API key management in Elasticsearch - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - API key management

Create API Key Request

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Elasticsearch Validates Request

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Generate API Key with Permissions

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Return API Key and ID

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Use API Key in Requests

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Elasticsearch Authenticates Using API Key

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API Key Usage Allowed or Denied

↓

Optional: Invalidate API Key

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End

This flow shows how an API key is created, returned, used for authentication, and optionally invalidated in Elasticsearch.

Execution Sample

Elasticsearch

POST /_security/api_key
{
  "name": "my-api-key",
  "role_descriptors": {
    "my-role": { "cluster": ["all"] }
  }
}

This request creates an API key named 'my-api-key' with full cluster permissions.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Request/Response	Result
1	Send API key creation request	POST /_security/api_key with name and roles	Request received by Elasticsearch
2	Validate request	Check user permissions and request format	Request valid, proceed
3	Generate API key	Create key string and assign roles	API key and ID generated
4	Return API key	Response with id and api_key	Client receives API key
5	Use API key in request	Send request with Authorization: ApiKey <encoded>	Elasticsearch authenticates request
6	Authenticate API key	Check API key validity and permissions	Request allowed or denied
7	Optional: Invalidate API key	Send DELETE /_security/api_key with id	API key invalidated
8	Use invalidated key	Send request with invalidated key	Request denied due to invalid key

💡 Execution stops when API key is invalidated or request is denied.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 3	After Step 4	After Step 7	Final
api_key_id	null	generated_id_123	generated_id_123	null	null
api_key_string	null	generated_key_abc	generated_key_abc	null	null
api_key_valid	false	true	true	false	false

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does the API key become invalid after step 7?

Because the API key is explicitly invalidated by a DELETE request, as shown in execution_table row 7, making it unusable for future requests.

How does Elasticsearch know if the API key has the right permissions?

During authentication (step 6), Elasticsearch checks the roles assigned to the API key against the requested action, as shown in execution_table row 6.

What happens if the API key creation request is invalid?

The request is rejected during validation (step 2), so no API key is generated, stopping the flow early.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the state of api_key_valid after step 4?

A true

B false

C null

D undefined

💡 Hint

Check variable_tracker column 'After Step 4' for 'api_key_valid'

At which step does Elasticsearch authenticate the API key in a request?

A Step 5

B Step 6

C Step 3

D Step 7

💡 Hint

See execution_table row describing authentication process

If the API key is invalidated, what happens when it is used again?

A Request is allowed

B API key is regenerated automatically

C Request is denied

D Request is ignored

💡 Hint

Refer to execution_table row 8 about using invalidated key

Concept Snapshot

API Key Management in Elasticsearch:
- Create API key with POST /_security/api_key
- Assign roles for permissions
- Use API key in Authorization header
- Elasticsearch authenticates API key on each request
- API keys can be invalidated to revoke access

Full Transcript

This visual execution trace shows how API key management works in Elasticsearch. First, a client sends a request to create an API key with a name and roles. Elasticsearch validates the request, generates the key and ID, and returns them. The client then uses the API key in the Authorization header for subsequent requests. Elasticsearch authenticates these requests by checking the API key's validity and permissions. Optionally, the API key can be invalidated, after which any use of that key is denied. Variables like api_key_id and api_key_valid change state during these steps, reflecting the lifecycle of the API key.