---
title: Master Not Discovered
description: Describes what AutoOps detects and surfaces with the Master Not Discovered insight: No master node could be discovered when a node attempted to join or form the cluster.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/autoops-insights/tree/main/elasticsearch/master_not_discovered
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
---

# Master Not Discovered
No master node could be discovered when a node attempted to join or form the cluster. Without a successfully elected master, cluster coordination cannot proceed and nodes might fail to start.
<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  | Critical                          |
| Scope     | Cluster                           |
| Domains   | cluster-health, high-availability |


## 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.

### No master node was discovered


#### 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="Check network configuration">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Verify network connectivity and firewall rules between nodes, and confirm discovery and transport settings let master-eligible nodes reach each other.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Check master node is running">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Confirm master-eligible nodes are running, healthy, and able to participate in master election.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Check cluster bootstrapping">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Review cluster bootstrapping and initial master discovery settings so a new or recovering cluster can elect a master on first start.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="Check data node configuration">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.Verify data node roles, discovery settings, and cluster join configuration match your intended topology.
</dropdown>

<dropdown title="More dedicated master nodes">
  **Condition**: Always shown for this insight.With es-data-01 master nodes and es-data-01 data nodes, add masters until the cluster has three dedicated master nodes for high availability.
</dropdown>


#### Background and impact

Impact: The cluster will not start if the correct number of master nodes is not discovered in the configuration.
When a node joins a cluster, it will check to see whether a master node has been successfully elected in the cluster. If the cluster has not been able to elect a suitable master node according to its configuration, then the cluster will not start. This is usually because an insufficient number of master eligible nodes are present in the cluster.