---
type: api
title: Bulk update API keys
description: Update the attributes for multiple API keys.
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4371/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-security-bulk-update-api-keys
resource: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4371/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-security-bulk-update-api-keys
products:
  - Elasticsearch
---

# Bulk update API keys

Availability: 8.5+

## Paths

- `POST` `/_security/api_key/_bulk_update`

- [Api key auth](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4371/api/doc/elasticsearch/authentication#apikeyauth)
- [Basic auth](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4371/api/doc/elasticsearch/authentication#basicauth)
- [Bearer auth](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/4371/api/doc/elasticsearch/authentication#bearerauth)

## Description

Update the attributes for multiple API keys.

IMPORTANT: It is not possible to use an API key as the authentication credential for this API. To update API keys, the owner user's credentials are required.

This API is similar to the update API key API but enables you to apply the same update to multiple API keys in one API call. This operation can greatly improve performance over making individual updates.

It is not possible to update expired or invalidated API keys.

This API supports updates to API key access scope, metadata and expiration.
The access scope of each API key is derived from the `role_descriptors` you specify in the request and a snapshot of the owner user's permissions at the time of the request.
The snapshot of the owner's permissions is updated automatically on every call.

IMPORTANT: If you don't specify `role_descriptors` in the request, a call to this API might still change an API key's access scope. This change can occur if the owner user's permissions have changed since the API key was created or last modified.

A successful request returns a JSON structure that contains the IDs of all updated API keys, the IDs of API keys that already had the requested changes and did not require an update, and error details for any failed update.

