How to Search in Elasticsearch: Syntax and Examples

To search in Elasticsearch, use the _search API with a JSON query body that defines your search criteria using the Query DSL. You send a POST or GET request to your index with a query like { "query": { "match": { "field": "value" } } } to find matching documents.

Syntax

The basic syntax to search in Elasticsearch uses the _search endpoint on an index. You send a JSON body with a query object that describes what you want to find.

• HTTP method: Usually GET or POST
• Endpoint: /index_name/_search
• Body: JSON with query key
• Query types: match, term, bool, etc.

json

{
  "query": {
    "match": {
      "field_name": "search_value"
    }
  }
}

Example

This example searches the products index for documents where the name field contains the word "phone".

json

POST /products/_search
{
  "query": {
    "match": {
      "name": "phone"
    }
  }
}

Output

{
  "took": 5,
  "timed_out": false,
  "_shards": {
    "total": 5,
    "successful": 5,
    "skipped": 0,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "hits": {
    "total": {
      "value": 3,
      "relation": "eq"
    },
    "max_score": 1.0,
    "hits": [
      {
        "_index": "products",
        "_id": "1",
        "_score": 1.0,
        "_source": {
          "name": "Smartphone X",
          "price": 699
        }
      },
      {
        "_index": "products",
        "_id": "2",
        "_score": 0.9,
        "_source": {
          "name": "Phone Case",
          "price": 19
        }
      },
      {
        "_index": "products",
        "_id": "3",
        "_score": 0.8,
        "_source": {
          "name": "Wireless Phone Charger",
          "price": 49
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when searching in Elasticsearch include:

• Using term query for full-text search instead of match, which causes no results because term looks for exact values.
• Not specifying the correct index or misspelling the index name.
• Forgetting to use JSON format in the request body.
• Ignoring case sensitivity and text analysis differences.

Example of wrong vs right query:

json

POST /products/_search
{
  "query": {
    "term": {
      "name": "phone"
    }
  }
}

// This returns no results if "name" is analyzed text.

POST /products/_search
{
  "query": {
    "match": {
      "name": "phone"
    }
  }
}

// This returns matching documents because it uses full-text search.

Quick Reference

Here is a quick reference for common Elasticsearch search queries:

Query Type	Description	Use Case
match	Full-text search with analysis	Search text fields for relevant matches
term	Exact value match without analysis	Search keyword or exact values
bool	Combine multiple queries with AND, OR, NOT	Complex queries with filters
range	Search within numeric or date ranges	Find documents in a range
exists	Check if a field has a value	Filter documents with a field present

Key Takeaways

Use the _search API with a JSON query body to find documents in Elasticsearch.

Use the match query for full-text search and term query for exact matches.

Always specify the correct index and use valid JSON format in your requests.

Beware of text analysis differences that affect search results.

Combine queries with bool for more complex search conditions.