---
title: Linked project skipped
description: When a machine learning datafeeds fans out across linked projects in Elastic Cloud Serverless, unavailable or misconfigured projects are skipped for that...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7403/troubleshoot/elasticsearch/machine-learning/cps-datafeed-linked-project-skipped
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elasticsearch
  - Machine Learning
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview
  - Elastic Stack: Unavailable
---

# Linked project skipped
When a machine learning datafeeds fans out across linked projects in Elastic Cloud Serverless, unavailable or misconfigured projects are skipped for that search cycle. The datafeeds continues on remaining scope, but anomaly detection jobs may train on incomplete cross-project data until you restore the missing projects or narrow `project_routing`.
<tip>
  If you can't find your issue here, explore the other [troubleshooting topics](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7403/troubleshoot) or [contact us](/elastic/docs-content/pull/7403/troubleshoot#contact-us).
</tip>


## Diagnose linked project skipped

**Error messages**
Skipped linked projects surface in machine learning job **Messages** (Kibana **ML → Anomaly Detection → your job → Messages**, or the `.ml-notifications-*` index). The outer extraction error wraps the skip cause:
```txt
Datafeed is encountering errors extracting data: {0}
```

The inner cause often includes the skip summary:
```txt
[N] remote clusters out of [M] were skipped when performing datafeed search
```

Replace `[N]` and `[M]` with the counts from your message (for example, `[1] remote clusters out of [2] were skipped when performing datafeed search`).
**Check datafeed statistics**
Use the [get datafeed stats API](https://www.elastic.co/docs/api/doc/elasticsearch/operation/operation-ml-get-datafeed-stats) to see which projects were skipped and how often:
```json
```

Inspect `remote_cluster_stats` — especially `skippedClusters` and per-cluster consecutive skip counters — and compare them with the datafeed's `project_routing` value from `GET _ml/datafeeds/{datafeed_id}`.
**Distinguish user configuration from platform outage**

| Pattern                                                                                                                  | Likely cause                                                              |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| One datafeeds skips a project that others reference; `project_routing` names an unlinked alias or a removed project link | User configuration — wrong routing or stale project reference             |
| Many unrelated datafeeds skip the **same** linked project at the same time; cross-project queries fail broadly           | Platform outage or regional cross-project search connectivity degradation |

For routing or reference problems, see [Stale project reference](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7403/troubleshoot/elasticsearch/machine-learning/cps-datafeed-stale-project-reference). When linked projects are added or removed and scope stabilizes, see [Search scope changed](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7403/troubleshoot/elasticsearch/machine-learning/cps-datafeed-search-scope-changed).

## Resolve linked project skipped

**Restore the project link**
If the linked project was removed or never linked, re-establish the link in Elastic Cloud project settings, then wait for the next datafeeds cycle or restart the datafeeds.
**Fix `project_routing`**
Update the datafeed so routing matches only linked, reachable projects:
```json

{
  "project_routing": "_alias:prod-*"
}
```

Use `_origin` or `_alias:_origin` when you need local-only analysis until cross-project access is restored ([CPS](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7403/explore-analyze/cross-project-search)).
**Verify recovery**
After fixing the link or routing, confirm skips stop:
```json
```

`remote_cluster_stats` should show the previously skipped projects as available. Check **Messages** for new extraction errors.
If many datafeeds still skip the same project after your configuration is correct, contact Elastic support with your project id, datafeeds id, and the skip message text.