## Required authorization

* Cluster privileges: `manage_own_api_key`

## Request Body

`application/json`

- `expiration` (string Duration) — optional
  Expiration time for the API keys.
By default, API keys never expire.
This property can be omitted to leave the value unchanged.
- `ids` (union string | [] string) — required
  The API key identifiers.
- `metadata` (Metadata) — optional
  Arbitrary nested metadata to associate with the API keys.
Within the `metadata` object, top-level keys beginning with an underscore (`_`) are reserved for system usage.
Any information specified with this parameter fully replaces metadata previously associated with the API key.
- `role_descriptors` (map string to RoleDescriptor) — optional
  The role descriptors to assign to the API keys.
An API key's effective permissions are an intersection of its assigned privileges and the point-in-time snapshot of permissions of the owner user.
You can assign new privileges by specifying them in this parameter.
To remove assigned privileges, supply the `role_descriptors` parameter as an empty object `{}`.
If an API key has no assigned privileges, it inherits the owner user's full permissions.
The snapshot of the owner's permissions is always updated, whether you supply the `role_descriptors` parameter.
The structure of a role descriptor is the same as the request for the create API keys API.
  Map values ({} RoleDescriptor)
  - `cluster` ([] union ClusterPrivilege) — optional
    A list of cluster privileges. These privileges define the cluster level actions that API keys are able to execute.
    Values: `all`, `cancel_task`, `clone_api_key`, `create_snapshot`, `cross_cluster_replication`, `cross_cluster_search`, `delegate_pki`, `grant_api_key`, `manage`, `manage_api_key`, `manage_autoscaling`, `manage_behavioral_analytics`, `manage_ccr`, `manage_data_frame_transforms`, `manage_data_stream_global_retention`, `manage_enrich`, `manage_esql`, `manage_ilm`, `manage_index_templates`, `manage_inference`, `manage_ingest_pipelines`, `manage_logstash_pipelines`, `manage_ml`, `manage_oidc`, `manage_own_api_key`, `manage_pipeline`, `manage_reindex`, `manage_rollup`, `manage_saml`, `manage_search_application`, `manage_search_query_rules`, `manage_search_synonyms`, `manage_security`, `manage_service_account`, `manage_slm`, `manage_token`, `manage_transform`, `manage_user_profile`, `manage_watcher`, `monitor`, `monitor_data_frame_transforms`, `monitor_data_stream_global_retention`, `monitor_enrich`, `monitor_esql`, `monitor_inference`, `monitor_ml`, `monitor_reindex`, `monitor_rollup`, `monitor_snapshot`, `monitor_stats`, `monitor_text_structure`, `monitor_transform`, `monitor_watcher`, `none`, `post_behavioral_analytics_event`, `read_ccr`, `read_fleet_secrets`, `read_ilm`, `read_pipeline`, `read_security`, `read_slm`, `transport_client`, `write_connector_secrets`, `write_fleet_secrets`
  - `indices` ([] IndicesPrivileges) — optional
    A list of indices permissions entries.
    - `field_security` ({} FieldSecurity) — optional
      The document fields that the owners of the role have read access to.
      - `except` (string Fields) — optional
      - `grant` (string Fields) — optional
    - `names` (union IndexName | [] IndexName) — required
      A list of indices (or index name patterns) to which the permissions in this entry apply.
    - `privileges` ([] union IndexPrivilege) — required
      The index level privileges that owners of the role have on the specified indices.
      Values: `all`, `auto_configure`, `create`, `create_doc`, `create_index`, `create_view`, `cross_cluster_replication`, `cross_cluster_replication_internal`, `delete`, `delete_index`, `delete_view`, `index`, `maintenance`, `manage`, `manage_data_stream_lifecycle`, `manage_follow_index`, `manage_ilm`, `manage_leader_index`, `manage_view`, `monitor`, `none`, `read`, `read_cross_cluster`, `read_view_metadata`, `view_index_metadata`, `write`
    - `query` (IndicesPrivilegesQuery) — optional
      A search query that defines the documents the owners of the role have access to. A document within the specified indices must match this query for it to be accessible by the owners of the role.
    - `allow_restricted_indices` (boolean · default: false) — optional
      Set to `true` if using wildcard or regular expressions for patterns that cover restricted indices. Implicitly, restricted indices have limited privileges that can cause pattern tests to fail. If restricted indices are explicitly included in the `names` list, Elasticsearch checks privileges against these indices regardless of the value set for `allow_restricted_indices`.
  - `remote_indices` ([] RemoteIndicesPrivileges) — optional
    A list of indices permissions for remote clusters.
    - `clusters` (string Names) — required
      A list of cluster aliases to which the permissions in this entry apply.
    - `field_security` ({} FieldSecurity) — optional
      The document fields that the owners of the role have read access to.
      - `except` (string Fields) — optional
      - `grant` (string Fields) — optional
    - `names` (union IndexName | [] IndexName) — required
      A list of indices (or index name patterns) to which the permissions in this entry apply.
    - `privileges` ([] union IndexPrivilege) — required
      The index level privileges that owners of the role have on the specified indices.
      Values: `all`, `auto_configure`, `create`, `create_doc`, `create_index`, `create_view`, `cross_cluster_replication`, `cross_cluster_replication_internal`, `delete`, `delete_index`, `delete_view`, `index`, `maintenance`, `manage`, `manage_data_stream_lifecycle`, `manage_follow_index`, `manage_ilm`, `manage_leader_index`, `manage_view`, `monitor`, `none`, `read`, `read_cross_cluster`, `read_view_metadata`, `view_index_metadata`, `write`
    - `query` (IndicesPrivilegesQuery) — optional
      A search query that defines the documents the owners of the role have access to. A document within the specified indices must match this query for it to be accessible by the owners of the role.
    - `allow_restricted_indices` (boolean · default: false) — optional
      Set to `true` if using wildcard or regular expressions for patterns that cover restricted indices. Implicitly, restricted indices have limited privileges that can cause pattern tests to fail. If restricted indices are explicitly included in the `names` list, Elasticsearch checks privileges against these indices regardless of the value set for `allow_restricted_indices`.
  - `remote_cluster` ([] RemoteClusterPrivileges) — optional
    A list of cluster permissions for remote clusters.
NOTE: This is limited a subset of the cluster permissions.
    - `clusters` (string Names) — required
      A list of cluster aliases to which the permissions in this entry apply.
    - `privileges` ([] enum RemoteClusterPrivilege) — required
      The cluster level privileges that owners of the role have on the remote cluster.
      Values: `monitor_enrich`, `monitor_stats`
  - `global` ({} GlobalPrivilege) — optional
    An object defining global privileges. A global privilege is a form of cluster privilege that is request-aware.
    - `application` ({} ApplicationGlobalUserPrivileges) — optional
      - `manage` ({} ManageUserPrivileges) — required
        - `applications` ([] string) — required
    - `profile` ({} WriteProfileGlobalUserPrivileges) — optional
      A privilege that grants the ability to write the `data` and `access` sections of user profiles for the specified applications.
      - `write` ({} ManageUserPrivileges) — optional
        The applications for which user profile data can be written.
Absent when the `profile` section is present but grants no privileges.
        - `applications` ([] string) — required
    - `role` ({} ManageRolesGlobalUserPrivileges) — optional
      A privilege that grants the ability to manage roles that are scoped to the specified indices.
      - `manage` ({} ManageRolesPrivileges) — optional
        The index-scoped role management privileges.
Absent when the `role` section is present but grants no privileges.
        - `indices` ([] ManageRolesIndexPermissions) — required
          - `names` ([] string) — required
            A list of indices (or index name patterns) that the owners of the role can manage roles for.
          - `privileges` ([] string) — required
            The index privileges that the managed roles are allowed to grant on the specified indices.
    - `data_source` ([] DataSourcePrivileges) — optional
      A list of data source privilege entries, used to grant access to ES|QL data sources.
      - `names` ([] string) — required
        A list of data source names or wildcard patterns to which the permissions in this entry apply.
      - `privileges` ([] union DataSourcePrivilege) — required
        The data source privileges that owners of the role have for the specified data sources.

