X-pack _verified_ May 2026

X-Pack is a suite of additional features that extends the Elastic Stack (formerly ELK Stack). While the open-source versions of Elasticsearch and Kibana are powerful, X-Pack adds the "must-have" layers for any serious deployment: , Monitoring , Alerting , Reporting , and Machine Learning .

Have you used X-Pack for alerting or ML? Let me know your experience in the comments. x-pack

Let’s break down exactly what X-Pack does, how to install it, and why you probably need it. Historically, X-Pack was a separate plugin you had to install manually. As of Elastic Stack 6.3 and later , X-Pack is bundled by default with all default distributions. You don’t install it separately anymore—you simply enable or disable its features. X-Pack is a suite of additional features that