[[dynamic-mapping]]
== Dynamic mapping

One of the most important features of {es} is that it tries to get
out of your way and let you start exploring your data as quickly as possible.
To index a document, you don't have to first create an index, define a mapping
type, and define your fields -- you can just index a document and the index,
type, and fields will display automatically:

[source,console]
--------------------------------------------------
PUT data/_doc/1 <1>
{ "count": 5 }
--------------------------------------------------

<1> Creates the `data` index, the `_doc` mapping type, and a field
    called `count` with data type `long`.

The automatic detection and addition of new fields is called
_dynamic mapping_. The dynamic mapping rules can be customized to suit your
purposes with:

<<dynamic-field-mapping,Dynamic field mappings>>::

    The rules governing dynamic field detection.

<<dynamic-templates,Dynamic templates>>::

    Custom rules to configure the mapping for dynamically added fields.

TIP: <<index-templates,Index templates>> allow you to configure the default
mappings, settings and aliases for new indices, whether created
automatically or explicitly.

include::dynamic/field-mapping.asciidoc[]

include::dynamic/templates.asciidoc[]