
+[[java-rest-high-count-request-optional]]
+===== Count Request optional arguments
+
+Let's first look at some of the optional arguments of a +{request}+:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-request-indices-types]
+--------------------------------------------------
+<1> Restricts the request to an index
+<2> Limits the request to a type
+
+There are a couple of other interesting optional parameters:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-request-routing]
+--------------------------------------------------
+<1> Set a routing parameter
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-request-indicesOptions]
+--------------------------------------------------
+<1> Setting `IndicesOptions` controls how unavailable indices are resolved and how wildcard expressions are expanded
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-request-preference]
+--------------------------------------------------
+<1> Use the preference parameter e.g. to execute the search to prefer local shards. The default is to randomize across shards.
+
+===== Using the SearchSourceBuilder in CountRequest
+
+Both in search and count API calls, most options controlling the search behavior can be set on the `SearchSourceBuilder`,
+which contains more or less the equivalent of the options in the search request body of the Rest API.
+
+Here are a few examples of some common options:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-source-basics]
+--------------------------------------------------
+<1> Create a `SearchSourceBuilder` with default options.
+<2> Set the query. Can be any type of `QueryBuilder`
+
+After this, the `SearchSourceBuilder` only needs to be added to the
++{request}+:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-source-setter]
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+Note subtle difference when using `SearchSourceBuilder` in `SearchRequest` and using `SearchSourceBuilder` in +{request}+ - using
+`SearchSourceBuilder` in `SearchRequest` one can use `SearchSourceBuilder.size()` and `SearchSourceBuilder.from()` methods to set the
+number of search hits to return, and the starting index. In +{request}+ we're interested in total number of matches and these methods
+have no meaning.
+
+The <<java-rest-high-query-builders, Building Queries>> page gives a list of all available search queries with
+their corresponding `QueryBuilder` objects and `QueryBuilders` helper methods.
+
+include::../execution.asciidoc[]
+
+[id="{upid}-{api}-response"]
+==== CountResponse
+
+The +{response}+ that is returned by executing the count API call provides total count of hits and details about the count execution
+itself, like the HTTP status code, or whether the request terminated early:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-response-1]
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+The response also provides information about the execution on the
+shard level by offering statistics about the total number of shards that were
+affected by the underlying search, and the successful vs. unsuccessful shards. Possible
+failures can also be handled by iterating over an array off
+`ShardSearchFailures` like in the following example:
+
+["source","java",subs="attributes,callouts,macros"]
+--------------------------------------------------
+include-tagged::{doc-tests-file}[{api}-response-2]
+--------------------------------------------------
+
diff --git a/docs/java-rest/high-level/supported-apis.asciidoc b/docs/java-rest/high-level/supported-apis.asciidoc
index 4411a6b375f..dc17296e5c2 100644
--- a/docs/java-rest/high-level/supported-apis.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/java-rest/high-level/supported-apis.asciidoc
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ The Java High Level REST Client supports the following Search APIs:
 * <<{upid}-field-caps>>
 * <<{upid}-rank-eval>>
 * <<{upid}-explain>>
+* <<{upid}-count>>
 
 include::search/search.asciidoc[]
 include::search/scroll.asciidoc[]
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@ include::search/multi-search-template.asciidoc[]
 include::search/field-caps.asciidoc[]
 include::search/rank-eval.asciidoc[]
 include::search/explain.asciidoc[]
+include::search/count.asciidoc[]
 
 == Miscellaneous APIs