diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/RealtimeRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/RealtimeRequest.java
index aefdcc5bdd9..28bcf1e8839 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/RealtimeRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/RealtimeRequest.java
@@ -26,10 +26,8 @@ package org.elasticsearch.action;
 public interface RealtimeRequest {
 
     /**
-     * @param realtime Controls whether this request should be realtime by reading from the translog. If <code>null</code>
-     *                 is specified then whether the operation will be realtime depends on the api of the concrete request
-     *                 subclass.
+     * @param realtime Controls whether this request should be realtime by reading from the translog.
      */
-    <R extends RealtimeRequest> R realtime(Boolean realtime);
+    <R extends RealtimeRequest> R realtime(boolean realtime);
 
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequest.java
index 4b27283d000..5d1bfc1ed23 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequest.java
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ public class GetRequest extends SingleShardRequest<GetRequest> implements Realti
 
     private boolean refresh = false;
 
-    Boolean realtime;
+    boolean realtime = true;
 
     private VersionType versionType = VersionType.INTERNAL;
     private long version = Versions.MATCH_ANY;
@@ -218,11 +218,11 @@ public class GetRequest extends SingleShardRequest<GetRequest> implements Realti
     }
 
     public boolean realtime() {
-        return this.realtime == null ? true : this.realtime;
+        return this.realtime;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public GetRequest realtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public GetRequest realtime(boolean realtime) {
         this.realtime = realtime;
         return this;
     }
@@ -277,12 +277,7 @@ public class GetRequest extends SingleShardRequest<GetRequest> implements Realti
                 fields[i] = in.readString();
             }
         }
-        byte realtime = in.readByte();
-        if (realtime == 0) {
-            this.realtime = false;
-        } else if (realtime == 1) {
-            this.realtime = true;
-        }
+        realtime = in.readBoolean();
         this.ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields = in.readBoolean();
 
         this.versionType = VersionType.fromValue(in.readByte());
@@ -308,13 +303,7 @@ public class GetRequest extends SingleShardRequest<GetRequest> implements Realti
                 out.writeString(field);
             }
         }
-        if (realtime == null) {
-            out.writeByte((byte) -1);
-        } else if (!realtime) {
-            out.writeByte((byte) 0);
-        } else {
-            out.writeByte((byte) 1);
-        }
+        out.writeBoolean(realtime);
         out.writeBoolean(ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields);
         out.writeByte(versionType.getValue());
         out.writeLong(version);
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequestBuilder.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequestBuilder.java
index f785a3065ed..4b57c4ba92c 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequestBuilder.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/GetRequestBuilder.java
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ public class GetRequestBuilder extends SingleShardOperationRequestBuilder<GetReq
         return this;
     }
 
-    public GetRequestBuilder setRealtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public GetRequestBuilder setRealtime(boolean realtime) {
         request.realtime(realtime);
         return this;
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequest.java
index 5688cd9983c..c0b26aec59f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequest.java
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ public class MultiGetRequest extends ActionRequest<MultiGetRequest> implements I
     }
 
     String preference;
-    Boolean realtime;
+    boolean realtime = true;
     boolean refresh;
     public boolean ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields = false;
 
@@ -319,11 +319,11 @@ public class MultiGetRequest extends ActionRequest<MultiGetRequest> implements I
     }
 
     public boolean realtime() {
-        return this.realtime == null ? true : this.realtime;
+        return this.realtime;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public MultiGetRequest realtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public MultiGetRequest realtime(boolean realtime) {
         this.realtime = realtime;
         return this;
     }
@@ -509,12 +509,7 @@ public class MultiGetRequest extends ActionRequest<MultiGetRequest> implements I
         super.readFrom(in);
         preference = in.readOptionalString();
         refresh = in.readBoolean();
-        byte realtime = in.readByte();
-        if (realtime == 0) {
-            this.realtime = false;
-        } else if (realtime == 1) {
-            this.realtime = true;
-        }
+        realtime = in.readBoolean();
         ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields = in.readBoolean();
 
         int size = in.readVInt();
@@ -529,13 +524,7 @@ public class MultiGetRequest extends ActionRequest<MultiGetRequest> implements I
         super.writeTo(out);
         out.writeOptionalString(preference);
         out.writeBoolean(refresh);
-        if (realtime == null) {
-            out.writeByte((byte) -1);
-        } else if (realtime == false) {
-            out.writeByte((byte) 0);
-        } else {
-            out.writeByte((byte) 1);
-        }
+        out.writeBoolean(realtime);
         out.writeBoolean(ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields);
 
         out.writeVInt(items.size());
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequestBuilder.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequestBuilder.java
index ad587574075..6e32e1caf30 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequestBuilder.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetRequestBuilder.java
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ public class MultiGetRequestBuilder extends ActionRequestBuilder<MultiGetRequest
         return this;
     }
 
