# Will the snapshot repository able to capture the changes in mappings?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/will-the-snapshot-repository-able-to-capture-the-changes-in-mappings/339244>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Tags:** slm-snapshot-lifecycle-management, snapshot-and-restore\
**Created:** [July 26, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/will-the-snapshot-repository-able-to-capture-the-changes-in-mappings/339244 "2023-07-26T03:43:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 5

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**Author:** ![DavidTurner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/davidturner/32/22453_2.png) [@DavidTurner](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/DavidTurner)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/will-the-snapshot-repository-able-to-capture-the-changes-in-mappings/339244/5 "2023-07-26T21:37:24Z")

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> [@Opster\_support](#):
>
> Snapshots in Elasticsearch and OpenSearch are incremental. This means that each new snapshot only stores data that has changed since the last successful snapshot.

This is not correct. Snapshots in Elasticsearch are _deduplicated_, but logically independent, quite unlike incremental backups which depend on earlier backups.

> [@Opster\_support](#):
>
> No, you cannot restore the data into index B using the snapshot repository if index B is still using the old mapping. The reason is that the snapshot restore process does not allow for the mapping of the index to be changed.

This is not correct. When you restore an index, you restore its mapping too.

> [@Opster\_support](#):
>
> Yes, if you first manually update the mapping of Index B to match the mapping of the snapshot you want to restore, you can now restore the data of the latest snapshot into index B.

This is also not correct, for the same reason. No need to manually update any mappings.

> [@Opster\_support](#):
>
> The mapping of the new index C needs to match the mapping of the index at the time of the snapshot. The restore process will then restore the data into the new index C.

This is also not correct, for the same reason. The restore process restores both data and mappings.

Was this answer partially written by OpsGPT like [some of your earlier answers](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/how-to-secure-the-elasticsearch-api/339092/2)? It's very nicely written, but fundamentally incorrect.

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