Use Discover with ES|QL

ES|QL mode in Discover lets you explore data with an ES|QL query. The query chooses the data, so you do not need a data view. Classic mode uses data views with Kibana Query Language (KQL) or Lucene.

The editor itself, time parameters, AI assistance, and Fast mode are covered in Use ES|QL in the Kibana UI. If you have not run a query in this mode yet, start with Get started with ES|QL in Discover.

When you need this Guide
You want to query in ES|QL, or go back to KQL, and you need to know what happens to the query Switch between ES|QL and classic mode
You are writing a query and need an index or a field name Browse data sources and fields from the editor
You have results and want to read them, sort them, or filter from a value Work with ES|QL results in Discover
You want to change a value in the query without keeping several copies Add variable controls to Discover queries
You need enrichment data for a LOOKUP JOIN Create lookup indices from Discover queries
You grouped with STATS BY and want to look inside the groups Inspect grouped STATS results in Discover
You want to keep the chart, the table, or the session Save a Discover session for reuse