﻿---
title: Elasticsearch Curator
description: Elasticsearch Curator is a tool that helps you automate and manage index lifecycles, providing advanced control over your Elasticsearch data. While most...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5613/manage-data/lifecycle/curator
products:
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Unavailable
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Elasticsearch Curator
Elasticsearch Curator is a tool that helps you automate and manage index lifecycles, providing advanced control over your Elasticsearch data. While most use cases are now handled by Index lifecycle management (ILM)—included with a Basic license—Curator remains a valuable option for scenarios requiring additional functionality or customization.
- If ILM provides the functionality to manage your index lifecycle and you have at least a Basic license, use ILM instead of Curator. Many Elastic Stack components use ILM by default.
- If you're looking for additional functionality for managing your index lifecycle, you can read more in [Curator index management](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/curator/tree/main/reference) about how Elasticsearch Curator can help for your use case.