# Does elasticsearch snapshot delete indices?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-elasticsearch-snapshot-delete-indices/67846>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [December 2, 2016, 11:07am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-elasticsearch-snapshot-delete-indices/67846 "2016-12-02T11:07:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![elasticheart](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/elasticheart/32/65189_2.png) [@elasticheart](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/elasticheart)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 11:07am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-elasticsearch-snapshot-delete-indices/67846/1 "2016-12-02T11:07:03Z")

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Hi,

I am using curator plugin to create elasticsearch indices. Once snapshot of some index is created with it, that index still exists in elasticsearch and I can see that. My requirement is to delete indices after taking snapshots, so that I can save space, and can restore if I want old indices. Is this the normal behavior of elasticsearch snapshot method, that it wont delete indices after taking snapshot? Do I need to do separate snapshot and delete actions to achieve my goal?

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![ywelsch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/ywelsch/32/7751_2.png) [@ywelsch](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/ywelsch)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 11:08am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-elasticsearch-snapshot-delete-indices/67846/2 "2016-12-02T11:08:52Z")

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yes, snapshotting won't delete the index.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elasticheart](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/elasticheart/32/65189_2.png) [@elasticheart](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/elasticheart)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-elasticsearch-snapshot-delete-indices/67846/3 "2016-12-02T11:10:12Z")

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Thanks @ywelsch

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-elasticsearch-snapshot-delete-indices/67846/4 "2016-12-30T11:10:21Z")

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