# Does the restore function support incremental recovery?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [May 21, 2026, 8:09am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434 "2026-05-21T08:09:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mloine](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/mloine/32/146901_2.png) [@mloine](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/mloine)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 8:09am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434/1 "2026-05-21T08:09:34Z")

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Hello, we currently have a scenario where the new and old clusters are switched, and data will be restored to the new cluster using snapshots;  
I would like to ask if the restore method also supports incremental recovery when elasticsearh supports incremental snapshots?  
For example, I first use the snapshot taken the day before to restore the data to the new cluster; during production operation and maintenance events, I take the latest snapshot and then restore the latest data to reduce the cost of the restore.

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**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:01am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434/2 "2026-05-21T09:01:12Z")

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It's basically how snapshots work.

Although they are considered as full backups, we only copy the needed files when snapshotting or restoring. It's possible because Lucene segments are immutable.

As a end user, you should just restore the latest snapshot.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mloine](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/mloine/32/146901_2.png) [@mloine](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/mloine)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:19am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434/3 "2026-05-21T09:19:06Z")

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Thanks, let me confirm one more point:  
For example, the snapshots are three snapshots a b c in order.  
Do I have to restore in order when I restore? For example, it must be restore a -\> restore b -\> restore c, or restore a -\> restore c can also be used

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**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:43am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434/4 "2026-05-21T09:43:38Z")

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No. You just restore c. You can even delete snapshots a and b.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mloine](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/mloine/32/146901_2.png) [@mloine](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/mloine)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 9:50am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434/5 "2026-05-21T09:50:13Z")

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Sorry, I may not have expressed it clearly before.  
I need to restore the data in advance to reduce the actual time spent on changes to the production environment; so I must first perform a restore of snapshot A (which takes about 8 hours); on this basis, confirm whether the subsequent incremental data restoration must be B -\> C, or just reply to C directly.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dadoonet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/dadoonet/32/137187_2.png) [@dadoonet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/dadoonet)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 10:38am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/does-the-restore-function-support-incremental-recovery/386434/6 "2026-05-21T10:38:54Z")

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Just C. You don't need B