@elastic/elasticsearch vs elasticsearch
Elasticsearch Client Libraries Comparison
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@elastic/elasticsearchelasticsearch
What's Elasticsearch Client Libraries?

Elasticsearch client libraries are essential for interacting with Elasticsearch clusters. They provide a programmatic interface to perform operations such as indexing, searching, and managing data within Elasticsearch. The choice between different client libraries often hinges on the specific features, performance, and ease of use they offer, as well as their compatibility with various JavaScript environments.

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@elastic/elasticsearch1,293,2155,2703.34 MB222 months agoApache-2.0
elasticsearch287,197563.23 MB0-Apache-2.0
Feature Comparison: @elastic/elasticsearch vs elasticsearch

Maintenance and Support

  • @elastic/elasticsearch:

    @elastic/elasticsearch is actively maintained by Elastic, ensuring it stays up-to-date with the latest Elasticsearch features and improvements. This package receives regular updates, bug fixes, and enhancements, making it a reliable choice for production environments.

  • elasticsearch:

    elasticsearch is less actively maintained and may not receive updates as frequently as @elastic/elasticsearch. While it can still be used effectively, users may encounter issues with compatibility as Elasticsearch evolves.

API Compatibility

  • @elastic/elasticsearch:

    @elastic/elasticsearch is designed to be fully compatible with the latest Elasticsearch APIs, providing developers with access to all new features and functionalities as they are released. This ensures that developers can leverage the full power of Elasticsearch without worrying about deprecated features.

  • elasticsearch:

    elasticsearch may not support the latest APIs and features introduced in newer versions of Elasticsearch. This can limit developers' ability to utilize the latest enhancements and optimizations available in the Elasticsearch ecosystem.

TypeScript Support

  • @elastic/elasticsearch:

    @elastic/elasticsearch offers first-class TypeScript support, providing type definitions that enhance the development experience. This allows developers to catch errors during compile time and improves code quality and maintainability.

  • elasticsearch:

    elasticsearch does not provide built-in TypeScript support, which may lead to challenges in type safety and code maintainability for TypeScript users. Developers may need to create their own type definitions or rely on third-party packages.

Performance

  • @elastic/elasticsearch:

    @elastic/elasticsearch is optimized for performance, providing features like connection pooling and request throttling to manage load effectively. This can lead to better performance in high-traffic applications and improved resource utilization.

  • elasticsearch:

    elasticsearch may not include the same level of performance optimizations as @elastic/elasticsearch, potentially leading to slower interactions with Elasticsearch, especially under heavy load.

Learning Curve

  • @elastic/elasticsearch:

    @elastic/elasticsearch has a more modern API design that may be easier for new developers to understand and use effectively. Its comprehensive documentation and examples help facilitate a smoother learning process.

  • elasticsearch:

    elasticsearch may have a steeper learning curve for developers unfamiliar with its API structure, especially if they are trying to implement more advanced features that may not be well-documented.

How to Choose: @elastic/elasticsearch vs elasticsearch
  • @elastic/elasticsearch:

    Choose @elastic/elasticsearch if you need a modern, actively maintained client that adheres closely to the latest Elasticsearch features and APIs. It is designed for use with the latest versions of Elasticsearch and offers comprehensive support for all Elasticsearch functionalities, including advanced features like async/await support and TypeScript definitions.

  • elasticsearch:

    Choose elasticsearch if you are working with an older version of Elasticsearch or require a simpler, more lightweight client that may have fewer dependencies. It is suitable for basic operations but may lack some of the advanced features and optimizations present in the newer @elastic/elasticsearch package.

Similar Npm Packages to @elastic/elasticsearch

@elastic/elasticsearch is the official client library for interacting with Elasticsearch, a powerful search and analytics engine. This library provides a simple and efficient way to connect to an Elasticsearch cluster, perform CRUD operations, execute complex queries, and manage indices. It is designed to work seamlessly with the latest features of Elasticsearch, ensuring that developers can leverage the full power of the platform in their applications. The client is built with modern JavaScript features and follows best practices for performance and usability, making it a go-to choice for developers working with Elasticsearch.

While @elastic/elasticsearch is the official client, there are alternatives available, such as elasticsearch. This library is an older implementation of the Elasticsearch client for Node.js. It provides similar functionalities for interacting with Elasticsearch but may not support the latest features and improvements found in the official client. Developers who are already using this library might find it familiar, but they should be aware that it may lack some of the optimizations and enhancements present in the @elastic/elasticsearch package.

For a comprehensive comparison between the official Elasticsearch client and its alternative, check out the following link: Comparing @elastic/elasticsearch vs elasticsearch.

Similar Npm Packages to elasticsearch

elasticsearch is a powerful JavaScript client for interacting with Elasticsearch, a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine. This package allows developers to perform various operations such as indexing, searching, and managing Elasticsearch clusters directly from their Node.js applications. With its comprehensive API, elasticsearch simplifies the process of integrating search capabilities into applications, making it easier to handle large volumes of data and perform complex queries efficiently.

