Briefly, this error occurs when Elasticsearch is unable to parse an HTTP request template due to an invalid time value in a specific field. This could be due to incorrect formatting or an incompatible time value. To resolve this issue, you can: 1) Check the format of the time value and ensure it matches the expected format. 2) Validate the time value to ensure it’s within the acceptable range. 3) Review the HTTP request template for any syntax errors or missing elements.
This guide will help you check for common problems that cause the log ” could not parse http request template. invalid time value for [{}] field ” to appear. To understand the issues related to this log, read the explanation below about the following Elasticsearch concepts: plugin, request, template.
If you want to learn more about Elasticsearch templates, check out this guide.
Overview
A template in Elasticsearch falls into one of the two following categories and is indexed inside Elasticsearch using its dedicated endpoint:
- Index templates, which are a way to define a set of rules including index settings, mappings and an index pattern. The template is applied automatically whenever a new index is created with the matching pattern. Templates are also used to dynamically apply custom mapping for the fields which are not predefined inside existing mapping.
- Search templates, which help in defining templates for search queries using mustache scripting language. These templates act as a placeholder for variables defined inside the search queries.
Examples
Create a dynamic index template
PUT /_template/template_1?pretty
{
"index_patterns": [
"logs*",
"api*"
],
"settings": {
"number_of_shards": 2
},
"mappings": {
"dynamic_templates": [
{
"strings": {
"match_mapping_type": "string",
"mapping": {
"type": "keyword"
}
}
}
],
"properties": {
"host_name": {
"type": "keyword"
},
"created_at": {
"type": "date"
}
}
}
}Create a search template
POST /_scripts/search_template_1?pretty
{
"script": {
"lang": "mustache",
"source": {
"query": {
"match": {
"description": "{{query_string}}"
}
}
}
}
}Executing a search query using search template
GET /_search/template?pretty
{
"id": "search_template_1",
"params": {
"query_string": "hello world"
}
}The search request will be executed by default on all the indices available in the cluster and can be limited to particular indices using an index parameter.
Notes
- A dynamic index template is always useful when you do not know the field names in advance and want to control their mapping as per the business use case.
Log Context
Log “could not parse http request template. invalid time value for [{}] field” class name is HttpRequestTemplate.java. We extracted the following from Elasticsearch source code for those seeking an in-depth context :
// Users and 2.x specify the timeout this way
try {
builder.connectionTimeout(WatcherDateTimeUtils.parseTimeValue(parser;
HttpRequest.Field.CONNECTION_TIMEOUT.toString()));
} catch (ElasticsearchParseException pe) {
throw new ElasticsearchParseException("could not parse http request template. invalid time value for [{}] field";
pe; currentFieldName);
}
} else if (HttpRequest.Field.READ_TIMEOUT.match(currentFieldName; parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
builder.readTimeout(TimeValue.timeValueMillis(parser.longValue()));
} else if (HttpRequest.Field.READ_TIMEOUT_HUMAN.match(currentFieldName; parser.getDeprecationHandler())) {
