# IllegalStateException: alias has more than one write index

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/illegalstateexception-alias-has-more-than-one-write-index/254065>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [November 2, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/illegalstateexception-alias-has-more-than-one-write-index/254065 "2020-11-02T18:04:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![exper0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8dc957/32.png) [@exper0](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/exper0)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/illegalstateexception-alias-has-more-than-one-write-index/254065/1 "2020-11-02T18:04:51Z")

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Hello,  
I'm getting the same error on all ES data nodes saying that alias has more than one write index so none of data nodes can actually start, cluster is dead. Is there any way to fix the problem without deleting all data? Since all nodes cannot start I cannot use API to fix alias. Loosing data is a bad option.  
We use Elastic Search 6.6.1 and ILM

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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:** [November 30, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/illegalstateexception-alias-has-more-than-one-write-index/254065/2 "2020-11-30T18:05:07Z")

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Stef\_Nestor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/stef_nestor/32/85483_2.png) [@Stef\_Nestor](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Stef_Nestor)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/illegalstateexception-alias-has-more-than-one-write-index/254065/3 "2021-08-03T23:08:39Z")

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(Apologies for the original lack of response.)

Original error would have formatted

> `alias [x] has more than one write index [y,z]`

For future note when searched, this is now answered in the blog [Troubleshooting ILM blog](https://www.elastic.co/blog/troubleshooting-elasticsearch-ilm-common-issues-and-fixes) with the direct summary quote:

> When you run [Get Aliases](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/cat-alias.html), you’ll notice that two indices are marked as `is_write_index:true` when only one should be per alias. You’ll want to toggle `is_write_index:false` on one of the indices via the [Aliases API](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/indices-aliases.html).