[[setup]]
= Setup

[partintro]
--
This section includes information on how to setup *elasticsearch* and
get it running. If you haven't already, http://www.elastic.co/downloads[download] it, and
then check the <<setup-installation,installation>> docs.

NOTE: Elasticsearch can also be installed from our repositories using `apt` or `yum`.
See <<setup-repositories>>.

[[setup-installation]]
[float]
== Installation

After link:/downloads/elasticsearch[downloading] the latest release and extracting it,
*elasticsearch* can be started using:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch
--------------------------------------------------

On *nix systems, the command will start the process in the foreground.

[[setup-installation-daemon]]
[float]
=== Running as a daemon

To run it in the background, add the `-d` switch to it:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch -d
--------------------------------------------------

[[setup-installation-pid]]
[float]
=== PID

The Elasticsearch process can write its PID to a specified file on startup,
making it easy to shut down the process later on:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch -d -p pid <1>
$ kill `cat pid` <2>
--------------------------------------------------
<1> The PID is written to a file called `pid`.
<2> The `kill` command sends a `TERM` signal to the PID stored in the `pid` file.

NOTE: The startup scripts provided for <<setup-service,Linux>> and <<setup-service-win,Windows>>
take care of starting and stopping the Elasticsearch process for you.

.*NIX
*************************************************************************
There are added features when using the `elasticsearch` shell script.
The first, which was explained earlier, is the ability to easily run the
process either in the foreground or the background.

Another feature is the ability to pass `-D` or getopt long style
configuration parameters directly to the script. When set, all override
anything set using either `JAVA_OPTS` or `ES_JAVA_OPTS`. For example:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch -Des.index.refresh_interval=5s --node.name=my-node
--------------------------------------------------
*************************************************************************

[float]
[[jvm-version]]
== Java (JVM) version

Elasticsearch is built using Java, and requires at least
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html[Java 8] in
order to run. Only Oracle's Java and the OpenJDK are supported. The same JVM
version should be used on all Elasticsearch nodes and clients.

We recommend installing the *Java 8 update 20 or later*.
Elasticsearch will refuse to start if a known-bad version of Java is used.

The version of Java to use can be configured by setting the `JAVA_HOME`
environment variable.

--

include::setup/configuration.asciidoc[]

include::setup/as-a-service.asciidoc[]

include::setup/as-a-service-win.asciidoc[]

include::setup/dir-layout.asciidoc[]

include::setup/repositories.asciidoc[]

include::setup/upgrade.asciidoc[]