Elasticsearch 7 to 8 compatibility changes for Camunda

This page describes changes and compatibility considerations when upgrading from Elasticsearch 7 to Elasticsearch 8 in a Camunda 8 environment.

Before upgrading Elasticsearch, review the Elasticsearch breaking changes and confirm compatibility with Camunda-supported versions.

When upgrading Elasticsearch, follow the official Elasticsearch breaking changes guide.

Also review the Camunda 8 supported environments to confirm the supported Elasticsearch versions.

Elasticsearch Curator

Camunda 8 is not compatible with Elasticsearch Curator for Elasticsearch 8.

Curator is commonly used to manage data retention by deleting indices. When upgrading to Elasticsearch 8, replace Curator with Index Lifecycle Management (ILM).

Disable Curator only after the upgrade to Elasticsearch 8 is complete. Disabling Curator earlier can result in indices without an ILM policy, which prevents automatic deletion.

For details on configuring ILM for Zeebe indices, see Elasticsearch exporter retention settings.

tip

You can replace Curator with ILM while still running Elasticsearch 7. This can simplify incremental upgrades from Elasticsearch 7 to 8.