Kibana Installation Guide for Windows

TLDR

• Kibana must use the kibana_system account to connect to Elasticsearch. If the password is lost, it can be reset via elasticsearch-reset-password -u kibana_system.
• elasticsearch.hosts in kibana.yml must use an IP or Domain; localhost is not allowed.
• If SSL is enabled, the CA certificate generated by Elasticsearch must be placed in the Kibana directory and the path specified in the configuration file.
• Sensitive information (such as SSL passwords) should be managed via kibana-keystore rather than being written directly into the configuration file.
• The elastic superuser account must be used for the first login to Kibana.

Download and Installation

• Visit the official website https://www.elastic.co/downloads/kibana to download the Windows .zip archive.

YAML Configuration File (config/kibana.yml)

Network Settings

When to encounter this issue: When you need to access the Kibana service from an external network or another machine.

# Network settings
network.host: 0.0.0.0 # 0.0.0.0 allows all connections
http.port: 5601       # Default is 5601

Elasticsearch Connection Settings

When to encounter this issue: During the initialization of communication between Kibana and Elasticsearch, using the wrong account or connection address will prevent the service from starting.

• Kibana must use the kibana_system account for the connection. If the random password was not recorded during installation, run the following in the Elasticsearch bin directory:

  elasticsearch-reset-password -u kibana_system

• Configuration example:

  # Must use IP or Domain, do not use localhost
  elasticsearch.hosts: ["https://127.0.0.1:9200"]
  elasticsearch.username: "kibana_system"
  elasticsearch.password: "your_password"
  # If SSL is enabled, specify the CA certificate path
  elasticsearch.ssl.certificateAuthorities: [ "certs/kibana/elasticsearch-ca.pem" ]

Language Settings

i18n.locale: "zh-CN"

Configuring SSL Certificates

When to encounter this issue: When you need to encrypt web access traffic for Kibana.

It is recommended to use kibana-keystore to manage sensitive certificate passwords to avoid writing them in plain text in the configuration file:

1. Create the Keystore:

   kibana-keystore create

2. Add the SSL password:

   kibana-keystore add server.ssl.keystore.password

3. Configure kibana.yml:

   server.ssl.enabled: true
   server.ssl.keystore.path: "certs/elasticsearch/http.p12"

Starting the Service

When to encounter this issue: Starting Kibana in a Windows environment and verifying the service status.

• Open Command Prompt as an administrator, navigate to the bin directory, and run kibana.bat.
• After a successful startup, the CMD will remain at the message Native global console methods have been overridden in production environment., which is normal.
• If it fails to start, please check the Kibana or Elasticsearch log files.

Login and Permission Management

When to encounter this issue: When accessing the Kibana interface for the first time or needing to add new users.

• For the first login, use the elastic account (default superuser).
• If you forget the elastic password, run the following in the Elasticsearch bin directory:

  elasticsearch-reset-password -u elastic

• After logging in, you can create other users and assign roles via Stack Management -> Security -> Users.

Change Log

• 2025-03-18 Initial version created.