[[tutorial-define-index]]
=== Define your index patterns

Index patterns tell Kibana which Elasticsearch indices you want to explore.
An index pattern can match the name of a single index, or include a wildcard
(*) to match multiple indices. 

For example, Logstash typically creates a
series of indices in the format `logstash-YYYY.MMM.DD`. To explore all
of the log data from May 2018, you could specify the index pattern
`logstash-2018.05*`.


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==== Create your first index pattern

First you'll create index patterns for the Shakespeare data set, which has an
index named `shakespeare,` and the accounts data set, which has an index named
`bank`. These data sets don't contain time series data.

. In Kibana, open *Management*, and then click *Index Patterns.*
. If this is your first index pattern, the *Create index pattern* page opens automatically.
Otherwise, click *Create index pattern*.
. Enter `shakes*` in the *Index pattern* field.
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[role="screenshot"]
image::images/tutorial-pattern-1.png[]

. Click *Next step*.
. In *Configure settings*, click *Create index pattern*.
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You’re presented a table of all fields and associated data types in the index.

. Return to the *Index patterns* overview page and define a second index pattern named  `ba*`. 

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==== Create an index pattern for time series data

Now create an index pattern for the Logstash index, which
contains time series data.

. Define an index pattern named `logstash*`.
. Click *Next step*.
. Open the *Time Filter field name* dropdown and select *@timestamp*.
. Click *Create index pattern*.

NOTE: When you define an index pattern, the indices that match that pattern must
exist in Elasticsearch and they must contain data. To check which indices are
available, go to *Dev Tools > Console* and enter `GET _cat/indices`.  Alternately, use
`curl -XGET "http://localhost:9200/_cat/indices"`.