-    public MultiGetRequestBuilder setRealtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public MultiGetRequestBuilder setRealtime(boolean realtime) {
         request.realtime(realtime);
         return this;
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetShardRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetShardRequest.java
index 9250204858f..47f07c52488 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetShardRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/MultiGetShardRequest.java
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ public class MultiGetShardRequest extends SingleShardRequest<MultiGetShardReques
 
     private int shardId;
     private String preference;
-    Boolean realtime;
+    boolean realtime = true;
     boolean refresh;
     boolean ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields = false;
 
@@ -79,10 +79,10 @@ public class MultiGetShardRequest extends SingleShardRequest<MultiGetShardReques
     }
 
     public boolean realtime() {
-        return this.realtime == null ? true : this.realtime;
+        return this.realtime;
     }
 
-    public MultiGetShardRequest realtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public MultiGetShardRequest realtime(boolean realtime) {
         this.realtime = realtime;
         return this;
     }
@@ -129,12 +129,7 @@ public class MultiGetShardRequest extends SingleShardRequest<MultiGetShardReques
 
         preference = in.readOptionalString();
         refresh = in.readBoolean();
-        byte realtime = in.readByte();
-        if (realtime == 0) {
-            this.realtime = false;
-        } else if (realtime == 1) {
-            this.realtime = true;
-        }
+        realtime = in.readBoolean();
         ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields = in.readBoolean();
     }
 
@@ -150,13 +145,7 @@ public class MultiGetShardRequest extends SingleShardRequest<MultiGetShardReques
 
         out.writeOptionalString(preference);
         out.writeBoolean(refresh);
-        if (realtime == null) {
-            out.writeByte((byte) -1);
-        } else if (!realtime) {
-            out.writeByte((byte) 0);
-        } else {
-            out.writeByte((byte) 1);
-        }
+        out.writeBoolean(realtime);
         out.writeBoolean(ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields);
 
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportGetAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportGetAction.java
index b84493c4dca..528546d5b31 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportGetAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportGetAction.java
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@ import org.elasticsearch.transport.TransportService;
 public class TransportGetAction extends TransportSingleShardAction<GetRequest, GetResponse> {
 
     private final IndicesService indicesService;
-    private final boolean realtime;
 
     @Inject
     public TransportGetAction(Settings settings, ClusterService clusterService, TransportService transportService,
@@ -53,8 +52,6 @@ public class TransportGetAction extends TransportSingleShardAction<GetRequest, G
         super(settings, GetAction.NAME, threadPool, clusterService, transportService, actionFilters, indexNameExpressionResolver,
                 GetRequest::new, ThreadPool.Names.GET);
         this.indicesService = indicesService;
-
-        this.realtime = settings.getAsBoolean("action.get.realtime", true);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -70,9 +67,6 @@ public class TransportGetAction extends TransportSingleShardAction<GetRequest, G
 
     @Override
     protected void resolveRequest(ClusterState state, InternalRequest request) {
-        if (request.request().realtime == null) {
-            request.request().realtime = this.realtime;
-        }
         IndexMetaData indexMeta = state.getMetaData().index(request.concreteIndex());
         if (request.request().realtime && // if the realtime flag is set
                 request.request().preference() == null && // the preference flag is not already set
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportShardMultiGetAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportShardMultiGetAction.java
index 05b672105f8..5fbcda40983 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportShardMultiGetAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/get/TransportShardMultiGetAction.java
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@ public class TransportShardMultiGetAction extends TransportSingleShardAction<Mul
 
     private final IndicesService indicesService;
 
