[role="xpack"]
[testenv="basic"]
[[freeze-index-api]]
== Freeze index API
++++
<titleabbrev>Freeze index</titleabbrev>
++++

Freezes an index. 

[float]
=== Request

`POST /<index>/_freeze`

[float]
=== Description

A frozen index has almost no overhead on the cluster (except
for maintaining its metadata in memory), and is blocked for write operations.
See <<frozen-indices>> and <<unfreeze-index-api>>.

[float]
=== Path Parameters

`index` (required)::
(string) Identifier for the index

//=== Query Parameters

//=== Authorization

[float]
=== Examples

The following example freezes and unfreezes an index:

[source,js]
--------------------------------------------------
POST /my_index/_freeze
POST /my_index/_unfreeze
--------------------------------------------------
// CONSOLE
// TEST[s/^/PUT my_index\n/]

[IMPORTANT]
================================
 Freezing an index will close the index and reopen it within the same API call. This causes primaries to not be allocated for a short
 amount of time and causes the cluster to go red until the primaries are allocated again. This limitation might be removed in the future.
================================