How to Delete Document in Elasticsearch: Syntax and Examples

To delete a document in Elasticsearch, use the DELETE HTTP method with the document's index and id. The syntax is DELETE /index/_doc/document_id, which removes the specified document from the index.

Syntax

The basic syntax to delete a document in Elasticsearch uses the DELETE HTTP method targeting the document's index and id. Here is the pattern:

• DELETE: HTTP method to remove data.
• /index/_doc/document_id: URL path where index is the name of your index, _doc is the document type (default in modern Elasticsearch), and document_id is the unique ID of the document to delete.

http

DELETE /my_index/_doc/1

Example

This example shows how to delete a document with ID 1 from the index my_index using curl command line tool. It demonstrates the request and the expected JSON response.

bash

curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:9200/my_index/_doc/1"

{
  "_index": "my_index",
  "_type": "_doc",
  "_id": "1",
  "_version": 2,
  "result": "deleted",
  "_shards": {
    "total": 2,
    "successful": 1,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "_seq_no": 5,
  "_primary_term": 1
}

Output

{
  "_index": "my_index",
  "_type": "_doc",
  "_id": "1",
  "_version": 2,
  "result": "deleted",
  "_shards": {
    "total": 2,
    "successful": 1,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "_seq_no": 5,
  "_primary_term": 1
}

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when deleting documents in Elasticsearch include:

• Using the wrong index or document_id, which results in a 404 Not Found error.
• Not specifying the correct document type; modern Elasticsearch uses _doc as the default type.
• Assuming the document is deleted immediately; Elasticsearch deletes are eventually consistent and may take a moment to reflect.
• Not handling the response properly to confirm deletion succeeded.

bash

curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:9200/wrong_index/_doc/1"

# Correct way:
curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:9200/my_index/_doc/1"

Quick Reference

Action	Syntax Example	Description
Delete document	DELETE /my_index/_doc/1	Deletes document with ID 1 from my_index
Check if deleted	GET /my_index/_doc/1	Returns 404 if document is deleted
Delete with curl	curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:9200/my_index/_doc/1"	Command line delete request

Key Takeaways

Use the DELETE HTTP method with the index and document ID to remove a document.

Always specify the correct index and document ID to avoid errors.

Modern Elasticsearch uses _doc as the document type in the URL.

Check the response to confirm the document was deleted successfully.

Deleted documents may not disappear instantly due to Elasticsearch's eventual consistency.