Skip to content
Postman API Testing Tips

How To Insert Data In Elasticsearch Using Postman

API Testing Blog

Inserting Data into Elasticsearch using Postman

Elasticsearch is a powerful search and analytics engine that allows you to store, search, and analyze large amounts of data. Postman is a popular API testing tool that can be used to interact with Elasticsearch. This guide will walk you through the process of inserting data into Elasticsearch using Postman.

Understanding Elasticsearch Basics

Elasticsearch uses a JSON-based document model. Data is stored in documents, which are grouped into indices. These indices can be further divided into types, although this is deprecated in Elasticsearch 7.x and beyond. Each document is identified by a unique ID.

Setting up Your Environment

Before you begin, you need to have the following:

  1. Elasticsearch Installation: Download and install Elasticsearch on your machine. https://www.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch
  2. Postman: Download and install Postman. https://www.postman.com/downloads/
  3. An Elasticsearch Index: Create an index in Elasticsearch to store your data. You can do this using the Elasticsearch API or the Kibana web interface.

Sending Data to Elasticsearch

  1. Create a New Postman Request: Open Postman and create a new request. Choose the POST method.

  2. Set the Request URL: The URL should point to the Elasticsearch endpoint where you want to insert data. A typical URL structure looks like this:

    http://localhost:9200/<index_name>/<type_name>/_doc

    Replace <index_name> and <type_name> with the actual names of your index and type, respectively.

  3. Set the Headers:

    • Content-Type: Set this to application/json. This tells Elasticsearch that you’re sending data in JSON format.
    • Authorization: (Optional) If your Elasticsearch instance is secured, you’ll need to provide authentication credentials.

  4. Construct the JSON Payload: Create a JSON object representing the data you want to insert:

    {
        "name": "John Doe",
        "age": 30,
        "city": "New York"
    }

    This example creates a document with three fields: name, age, and city.

  5. Send the Request: Click the Send button in Postman.

  6. Inspect the Response: Elasticsearch will respond with a status code and a response body. A 201 Created status code indicates successful data insertion. The response body will contain the document ID assigned by Elasticsearch.

Example Request in Postman:

POST http://localhost:9200/my_index/my_type/_doc


Headers:
Content-Type: application/json


Body:
{
    "name": "Jane Doe",
    "age": 25,
    "city": "London"
}

Inserting Data with Specific IDs

You can control the ID assigned to a document during insertion:

  1. Include the ID in the URL: Append the desired ID to the URL:

    http://localhost:9200/<index_name>/<type_name>/<document_id>

  2. Send the Request: Your JSON payload remains the same as before.

Handling Errors

Elasticsearch might return error codes if there are problems:

  • 400 Bad Request: The request is malformed or invalid. Check your JSON payload and URL.
  • 404 Not Found: The specified index or type doesn’t exist.
  • 409 Conflict: A document with the same ID already exists in the index.

Advanced Techniques

  • Bulk Insertion: Use the _bulk API to insert multiple documents in one request, which can be more efficient.
  • Index Mapping: Define the structure of your index and the types of fields it can contain. This helps Elasticsearch optimize data storage.

Conclusion

Postman simplifies the process of testing Elasticsearch APIs. Using Postman, you can quickly and easily insert data, manage indices, and explore the data stored in your Elasticsearch cluster. Remember to validate responses and handle error scenarios for reliable integrations.

API Testing Blog