java lang RuntimeException can not run elasticsearch as root

Question

Hi Guys,

I am trying to run the ElasticSearch server, but it is showing me the below error.

[2020-06-18T14:07:06,854][ERROR][o.e.b.ElasticsearchUncaughtExceptionHandler] [localhost.localdomain] uncaught exception in thread [main]
org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.StartupException: java.lang.RuntimeException: can not run elasticsearch as root
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.init(Elasticsearch.java:174) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.execute(Elasticsearch.java:161) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.cli.EnvironmentAwareCommand.execute(EnvironmentAwareCommand.java:86) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.cli.Command.mainWithoutErrorHandling(Command.java:127) ~[elasticsearch-cli-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.cli.Command.main(Command.java:90) ~[elasticsearch-cli-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.main(Elasticsearch.java:126) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.main(Elasticsearch.java:92) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: can not run elasticsearch as root
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Bootstrap.initializeNatives(Bootstrap.java:111) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Bootstrap.setup(Bootstrap.java:178) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Bootstrap.init(Bootstrap.java:393) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.init(Elasticsearch.java:170) ~[elasticsearch-7.7.1.jar:7.7.1]
        ... 6 more
uncaught exception in thread [main]
java.lang.RuntimeException: can not run elasticsearch as root
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Bootstrap.initializeNatives(Bootstrap.java:111)
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Bootstrap.setup(Bootstrap.java:178)
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Bootstrap.init(Bootstrap.java:393)
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.init(Elasticsearch.java:170)
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.execute(Elasticsearch.java:161)
        at org.elasticsearch.cli.EnvironmentAwareCommand.execute(EnvironmentAwareCommand.java:86)
        at org.elasticsearch.cli.Command.mainWithoutErrorHandling(Command.java:127)
        at org.elasticsearch.cli.Command.main(Command.java:90)
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.main(Elasticsearch.java:126)
        at org.elasticsearch.bootstrap.Elasticsearch.main(Elasticsearch.java:92)
For complete error details, refer to the log at /root/elasticsearch-7.7.1/logs/elasticsearch.log
[root@localhost bin]# 2020-06-18 18:07:07,218651 UTC [28855] ERROR CNamedPipeFactory.cc@224 Unable to open named pipe /tmp/elasticsearch-8997654485246994218/controller_log_28720 for writing: Interrupted system call
2020-06-18 18:07:07,218784 UTC [28855] ERROR CLogger.cc@298 Cannot log to named pipe /tmp/elasticsearch-8997654485246994218/controller_log_28720 as it could not be opened for writing
2020-06-18 18:07:07,218918 UTC [28855] FATAL Main.cc@102 Could not reconfigure logging

MD · Answer 1 · Jun 19, 2020

Hi@akhtar,

ElasticSearch will not require root privilege to run the server. So you need to create one user named elasticsearch and then try to run the ElasticSearch program. You can follow the below-given commands.

groupadd elasticsearch
useradd elasticsearch -g elasticsearch -p elasticsearch
cd /opt
chown -R elasticsearch:elasticsearch /root/elasticsearch
chmod o+x /root/ /root/elasticsearch/
chgrp elasticsearch /root/elasticsearch/
su - elasticsearch
cd /root/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-7.4.0
./bin/elasticsearch

Hope it helps!!

If not then its recommended to join our Java training class and learn about Java in detail.

Thank You!!