diff --git a/elasticsearch/values.yaml b/elasticsearch/values.yaml
index bc7077c..4345d2e 100644
--- a/elasticsearch/values.yaml
+++ b/elasticsearch/values.yaml
@@ -574,14 +574,31 @@ nameOverride: ""
 fullnameOverride: ""
 healthNameOverride: ""
 lifecycle: {}
+postStart:
+  exec:
+    command:
 postStart:
   exec:
     command:
       - /bin/bash
       - -c
       - |
-        set -euo pipefail
-        echo "[postStart] Waiting for Elasticsearch to be ready..." >&2
+        echo "[postStart] Starting postStart hook..." >&2
+
+        # Default values (override in env)
+        MAX_RETRIES="${MAX_RETRIES:-30}"
+        RETRY_INTERVAL="${RETRY_INTERVAL:-5}"
+
+        # Validate required env vars
+        REQUIRED_VARS=("CA_CERT" "ES_USERNAME" "ELASTIC_PASSWORD" "ES_URL" "TEMPLATE_PATH_1" "TEMPLATE_PATH_2" "TEMPLATE_PATH_3")
+        for var in "${REQUIRED_VARS[@]}"; do
+          if [ -z "${!var:-}" ]; then
+            echo "[postStart] ERROR: Required env var '$var' is not set!" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+        done
+
+        echo "[postStart] Waiting for Elasticsearch at $ES_URL to be ready..." >&2
         for ((i=1; i<=MAX_RETRIES; i++)); do
           if /usr/bin/curl --cacert "$CA_CERT" -s -u "$ES_USERNAME:$ELASTIC_PASSWORD" "$ES_URL" >/dev/null; then
             echo "[postStart] Elasticsearch is up after $i attempts!" >&2
@@ -591,32 +608,25 @@ postStart:
             echo "[postStart] ERROR: Elasticsearch did not become ready after $MAX_RETRIES attempts." >&2
             exit 1
           fi
-          sleep 5
+          echo "[postStart] Attempt $i: Elasticsearch not ready, retrying in $RETRY_INTERVAL seconds..." >&2
+          sleep "$RETRY_INTERVAL"
         done
-        echo "[postStart] Loading index template from $TEMPLATE_PATH" >&2
-        if ! /usr/bin/curl --cacert "$CA_CERT" -X PUT "$ES_URL/chat" \
-             -u "$ES_USERNAME:$ES_PASSWORD" \
-             -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-             --data-binary @"$TEMPLATE_PATH_1"; then
-          echo "[postStart] ERROR: Failed to apply index template!" >&2
-          exit 1
-        fi
-        if ! /usr/bin/curl --cacert "$CA_CERT" -X PUT "$ES_URL/message" \
-             -u "$ES_USERNAME:$ELASTIC_PASSWORD" \
-             -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-             --data-binary @"$TEMPLATE_PATH_2"; then
-          echo "[postStart] ERROR: Failed to apply index template!" >&2
-          exit 1
-        fi
-        if ! /usr/bin/curl --cacert "$CA_CERT" -X PUT "$ES_URL/user" \
-             -u "$ES_USERNAME:$ELASTIC_PASSWORD" \
-             -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-             --data-binary @"$TEMPLATE_PATH_3"; then
-          echo "[postStart] ERROR: Failed to apply index template!" >&2
-          exit 1
-        fi
-        echo "[postStart] Index template 'chat_v1_idx' applied." >&2
-        echo "Debug message" >> /poststart.log 2>&1
+
+        echo "[postStart] Applying index templates..." >&2
+        for idx in "chat:$TEMPLATE_PATH_1" "message:$TEMPLATE_PATH_2" "user:$TEMPLATE_PATH_3"; do
+          name="${idx%%:*}"
+          path="${idx##*:}"
+          if ! /usr/bin/curl --cacert "$CA_CERT" -X PUT "$ES_URL/$name" \
+               -u "$ES_USERNAME:$ELASTIC_PASSWORD" \
+               -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+               --data-binary @"$path"; then
+            echo "[postStart] ERROR: Failed to apply index template for '$name' from '$path'" >&2
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "[postStart] Applied template: $name" >&2
+        done
+
+        echo "[postStart] All index templates applied successfully." >&2
 
 sysctlInitContainer:
   enabled: true