-    private final boolean realtime;
-
     @Inject
     public TransportShardMultiGetAction(Settings settings, ClusterService clusterService, TransportService transportService,
                                         IndicesService indicesService, ThreadPool threadPool, ActionFilters actionFilters,
@@ -52,8 +50,6 @@ public class TransportShardMultiGetAction extends TransportSingleShardAction<Mul
         super(settings, ACTION_NAME, threadPool, clusterService, transportService, actionFilters, indexNameExpressionResolver,
                 MultiGetShardRequest::new, ThreadPool.Names.GET);
         this.indicesService = indicesService;
-
-        this.realtime = settings.getAsBoolean("action.get.realtime", true);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -77,13 +73,6 @@ public class TransportShardMultiGetAction extends TransportSingleShardAction<Mul
                 .getShards(state, request.request().index(), request.request().shardId(), request.request().preference());
     }
 
-    @Override
-    protected void resolveRequest(ClusterState state, InternalRequest request) {
-        if (request.request().realtime == null) {
-            request.request().realtime = this.realtime;
-        }
-    }
-
     @Override
     protected MultiGetShardResponse shardOperation(MultiGetShardRequest request, ShardId shardId) {
         IndexService indexService = indicesService.indexServiceSafe(shardId.getIndex());
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/MultiTermVectorsRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/MultiTermVectorsRequest.java
index a8812fa8d1a..af192cea600 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/MultiTermVectorsRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/MultiTermVectorsRequest.java
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ public class MultiTermVectorsRequest extends ActionRequest<MultiTermVectorsReque
     }
 
     @Override
-    public MultiTermVectorsRequest realtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public MultiTermVectorsRequest realtime(boolean realtime) {
         for (TermVectorsRequest request : requests) {
             request.realtime(realtime);
         }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequest.java
index bb153885d2d..df0ea5256b2 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequest.java
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ public class TermVectorsRequest extends SingleShardRequest<TermVectorsRequest> i
     // TODO: change to String[]
     private Set<String> selectedFields;
 
-    Boolean realtime;
+    private boolean realtime = true;
 
     private Map<String, String> perFieldAnalyzer;
 
@@ -394,14 +394,11 @@ public class TermVectorsRequest extends SingleShardRequest<TermVectorsRequest> i
      * Return whether term vectors should be generated real-time (default to true).
      */
     public boolean realtime() {
-        return this.realtime == null ? true : this.realtime;
+        return this.realtime;
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Choose whether term vectors be generated real-time.
-     */
     @Override
-    public TermVectorsRequest realtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public TermVectorsRequest realtime(boolean realtime) {
         this.realtime = realtime;
         return this;
     }
@@ -559,7 +556,7 @@ public class TermVectorsRequest extends SingleShardRequest<TermVectorsRequest> i
         if (filterSettings != null) {
             filterSettings.writeTo(out);
         }
-        out.writeBoolean(realtime());
+        out.writeBoolean(realtime);
         out.writeByte(versionType.getValue());
         out.writeLong(version);
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequestBuilder.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequestBuilder.java
index ae4bbc63f1d..9aa3ebca759 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequestBuilder.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/termvectors/TermVectorsRequestBuilder.java
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ public class TermVectorsRequestBuilder extends ActionRequestBuilder<TermVectorsR
     /**
      * Sets whether term vectors are generated real-time.
      */
-    public TermVectorsRequestBuilder setRealtime(Boolean realtime) {
+    public TermVectorsRequestBuilder setRealtime(boolean realtime) {
         request.realtime(realtime);
         return this;
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetAction.java
index 0f541bf7a97..193fdd2e747 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetAction.java
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ public class RestGetAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         getRequest.routing(request.param("routing"));  // order is important, set it after routing, so it will set the routing
         getRequest.parent(request.param("parent"));
         getRequest.preference(request.param("preference"));
-        getRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", null));
+        getRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", getRequest.realtime()));
         getRequest.ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields(request.paramAsBoolean("ignore_errors_on_generated_fields", false));
 
         String sField = request.param("fields");
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetSourceAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetSourceAction.java
index d38ad458c43..af2faba01c9 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetSourceAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestGetSourceAction.java
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ public class RestGetSourceAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         getRequest.routing(request.param("routing"));  // order is important, set it after routing, so it will set the routing
         getRequest.parent(request.param("parent"));
         getRequest.preference(request.param("preference"));
-        getRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", null));
+        getRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", getRequest.realtime()));
 
