diff --git a/defaults/main.yml b/defaults/main.yml
index 6a2aedf..6e7cf36 100644
--- a/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/defaults/main.yml
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ es_config_jvm: "jvm.options.j2"
 #Need to provide default directories
 es_conf_dir: "/etc/elasticsearch"
 es_pid_dir: "/var/run/elasticsearch"
+es_tmp_dir: "/tmp"
 es_data_dirs:
   - "/var/lib/elasticsearch"
 es_log_dir: "/var/log/elasticsearch"
diff --git a/templates/elasticsearch.j2 b/templates/elasticsearch.j2
index 1d2fd85..367bf95 100644
--- a/templates/elasticsearch.j2
+++ b/templates/elasticsearch.j2
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
 # Elasticsearch home directory
 ES_HOME={{es_home}}
 
+# Elasticsearch temp directory
+ES_TMPDIR={{ es_tmp_dir }}
+
 # Elasticsearch Java path
 {% if es_java_home | length > 0 %}
 JAVA_HOME={{ es_java_home }}