--- layout: default title: Copy parent: Ingest processors nav_order: 35 redirect_from: - /api-reference/ingest-apis/processors/copy/ --- # Copy processor The `copy` processor copies an entire object in an existing field to another field. ## Syntax The following is the syntax for the `copy` processor: ```json { "copy": { "source_field": "source_field", "target_field": "target_field", "ignore_missing": true, "override_target": true, "remove_source": true } } ``` {% include copy-curl.html %} ## Configuration parameters The following table lists the required and optional parameters for the `copy` processor. | Parameter | Required/Optional | Description | |---|---|---| `source_field` | Required | The name of the field to be copied. Supports [template snippets]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/ingest-pipelines/create-ingest/#template-snippets). | `target_field` | Required | The name of the field to be copied to. Supports [template snippets]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/ingest-pipelines/create-ingest/#template-snippets). | `ignore_missing` | Optional | Specifies whether the processor should ignore documents that do not contain the specified `source_field`. If set to `true`, the processor does not modify the document if the `source_field` does not exist or is `null`. Default is `false`. | `override_target` | Optional | Specifies whether the processor should override the `target_field` if it already exists in the document. If set to `true`, the processor overrides the value of `target_field` if it already exists. Default is `false`. | `remove_source` | Optional | Specifies whether the processor should remove the `source_field` after it has been copied. If set to `true`, the processor removes the `source_field` from the document. Default is `false`. | `description` | Optional | A brief description of the processor. | `if` | Optional | A condition for running the processor. | `ignore_failure` | Optional | Specifies whether the processor continues execution even if it encounters an error. If set to `true`, the failure is ignored. Default is `false`. | `on_failure` | Optional | A list of processors to run if the processor fails. | `tag` | Optional | An identifier tag for the processor. Useful for debugging in order to distinguish between processors of the same type. | ## Using the processor Follow these steps to use the processor in a pipeline. **Step 1: Create a pipeline** The following query creates a pipeline named `copy_object` that copies a nested object from one field to the root level: ```json PUT /_ingest/pipeline/copy_object { "description": "Pipeline that copies object.", "processors": [ { "copy": { "source_field": "message.content", "target_field":"content", "ignore_missing": true, "override_target": true, "remove_source": true } } ] } ``` {% include copy-curl.html %} **Step 2 (Optional): Test the pipeline** It is recommended that you test your pipeline before you ingest documents. {: .tip} To test the pipeline, run the following query: ```json POST _ingest/pipeline/copy_object/_simulate { "docs": [ { "_index": "testindex1", "_id": "1", "_source":{ "message": { "content": { "foo": "bar", "zoo": [1, 2, 3] } } } } ] } ``` {% include copy-curl.html %} **Response** The following example response confirms that the pipeline is working as expected: ```json { "docs": [ { "doc": { "_index": "testindex1", "_id": "1", "_source": { "content": { "foo": "bar", "zoo": [1, 2, 3] } }, "_ingest": { "timestamp": "2023-08-24T18:02:13.218986756Z" } } } ] } ``` **Step 3: Ingest a document** The following query ingests a document into an index named `testindex1`: ```json PUT testindex1/_doc/1?pipeline=copy_object { "content": { "foo": "bar", "zoo": [1, 2, 3] } } ``` {% include copy-curl.html %} **Step 4 (Optional): Retrieve the document** To retrieve the document, run the following query: ```json GET testindex1/_doc/1 ``` {% include copy-curl.html %}