---
title: Many deleted docs
description: Describes what AutoOps detects and surfaces with the Many deleted docs insight: Some indices retain a large share of documents marked deleted but not yet merged away.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch/many_deleted_docs
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
---

# Many deleted docs
Some indices retain a large share of documents marked deleted but not yet merged away. Those tombstones still use disk and add work during searches.
<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  | Low                            |
| Scope     | Index                          |
| Domains   | disk-storage, index-management |


## 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.

### There are many deleted docs that can be removed


#### What was detected

There are many deleted documents that are still taking up disk space in some indices. For example, the index with highest deleted docs ratio is: | Index name | Index size | Total docs | Deleted docs |
| ---------------------------- | ---------- | --------- | -------------------- |
| logs-prod-000045 | 500 GB | 42,000,000 | 85% |

#### Recommendations

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

<dropdown title="Force merge deleted documents">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Run a force merge with `only_expunge_deletes=true` on `logs-prod-000045`, `logs-prod-000046` to reclaim disk used by deleted documents. Use the action below.
  ```json
  ```

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

<dropdown title="Reindex indices">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Reindex indices with many deleted documents into new indices. After reindex completes, delete the old indices to reclaim disk space.
</dropdown>


#### Background and impact

Removing deleted documents from an index is good practice because it saves storage space, improves search performance, maintains data accuracy, and simplifies index management.