Briefly, this error occurs when Elasticsearch tries to load a watch (a feature of X-Pack alerting) but fails due to issues like incorrect watch syntax, missing indices, or insufficient permissions. To resolve this, you can check the watch syntax for errors, ensure the referenced indices exist, and verify that the user has the necessary permissions to execute the watch. Additionally, check the Elasticsearch logs for more detailed error messages that can help pinpoint the exact issue.
This guide will help you check for common problems that cause the log ” couldn’t load watch [{}]; ignoring it… ” to appear. To understand the issues related to this log, read the explanation below about the following Elasticsearch concepts: plugin.
Log Context
Log “couldn’t load watch [{}]; ignoring it…” classname is WatcherService.java.
We extracted the following from Elasticsearch source code for those seeking an in-depth context :
Watch watch = parser.parse(id; true; hit.getSourceRef(); XContentType.JSON; hit.getSeqNo(); hit.getPrimaryTerm());
if (watch.status().state().isActive()) {
watches.add(watch);
}
} catch (Exception e) {
logger.error(new ParameterizedMessage("couldn't load watch [{}]; ignoring it..."; id); e);
}
}
SearchScrollRequest request = new SearchScrollRequest(response.getScrollId());
request.scroll(scrollTimeout);
response = client.searchScroll(request).actionGet(defaultSearchTimeout);
