Table of contents#

When to Reset OpenSearch#

You might want to reset OpenSearch in these scenarios:

• Corrupted indices that can’t be recovered
• Testing purposes where you need a clean environment
• Configuration issues that are easier to reset than fix
• Learning environments where you want to start over
• Development setups that accumulated too much test data

⚠️ Warning: This process will permanently delete ALL your data, including:

• All indices and documents
• All dashboards and visualizations
• All saved searches and filters
• All user configurations and settings

Prerequisites#

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• Root or sudo access to the server
• Backed up any data you need to preserve
• Documented any custom configurations you want to recreate
• Stopped any applications that depend on OpenSearch

Step-by-Step Reset Process#

1
sudo systemctl stop opensearch
2
sudo systemctl stop opensearch-dashboards

1
sudo systemctl status opensearch
2
sudo systemctl status opensearch-dashboards

1
# Default OpenSearch data directory
2
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/opensearch/*
3

4
# Also remove logs if you want them fresh
5
sudo rm -rf /var/log/opensearch/*

1
# Default OpenSearch Dashboards data directory
2
sudo rm -rf /var/lib/opensearch-dashboards/*
3

4
# Remove logs
5
sudo rm -rf /var/log/opensearch-dashboards/*

1
# Backup current configs first
2
sudo cp -r /etc/opensearch /etc/opensearch.backup
3
sudo cp -r /etc/opensearch-dashboards /etc/opensearch-dashboards.backup
4

5
# Remove configs (they'll be recreated with defaults)
6
sudo rm -rf /etc/opensearch/*
7
sudo rm -rf /etc/opensearch-dashboards/*

1
# Start OpenSearch
2
sudo systemctl start opensearch
3

4
# Wait for OpenSearch to fully start (important!)
5
sleep 30
6

7
# Start OpenSearch Dashboards
8
sudo systemctl start opensearch-dashboards

1
# Check service status
2
sudo systemctl status opensearch
3
sudo systemctl status opensearch-dashboards
4

5
# Verify OpenSearch is responding
6
curl -X GET "localhost:9200"
7

8
# Check cluster health
9
curl -X GET "localhost:9200/_cluster/health?pretty"

Alternative Reset Methods#

1
# Delete all indices
2
curl -X DELETE "localhost:9200/*"
3

4
# Delete specific indices
5
curl -X DELETE "localhost:9200/index_name"

1
# Stop and remove containers
2
docker-compose down -v
3

4
# Start fresh containers
5
docker-compose up -d

Common Issues and Troubleshooting#

1
sudo chown -R opensearch:opensearch /var/lib/opensearch
2
sudo chown -R opensearch-dashboards:opensearch-dashboards /var/lib/opensearch-dashboards

1
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep -E '9200|5601'

1
sudo apt-get install --reinstall opensearch opensearch-dashboards

1
df -h /var/lib/opensearch

Post-Reset Tasks#

After resetting, you’ll need to:

1. Reconfigure security settings if you had custom authentication
2. Recreate index templates and mappings
3. Restore any backed-up data if needed
4. Reconfigure OpenSearch Dashboards index patterns
5. Set up users and roles again

Best Practices#

1. Always backup first - Even if you think you don’t need the data
2. Document your configurations - Keep track of custom settings
3. Test in development first - Never reset production without testing
4. Use snapshots - Consider using OpenSearch snapshots for easier recovery
5. Monitor after reset - Check logs for any issues after restarting

Conclusion#

Resetting OpenSearch and OpenSearch Dashboards gives you a clean slate but comes with the cost of losing all data and configurations. Always ensure you have proper backups and understand the implications before proceeding. This process is best suited for development environments or situations where data recovery is not possible or needed.

Remember: with great power comes great responsibility - use the reset process wisely!