# What does path.conf do **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [August 7, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-does-path-conf-do/27018 "2015-08-07T02:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![arpan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@arpan](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/arpan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-does-path-conf-do/27018/1 "2015-08-07T02:25:31Z")
I am new to elastic search and was confused what path.conf exactly does. I saw another question on this but it didn't seem detailed enough. I understand how the path can be specified at launch via a flag, I was unsure what the field in the elasticsearch.yml file does and why it is necessary if the path of the config files is different A detailed answer here would be very helpful and much appreciated. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![warkolm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/warkolm/32/39224_2.png) [@warkolm](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/warkolm)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-does-path-conf-do/27018/2 "2015-08-07T03:16:07Z")
It's useful if you have multiple, custom `path.whatever` values, so you can run ES with `bin/elasticsearch -Des.config=/path/to/blah` and then have it pick these up without having to define them on the CLI. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/what-does-path-conf-do/27018/3 "2017-07-05T23:56:58Z")