---
title: Minimum should match context
description: Use a Painless script to specify the minimum number of terms that a specified field needs to match with for a document to be part of the query results...
url: https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/scripting-languages/painless/painless-min-should-match-context
products:
  - Elasticsearch
  - Painless
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Minimum should match context
Use a Painless script to specify the [minimum](https://www.elastic.co/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/query-languages/query-dsl/query-dsl-terms-set-query) number of terms that a specified field needs to match with for a document to be part of the query results.

## Variables

<definitions>
  <definition term="params (Map, read-only)">
    User-defined parameters passed in as part of the query.
  </definition>
  <definition term="params['num_terms'] (int, read-only)">
    The number of terms specified to match with.
  </definition>
  <definition term="doc (Map, read-only)">
    Contains the fields of the current document where each field is a `List` of values.
  </definition>
</definitions>


## Return

<definitions>
  <definition term="int">
    The minimum number of terms required to match the current document.
  </definition>
</definitions>


## API

The standard [Painless API](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/painless/current/painless-api-reference-shared.html) is available.

## Example

To run the example, first [install the eCommerce sample data](/elastic/docs-builder/docs/3028/reference/scripting-languages/painless/painless-context-examples#painless-sample-data-install).
This example shows conditional matching requirements. The script checks if a document contains both “Men’s Clothing” and “Men’s Shoes” categories. If this combination exists, only two terms need to match. Otherwise, three terms must match. This creates different qualification thresholds based on document content.
```json
GET kibana_sample_data_ecommerce/_search
{
  "query": {
    "terms_set": {
      "category.keyword": {
        "terms": [
          "Men's Clothing",
          "Men's Shoes", 
          "Men's Accessories",
          "Women's Clothing"
        ],
        "minimum_should_match_script": {
          "source": """
            boolean hasMensClothing = false;
            boolean hasMensShoes = false;
            
            for (def category : doc['category.keyword']) {
              if (category.equals("Men's Clothing")) {
                hasMensClothing = true;
              }

              if (category.equals("Men's Shoes")) {
                hasMensShoes = true;
              }
            }
            
            if (hasMensClothing && hasMensShoes) {
              return 2;
            }
            
            return 3;
          """
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```