---
title: Create a follower index to replicate a specific index
description: When you create a follower index, you reference the remote cluster and the leader index in your remote cluster. To create a follower index in Kibana: 
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/deploy-manage/tools/cross-cluster-replication/ccr-getting-started-follower-index
products:
  - 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
---

# Create a follower index to replicate a specific index
When you create a follower index, you reference the remote cluster and the leader index in your remote cluster.
To create a follower index in Kibana:
1. Go to the **Cross Cluster Replication** management page in the navigation menu or use the [global search field](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/explore-analyze/find-and-organize/find-apps-and-objects).
2. Choose the **Follower Indices** tab.
3. Choose the cluster (ClusterA) containing the leader index you want to replicate.
4. Enter the name of the leader index, which is `kibana_sample_data_ecommerce` if you are following the tutorial.
5. Enter a name for your follower index, such as `follower-kibana-sample-data`.

Elasticsearch initializes the follower using the [remote recovery](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/deploy-manage/tools/cross-cluster-replication#ccr-remote-recovery) process, which transfers the existing Lucene segment files from the leader index to the follower index. The index status changes to **Paused**. When the remote recovery process is complete, the index following begins and the status changes to **Active**.
When you index documents into your leader index, Elasticsearch replicates the documents in the follower index.
![The Cross-Cluster Replication page in Kibana](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/deploy-manage/images/elasticsearch-reference-ccr-follower-index.png)

<dropdown title="API example">
  You can also use the [create follower API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-ccr-follow) to create follower indices. When you create a follower index, you must reference the remote cluster and the leader index that you created in the remote cluster.When initiating the follower request, the response returns before the [remote recovery](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/deploy-manage/tools/cross-cluster-replication#ccr-remote-recovery) process completes. To wait for the process to complete, add the `wait_for_active_shards` parameter to your request.
  ```json

  {
    "remote_cluster" : "leader",
    "leader_index" : "server-metrics"
  }
  ```
  Use the [get follower stats API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-ccr-follow-stats) to inspect the status of replication.
</dropdown>