diff --git a/server/src/internalClusterTest/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/placeholder.txt b/server/src/internalClusterTest/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/placeholder.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..37e212b5e34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/internalClusterTest/java/org/elasticsearch/client/documentation/placeholder.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This file exists to ensure the containing directory exists, and will be removed after migration of the path containing these documentation examples is complete.