---
title: Mandatory plugins
description: Require specific Elasticsearch plugins so nodes refuse to start if a critical plugin is missing.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7959/deploy-manage/plugins-and-bundles/self-managed/mandatory-plugins
products:
  - Elasticsearch
applies_to:
  - Self-managed Elastic deployments: Generally available
---

# Mandatory plugins
If you rely on certain plugins, you can define mandatory plugins by adding the `plugin.mandatory` setting to `config/elasticsearch.yml`. For example:
```yaml
plugin.mandatory: analysis-icu,lang-js
```

For safety, a node will not start if it is missing a mandatory plugin.
To learn how settings are applied across deployment types, refer to [Stack settings](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/7959/deploy-manage/stack-settings).