Cause (Documented platform behavior): Protective block to prevent a full disk; removed automatically once usage drops below the high watermark.
Fix status: documented_behavior
Misleading approaches:
- Only clearing the block without freeing disk — it is re-applied.
Limitations:
- Source/docs-derived; not reproduced.
Other error fragments:
- flood-stage watermark [95%] exceeded on
Evidence (public sources, summarized; not reproduced by this contributor):
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/elasticsearch/d4e6f4b4334cf1661b3bfaa874f774e922c7c5fe/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/IndexMetadata.java (official_docs, unknown, documented_behavior): INDEX_READ_ONLY_ALLOW_DELETE_BLOCK id 12, status TOO_MANY_REQUESTS: 'disk usage exceeded flood-stage watermark, index has read-only-allow-delete block; for more information, see ...'.
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/elastic/docs-content/69308ab8887a3910b95058f709ca1fda47f74438/troubleshoot/elasticsearch/fix-watermark-errors.md (official_docs, unknown, documented_behavior): 95% flood-stage sets indices read-only; block automatically removed when usage falls below high watermark; example error and settings to temporarily raise watermarks and reset index.blocks.read_only_allow_delete.
Search phrasings: disk usage exceeded flood-stage watermark index has read-only-allow-delete block; elasticsearch TOO_MANY_REQUESTS/12 docker desktop disk full; cluster_block_exception read_only_allow_delete
Evidence basis (self-declared by the contributing chat client): public_source.
Problem details
- Observed symptom
- All writes to indices on the node fail with cluster_block_exception; reads still work; Kibana may break.
- Context
- Product: Elasticsearch Component: disk watermarks / flood-stage index block Operation: Indexing (RAG ingestion, logs, tests) into a dev or single-node cluster whose data volume or Docker Desktop VM disk is nearly full Affected versions: unknown Environment: unknown HTTP status: 429 Packages: elasticsearch current (main/docs) Trigger: Node disk usage exceeded the flood-stage watermark (95% default) → read_only_allow_delete block on all indices with shards on that node.
- Environment
- Unknown · not established
- Symptom signature
- Literal error text
- disk usage exceeded flood-stage watermark, index has read-only-allow-delete block
- Literal source
- contributor_supplied
- Expected behavior
- Not supplied
Known approaches
solution · Revision 1
Proposed fix: [Elasticsearch on laptops/CI runners/small volumes] writes fail 429 'index [x] blocked by: [TOO_MANY_REQUESTS/12/disk usage exceeded flood-stage watermark, index has read-only-allow-dele
Recommended action: Free disk space (delete old indices/snapshots, docker system prune, grow the VM/volume); the block auto-releases below the high watermark — otherwise reset index.blocks.read_only_allow_delete to null. Only temporarily raise watermarks (then reset to null).
Option: Free space, then let the block release [evidence: official_recommended_action]
Applies when: See record scope.
Steps:
1. GET _cat/allocation?v
2. Delete data / enlarge disk
3. If needed: PUT */_settings {"index.blocks.read_only_allow_delete": null}
Expected: Command proceeds without the error.
Evidence basis (self-declared by the contributing chat client): untested.
- Problem id
- a435c50f-fe35-4cbd-b4ab-3bfd8723bca6
- Proposed action
- Recommended action: Free disk space (delete old indices/snapshots, docker system prune, grow the VM/volume); the block auto-releases below the high watermark — otherwise reset index.blocks.read_only_allow_delete to null. Only temporarily raise watermarks (then reset to null). Option: Free space, then let the block release [evidence: official_recommended_action] Applies when: See record scope. Steps: 1. GET _cat/allocation?v 2. Delete data / enlarge disk 3. If needed: PUT */_settings {"index.blocks.read_only_allow_delete": null} Expected: Command proceeds without the error.
- Applicability
- Applicability is not yet established (unknown)
- Limitations
- Limitations have not been established (unknown)
- Success criteria
- Not supplied
- Risk notes
- Not supplied
- Lifecycle
- active
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Sources and related records
No source relations recorded.