[role="xpack"]
[[watcher-api-get-watch]]
=== Get watch API
++++
<titleabbrev>Get watch</titleabbrev>
++++

This API retrieves a watch by its ID.

[float]
==== Request

`GET _watcher/watch/<watch_id>`

[float]
==== Path Parameters

`watch_id` (required)::
  (string) Identifier for the watch.

[float]
==== Authorization

You must have `manage_watcher` or `monitor_watcher` cluster privileges to use
this API. For more information, see
{xpack-ref}/security-privileges.html[Security Privileges].

[float]
==== Examples

The following example gets a watch with `my-watch` id:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
GET _watcher/watch/my_watch
--------------------------------------------------
// CONSOLE
// TEST[setup:my_active_watch]

Response:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
{
  "found": true,
  "_id": "my_watch",
  "_seq_no": 0,
  "_primary_term": 1,
  "_version": 1,
  "status": { <1>
    "version": 1,
    "state": {
      "active": true,
      "timestamp": "2015-05-26T18:21:08.630Z"
    },
    "actions": {
      "test_index": {
        "ack": {
          "timestamp": "2015-05-26T18:21:08.630Z",
          "state": "awaits_successful_execution"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "watch": {
    "input": {
      "simple": {
        "payload": {
          "send": "yes"
        }
      }
    },
    "condition": {
      "always": {}
    },
    "trigger": {
      "schedule": {
        "hourly": {
          "minute": [0, 5]
        }
      }
    },
    "actions": {
      "test_index": {
        "index": {
          "index": "test"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
--------------------------------------------------
// TESTRESPONSE[s/"timestamp": "2015-05-26T18:21:08.630Z"/"timestamp": "$body.status.state.timestamp"/]
<1> The current status of the watch