An alternative to the elasticsearch package is @elastic/elasticsearch. This is the official Elasticsearch client maintained by Elastic, the company behind Elasticsearch. It is designed to be more modern and efficient, providing a more streamlined API and better support for the latest features of Elasticsearch. The @elastic/elasticsearch package offers improvements in performance, error handling, and compatibility with the latest versions of Elasticsearch, making it a preferred choice for many developers.

For a detailed comparison of these two packages, you can check out the following link: Comparing @elastic/elasticsearch vs elasticsearch.

README for @elastic/elasticsearch

Elasticsearch Node.js client

js-standard-style Build Status Node CI codecov NPM downloads

Download the latest version of Elasticsearch or sign-up for a free trial of Elastic Cloud.

The official Node.js client for Elasticsearch.

Installation

Refer to the Installation section of the getting started documentation.

Connecting

Refer to the Connecting section of the getting started documentation.

Compatibility

The Elasticsearch client is compatible with currently maintained JS versions.

Language clients are forward compatible; meaning that clients support communicating with greater or equal minor versions of Elasticsearch without breaking. It does not mean that the client automatically supports new features of newer Elasticsearch versions; it is only possible after a release of a new client version. For example, a 8.12 client version won't automatically support the new features of the 8.13 version of Elasticsearch, the 8.13 client version is required for that. Elasticsearch language clients are only backwards compatible with default distributions and without guarantees made.

| Elasticsearch Version | Elasticsearch-JS Branch | Supported | | --------------------- | ------------------------ | --------- | | main | main | | | 8.x | 8.x | 8.x | | 7.x | 7.x | 7.17 |

Usage

Node.js support

NOTE: The minimum supported version of Node.js is v18.

The client versioning follows the Elastic Stack versioning, this means that major, minor, and patch releases are done following a precise schedule that often does not coincide with the Node.js release times.

To avoid support insecure and unsupported versions of Node.js, the client will drop the support of EOL versions of Node.js between minor releases. Typically, as soon as a Node.js version goes into EOL, the client will continue to support that version for at least another minor release. If you are using the client with a version of Node.js that will be unsupported soon, you will see a warning in your logs (the client will start logging the warning with two minors in advance).

Unless you are always using a supported version of Node.js, we recommend defining the client dependency in your package.json with the ~ instead of ^. In this way, you will lock the dependency on the minor release and not the major. (for example, ~7.10.0 instead of ^7.10.0).

| Node.js Version | Node.js EOL date | End of support | | --------------- |------------------| ---------------------- | | 8.x | December 2019 | 7.11 (early 2021) | | 10.x | April 2021 | 7.12 (mid 2021) | | 12.x | April 2022 | 8.2 (early 2022) | | 14.x | April 2023 | 8.8 (early 2023) | | 16.x | September 2023 | 8.11 (late 2023) |

Compatibility

Language clients are forward compatible; meaning that clients support communicating with greater or equal minor versions of Elasticsearch. Elasticsearch language clients are only backwards compatible with default distributions and without guarantees made.

| Elasticsearch Version | Client Version | | --------------------- |----------------| | 8.x | 8.x | | 7.x | 7.x | | 6.x | 6.x | | 5.x | 5.x |

To install a specific major of the client, run the following command:

npm install @elastic/elasticsearch@<major>

Browser

[!WARNING] There is no official support for the browser environment. It exposes your Elasticsearch instance to everyone, which could lead to security issues. We recommend that you write a lightweight proxy that uses this client instead, you can see a proxy example here.

Documentation

Install multiple versions

If you are using multiple versions of Elasticsearch, you need to use multiple versions of the client. In the past, install multiple versions of the same package was not possible, but with npm v6.9, you can do that via aliasing.

The command you must run to install different version of the client is:

npm install <alias>@npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@<version>

So for example if you need to install 7.x and 6.x, you will run:

npm install es6@npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@6
npm install es7@npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@7

And your package.json will look like the following:

"dependencies": {
  "es6": "npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@^6.7.0",
  "es7": "npm:@elastic/elasticsearch@^7.0.0"
}

You will require the packages from your code by using the alias you have defined.

const { Client: Client6 } = require('es6')
const { Client: Client7 } = require('es7')

const client6 = new Client6({
  cloud: { id: '<cloud-id>' },
  auth: { apiKey: 'base64EncodedKey' }
})
const client7 = new Client7({
  cloud: { id: '<cloud-id>' },
  auth: { apiKey: 'base64EncodedKey' }
})

client6.info().then(console.log, console.log)
client7.info().then(console.log, console.log)

Finally, if you want to install the client for the next version of Elasticsearch (the one that lives in Elasticsearch’s main branch), you can use the following command:

npm install esmain@github:elastic/elasticsearch-js

License

This software is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

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