Supported values include:
  - `create`: Grants privilege to create a data source with a matching name.
  - `delete`: Grants privilege to delete a data source with a matching name.
  - `read_metadata`: Grants privilege to read a data source's metadata.
  - `read`: Grants privilege to attach a dataset to a data source with a matching name.
  - `manage`: Grants all data source privileges, including `create`, `delete`, `read`, and `read_metadata`.
        Values: `create`, `delete`, `read_metadata`, `read`, `manage`
  - `applications` ([] ApplicationPrivileges) — optional
    A list of application privilege entries
    - `application` (string) — required
      The name of the application to which this entry applies.
    - `privileges` ([] string) — required
      A list of strings, where each element is the name of an application privilege or action.
    - `resources` ([] string) — required
      A list resources to which the privileges are applied.
  - `metadata` (Metadata) — optional
    Optional meta-data. Within the metadata object, keys that begin with `_` are reserved for system usage.
  - `run_as` ([] string) — optional
    A list of users that the API keys can impersonate.
NOTE: In Elastic Cloud Serverless, the run-as feature is disabled.
For API compatibility, you can still specify an empty `run_as` field, but a non-empty list will be rejected.
  - `description` (string) — optional
    Optional description of the role descriptor
  - `restriction` ({} Restriction) — optional
    Restriction for when the role descriptor is allowed to be effective.
    - `workflows` ([] union RestrictionWorkflow) — required
      A list of workflows to which the API key is restricted.
NOTE: In order to use a role restriction, an API key must be created with a single role descriptor.
      Values: `search_application_query`
  - `transient_metadata` (map string to object) — optional

## Response

`application/json`

- `errors` ({} BulkError)
  - `count` (number)
    The number of errors
  - `details` (map string to ErrorCause)
    Details about the errors, keyed by role name
    Map values ({} ErrorCause)
    - `type` (string)
      The type of error
    - `reason` (union string) — nullable
      A human-readable explanation of the error, in English.
      One of: `string`
    - `stack_trace` (string)
      The server stack trace. Present only if the `error_trace=true` parameter was sent with the request.
    - `caused_by` ({} ErrorCause) — recursive
    - `root_cause` ([] ErrorCause) — recursive
    - `suppressed` ([] ErrorCause) — recursive
- `noops` ([] string)
- `updated` ([] string)
## Code Examples

#### Console

```console
POST /_security/api_key/_bulk_update
{
  "ids": [
    "VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx",
    "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"
  ],
  "role_descriptors": {
    "role-a": {
      "indices": [
        {
          "names": [
            "*"
          ],
          "privileges": [
            "write"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "metadata": {
    "environment": {
      "level": 2,
      "trusted": true,
      "tags": [
        "production"
      ]
    }
  },
  "expiration": "30d"
}
```

