How to set Elasticsearch discovery seed hosts

Configuring discovery.seed_hosts gives each Elasticsearch node a reliable set of peers to contact during startup, which keeps a multi-node cluster discoverable after restarts, maintenance windows, and network changes.

Cluster discovery happens over the transport layer rather than the HTTP API. The discovery.seed_hosts setting supplies host names or IP addresses for the master-eligible nodes that a joining or restarting node should contact first, and Elasticsearch resolves every address returned for those names before attempting cluster formation.

Current self-managed installs often secure the HTTP layer with HTTPS and authentication, but peer discovery still depends on transport reachability and matching cluster identity. In a multi-node cluster, update the seed host list on every node, including the first installed node, and remove cluster.initial_master_nodes after the cluster forms so later restarts do not trip discovery bootstrap checks.

1. Open /etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml on the node that needs the discovery update.

   $ sudo nano /etc/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.yml

2. Set the shared cluster.name value if it is not already defined.

   Nodes with different cluster.name values never join the same cluster.

   cluster.name: search-cluster

3. Set discovery.seed_hosts to the transport addresses of every master-eligible node in the cluster.

   discovery.seed_hosts:
     - es-master-a:9300
     - es-master-b:9300
     - es-master-c:9300

   Use fixed DNS names or IP addresses that resolve to reachable transport endpoints. Each address may be host or host:port; if the port is omitted, Elasticsearch checks transport.profiles.default.port, then transport.port, and otherwise falls back to 9300.

4. Remove cluster.initial_master_nodes from the file if this node is joining or restarting in an existing cluster.

   cluster.initial_master_nodes:
     - es-master-a
     - es-master-b
     - es-master-c

   cluster.initial_master_nodes is only for the first bootstrap of a brand-new cluster. Do not leave it on nodes joining an existing cluster or on nodes that are restarting.

5. Save the file and apply the same discovery.seed_hosts list on the remaining nodes that should be able to rejoin the cluster.

   The first installed node in a multi-node package deployment also needs a complete discovery.seed_hosts list, or later restarts can fail discovery bootstrap checks.

6. Restart Elasticsearch on the changed node.

   $ sudo systemctl restart elasticsearch

   Restart nodes one at a time on an existing cluster so the cluster keeps quorum and shard movement stays controlled.

   Related: How to manage the Elasticsearch service with systemctl in Linux

7. Confirm the service returned to the running state.

   $ systemctl is-active elasticsearch
   active

   Use sudo journalctl --unit=elasticsearch.service --no-pager --lines=80 when the unit does not return active.

8. Wait for the expected node count to appear through the local HTTP API.

   $ curl -sS "http://localhost:9200/_cluster/health?wait_for_nodes=>=3&timeout=60s&filter_path=cluster_name,status,timed_out,number_of_nodes&pretty"
   {
     "cluster_name" : "search-cluster",
     "status" : "green",
     "timed_out" : false,
     "number_of_nodes" : 3
   }

   number_of_nodes and timed_out confirm discovery more directly than the health color alone.

   Recent self-managed package installs typically use https://localhost:9200// with a trusted CA and authentication, for example curl -u elastic "https://localhost:9200/..." or an API key header.</WRAP> - List cluster nodes and confirm that the node rejoined the expected cluster state. <code>$ curl -sS “http://localhost:9200/_cat/nodes?v&s=name&h=ip,name,node.role,master” ip name node.role master 192.0.2.40 es-master-a cdfhilmrstw * 192.0.2.41 es-master-b cdfhilmrstw - 192.0.2.42 es-master-c cdfhilmrstw -</code>

   The master column must show exactly one *. If the node is missing from the list, recheck transport reachability, DNS resolution, cluster.name, and whether the seed list targets master-eligible nodes.

   Related: How to check Elasticsearch cluster formation