---
title: Cluster Blocks Read Only
description: Describes what AutoOps detects and surfaces with the Cluster Blocks Read Only insight: A cluster-wide read-only block is enabled, so indexing and updates are rejected everywhere.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch/cluster_blocks_read_only
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Hosted: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes: Generally available
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise: Generally available
  - Self-managed Elastic deployments: Generally available
---

# Cluster Blocks Read Only
A cluster-wide read-only block is enabled, so indexing and updates are rejected everywhere. New and updated documents cannot be stored until the block is cleared.
<note>
  For a complete list of insights, refer to [AutoOps insights](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch).
</note>


## Insight details


| Field     | Value          |
|-----------|----------------|
| Component | Elasticsearch  |
| Severity  | High           |
| Scope     | Cluster        |
| Domains   | cluster-health |


## Example: What you might see in AutoOps

The following is an example of what you might see when this insight is triggered. Real insights use live data and links from your deployment or cluster.

### The cluster is blocked and only read operations are allowed


#### What was detected

_No description available._

#### Recommendations

<note>
  AutoOps shows different recommendations depending on how their conditions match your deployment or cluster.
</note>

<dropdown title="Clear cluster read-only block">
  **Condition**: Shown when enough disk space.Clear the cluster read-only block so indexing can resume. Use the action below, or set `cluster.blocks.read_only` to null in cluster settings.
  ```json

  {
    "transient": {
      "cluster.blocks.read_only": null
    },
    "persistent": {
      "cluster.blocks.read_only": null
    }
  }
  ```

  <note>
    Requires the `manage cluster` privilege. Requires Elasticsearch 8.0.0 or later. This action changes cluster or index configuration.
  </note>
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Free disk before clearing read-only block">
  **Condition**: Shown when not enough disk space.The cluster hit the low disk watermark. Increase disk space or delete old indices before you clear the read-only block. Deleting indices is permanent; confirm backups first.
</dropdown>


#### Background and impact

Impact: When this setting is set to true, indexing is blocked and this will prohibit your cluster from storing new data.
The 'cluster.blocks.read_only' setting is currently set to true on your cluster. This means that indexing is blocked and only read operations are available.
This block is usually added manually by an operator to prevent indexing to the cluster for maintenance reasons.