         getRequest.fetchSourceContext(FetchSourceContext.parseFromRestRequest(request));
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestHeadAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestHeadAction.java
index 31fd0cc9eac..9c98c98012c 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestHeadAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestHeadAction.java
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ public class RestHeadAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         getRequest.routing(request.param("routing"));  // order is important, set it after routing, so it will set the routing
         getRequest.parent(request.param("parent"));
         getRequest.preference(request.param("preference"));
-        getRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", null));
+        getRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", getRequest.realtime()));
         // don't get any fields back...
         getRequest.fields(Strings.EMPTY_ARRAY);
         // TODO we can also just return the document size as Content-Length
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestMultiGetAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestMultiGetAction.java
index 5e3bb8eacf8..1722daa4445 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestMultiGetAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/get/RestMultiGetAction.java
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public class RestMultiGetAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         MultiGetRequest multiGetRequest = new MultiGetRequest();
         multiGetRequest.refresh(request.paramAsBoolean("refresh", multiGetRequest.refresh()));
         multiGetRequest.preference(request.param("preference"));
-        multiGetRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", null));
+        multiGetRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", multiGetRequest.realtime()));
         multiGetRequest.ignoreErrorsOnGeneratedFields(request.paramAsBoolean("ignore_errors_on_generated_fields", false));
 
         String[] sFields = null;
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/percolate/RestPercolateAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/percolate/RestPercolateAction.java
index a7c66b245e1..91ecc9dbd6d 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/percolate/RestPercolateAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/percolate/RestPercolateAction.java
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ public class RestPercolateAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         getRequest.routing(restRequest.param("routing"));
         getRequest.preference(restRequest.param("preference"));
         getRequest.refresh(restRequest.paramAsBoolean("refresh", getRequest.refresh()));
-        getRequest.realtime(restRequest.paramAsBoolean("realtime", null));
+        getRequest.realtime(restRequest.paramAsBoolean("realtime", getRequest.realtime()));
         getRequest.version(RestActions.parseVersion(restRequest));
         getRequest.versionType(VersionType.fromString(restRequest.param("version_type"), getRequest.versionType()));
 
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/termvectors/RestTermVectorsAction.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/termvectors/RestTermVectorsAction.java
index 482f2f28c07..d22afa615d8 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/termvectors/RestTermVectorsAction.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/termvectors/RestTermVectorsAction.java
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ public class RestTermVectorsAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         termVectorsRequest.positions(request.paramAsBoolean("positions", termVectorsRequest.positions()));
         termVectorsRequest.payloads(request.paramAsBoolean("payloads", termVectorsRequest.payloads()));
         termVectorsRequest.routing(request.param("routing"));
-        termVectorsRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", null));
+        termVectorsRequest.realtime(request.paramAsBoolean("realtime", termVectorsRequest.realtime()));
         termVectorsRequest.version(RestActions.parseVersion(request, termVectorsRequest.version()));
         termVectorsRequest.versionType(VersionType.fromString(request.param("version_type"), termVectorsRequest.versionType()));
         termVectorsRequest.parent(request.param("parent"));
diff --git a/docs/reference/docs/get.asciidoc b/docs/reference/docs/get.asciidoc
index ea1b6176578..b0c7563a85f 100644
--- a/docs/reference/docs/get.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/reference/docs/get.asciidoc
@@ -46,11 +46,8 @@ curl -XHEAD -i 'http://localhost:9200/twitter/tweet/1'
 === Realtime
 
 By default, the get API is realtime, and is not affected by the refresh
-rate of the index (when data will become visible for search).
-
-In order to disable realtime GET, one can either set `realtime`
-parameter to `false`, or globally default it to by setting the
-`action.get.realtime` to `false` in the node configuration.
+rate of the index (when data will become visible for search). In order
+to disable realtime GET, one can set `realtime` parameter to `false`.
 
 When getting a document, one can specify `fields` to fetch from it. They
 will, when possible, be fetched as stored fields (fields mapped as
diff --git a/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc b/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc
index ec70f261776..459faa3c9d6 100644
--- a/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/reference/migration/migrate_5_0/settings.asciidoc
@@ -231,3 +231,10 @@ The `discovery.zen.minimum_master_node` must bet set for nodes that have
 `transport.host`, `transport.bind_host`, or `transport.publish_host`
 configuration options set. We see those nodes as in "production" mode
 and thus require the setting.
+
+==== Realtime get setting
+
+The `action.get.realtime` setting has been removed. This setting was
+a fallback realtime setting for the get and mget APIs when realtime
+wasn't specified. Now if the parameter isn't specified we always
+default to true.
\ No newline at end of file