---
title: Fix error: All shards failed
description: The all shards failed error indicates that Elasticsearch couldn't get a successful response from any of the shards involved in the query. Possible causes...
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/troubleshoot/elasticsearch/all-shards-failed
products:
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Fix error: All shards failed
```json
Error: all shards failed
```

The `all shards failed` error indicates that Elasticsearch couldn't get a successful response from any of the shards involved in the query. Possible causes include shard allocation issues, misconfiguration, insufficient resources, or unsupported operations such as aggregating on text fields.

## Unsupported operations on text fields

The `all shards failed` error can occur when you try to sort or aggregate on `text` fields. These fields are designed for full-text search and don't support exact-value operations like sorting and aggregation.
To fix this issue, use a `.keyword` subfield:
```json

{
  "aggs": {
    "names": {
      "terms": {
        "field": "name.keyword"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

If no `.keyword` subfield exists, define a [multi-field](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/elasticsearch/mapping-reference/field-data-types#types-multi-fields) mapping:
```json

{
  "mappings": {
    "properties": {
      "name": {
        "type": "text",
        "fields": {
          "keyword": {
            "type": "keyword"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```


### Metric aggregations on text fields

The `all shards failed` error can also occur when you use a metric aggregation on a text field. [Metric aggregations](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/aggregations/metrics) require numeric fields.
You can use a script to convert the text value to a number at query time:
```json

{
  "aggs": {
    "total_cost": {
      "sum": {
        "script": {
          "source": "Integer.parseInt(doc.cost.value)"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Or change the field mapping to a numeric type:
```json

{
  "mappings": {
    "properties": {
      "cost": {
        "type": "integer"
      }
    }
  }
}
```


## Failed shard recovery

A shard failure during recovery can prevent successful queries.
To identify the cause, check the cluster health:
```json
```

As a last resort, you can delete the problematic index.

## Misused global aggregation

[Global aggregations](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/aggregations/search-aggregations-bucket-global-aggregation) must be defined at the top level of the aggregations object. Nesting can cause errors.
To fix this issue, structure the query so that the `global` aggregation appears at the top level:
```json

{
  "size": 0,
  "aggs": {
    "all_products": {
      "global": {},
      "aggs": {
        "genres": {
          "terms": {
            "field": "cost"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```


## Reverse_nested usage errors

Using a [`reverse_nested`](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3016/reference/aggregations/search-aggregations-bucket-reverse-nested-aggregation) aggregation outside of a `nested` context causes errors.
To fix this issue, structure the query so that the `reverse_nested` aggregation is inside a `nested` aggregation:
```json

{
  "aggs": {
    "comments": {
      "nested": {
        "path": "comments"
      },
      "aggs": {
        "top_usernames": {
          "terms": {
            "field": "comments.username"
          },
          "aggs": {
            "comment_issue": {
              "reverse_nested": {},
              "aggs": {
                "top_tags": {
                  "terms": {
                    "field": "tags"
                  }
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```


## Further troubleshooting

Use the `_cat/shards` API to view shard status and troubleshoot further.
```json
```

For a specific index:
```json
```

Example output:
```json
my-index 5 p STARTED    0  283b 127.0.0.1 ziap
my-index 5 r UNASSIGNED
my-index 2 p STARTED    1 3.7kb 127.0.0.1 ziap
my-index 2 r UNASSIGNED
my-index 3 p STARTED    3 7.2kb 127.0.0.1 ziap
my-index 3 r UNASSIGNED
my-index 1 p STARTED    1 3.7kb 127.0.0.1 ziap
my-index 1 r UNASSIGNED
my-index 4 p STARTED    2 3.8kb 127.0.0.1 ziap
my-index 4 r UNASSIGNED
my-index 0 p STARTED    0  283b 127.0.0.1 ziap
my-index 0 r UNASSIGNED
```