#### JavaScript

```javascript
const response = await client.security.bulkUpdateApiKeys({
  ids: ["VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx", "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"],
  role_descriptors: {
    "role-a": {
      indices: [
        {
          names: ["*"],
          privileges: ["write"],
        },
      ],
    },
  },
  metadata: {
    environment: {
      level: 2,
      trusted: true,
      tags: ["production"],
    },
  },
  expiration: "30d",
});
```

#### Python

```python
resp = client.security.bulk_update_api_keys(
    ids=[
        "VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx",
        "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"
    ],
    role_descriptors={
        "role-a": {
            "indices": [
                {
                    "names": [
                        "*"
                    ],
                    "privileges": [
                        "write"
                    ]
                }
            ]
        }
    },
    metadata={
        "environment": {
            "level": 2,
            "trusted": True,
            "tags": [
                "production"
            ]
        }
    },
    expiration="30d",
)
```

#### curl

```curl
curl -X POST "$ELASTICSEARCH_URL/_security/api_key/_bulk_update" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey $ELASTIC_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "ids": [
      "VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx",
      "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"
    ],
    "role_descriptors": {
      "role-a": {
        "indices": [
          {
            "names": [
              "*"
            ],
            "privileges": [
              "write"
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "metadata": {
      "environment": {
        "level": 2,
        "trusted": true,
        "tags": [
          "production"
        ]
      }
    },
    "expiration": "30d"
  }'
```

#### Java

```java
client.security().bulkUpdateApiKeys(b -> b
    .expiration(e -> e
        .time("30d")
    )
    .ids(List.of("VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx","H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"))
    .metadata("environment", JsonData.fromJson("""
{"level":2,"trusted":true,"tags":["production"]}
"""))
    .roleDescriptors("role-a", r -> r
        .indices(i -> i
            .names("*")
            .privileges("write")
        )
    )
);
```

#### C#

```c#
var response = await client.Security
    .BulkUpdateApiKeysAsync(d1 => d1
        .Expiration("30d")
        .Ids("VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx", "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij")
        .Metadata(new Dictionary<string, object>()
        {
            { "environment", JsonSerializer.Deserialize<JsonElement>("""
            {
              "level": 2,
              "trusted": true,
              "tags": [
                "production"
              ]
            }
            """) }
        })
        .RoleDescriptors(d2 => d2
            .Add("role-a", d3 => d3
                .Indices(d4 => d4
                    .Names(["*"])
                    .Privileges(IndexPrivilege.Write)
                )
            )
        )
    );
```

#### PHP

```php
$resp = $client->security()->bulkUpdateApiKeys([
    "body" => [
        "ids" => array(
            "VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx",
            "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij",
        ),
        "role_descriptors" => [
            "role-a" => [
                "indices" => array(
                    [
                        "names" => array(
                            "*",
                        ),
                        "privileges" => array(
                            "write",
                        ),
                    ],
                ),
            ],
        ],
        "metadata" => [
            "environment" => [
                "level" => 2,
                "trusted" => true,
                "tags" => array(
                    "production",
                ),
            ],
        ],
        "expiration" => "30d",
    ],
]);
```

#### Ruby

```ruby
response = client.security.bulk_update_api_keys(
  body: {
    "ids": [
      "VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx",
      "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"
    ],
    "role_descriptors": {
      "role-a": {
        "indices": [
          {
            "names": [
              "*"
            ],
            "privileges": [
              "write"
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "metadata": {
      "environment": {
        "level": 2,
        "trusted": true,
        "tags": [
          "production"
        ]
      }
    },
    "expiration": "30d"
  }
)
```

## Response Examples

#### Security bulk update api keys response example1

A successful response from updating two API keys.

```json
{
  "updated": [
    "VuaCfGcBCdbkQm-e5aOx",
    "H3_AhoIBA9hmeQJdg7ij"
  ],
  "noops": []
}
```

