# How are fields handled when an index name does not match any templates?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-are-fields-handled-when-an-index-name-does-not-match-any-templates/132848>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [May 22, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-are-fields-handled-when-an-index-name-does-not-match-any-templates/132848 "2018-05-22T15:33:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cb2015](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@cb2015](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/cb2015)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-are-fields-handled-when-an-index-name-does-not-match-any-templates/132848/1 "2018-05-22T15:33:12Z")

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Hello,

This is less of a support question, and more of an curiosity one.

If I have an index named "mycoolindex-5000", and have no templates that will match that index name, my fields will generally still come out just fine (most will be strings, unless I set something as an integer or date in logstash when ingesting).

Is there a catch-all template that I am not aware of? What is happening that lets elasticsearch just roll with indices that dont match a template?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/christian_dahlqvist/32/4617_2.png) [@Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Christian_Dahlqvist)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 6:56am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-are-fields-handled-when-an-index-name-does-not-match-any-templates/132848/2 "2018-05-26T06:56:04Z")

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If no template matches, it will fall back on [dynamic mapping](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/6.2/dynamic-mapping.html) unless you have explicitly disabled this and are using strict mappings.

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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:** [June 23, 2018, 6:56am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-are-fields-handled-when-an-index-name-does-not-match-any-templates/132848/3 "2018-06-23T06:56:05Z")

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